Salad Dressing Guide While fresh vegetables, grains and legumes can taste great on their own, a good dressing can make or break a meal. However, we do not want to compromise on health or taste. Check out these tips for how to buy salad dressings and sauces that fit within the plant based lifestyle. 1. Avoid oils: yes, all of them. Oil can make food taste great, but it is unhealthy and adds useless calories to our day. 2. “Low-fat” & “Fat-free”: these types of labels are often code for extra sugar or extra chemicals. 3. Sodium: adding salt is another easy way to make food taste great. However, the excess sodium doesn’t do the body any favors. Some sauce and dressing options have 500mg of sodium in just one tablespoon! 4. Choose healthy toppings: classic toppings like cheese, croutons and wontons add calories without adding nutrition to our meal. Try topping your salads with fruit, nuts, seeds, grains or homemade croutons to keep things interesting. Salad Dressing Guide Why Oil-Free? All oils are pure liquid fat. • Coconut Oil • Olive Oil • Palm Oil • Vegetable Oil • Avocado Oil • Sunflower Oil • Safflower Oil • Peanut Oil Thanks to the processing that oils undergo they are no longer nutrient rich calorie source. Many studies have shown that oils promote heart disease, depress the immune system and slows blood flow for up to four hours after we ingest them. If that isn’t incentive enough to go oil-free, take a look at the calories we are wasting on oil every day! One tablespoon of oil is 120 calories, but the average American eats 240 to 700 calories from oil daily. That totals to 87,600 to 255,500 calories per year of added fat to your diet with barely any nutritional benefit. Green Goddess Dressing Makes two servings Approx prep time: 5 minutes Ingredients ½ avocado 1 teaspoon garlic powder 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon parsley 2 teaspoons tarragon 1 teaspoon maple syrup Pinch of salt Method 1. Using a fork, mash the avocado in a bowl. 2. Add all ingredients and mix until combined. Add water as needed for desired consistency. Nutritional Information 71 Calories Fat: 5.4g Saturated fat: 0.8g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 18mg Carbohydrates: 6.7g Fiber: 2.5g Sugar: 2.6g Added Sugar: 2g Protein: 1g Ranch Dressing Makes one servings Approx prep time: 5 minutes Ingredients ¼ cup hummus 2 tablespoons plant based milk 1teaspoons apple cider vinegar 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoons parsley ½ teaspoon basil Pinch of salt & black pepper Method 1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined. Add water as needed for desired consistency. Nutritional Information 124 Calories Fat: 8.3g Saturated fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 188mg Carbohydrates: 10g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 2g Added Sugar: 0g Protein: 4g Southwest Dressing Makes one servings Approx prep time: 5 minutes Ingredients ¼ cup hummus 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon maple syrup 1teaspoons apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon cumin Pinch of salt& cayenne pepper Method 1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined. Add water as needed for desired consistency. Nutritional Information 141 Calories Fat: 8g Saturated fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 172mg Carbohydrates: 16g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 6g Added Sugar: 4g Protein: 4g Thai Peanut Dressing Makes two servings Approx prep time: 5 minutes Ingredients 2 tablespoons peanut butter 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce 1 teaspoon maple syrup ½ garlic clove, minced or ½ teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes ¼ teaspoon ginger powder Method 1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined. Add water as needed for desired consistency. Nutritional Information 108 Calories Fat: 8g Saturated fat: 1.5g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 373mg Carbohydrates: 6.5g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 3.6g Added Sugar: 3g Protein: 4.5g .