[Kerstin]

I'm making salad for lunch every day now and my salads are rather large and use alot of dressing. I checked the label on the salad dressing today and it is HIGH CARB/CAL!!! I might as well be eating candy for lunch! Does anyone know of a good tasting low carb/cal salad dressing

[princesslinda]

I use olive oil/vinegar or balsamic vinaigarette and Italian dressings. Do you like ranch dressing? Its a good low-carb option.

[Kerstin]

I do like Ranch! I wonder if Hidden Valley has a low carb/cal one?? I never really looked before..just grabbed thousand Island! Maybe mix ranch with oil and vinegar!! Thank you!!

[princesslinda]

Regular Hidden Valley Ranch has 2 carbs/2 tbsp.

Salad dressing, thousand island, regular
Food Quantity: 1 tbsp
Carbs: 2.3g

[Mich]

I'm like you, Kerstin. I like a little salad with my dressing.

Having read (I think) every label in the salad dressing section, I know one major rule is avoid low-fat and light dressings, Go for the real thing. Just compare the labels for carbs.

Then you get to the problem of calories. The sprays and spritzes are the lowest. They work if you use a lot of tasty cheeses, olives and the like to make the salad feel rich.

I frequently use half water with my regular fat dressing and put it in the blender for a while. It whips up thicker. If I am making a "taco salad" without the tortillas, I use plenty of salsa. I also use grated cheese. Sour cream and guacamole. can be thinned with water too, or use less. You don't need dressing then (The salsa, sour cream and guac mix into a nice dressing themselves, right on your salad.)

I make vinaigrette dressing with olive oil, vinegar, peanut butter, salt, pepper and a touch of garlic. Good and thick and can be thinned with water if you like. Especially good on an Asian salad.

My mom thins down mayo with juice or water and adds spices and sweetner to dress her cole slaw. I wish I liked cole slaw but I have a thing about raw cruciferous veggies. Steamed SI. Raw NO!

Oh, and don't forget bacon as a nice accent flavor.

Mich

[princesslinda]

Mitch, the peanut butter vinaigarette sounds yummy...but this would be a good dip/marinade for chicken too.

[Kerstin]

Great suggestions Mitch!!! I never thought of using salsa on salad..tho I LOVE salsa! Yummy!!! And peanut butter vinaigarette sounds like a winner too!!!

[Handybear]

I love salad dressing, but what I have learned to do is put the dressing in its own little bowl and dip my fork in it and then into the salad. You will find that this will give you the taste of a lot of dressing without eating a lot of dressing.

[notme]

Oil and vinegar is always good and low carb. My favorite low cal. ranch is Newman's Own, lite.

[genie86333]

I found a bleu cheese dressing that is 0 carbs (it's not advertised/marked as no carb or low carb but it just is according to the nutrition facts) I think it's Lighthouse brand. It's one of the ones that's always refrigerated in the stores.

[cyberus]

Originally Posted by Kerstin

Great suggestions Mitch!!! I never thought of using salsa on salad..tho I LOVE salsa! Yummy!!! And peanut butter vinaigarette sounds like a winner too!!!

Peanut butter, soy sauce, Orange SF DaVinci syrup (in place of orange juice), garlic chili sauce makes Thai cold noodle salad dressing.
By itself its a great dipping sauce ... add rice vinegar to make a salad dressing. Dress leftover steak/roast slices in the base sauce and put on top of a salad dressed with the dressing version for a "take to work" meateaters salad.

Sorry I don't have a recipe ... I just mixed to taste

[Kerstin]

I read the salad dressing labels at the store and OMG! There is a huge variation in both carbs and calories!! Thank you all for your suggestions!

[mzteacher]

hi, i see you are in california also...there is one in the fride section called walden farms....no calories and no carb i like the italian....
good luck
susan

[matingara]

I think you are better off keeping your salad dressing low carb and not concerning yourself too much about the calories.

I am very keen on the home made dressing we use. the key here is to make it by hand. another key is to use the very BEST ingredients. The quality of the EVOO is very important. but the quality of the red wine vinegar is equally as important. Below is the recipe i use:

from Rick Stein's French Odyssey series.

take 1 or two cloves of garlic and crush on a board. add a pinch of salt and continue chopping/crushing the garlic until it is a paste. (fresh garlic is mandatory. the crushed stuff in the jar won't work).

put the crushed garlic into a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of good red wine vinegar. (I use the Maille brand and refuse to use anything else now.)

also add to the bowl 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard. (i prefer "Grey Poupon" but the Maille is also good.)

Whisk together briefly.

Gradually whisk in 8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Whisk until you have a nice creamy consistency.

I have tried doing this in a blender. It is much better when done by hand.



-- Joel.

[Jill-O]

This will maybe sound gross to some people but I do it, my mom does it and some of my friends do. You can use splenda or nutrasweet sprinkled on the salad to "stretch" the salad dressing. I do it to use less of the high calorie dressing but still like the taste of the salad.