RESTART-Friendly Homemade Salad Dressings
Are your salads getting bland and boring despite a variety of vegetables in season? We have a solution for you! RESTART® friendly salad dressings! What you put ON your salad can take it from bland to YUM! And you can pack it with nutrients in a variety of simple and yummy ways.
Why homemade?
Most commercial dressings can be full of ingredients that are there to preserve the shelf life and sometimes contain a ton of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and all kinds of mysterious “flavors.”
Making your own dressing allows you to control the ingredients and use what tastes good to you.
As add-ons, consider a teaspoon or two of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and chopped, freshly cooked bacon. Add some herbs from your garden or a local Farmer’s Market… Have fun exploring and discovering new combinations of flavors!
How to build a great vinaigrette.
2 parts Quality Oil – A good organic cold-pressed olive or avocado oil is a great base.
1 part Vinegar or Acid – At RESTART® we love apple cider vinegar, or fresh-squeezed lemon (or lime) juice. A teaspoon of organic mustard is a nice addition to the lemon juice, too.
Herbs of your choice – this includes minced garlic or garlic powder. A nice combination can be basil and oregano for Italian or Greek. Start with a teaspoon total and adjust by taste.
Salt and pepper to taste. Just a pinch will do.
Still stumped?
Here are a couple of great recipes from our RESTART® cookbook to get you started.
Basic Italian Vinaigrette
Ingredients • Makes 12 servings
1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Refrigerate overnight to enhance flavors.
Olive Oil-Avocado Dressing
Ingredients • Makes 6-8 servings
1 avocado
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup filtered water
Blend all ingredients together in a blender or food processor until smooth. Refrigerate. Best to use immediately or within a couple of days.
Whatever you choose, just relax and have fun with it! Creativity is key. If you are looking for more recipe ideas and inspiration, check out our RESTART® Cookbook. It is a recipe collaboration from the RESTART® creator Jeni Hall and our amazing instructors. Available on Amazon.
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