Say No To Salad Dressings

Here is a good way to wreck your healthy eating, without even realising it - You are standing in your kitchen over a bowl of crisp, organic greens... you add some sliced tomato, throw in some chopped cucumber and top it off with grilled, free-range chicken... and then drown it with a belly bulging, artery clogging topping… also known as commercial salad dressing.

No one expects it, but hiding behind the tiny portion of heart-healthy olive oil is a list of other oils which are cheap and of low quality, turned nutritionally useless by high temperature processing. Even worse, this heating process can cause the formation of a dangerous form of trans fat and it is not listed on the label. We also think we are buying a "natural" salad dressing, but the problem is the word "natural" does not have a specific, legal definition and can be used to describe just about anything. In the commercial dressing there are also preservatives, stabilizers, artificial flavours, artificial colours and usually a lot of high fructose corn syrup - all wrecking havoc with our hormones and healthy new lifestyle!

The solution to this is simple: Make your own. People shy away from making their own salad dressing because they think it is too time-consuming or just too fancy - this is not true! You can whip up a delicious, fresh tasting salad dressing in less than two minutes and even have some already made for next time!

Creamy Salad Dressing:

Teaspoon of mayonnaise, 3 teaspoons of white wine vinegar, half teaspoon of mustard powder, sea salt and pepper (It is particularly nice over a delicious tuna or warm chicken salad)

Basic Vinaigrette:

3 parts extra virgin olive oil to 1 part vinegar, sea salt and pepper to taste - you can use balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

Lemon Vinaigrette:

Juice of half a lemon, generous amount of olive oil, sea salt and pepper to taste (It has a clean, fresh flavour with a little lemon zing)

Chive Dressing:

Juice of half a lemon, generous amount of olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt, 2 tablespoons filtered water and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives - blended (This is delicious and healthy)

Sweet Chili Dressing:

2 tablespoons water, 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, chili flakes to taste, half a sachet of sweetener - Cook in a small pot and allow to bubble for approximately 1 minute (It is beautiful over chicken or seafood)

Keep your body happy and healthy by making your own salad dressings - and you know what it is that you are putting in to your body!