Check out my progress on The Salad Lady and Her Dressing
If you visit The Broccoli Hut with any regularity, you know that I am a self-proclaimed Salad Lady—I consume some sort of salad concoction on an almost daily basis. Indeed, if it’s green and leafy, I can pack it in like it’s my job.
While my love of salad has been consistent for many years, my feelings toward salad dressing have undergone several changes. As a child, salad was simply a vehicle for ranch dressing, but it soon became off-limits when I began eating salads as a weight loss strategy. A few years later, I purchased a bottle of Annie’s Goddess dressing as part of a recipe…little did I know that I would soon develop a downright obsession with Annie’s dressings. I’ve been groovin’ on organic bottled dressings ever since.
Until now. As a result of my few days of laptopless-ness I got a chance to read the March/April issue of Clean Eating, which features several recipes for homemade salad dressing. The thought of fresh Curry Dressing, Basil Walnut Vinaigrette, and Orange Herb Dressing got me thinking…why don’t I start making my own salad dressing? I’ve dabbled in homemade dressings before (of the tofu-lime and sweet dill varieties), but my experience is relatively limited considering the frequency with which I eat salads.
All this is to say that you can expect some salad dressing experimentation in the upcoming weeks at the Broccoli Hut. Get excited.
Have you ever made your own salad dressing? Have any recipes to share?
Alright, I want to be sure to finish up this post before Glee starts, so let’s get crackin’.
My bowls of oatmeal have been rather vibrantly hued recently—perhaps I should do another rainbow oats challenge? Today’s bowl featured some plump-delicious cherries.
Not gonna lie, I’m pretty proud of today’s lunch salad. Thanks to Seth’s recent obsession with beets, I decided to pick up a can for myself on a trip to Target this past weekend. I put them to good use this afternoon by combining them with some white beans, fresh asparagus, and chopped almonds. I topped it with a little black pepper for some spice. ‘Twas a vegetable symphony, my friends.
The kind folks at Gardein recently provided me with a few coupons to try out their vegetarian meat substitutes. I busted out the coupons this afternoon at Whole Foods and came home with a slew of protein-packed goodies. Tonight, I opted to try out the simple Chick’n Filets. As recommended on the package, I cooked them on the stovetop; after cooking, I added salsa for a little color. It turns out the filets didn’t need the salsa at all—the marinade is flavorful (and salty) enough that the filets don’t need additional seasoning. I’m pumped to get creative with the remaining two filets…keep your eye out for a reappearance later this week!
Ciao for now, friends.
Filed under: Meals
Caroline Yoder, dietitian-to-be and all-around foodie.
I’m looking forward to the dressing experiments…I’ve been in a salad dressing rut lately!
I actually love those chick’n filets. They’re kinda mushy but really flavorful!
Beets from Target?! I think Targets in the South are a whole different thang than the ones up here in the north because I can’t imagine buying anything edible there. They’re pretty much just the domain of cheap sunglasses and affordable dorm furnishings.
Cashews on a sweet potato? Me likes.
My fave salad dresing is this poppy seed dressing that you find in WF…but it’s SO expensive!
I like to make mine, most of the time: maple syrup, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, and almond milk!
I always make my own salad dressing, it is so much better than store-bought! I wrote a post a while ago about dressing, and I included my homemade goddess dressing recipe, which is BETTER than Annie’s (in my humble opinion!)
http://makingfoodandotherstuff.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/more-salad-dressing-recipes-than-you-can-shake-your-fist-at/
yes, I have been experimenting with dressing too, it’s actually really easy, just use olive oil as base and add some flavoring ingredients, like balsamic, honey, dijon mustard and/or herbs.
Thank you for coining the term “vegetable symphony.” You know I’ll have to appropriate that one!
The only salad dressing I’ve ever made was oil and vinegar. I can’t wait to see what you concoct! And I really want to try that goddess dressing since everyone always raves about it! A road trip to Whole Foods has to be in my near future
I make my own salad dressing. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I bought any. My favorite quick dressing is about 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, juice from half a lime (or red wine vinegar), a drop of olive oil, and a couple shakes of cumin. It’s delicious on spinach salad! You can totally omit the oil, too, if you want, and it’s still perfection. The Joy of Cooking has lots of good dressing recipes.
I recommend mixing hummus with vinegar
(I’ve been using rice vinegar.) Balsamic+cinnamon is good, too… Or lemon juice, dijon, dried dill.
i hardly ever use bottled salad dressings. my go-to homemade dressing is balsamic vinegar + olive oil + dijion mustard whisked together. i like to put in slightly more vinegar than oil for a tangy dressing. no measuring
i love the gardein products! i have only tried two of them but I really enjoyed them! given, they dont taste like chicken but they are darn tasty!!
i NEVER used bottled dressing I always make my own or just use balsamic vinegar nice and simple! dijon mustard, lemon juice, olive oil YUMM
I love making my own dressings. I used to never eat dressing because the store-bought stuff never tasted right. I like to make an avocado-basil vinaigrette every once in a while but basil isn’t always in season. Most of time I do a mix of lemon juice, agave syrup, apple cider vinegar salt, and pepper. Or dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar and olive oil.
I love Annie’s Woodstock dressing… I am all out until I next go to NY but I have the Goddess to try. I love hummus or tzatziki instead of dressing
Ah gardien how I love thee. I am especially in love with their chicken fingers. Annies goddess dressing is one of my favorites. I also make a favorite dressing of mine which is tahini and apple cider vinegar here is a recipe…
http://lilearthmuffin.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/zumba-fied-tahini-dressing/
super easy and is always my go to when im on the run.
Love love the gardein products. I usually avoid meat subs…but for gardein, I make an exception
Their chicken tenders are awesome too. I never buy bottled dressings…I usually do something simple- either olive oil and balsamic or olive oil, lemon juice S&P or salsa!
I swear, once I have tasted annie’s goddess dressing, I cannot seem to buy any kind I like! I have tried, but just gave up after 10 different dressings I thought would taste good but no.
I did make my own a few times with vega efa oil, agave, and mustard- that was really good but I have to be in the right mood for honey mustard ya know.
Finals are almost here! Yikes!
WOW…. i found your blog from the internet and i’m inpsired… good job. Haha. I’m a vegetarian who’s looking for new recipes and ideas… again, you inspired me. Where do you live and can I eat with you (i’m not a stocker haha)