November 16, 2020

3 Easy, Delicious, and Healthy Salad Dressings 

Easy to make these healthy salad dressings are so tasty you’ll want to lick the bottom of your plate.

If you've ever needed motivation to eat more salads, these healthy salad dressings are just what you need. Plus, when something tastes THIS GOOD, you may even find you start to crave salads instead of less healthy foods. It's a crazy concept to crave a salad, but according to researchers, eating salad is not just a great choice for your colon and heart, it's also a great way to battle stress. Here are 3 of my family's favourite easy healthy salad dressings that can be made in under 5 minutes, and stored for days in your fridge to help you enjoy fast healthy salads all through the busy work week. This may just change the way you eat salad forever.

What is the healthiest salad dressing to buy?

The healthiest salad dressing is not a packaged salad dressing. Packaged salad dressings have to be shelf stable requiring the addition of stabilizers. However, what's most hard to grasp is how the irresistibly, delicious flavours of shelf-stable salad dressings is due to their high content of salt, sugar, and fat.  Salt, sugar and fat are the triple whammy of flavours that make a food irresistible. Together, they send your brain into an amazing happy-dance. In fact, researchers have noted that the brain’s chemical response to salt, sugar, and fat is the same as what happens when the brain experiences heroine or cocaine. You are left wanting to have more and more. Adding more salad dressing to your salad than you need to get an optimal culinary experience, adds additional calories that can be unhelpful if you are trying to maintain a healthy body weight. Making a healthy salad dressing at home can taste delicious too! Got 3 minutes? You can create these ridiculously delicious and healthy salad dressings in only a few minutes and enjoy them for days.

The 3 Best Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes

Easy, quick and healthy salad dressings can be made at home in just a few minutes, and stored in little mason jars to be enjoyed all work-week long. The use of fresh ingredients creates flavours that pack a powerful punch, and leave you eagerly anticipating the next chance you get to make a salad. Here are 3 of my family's all-time favourite home-made salad dressings, including a vegan salad dressing and gluten-free salad dressings.

 

1. The Healthier Caesar Salad Dressing

In a small mason jar or glass measuring cup, combine 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil with 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar. Add in 1 tbsp of dijon mustard (I prefer the grainy kind) and a splash or three of parmesan cheese (or for a vegan option use Nutritional Yeast instead). Mix with a whisk and toss into a bowl of fresh romaine lettuce. Toss and enjoy immediately or store for a few days in your fridge.

2. Honey Ginger and Sesame Salad Dressing

Combine 1 cup olive oil, 3 tbsp sesame oil, 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tsp tamari sauce, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1-2 tbsp freshly grated ginger in a jam-sized mason jar. Put on lid. Shake vigourously. Enjoy immediately or store up to 3 days in the fridge.

 

3. Maple Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing

Another amazing anti-aging recipe from my book, Aging Bites, this is the dressing you’ll finding in my Age Defying Kale Salad Recipe. It goes well on most dense greens, and has become an all-time favourite at my house.

• ½ cup water and raw tahini paste
• juice from 1 organic lemon
• 1 large (or 2 medium) garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• ½ tsp tamari sauce
• 1 tsp cumin and coriander
• 2 tbsp olive oil

How to eat more salads?

Pimp your salad until it is as crave-worthy as that less-healthy thing you always find yourself eating instead of a salad. Add every crunchy, mouth-satisfying vegetable you can find. Buy ready to use vegetables to reduce prep time - particularly if you're finding the ida "making a salad" overwhelming. Baby carrots, fresh, pre-washed snap peas, washed and ready mixed greens, and cherry tomatoes can all easily be tossed into a bowl. Add in nuts, seeds, beans, or edamame beans to increase the protein power of your salad - this will help you feel more satisfied and keep you full longer.

 

You’ll love the way eating healthy salads make you feel! Eating salad helps you enjoy more energy, better gut health, and helps to lower stress. It’s true! You probably crave comfort foods (salt, sugar, fat) when you are stressed but the best thing you could do is eat a salad. Forks at the ready? Dig in!

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