Flavourful Salad Dressing

Salad dressings and sauces that are flavourful can bring healthy eating to a whole new level. They make vegetables, lean meats, whole grain pastas and other foods taste better. Since products bought at the store can be loaded with fat, calories and sodium, learning to make your own sauce and salad dressing is important for healthy cooking.

Cutting down on oil while making a salad dressing is the first step. A homemade salad dressing should contain more vinegar, lemon juice or orange juice than oil to keep calories in check. One needs to adapt standard recipes, which usually require less oil. Opting for flavour over fat is the second step to making a salad dressing more appealing. When making Salad Dressing Recipes, a person should vary the vinegars and oils to keep the taste buds satisfied without adding a lot of extra fat. To do this one can try using balsamic, sherry or apple cider vinegar and experiment with olive, walnut, flax and sesame oils. With both dressings and sauces, fresh and finely chopped herbs can be added to give a huge flavour boost as well as provide healthy antioxidants.

When using ingredients like sour cream, mayonnaise or yogurt in salad dressings and Sauces, one must choose low-fat or non-fat versions to lessen the calories. Puree roasted vegetables, such as roasted red peppers with a splash of broth to make quick sauces. Skim off the fat when making a meat-based sauce. Cool it in the refrigerator before using it to separate the fat. The fat can then be skimmed from the top of the sauce (where it will often harden) to dramatically reduce the fat content.

Instead of using a butter-based roux to thicken a sauce, cut back on the fat by thickening it with a small amount of corn-starch or flour. For creamy dressings and sauces, silken tofu or pureed cashews and water can be used as the base.

Always have containers of the homemade salad dressings and sauces available when it is needed. A supply can be kept in the fridge for up to a week and many sauces can be frozen. Don’t overuse the Salad Dressings or sauces. Just simply use them to add moisture and flavour to fresh vegetables and cooked dishes.