By now, we pretty much all know that pouring salad dressing on top of a salad albeit delicious is terrible for us!!!! Salad dressings are usually loaded with preservatives and sugar.

To eliminate this problem, we have kept it simple for a long time.

We have either:

Drizzled Olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar in our salad;

or

Sprinkled lemon

I’ve come to love my salads with as little “dressing” (if you consider these two options dressing) as possible. These two methods are great ways to make sure you’re getting the benefit of a good, healthy salad. And i’m definitely a believer in adding good fats to my foods (olive oil) without altering its properties with heat.

I typically make salads for lunch but last night we had parent teacher night at my son’s school and were pressed for time. So I made a delicious salad with tuna for both of us and just to keep it fun, Orlando made us a homemade vinaigrette. We were shocked at how easy and quick it was to make and how delicious it tasted. Here’s the recipe:

HOMEMADE VINAIGRETTE

1/4 cup balsamic
3/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tbs honey
1 tbs Dijon mustard
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbs minced garlic
1/2 to 1 tbs grated ginger
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper

Put all ingredients in a spill proof container and shake really well before serving.

NOTE: Although this recipe is very easy…it is crucial that you really shake it well and not stir. That will give it the nice consistency to pour over your salad.

A word on Honey:

I’ve done some homework on Honey and there is a lot of debate on whether it can be considered healthier than regular sugar or not. What i’ve deciphered from my research is the following:

1. if you are going to consume honey, you should buy the darkest honey possible. The darker honeys seem to be higher in bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity
2. Honey has small amounts of minerals, amino acids, and vitamins
3. studies show that honey results in smaller glucose blood spikes than other forms or fructose, glucose, and sucrose.

(found in Mark’s Daily Apple)

This being said, even though honey is a little healthier than sugar and is considered a whole food, it is not something you want to consume in large quantities, or use daily. Moderation is key, but honey really should be considered a treat.

As you can see, this recipe calls for 1 1/2 tbs and it makes a pretty decent portion of vinaigrette. Even with a homemade dressing like this, I am pretty conservative with using it on my salad. I do not soak the salad in dressing. I simply add maybe 2 or 3 tbsp for flavor and texture. Orlando adds more dressing than I do so you have to find what works for you.

We hope you enjoy your salad!!!!