Make your own salad dressings
A vinaigrette is a blend of vinegar with oil. This is a quick and easy classic salad dressing.
- A ratio of 3 to 1, oil to vinegar is a good rule of thumb to follow.
There is a wide variety of oils to choose from, the following are the ones I most commonly use:
- olive oil, flax seed oil, hemp oil, pumpkin seed oil, walnut oil, avocado oil
For vinegar I most often use apple cider vinegar, occasionally balsamic vinegar or alternatively fresh lemon or lime juice.
Season with fresh or dried herbs and spices, garlic, tamari sauce or Bragg’s aminos, or unrefined sea salt to add flavour and interest. Chop fresh herbs up finely to release more of their flavour.
To mix your dressings put all ingredients into a jar with a lid that screws securely shut, give it a good shake and serve straight from the jar.
Dressings are n’t just for salads, use with steamed vegetables, as a marinade or with whole sourdough bread.
Vinaigrette Salad Dressings
Ingredients:
- Juice of half a lemon
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of mustard
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- Pinch of unrefined sea salt
- Pinch of ground black pepper
Blend all ingredients and serve.
Creamy Salad Dressings
The tahini is what adds the creamy texture, if you don’t like tahini you could use any nut butter you like instead.
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons of tahini
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 scallions
- Squeeze of lemon juice
Blend all ingredients and serve.
Sunflower Basil Dressing
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of sunflower seeds
- 1 cup of basil leaves
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of water
- Squeeze of lemon juice
Blend until smooth and serve.
Avocado Bell Pepper Dressing
Ingredients:
- 1 Avocado pitted and peeled
- 1 red or yellow bell pepper chopped
- ½ teaspoon of dried oregano
- ¼ cup of water
- Blend the avocado, oregano and water.
- Add half the pepper and blend for a couple of seconds.
- Stir in the remaining half of chopped pepper and serve.
Cucumber & Celery Oil-free Dressing
Ingredients:
- 1 cucumber, peeled
- 3 stalks of celery, chopped
- 2 red bell peppers, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon of parsley
- 1 teaspoon of coriander
Blend all ingredients together. Add water if you want a lighter consistency.
Oil and Lemon Dressing
Mix 3 tablespoons of olive oil with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
Oil-free Apple Salad Dressings
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons of fresh or unsweetened apple juice
- 2 cloves of raw garlic
Blend all ingredients and serve.