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Dressing Your
Salad
Salad dressings can supply healthy
fat that make salads taste good and enhances nutrient absorption,
yet they can also add so many calories and so much saturated
fat and sodium that your "healthy" salad makes a piece
of pie look nutritious. Trying to find the good choices from
an aisle full of choices can seem overwhelming, but dressing
your salad healthfully need not feel like mission impossible.
The basic nutrition factors to
consider for a well-dressed salad are: fat, calories and sodium.
Regular, reduced fat and fat-free categories reflect differences
in amounts of fat that usually parallel calorie content. Dressings
labeled reduced-calorie and low-calorie are often reduced-fat
and low-fat; it’s just a matter of what producers choose
to emphasize on their label. |
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Fat and Calories: Most regular
salad dressing contains 8 to 16 grams of fat and 80 to 140 calories
in the standard two-tablespoon serving. Reduced-fat dressings
often range from 4 to 10 grams per serving, which brings calories
down to 20 to 60. Low fat dressings must contain 3 grams or less
of fat per serving. Fat-free dressings must contain less than
0.5 grams of fat per serving and calories usually range from
15 to 40, depending on how much sugar and starchy thickeners
are added.
People for whom anything less
than a regular, full-fat dressing is unacceptable need to carefully
limit the amount of dressing. It’s easy to exceed the two-tablespoon
serving with a big salad, and calories add up quickly. Other
people assume fat-free dressing is a necessity for weight control.
But if you have a main dish salad filled with fat-free or low
fat ingredients, a little bit of oil in the dressing enhances
absorption of certain nutrients and plant compounds like beta-carotene,
and may increase your sense of fullness after eating. Reduced-fat
dressings can be a good compromise for people who want the flavor
and mouth-feel of fat-containing dressings but don’t want
more than scant amounts. Whatever category you choose, sample
a variety until you find what suits you.
Type of fat: Within regular or
reduced-fat categories, check the ingredient list to see the
type of fat used. Olive and canola oils are great heart-healthy
choices. But some dressings include olive oil in their name and
actually show another oil higher on the ingredient list and thus,
present in larger amount. Other common options like soybean and
sunflower oils are fine, although most of us already get plenty
of the polyunsaturated fat they provide. Compare saturated fat
content if you prefer creamy dressings.
Sodium: Almost all Americans
exceed recommended amounts of sodium, which raises concern about
the 250 to 550 milligrams (mg) of sodium in a serving of many
bottled dressings. That’s 10 to 24 percent of the day’s
recommended limit. Low sodium options may contain from 50 to
140 mg per serving.
Make Your Own: Making your own
salad dressing takes only minutes. You can use canola or olive
oil and little or no salt, with herbs, spices, garlic or just
the natural good taste of the primary ingredients for flavor.
A classic vinaigrette uses three to four times as much oil as
vinegar but you can reduce the oil to only double the acid ingredient
with a few simple tricks. Instead of harsher acids like red wine
or cider vinegar, try lemon juice or a milder vinegar such as
rice, white wine or raspberry. To thicken the reduced-oil dressing
try a little Dijon mustard or a dab of honey. For lower fat creamy
dressings, experiment using nonfat or reduced-fat yogurt, reduced-fat
sour cream or buttermilk. |
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