We can all agree that salads are one of the healthiest foods you can eat. With a variety of additions, you can make a meal out of a salad and get nutrition from just about all of the major food groups. But, that perfect meal can be destroyed if you choose the wrong salad dressing to go with it.
Many of us don't think about what we top our salad with. We are careful to use sprouts, shelled nuts, lettuce and spinach leaves but we then drown it all in our favorite salad dressing. That favorite dressing just added a whole heap of fat to your meal.
Read the labels. Most salad dressings are made with more than enough fat to go around. The average is about eleven grams per serving, but you can find some with more. Oh, and check your serving size. It is not one giant squeeze of the bottle, but more like a teaspoon of dressing. For thicker dressings this won't even cover one leaf of the lettuce.
You do have some choices when it comes to salad dressings. How about making one yourself? You will know what the ingredients are and can season it to taste without the added fat that comes in a bottle. Here are five examples.
#1 Home-made ranch salad dressing - Have you seen the Hidden Valley Ranch packets in your salad dressing aisles? Instead of grabbing the bottle, make some yourself. Instead of full-fat sour cream, go for the fat-free sour cream and add the seasoning mix. You can tweak the recipe to your tastes, adding more or less sour cream.
Many of us don't think about what we top our salad with. We are careful to use sprouts, shelled nuts, lettuce and spinach leaves but we then drown it all in our favorite salad dressing. That favorite dressing just added a whole heap of fat to your meal.
Read the labels. Most salad dressings are made with more than enough fat to go around. The average is about eleven grams per serving, but you can find some with more. Oh, and check your serving size. It is not one giant squeeze of the bottle, but more like a teaspoon of dressing. For thicker dressings this won't even cover one leaf of the lettuce.
You do have some choices when it comes to salad dressings. How about making one yourself? You will know what the ingredients are and can season it to taste without the added fat that comes in a bottle. Here are five examples.
#1 Home-made ranch salad dressing - Have you seen the Hidden Valley Ranch packets in your salad dressing aisles? Instead of grabbing the bottle, make some yourself. Instead of full-fat sour cream, go for the fat-free sour cream and add the seasoning mix. You can tweak the recipe to your tastes, adding more or less sour cream.