Salad can be a great nutrient-dense meal, boosting immunity, and offering your digestive system plenty of fiber. Depending on how they’re prepared, some salads can seem unappetizing, unfulfilling, and plain unattractive. They can take a lot of time to put together and may not seem worth the effort. But when you include flavors you love and fresh ingredients, they can be delicious and satisfying.
A great first step to enjoying salad is to find a dressing you enjoy. Many grocery stores now have traditional and fresh dressing options available. These are a convenient option but may have added sugars, salt, and preservatives/ingredients with little nutritional benefit. Homemade dressings require an additional step but offer additional nutrients and flavors that you can make your own! Try out these homemade dressing recipes below!
Homemade avocado ranch
Avocado ranch provides a tasty twist and creamy texture compared to traditional ranch while providing beneficial nutrients to help support your body preconception through postpartum. Avocados are a good source of fiber, folate, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition to these nutrients, avocados are packed with minerals like potassium and phytonutrients like lutein.
Sesame ginger or tzatziki sauce
These dressings provide strong, tangy flavors. An added bonus of making homemade sesame ginger is having fresh ginger on hand. Fresh grated ginger can be used in hot water to help keep nausea at bay. Tzatziki sauce adds additional protein, calcium and probiotics via greek yogurt and a wonderful blend of flavor from fresh herbs.
Blue cheese dressing
Blue cheese dressing made with Greek yogurt offers a lighter and fluffier texture and an additional layer of tang. The greek yogurt base provides additional protein compared to a mayo or sour cream based blue cheese dressing.
Vidalia onion dressing
Vidalia onion dressing can be a lighter swap compared to French dressing as it is sweet and tangy
Lemon garlic and herb vinaigrette
Lemon garlic and herb vinaigrette is light, sharp and fresh. This simple and versatile recipe can be used on any salad from a caesar to a greek or garden salad. Plus, lemon garlic and herb vinaigrette is packed with antioxidants from olive oil, garlic and vitamin C to fight off inflammation in your body.
Questions about salad dressing options? Ask a nutritionist and/or your doctor for and support.
Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team
