Salad Dressings Made Simple

Making your own dressings rather than buying them off the shelf at your grocery store will put you WAY ahead in the health department.  If you make your own dressing you have control over the ingredients.

To make a simple salad dressing you need a balance of oil, acid, salt or sweet and spice.  Choose high quality, cold-pressed virgin oil.

I make my dressing in a 250 ml mason jar so that I can tighten the lid and give them a good shake before I use it.  Also, if you have leftovers it can be stored in the fridge.  If you use olive oil, it will harden in the fridge but you can take it out 10 minutes early or let it sit in a small amount of warm water for 2-3 minutes.  The olive oil will turn to a liquid again when it warms up.

Use your favourite herbs and spices and enjoy on a variety of vegetables!

Oil	Acid	Salt or Sweet	Spice
Flax Seed Oil Grape Seed Oil Olive Oil Sesame Seed Oil	Apple Cider Vinegar Balsamic Vinegar Lemon Juice Lime Juice Orange Juice Wine Vinegar	Honey Maple Syrup Molasses Unrefined Salt	Basil Cayenne Cilantro (fresh chopped) Dill (fresh) Dijon Mustard Garlic (pressed) Onion (finely chopped) Oregano Paprika Parsley (fresh chopped) Pepper Tamari Sauce
½ Cup	¼ Cup	To taste	To taste

Directions

1. Take one ingredient from each of the above columns (you may use more than one spice). Be sure to finely chop your fresh herbs and spices.
2. Place all ingredients in a 500 ml glass mason jar.
3. Tighten the lid and shake vigorously.

Use on vegetables and salad greens.

I have included a few examples on the next page.

1)         Basic Balsamic Dressing

• ½ C olive oil
• ¼ C balsamic vinegar
• Dash of unrefined salt
• Dash of pepper

This dressing tastes great on arugula with tomatoes and pine nuts!

2)         Citrus Dressing

• ½ C olive oil
• ¼ C white wine vinegar
• 3 Tbs fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 Tbs of Dijon mustard
• 1 clove of garlic (crushed)
• fresh cilantro
• ¼ tsp unrefined salt
• dash of pepper

Great on romaine lettuce with shaved carrots, orange slices and cashews!

3)         Mexican Dressing

• ½ C olive Oil
• ¼ C fresh lime juice
• 2 Tbs white wine vinegar
• 1 clove of garlic (minced)
• 1 tsb Dijon mustard
• ¼ tsp unrefined salt
• dash of pepper
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro (chopped)

Great on greens with avocado or taco salad!

4)         Asian Dressing

• ½ C sesame oil
• 1/8 C white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ tsp unrefined salt
• dash of pepper

Serve with ~

• 1 free range chicken breast (cooked and cut into strips) (variation: shrimp)
• 1 head iceberg lettuce, tear into small pieces
• 1 C fresh spinach greens
• ½ C water chestnuts
• 1 C bean sprouts
• ¼ C slivered almonds
• 2 tsp sesame seeds

5)         Molasses Dressing

• 1 red onion
• ¼ C olive oil
• 1 fresh juiced lemon
• ¼ C molasses
• 1 Tbs apple cider or white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp unrefined salt
• black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Put all of the ingredients into a blender or food processer.
2. Blend for 3 minutes on high
3. Tastes great on any greens with veggies and beans!

6)         Blue Cheese Dressing

• 1 C buttermilk
• 1 C sour cream or plain yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/8 tsp honey
• ¼ tsp paprika
• 1 tsp unrefined sea
• 3 Tbs blue cheese

Directions

1. In a food processor or blender, combine buttermilk, sour cream, garlic, paprika, and salt. Blend until smooth.
2. Add blue cheese, and pulse quickly once or twice. Do not blend. You want small chunks of blue cheese.
3. Refrigerate 4 hours or more before serving to let the flavors blend.

7)  Honey Parmesan Dressing

• 1/4 cup extra virgin, unrefined, cold-pressed olive oil
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper

Mix ingredients in a glass jar and shake well.

Tastes great on a green salad

 

If you have a favourite dressing, I’d love to learn about it!