Easy Transitions: Salad Dressing

Maybe you aren’t ready yet to revamp your diet completely, but there are some easy steps you can take towards ridding yourself of processed foods. 

The way I see it, when I compare a homemade salad dressing with a store bought dressing, the homemade wins hands down.

Let’s talk taste.
I guess a person might like any taste he or she has grown up with, but bottled salad dressings are one of those things where you can really taste all the unnatural chemicals floating around. They’re just nasty!

What about convenience?

While bottled dressing does take no preparation, homemade dressing takes just second to make. There are endless varieties, so you can get fancy, but there’s no need to. A basic oil and vinegar salad dressing does the trick.  

And what about health?
Let’s look at  Kraft’s Fat-Free Italian Dressing, for example. It’s got a long ingredient list. Oh my.

WATER, VINEGAR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORN SYRUP, SALT, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OFPARMESAN CHEESE* (PART-SKIM MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), GARLIC, ONION JUICE, WHEY, PHOSPHORIC ACID, XANTHAN GUM, POTASSIUM SORBATE AND CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA AS PRESERVATIVES, YEAST EXTRACT, SPICE, RED BELL PEPPERS*, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, GARLIC*, BUTTERMILK*, CARAMEL COLOR, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, ENZYMES, OLEORESIN PAPRIKA. *DRIED.

Any product that has this many ingredients is suspect in my book. Let’s look at some of the specifics, courtesy of Fooducate.

High fructose corn syrup and corn syrup are the 3rd and 4th ingredients, used to round off the flavor of the highly acidic vinegar.

Phosphoric acid is used to add more acidic flavor, but why not add more lemon instead? (answer: it’s cheaper).

Calcium Disodium EDTA is a preservative with a mildly salty taste. It may cause kidney damage, and blood in urine. It’s on the FDA’s priority list for more health effects research.

I like to mix up a batch of homemade vinaigrette, and have some on hand to use whenever I make a salad. Here’s how I do it.

Back-to-Basics Vinaigrette

½ C extra-virgin olive oil

3 tbsp. or more good quality vinegar (apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, wine vinegar, etc.)

Method

1.    To the olive oil, add the vinegar and mix.

2.    Store at room temperature.

Tip #1 : After you mix the oil and vinegar together, dunk a small piece of lettuce or tomato in your salad dressing and taste to see if you have the right balance. Keep adding vinegar, mixing and tasting till you like it. Remember how much vinegar you added so you’ll know for next time.  

Tip #2: If you shake the oil and vinegar long enough and well enough, they will stay mixed for a while. I personally don’t bother. I just give the vinaigrette a quick shake before pouring on my salads.

Even with two-ingredient salad dressing, you can enjoy a variety of tastes  by varying your choice of vinegar. Another option is adding any of the following (alone or in combination) to your basic vinaigrette. 

•  Freshly ground black pepper & salt (I’ve never added these and never missed them, but they’re usually included.)
• Minced garlic
• Chopped, fresh basil (my favorite)
• Good quality mustard, such as Dijon mustard
• Honey
• Lemon/lime (this can replace some of all of the vinegar)
• Orange juice
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Mayonnaise
• Sour cream
• Chopped fresh oregano
• Yolk of a hard boiled egg (gives the vinaigrette a nice texture)

Have fun with it.

This post was shared with  The Healthy Home Economist, We Are That Family, Real Food Forager, Whole New Mom, Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Frugally Sustainable,  Around My  Family Table, Gnowfglins, and Hartke is Online.