Salad Dressing For Weight Loss- Are They Good? Do They Really Help?

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Salad dressings! They add zing to your tossed up veggies and fruits, and make it a delicious affair. But ask the health conscious fashionista, and she may not want to dig her fangs into a salad with dressing on it! Why? This is because, there are many that have a notion that there are no weight loss salad dressing concepts ever. This is what we are going to talk about today, at length. But first, let’s understand if salad dressings are healthy or not.

Are salad dressings healthy?

Let’s first know what is in the dressing and then move on to understand if it is healthy for you or not. In most cases, the salad dressings commercially produced have canola oil and soybean in them, which are known to be good unsaturated fats. But then, there are also many salad dressings commercially produced that have colors and artificial flavors added, along with preservatives. The latter also have a lot of full fat cheese and high fructose content, corn syrup and added sugars, and trans fats, which are unhealthy fats; none of these are healthy for your body. And this is true about the dressings you find at the retail stores.

How bad are they?

If you take a standard size into account, which most experts say would be two tablespoons, they have a lot of unhealthy ingredients in them. Sources from HARVARD asks consumers to watch out for the following-

Saturated fats

Sodium.

Sugar

Why?

This is because any of the three, in any amount would do no good but only harm the body. Yes, they do entice the salivary glands because they make the salad tasty, but are filled with added sugars, empty calories, saturated fats, sodiums etc in that one jar, along with these three.

Imagine what happens to the body when you have such salad dressings everyday? You can have a hike in cholesterol, which can lead to cardiovascular issues and artery blockages.

If you are wanting to lose weight, such salad dressings wont help you achieve the same, since they have saturated fats in them.

If you have a lot of sodium on a daily basis, this means your heart would be at a risk of an attack. It could also increase blood pressure levels in the body too.

“The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 mg per day, with an ideal limit of 1,500 mg per day for most adults” according to sources from HARVARD.
If you flood your body with sugars that are found in commercially produced salad dressings, chances are that you will have sugar spikes. This would make you hungrier and you would eat a lot, which means more weight piling on.

Make your own

Experts say, making your own healthy salad dressing is what would be the best thing to do. You can make your own by using canola oils and wine, cider vinegar and chopped garlic, spices and mustards, lime juice and more. And these would be some of the best weight loss salad dressings that would keep your salivary glands happy and your health in good shape too.
So let’s take a look at some of the best weight loss salad dressings.

Best Weight Loss Salad Dressing Recipes

Here are some of the best salad recipes for weight loss, which we have found online and have read great reviews about. You should certainly try them.

Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing

• 3/4 cup whole milk plain Greek yogurt

• 1 clove garlic, finely minced OR 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/4 cup fresh minced parsley OR 1 tablespoon dried parsley

• 1/4 medium onion, diced (about 2 tablespoons) OR 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 2 tablespoons fresh minced chives OR 1 tablespoon dried chives

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard

• Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

• 1/4 cup—1/2 cup buttermilk

How to do it?

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl

2. Shake well

3. Store in the fridge

4. Use when needed.

5. You can even blend them all into paste and use as a topping on salads

1. Combine them all in a bowl or a blender

2. Give them a good mix or a shake

3. Use when needed

4. Store in the fridge

Green Herb Dressing

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp Rosemary

• 6 leaves basil

• 6 leaves mint

• 2 tbsp sweet onion minced

• 2 cloves garlic minced

• 1 tbsp agave nectar

• Salt and pepper

How to do it?

1. Combine them all in a bowl or a blender

2. Give them a good mix or a shake

3. Use when needed

4. Store in the fridge

Italian Dressing

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning

• Salt and pepper

How to do it?

1. Combine them all in a bowl or a blender

2. Give them a good mix or a shake

3. Use when needed

4. Store in the fridge

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Raspberry Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup pureed fresh raspberries

• 2 tsp Dijon mustard

• 2 tsp fresh basil

• 1/4 cup avocado oil

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• Pinch of black pepper

How to do it?

1. Combine them all in a bowl or a blender

2. Give them a good mix or a shake

3. Use when needed

4. Store in the fridge

Please note: The above mentioned healthy salad dressing ideas are for those that want to have lesser carbs and lose weight. We also have more information on the kind of ingredients you should use to conjure your own salads for weight loss. Continue reading your way to health!

Must use ingredients in home-made healthy salads and dressings

Ginger

Ginger for many decades or centuries has been used as a mild herb to tame tummy and digestive issues. To this day and age, ginger is being used in almost all food preparations, and healthy salad dressings too. New age scientists have come to a conclusion that the pungent herb or spice is good for your metabolism. It helps boost the metabolism for sure and also suppresses the appetite too. Carrot ginger dressings in Asia are the norm to have, and it is seen that most Asian women who have ginger in their salads and dressings, are slim. It does so because of the presence of gingerol in it. Gingerol helps as a compound to spice up and create thermogenic effects in the body. This helps with weight loss too.

Apple Cider Vinegar

A touch of acid is a must in every veg salad for weight loss and just about any salad for that matter. And one of the best sources we could think of for the same would be the use of apple cider vinegar. It has a rich source of acetic acid in it, which is a compound that helps speed up your metabolism and burn fat too. ACV does not allow the body to store fat and helps digest starch sooner. So if you are having your salads with rice, potatoes or breads, you can be rest assured that a dressing with ACV in it would work wonders. ACV also helps bring down the levels of glucose in the bloodstream, as said by experts that published the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In Japan, researchers have found that acetic acid fed to high fat diet mice developed a body that had less body fat. ACV has rich pectin and proteins in it too, just as any other vinegar you can think off when cooking and for salads are talked about.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

How can olive oil help one lose weight? Well, there are many studies that have been published praising the benefits of olive oil in helping lose weight. A little bit of fat can be added to your salad dressings to make it yummy. Think of the veg salad for weight loss you want to make or the non-veg one, would a little olive oil not be a condiment to add zing to the overall taste? This is because olive oil helps the body absorb fat burning nutrients, say experts. It is rich in monounsaturated and oleic fatty acids and hence very effective with weight loss needs. At Penn State University, researchers studied people consuming three tablespoons of oil that have high oleic levels in them for four weeks. The results showed that the abdominal fat came down 1.6 percent for them.

Garlic

If it is not for a date night, you then must have garlic as an ingredient in your veg salad for weight loss. Garlic can be used for non veg salads and dressings too. The reason why garlic is potent as an additive to dressings in any form is because of the presence of allicin in it. This is a compound that makes the breath stinky for sure, but is known to be SATAN to FAT. It kills fat without mercy. Post menopausal women especially would have slow metabolism levels, but when garlic extracts are consumed by them, it helps bring down body fat and weight too, say experts. Studies have shown that rats that were fed high fat diets had to deal with lesser fats and blood lipid profiles were better with garlic in them, than those that did not have garlic. Garlic has the turn off fat genes in them, which helps you trim your waist line to a large extent. The best form would be to crush and paste garlic or to use garlic powder. Remember, stronger the flavour or garlic, more the weight you lose.

Coconut Sugar

Sugars are to be avoided at all cost, because they only give you empty calories. However, experts and chefs across the world swear by coconut sugar. They say that your salad recipes for weight loss should have a little of sweetness in it, and make the dressing tangy as well. This is why, even the Italians love their salad dressings, and have coconut sugar in most of them. To bring down the acidity levels in your dressing, you can use brown sugar or honey too. However, experts still bank on the benefits of coconut sugar, which is diet friendly, waist friendly and more. Only seventy eight percent of coconut sugar is actual sugar, with the rest being minerals like zinc and iron in it and a type of insoluble fiber known as inulin. All of them thus help bring down levels of sugar spikes in the body, the digestion levels are brought down too and fat gain is fought as well. Not more than a spoon though of coconut sugar should be used, or else it beats the purpose of healthy eating.

Mustard

Spice up your salad dressings with a teaspoon of mustard in your dressing. You will feel the burn happen literally, which is good is what experts at the esteemed Oxford Polytechnic Institute opine. They say that just a teaspoon of mustard in a healthy salad dressing makes you lose around five calories. Mustard also is a metabolism booster and can work its way for many hours after consumption, say the experts. When choosing mustard, always look for low calorie mustard, which should not be neon yellow in color.

Hot Sauce

One of the best ways to spice up any of the homemade salad recipes for weight loss you know off or read around here would be to add some hot sauce to it. This is because it is rich in capascin which boosts thermogenesis in the body and also suppresses the appetite too. Your body will be able to combat fat cells and burn them off better as well. This is what the researchers in Canada have found. They say that eating hot sauce in a salad as a dressing can actually burn more than 200 calories. However, do check the sodium counts with such salads. You do not want your blood pressure rising!

So that was about the ingredients, now let’s give you more recipes!

Healthy salad recipes for weight loss

We did provide you some easy healthy salad dressing and salads for weight loss in the beginning. Now we want to give you some more salad recipes for weight loss, which you can print and keep.

Greek Pasta Salad

For those that love pasts, which by the way can help you lose weight as sources say, and for those that want their salads too, here is a healthy greek pasta salad dressing to try.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of colorful pasta

• A cup of cherry tomatoes which should be halved

• A cup of cheese

• A cup of chopped cucumbers

• Half a cup of olives- black or green, but sliced

• A cup of greek dressing

How to do it

1. Begin by cooking the pasta as per directions are given on the package. Cool it off!

2. Add the cooked pasta now to the rest of the ingredients mentioned in a bowl

3. Give it a good toss

4. Keep it in the fridge for a day

5. Toss before serving

Raspberry dressing

This is a salad dressing for the sweet-toothed ones out there. A recipe so divine and yummy, you wish it was a daily affair to slurp it up. Full of antioxidants, minerals, and fiber, the raspberry dressing below is a treat! Do try it out.

Ingredients

• A bag of raspberries- fresh or frozen

• Quart cup olive oil

• A tablespoon of honey

• 5 tablespoons of red wine

• A pinch of salt

• A pinch of pepper

• Quart cup water

• 2 teaspoons of chia seeds

• A tablespoon of mustard

• A dash of lime

How to do it

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender

2. Give it a good blend until you have a smooth texture formed

3. Store for a week in the fridge

Greek Vinaigrette

Not just for a healthy salad dressing to savor, but for meats, fruit salads, veggie, stir-fry dishes and more- the Greek vinaigrette is a wonder to have around. Believe us when we say so!

Ingredients

• Half a cup of olive oil

• 2 tablespoons of red wine

• 1 tablespoon black vinegar

• Juice of a lemon

• Garlic pods- 5 in numbers- chopped and smashed

• A teaspoon of oregano, thyme and any other seasoning you wish to add

• Pinches of salt to taste

• Pinches of pepper for taste

How to do it

1. Add one by one all the ingredients in a blender

2. Blend for five minutes

3. Remove feeding tube of the blender

4. Gently pour the olive oil whilst the blender is in the slowest mode

5. Blend away for another five minutes

6. Remove from the blender

7. Store in the fridge

8. Use when needed.

Here are some international and yummy salad recipes for weight loss. Below we shall give you a few more amazing healthy salad dressing recipes- check them out.

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is a classic salad dressing that is made from mustard and maple syrup. It goes well with pasta and other dishes, but best with salads. You can even marinade your meats with it too.

Ingredients

• Quart cup olive oil

• 2 teaspoons of golden balsamic vinegar

• A teaspoon of mustard

• A teaspoon of maple syrup

• Spices – salt and pepper to taste

How to do it

1. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients and mix.

2. Whisk until it is combined well

3. Place jar in the fridge

Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

This is a dressing that is made easily with greek yogurt, but you can use normal unsweetened yogurt too.

Ingredients

• Half a cup of cilantro leaves, without the stems

• A cup of greek yogurt

• Quart cup lemon juice

• Quart teaspoon salt

• Half a cup of olive oil

How to do it?

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until a smooth texture is formed

2. While the blender is running at slow speed, add the olive oil and blend for two minutes

3. Remove and refrigerate

Best Dressing

One of the healthiest dressings for your salads ever, and the reviews online are speaking highly of it is the one below. Check it out. It is not called the BEST DRESSING for nothing.

Ingredients

• Half a cup of olive oil

• 2 tablespoons of red wine or vinegar or apple cider

• 2 tablespoons of honey

• Half a tablespoon of mustard

• Half a tablespoon of soy sauce

• Half a tablespoon of tamarind sauce

• A tablespoon of poppy seeds

• A pinch of salt

• A pinch of pepper

• One large onion cut

• Garlic cloves for taste

How to do it

1. In a large bowl, give all the ingredients a good mix and shake

2. Store in the fridge

3. Use when needed

The health benefits of having healthy salads for weight loss cannot be undermined. If you do further research on each of these ingredients mentioned in all the recipes shown, you would realise how potent they are to our digestive system, and the organs in our body. If you are allergic to any of the ingredients mentioned here, it would be wise to consult a food specialist or a nutritionist to know your available options to use in place of the ingredient that triggers an allergy.

We hope you liked the post on veg salad for weight loss and the recipes we pulled out from various sources for you. Remember to keep reading our health posts and send us your own queries and suggestions too. If you have a recipe for healthy salads and healthy salad dressings you can make at home, do send it to us and we shall love to share it with our readers too.

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