Garden salads are low in calories and loaded with healthy antioxidants, but many people cancel out the health benefits by topping their leafy greens with an unhealthy salad dressing. Bottled salad dressings are often high in salt and sugar and some contain hydrogenated oils – another word for trans-fat.
Who wants to eat a healthy salad and have it ruined by an unhealthy bottled salad dressing? Even if a bottled salad dressing is low in sugar, salt and contains no bad fats, most dressings you buy at the supermarket contain preservatives, artificial food dyes – and some contain monosodium glutamate. MSG is often listed as “natural flavoring” on the bottle.
In the best of all possible worlds, we’d all have the time to make your own salad dressing from natural ingredients, but when you’re pressed for time, try some of these salad dressing alternatives that are healthy and taste great too.
Healthy Salad Dressing Alternatives
Add a Little Kick with Some Salsa
Salsa adds a hint of spice to garden salads, and it’s low in calories. You can find brands that have as little as 5 calories per serving. Compare that to some salad dressings that have 100 calories or more per two tablespoon serving. Salsa is a rich source of heart-healthy lycopenes, and the chili peppers in salsa have anti-inflammatory benefits. Plus, capsaicin in chili peppers gives your metabolism a subtle boost. Salsa isn’t just for Mexican food and tortillas. Spoon it onto your next salad, and you’ll save calories without sacrificing taste.
Use Flavored Vinegar and Oil
Oil and vinegar is an old stand-by for dressing up a salad, but you can kick up the taste a notch by using flavored vinegar or herbal vinegar. Some options you can find at supermarkets and gourmet shops include pesto-balsamic vinegar, pomegranate vinegar, peach vinegar, citrus vinegar, rosemary vinegar and more. Mix three parts olive oil to one part flavored vinegar, and you’ll have a salad dressing that rivals those you get at a high-end restaurant. Plus, olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats, which may help to keep belly fat at bay.
Hot Sauce
Add a little spice to your life by using hot sauce as a salad dressing. It’s almost calorie-free and will kick your metabolism up a notch while filling you up faster. Plus, it tastes surprisingly good. For a creamier, more subdued version, mix hot sauce with a little vinegar and low-fat mayo.
Cottage Cheese
Low-fat cottage cheese makes a creamy and satisfying salad dressing with only a fraction of the calories of cream-based bottled salad dressing. Add your favorite herbs and spices, and stir it into your garden salad. If you’d like an even creamier consistency, mix cottage with Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, and your favorite spices. When you use cottage cheese as a salad dressing, you’ll get protein and calcium too.
Dijon Mustard
You may not have the time to make chef-quality salad dressings from scratch, but here’s one from Martha Stewart that’s almost as fast as opening a bottle. When the jar of Dijon mustard gets low, add olive oil and vinegar and shake the bottle to create a fast Dijon mustard salad dressing. It beats the caramel food coloring that’s been linked with cancer in some commercial honey mustard salad dressings.
Greek Yogurt
Plain Greek yogurt is the perfect base for making a healthy salad dressing in seconds. For a tangy, yet sweet salad topper, mix plain Greek yogurt with lemon juice, poppy seeds and a touch of agave syrup or Stevia for natural sweetness. You’ll have an instant lemon poppy seed dressing that’s rich in calcium and free of preservatives or artificial colorings. When you’re in a mood to “make-your-own,” plain, Greek yogurt is the perfect base to use.
The Bottom Line?
Bottled salad dressings don’t always cut it from a health standpoint. Try these healthier salad dressing alternatives instead. They’re inexpensive and better for you than ones you buy at the supermarket.
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