Making Your Own, Simple, and Healthy Salad Dressing

April 28, 2023

Written by UConn Dietetics Masters Student Maya Wolanin

Eating salads is a great way to add more and varied vegetables into your daily diet. There are many varieties and options of store-bought salad dressings to drizzle on your salads. Some are healthier than others. Make sure you read the product label because some include high amounts of saturated fat, sugar, and sodium. 

Dressings that include healthy fats like olive oil and avocado oil can be part of a healthy diet to help reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase the good cholesterol (HDL) in our bodies. Eating omega 3 fatty acids (fish, walnuts), monounsaturated fats (avocado), and polyunsaturated fats (soybean oil, sunflower oil and seeds) can help raise HDL cholesterol. Dressings with high amounts of saturated fat (whole fat dairy, cheeses, and red meats) can raise the LDL cholesterol in your body, which can increase your risk for heart disease. It’s best to avoid saturated fats and include healthy oils like olive, canola, flaxseed, or avocado oil in your diet and salad dressings. Eating small amounts of healthy oils each day is important because these healthy fats help your body absorb many nutrients including vitamins A, D, E, and K2. 

My Plate recommends half your plate for meals be filled with vegetables and fruits. If you’re eating a salad, you can drizzle with a healthy, homemade salad dressing. 

Try out one of these easy homemade salad dressings! The recipes use common ingredients that you might already have at home. 

 

recipes and olive oil

Directions: 

  1. Add ingredients to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. 

 

References: 

  1. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. (2020). Eatright Essentials: Cooking Basics (pp. 23–24). Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 

https://www.eatrightstore.org/product-type/brochures-handouts/cooking-basics

  1.   Raymond, J. L., & Morrow, K. (Eds.). (2021). Krause and Mahan’s Food and the Nutrition Care Process (15th ed.). Elsevier.
  2. https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/olive-oil-in-a-jar-with-a-fresh-olives-vector-22767933

 

This material is funded by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

This institution is an equal opportunity partner.