Salad Dressings
Adding more salads to your regular meal rotation is a great way to get more vegetables and healthy nutrients into your diet. But did you know that the salad dressing you put on your salad could turn a healthy meal into an unhealthy one? Most store-bought bottled dressings are brimming with harmful ingredients that are unsuitable for human consumption and can actually damage your health.
Often made with loads of sodium, saturated fats, artificial ingredients, preservatives, and added sugars, too much can harm your heart health, spike your blood sugar, contribute to weight gain, and much more.
Salad dressings might not seem like a product containing sugar, but they are a common source of high amounts of hidden sugars added to your diet on that healthy piece of lettuce. And don’t be fooled by low-fat or fat-free labels. When food manufacturers remove fat, they tend to make up for it by adding sugar to their products to make them taste better, but this comes at a cost to your health. Studies show that low-fat versions of food products like salad dressings contain higher amounts of added sugars than their regular counterparts.
Making simple dressing recipes at home can help you avoid unnecessary added sugars and other unhealthy ingredients. Knowing every ingredient that goes into your dressing allows you to choose carefully what you are putting into your body to nourish it.
Source: www.lark.com/resources/choosing-a-healthy-salad-dressing-beware-the-hidden-sugars
Recipe – Caesar Salad Dressing
Ingredients
1/2-2/3 cup water
2 dates, or 1-2 tsp. sweetener of choice
1/4 cup cashews, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, drained
1/8 cup sesame seeds, or pine nuts, or 2 Tbs. tahini
1/8-1/4 cup sunflower seeds, depending on preferred thickness
3-4 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1-2 medium garlic cloves, chopped
1½ tsp. Coconut Aminos
1/4 tsp. kelp or other seasoning, optional
1/2 tsp. dried dill
Process
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy and smooth. Drizzle over your favorite green salad.