4 Dressing Recipes to try!

Adding flavor with homemade dressings: You can improve a week of meals in only 5 minutes!

There are some things everyone trying to eat healthy should know. One of them, how to make simple salad dressings at home is critical for both optimal health and great flavor. Only make what you can use in a week. Most any salad dressing only takes 5 minutes to prep and make smooth and creamy in a blender. It’s a great investment in time that can be used for flavoring many foods.

 

Besides salads, what can you use dressings for?

 

Roasted vegetables are a favorite! But, I use it more often on plant based protein bowls with vegetables, leafy greens, and whole grains, in place of hummus or avocados, as a marinade, and many other ways. Why? To get more nutritional benefit, your body needs healthy fats like avocados, hummus, or salad dressings. It allows you to absorb more nutritional benefits from healthy fruits, vegetables, greens, and whole grains.

 

Want to eat healthier but, you’re not sure how to make it taste great?

 

Dressings can help you with that. Before I was healthy, I used to have white rice with loads of butter and salt. Now, I find it healthier to use brown rice for more fiber, add beans, too, to make a complete protein, and then flavor with salsa, or dressings, even oil-free dressings, for more flavor. Saturated fats like butter, used to be my go to for flavoring almost anything, but, to avoid heart disease, I’ve made the change to heart healthy unsaturated fats instead. I encourage you to start eating healthier, by trying one of these four dressing recipes.

 

Are oils healthy to eat?

 

It depends on who you ask! Oils certainly are high in calories and are highly processed foods. There has been a lot in the news about makers of Extra Virgin Olive Oils substituting lower quality oils instead of or, in addition to olive oil. It’s difficult to know what you’re getting! Just to be safe, I’ve included some oil free versions of dressings I use and love as well. You’ll find below how to use them in less traditional ways.

 

How to use dressings to flavor make ahead meals:

 

It’s so common for busy or organized people to cook meals to refrigerate or freeze for future use. It’s a great time saver to double a recipe and freeze the extra half. Or, if you batch cook like I do, you’ll spend a couple hours on Sunday afternoon to prepare meals, desserts, or snacks, you’ll eat during the week. Whether you use Bento boxes or Tuperware, ready to heat meals lose flavor. My favorite way to add back flavor is to serve dressing on the side. They can be drizzled over vegetables, tossed in a salad, over reheated meals, or as a dip with snacks…and it’s fantastic! These five minute dressings can’t be beat for flavor and health!

Give these a try; with each of these, place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth:

 

Oil-free Miso Dressing – Great on cooked mushrooms, rice, over vegetable stir-fries, with cabbage and crispy Asian style salads: 2 t Brown rice miso paste, 1/3 cup water, 2 whole pitted Kalamata olives, 2 T Brown rice vinegar, ½ t Agave nectar, and 1/8 t Freshly ground black pepper.

 

Creamy Mustard Dressing – Use this for protein bowls, green salads, especially with raw vegetables as a dip, over baked potatoes, on savory whole grain dishes: 1/3 C Extra virgin olive oil, 3 T Red wine vinegar, 2 T Fresh lemon juice (1 lemon), 2 T Maille Dijon whole grain mustard, ½ t Garlic, peeled, pressed or minced (about 1 medium clove), 2 t Agave nectar, ½ t Kosher sea salt, and ¼ t Freshly ground black pepper.

 

Oil-free Mustard Lemon Garlic Dressing – This makes a great salad or vegetable dressing! 1/3 C Water, ¼ C Dijon Mustard (Maille brand original), 2 T Bragg’s Apple cider with mother, 1 t Agave nectar, and ¼ t Black pepper.

 

Everyday Herb Dressing – The most classic dressing using fresh or dried herbs, can be used on anything savory for great flavor. Often used when reheating frozen or prepared meals. Serve it on the side, or drizzled over, or tossed: ½ C Olive oil, 2 T Lemon juice + ¼ t lemon zest (or, vinegar of your choice)(about ½ lemon), 2 T Water, 1 t Kosher sea salt, 1 t Agave nectar (or, honey, maple syrup, rice syrup), 1 t Dried oregano (or, 1 T fresh), 1 t Dried basil (or, 1 T fresh), 1 clove garlic, peeled, pressed or finely minced (or, 1/8 t dried garlic powder), and ¼ t Freshly ground black pepper.

See salads and more salad dressing recipes.