Vegetarian

If you are watching your waistline, then often you will choose to get a salad. And even then you might ask for the dressing on the side so you can limit the number of calories that the salad contains. I mean come on, you don’t want a salad to be a high-fat dish. Which is why there are plenty of low-fat or non-fat salad dressings that you can readily buy from the store. The only problem with these, as found by a study at Purdue University, is that they can actually hinder how much of the vitamins and minerals from the salad that our body gets.

The reason behind all of this is that there are lots of nutrients in salads like beta-carotene and zeaxanthin that are fat soluble. Meaning that they can’t be absorbed by the body unless there is a little fat with them too. Researchers like Nina Teicholz also stand by the idea that we need to have fat in our diet; even if we are eating a salad. The good news is that there are plenty of salad dressing recipes that you can make from home that are filled with good fats that will taste good, and help your body to make the most of the goodness of the salad; don’t just grab the blue cheese dressing just yet! Here are a few that you could try while we make the most of the last of the summer weather.

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Avocado and Balsamic Dressing

Ingredients (to make one large glass):

• ½ cup avocado oil
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

What To Do:

1. Combine all ingredients in a container with a lid. Make sure the lid is on the container, shake until thoroughly combined.
2. Store in the refrigerator until you want to serve it.

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Lemon and Tahini Dressing

Ingredients (for one salad):

• 1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• salt and pepper, to taste

What to do:

1. Pour all of the dressing ingredients into a small bowl. Use a whisk to mix it altogether until smooth.
2. Tahini by itself is quite a strong flavor, so if it is too much, you can add a little more of the other ingredients like lemon, maple, or apple cider vinegar. It is a good idea to add up to a ¼ cup of water to thin out the dressing too.
3. Store in refrigerator or use on salads right away.

As well as dressings, if you’d rather stick to the non-fat ones, you just need to mix up the way you make your salad. Adding in some extra things to your salad can add the good fats that you need to make sure that you are getting all of the salad goodness. You could try:

• Chopped macadamia nuts: these nuts are really rich in monounsaturated fats, so you don’t need many for them to work their magic.
• Fresh Cheese: Using cheeses like mozzarella or ricotta with your salad can be a good way to get the fats that you need.
• Cashews: these make a tasty topping for a salad, as they are nice and creamy, but full of the good fats that your body needs.