Don't Ruin a Healthy Salad!

Today when I got in from my run, I was craving a salad. I pulled a bunch of random stuff out of the refrigerator and ended up with spring greens, cucumber, mushroom, tomato, red onion and tofu. We were out of my favorite raspberry vinaigrette dressing, so I started checking out the nutrition labels of the different bottles we had in the fridge... and I just couldn't justify putting any of them on top of my beautiful healthy salad.

Most people make salads in an attempt to eat healthy and lose weight, but the way you choose to dress your salad can mean the difference between a healthy choice and a calorie and fat packed meal. Many of the bottled salad dressings out there are full of calories, fat and added sodium. For instance, Ken's Steakhouse Thousand Island dressing packs 13% of your daily sodium and 20% of your daily fat!




You may think you have been avoiding diet disaster by choosing the light version of your favorite dressing... but sadly that may not be the case. Hidden Valley Ranch Light dressing packs 12% of your daily sodium and 11% of your daily fat into TWO tablespoons.



Rather than smother my salad in calories, fat, sodium and ingredients I can't pronounce...I decided to whip up my own dressing. There are a million easy recipes out there, this is just what I created off the top of my head. It took me about 5 minutes and satisfied the tangy sweet flavor that I was craving. This would also be great on sandwiches or as a marinade for chicken breasts. It was a little higher in sugar than I wanted it to be.. but hey... I was improvising.

Katie's Honey Mustard Dressing

Makes about 4 two tablespoon servings

1/4 cup plain Chobani Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey

Combine oil, vinegar, and mustard in a bowl and combine well. Add yogurt and honey, and stir until all ingredients are combined.

Serving Size: 2 Tablespoons
Calories: 50
Fat: 3.63g
Sodium: 63mg
Sugars: 3.4g
Protein: 1.65g

If you can't avoid buying bottled dressings, try to find brands that contain no more than 50 calories and 140mg or less of sodium per 2 tablespoons. They can be hard to find, so here are a few suggestions for you to check out:

Bolthouse Farms Chunky Blue Cheese Yogurt Dressing
Trader Joe's Balsamic Vinaigrette
Annie's Lite Honey Mustard
Whole Foods 365 Raspberry Vinaigrette

I hope that these tips will help you keep your salads light and healthy this summer. Enjoy the beautiful weather and all of the fresh fruits and veggies that come with it!