Homemade Salad Dressing: Upgrade Your Nutrition NOW!
Salad dressings. Ugh. We have more options to choose from than ever before, but very few of them are healthy. Have you looked at the ingredients lists on store-bought salad dressings?
You might be thinking: yeah, I already know salad dressing is unhealthy because it’s high in fat. News Flash: It’s not the high-fat content of salad dressing that makes it bad. Quite the contrary! A salad dressing made with healthy, high quality oil is actually quite good for you.
The problem is, none of the popular store-bought salad dressings are made with healthy oils and fats. Nearly all of them are made with soybean and/or canola oil. In fact, I challenge you to find even a single salad dressing at your local supermarket that is not made with these oils. Even the ones that claim to be made with extra virgin olive oil still have soybean and/or canola oil in them. So disappointing!
What’s wrong with soybean and canola oil? They are highly processed, pro-inflammatory oils. That means they create inflammation in our bodies. Inflammation is linked to many diseases: everything from heart disease to diabetes to cancer to arthritis. Inflammation has also been linked to weight gain and inability to lose weight.
Convinced you need to upgrade your salad dressing? I hope so! Here’s a dressing recipe that’s simple, delicious, gluten free, soy free, and dairy free!
Kelly’s Healthy Green Goddess Dressing
Fresh herbs make this salad dressing super tasty and antioxidant-rich!
- ½ cup mayo
- ¼ cup olive oil, more if the dressing is too thick
- ½ of a ripe avocado
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 T finely chopped fresh chives
- 1 T finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 T lemon juice
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- Black pepper to taste
Optional ingredients:
- Cayenne pepper to taste
- Smoked paprika to taste
- Few drops of Tabasco or other red pepper sauce
Add all ingredients to the work bowl of a food processor or a medium sized mixing bowl. If using a food processor, blend until dressing reaches desired smoothness. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a handheld stick blender to blend the ingredients until smooth. (Makes about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of dressing.)
Put dressing into a wide-mouth glass storage jar or Mason jar and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. It will keep for a week or more in your fridge. Use on salad or baste onto chicken or fish before baking or grilling! Bien comida, comida sana…good food, healthy food!
Delicious and healthy! Use it on salad or use as a marinade for chicken or fish!
A couple of notes:
- Don’t be tempted to use much more than one clove of garlic. I’m a garlic-lover, but it will over power the dressing if you use too much!
- If you don’t have fresh herbs (parsley, chives, and dill), you can substitute dried herbs. Just remember that you’ll use less of the dried herbs than you do fresh. Taste your dressing as you’re making it!
- If the dressing is too thick, add more olive oil.
- If you are not sensitive to dairy, you can replace the olive oil with sour cream or Greek yogurt. Be sure to use full fat sour cream and Greek yogurt!
- The olive oil may separate or harden in the fridge. This is not a problem. Simply pull it out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you plan to eat so that it warms, and then shake it up or mix it with a spoon.
Super Simple Homemade Mayo
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 ½ tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- ¼ tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
- ¾ C extra virgin olive oil
Combine egg yolk, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and salt in medium bowl. Whisk or use an electric mixer to blend until well blended and bright yellow, about 30 seconds. Keep your mixer running and SLOWLY dribble oil into the bowl, whisking or mixing constantly. If you add the oil too quickly, it won’t turn out right! Adding the oil usually takes me a full five minutes! When mayo is thick, cover and refrigerate. Mine usually keeps for about one week in the fridge. (Makes about 3/4 cup of mayo.)