Four easy salad dressings to make healthy eating delicious

A good dressing adds flavour and balance to salads. Photograph by: stu_spivack/Flickr

Most healthy salads pack in the goodness of fresh veggies that offer several essential vitamins, micronutrients like minerals and anti-oxidants. Then there’s the all important fibre which nutritional experts swear by. So far so good. But there is such a thing called monotony. And once you stop enjoying your healthy food, staying on your diet becomes a unenviable task. Enter salad dressing. While there are umpteen options available in stores, we’re not really fans of mass-produced salad dressings. Even if they claim to be low calorie or low fat, they’re most definitely packed with chemical preservatives, artificial colouring agents, sweeteners and emulsifiers, among other things that do nothing to improve the nutritional value of your salad. Which is why we’ve found four super easy salad dressings, that can be paired with any type of fruit, vegetable, nuts and sprouted legumes.

Italian dressing
Full of classic herbs like basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme, making this salad dressing is a breeze. Simply mix up the herbs, give it a good stir and add it to your salad bowl for a fragrant, light bite. You may also choose to make this dressing in bulk and refrigerate it in a clean glass jar, as it will keep for a good week without any worries of spoilage.

 

Lemon garlic dressing
A tangy yet slightly pungent taste is what sets this dressing apart. It tastes best with a full veggie salad with chickpeas or legumes or one with lean meats like pan seared fish or grilled chicken or prawns. If you’re hosting friends or family, use part of the dressing to marinade the salad half hour before serving. This will let the flavours to seep in.

 

Lemon vinaigrette
Commercially sold vinaigrette may be the most popular salad dressing. But making some at home is absolutely no work at all. A handful of ingredients is all you need to make your own fresh, healthy and preservative-free vinaigrette dressing. Do not limit yourself to just salads with this one – add it to your soup, drizzle some on your sandwiches or wraps to add a creamy, zesty touch to them.

Vegan salad dressing
This salad dressing makes use of all natural, plant-based ingredients to give you a creamy Caesar salad dressing that’s completely vegan. Easy and quick to make, this vegan dressing can also be used with a host of sides and mains, there really is no limit to experimenting with it.