The salad course...
Not exactly the part of the meal that gets most people really excited. I'll be honest - I rarely order a salad as an entree at restaurants because most of the time they're boring with stupid lettuce, stupid toppings, and stupid dressing. I just don't think they are worth the money or calories most of the time. There are exceptions here which I can address in a blog post on eating out. But for now, let's stick to the topic at hand.
There are a few salads that I do order at restaurants because they are amazing!! They have fresh, dark colored greens, creative toppings and ALWAYS a homemade dressing or vinaigrette, which I order on the side.
Salad dressings can transform a ho-hum bowl of lettuce into something truly delicious. In the wake of the low fat diet craze, dressings got a bad rap. And rightfully so. Many full-fat dressings can add hundreds of calories to your salad and that's just, well, stupid!
But we eat salads at home for dinner all the time and they get boring; really boring. Recently, I've started whipping up (and they are literally so simple to 'whip up') some simple dressings that make salads way more interesting. I usually have ingredients to make a dressing at hand all the time. You probably do too! All you have to have is olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and dijon mustard. Flavored oils, a variety of vinegars, lemon or orange juice, and fresh herbs are other easy to keep ingredients that can bring a major wow-factor to your vinaigrette.
My favorite dressing ingredients are fresh parsley, lemon infused olive oil, and red wine vinegar (but I love vinegars so it's really hard to pick one favorite). And all you need to combine these ingredients is a good 'ol mason jar. But there are fancy salad dressing bottles like this one, which I own, and they are very helpful.
And here's the great news, homemade vinaigrettes are packed with health-promoting foods like extra virgin olive oil (healthy fat that aids the absorption of many nutrients in your salad), vinegar (a vasodilator - keeps the blood vessels nice and open), fresh herbs (packed with antioxidants), and citrus (vitamin C and more).
Here are a few of my favorite and easy dressings that I like to use at home. They actually make me excited to enjoy a salad for lunch or dinner. Remember that your serving size is about a tablespoon. Enjoy!
French Vinaigrette
(Adapted from the Healthy Dressings bottle mentioned above)
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons good extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of fresh, minced parsley
2 teaspoons of dijon mustard
pinch of sugar
1 small garlic clove, minced
pinch of salt and pepper
Directions: Pour all ingredients in to a tightly sealed jar and shake to combines. Makes enough for 4 small salads. Double recipe for larger crowd. Store in refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Creamy Rosemary Balsamic Dressing
(Inspired by favorite salad at The Loop)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small garlic clove
1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary leaves
pinch of salt and pepper
Directions: Pour all ingredients into a small food processor or blender and pulse until combined. If you do not have either of these pieces of equipment, mince the garlic and the rosemary and shake to combine.
Honey Balsamic Dressing
(adapted from my sister in law)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
pinch of salt and pepper
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a jar with tightly fitting lid and shake to combine.
Basil Buttermilk Dressing
(Inspired by my favorite salad at The Floridian)
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/4 cup plain, non fat greek yogurt
1/4 cup tightly packed basil leaves
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of chopped shallot (can substitute white or yellow onion but decrease by 1 tablespoon)
1/2 small garlic clove
Large pinch of salt and pepper
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a small food processor or blender. Pulse until basil leaves are incorporated and dressing is green in color. Store in refrigerator.
(Click on title to go to my Vegetable Ribbon Salad)
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