Tasty Tuesday – No More Fear of Salad Dressing!

Wow, if that’s not the lamest post title ever, I don’t know what is! :) But seriously, before I started Somersizing about two weeks ago, I had never tried making my own dressing before. I had no idea how to go about it and I thought it would be all complicated and blah, blah, blah.

Well, I am a converted salad-dressing maker! :) On Phase 1 of Somersizing you can’t have any added sugar in your food. It is CRAZY how many salad dressings have sugar in them – even stuff like Blue Cheese. I spent about 20 solid minutes going up and down the dressing aisle, checking every label. I found an organic Italian that worked, but the taste was pretty gross so I just decided to do it myself.

Here’s what you need:

- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (buy the expensive kind – it really does make a difference! This huge bottle was only $4.99 with a coupon and on sale.)
- Vinegar (I’ve been using white wine vinegar lately)
- Italian seasoning blend
- Sea Salt (regular is fine)
- Black pepper (I need to refill my pepper grinder but either way is fine)

Combine equal parts EVOO (for all you Rachael Ray fans out there!) and vinegar.

Add spices, salt, and pepper, and whisk vigorously until combined.

I like to sprinkle feta chunks into my mixture as I whisk it together, and then top it with the veggies and spoon it all together. Yum!

Oh my gosh my mouth is watering as I type this! haha I basically just chuck whatever veggies I have in my fridge – peppers, mushrooms, pepperocinis, tomatoes, onions, whatever I have. Oh and lettuce, obviously. Sometimes I top it with hard-boiled eggs or tuna or this great all-natural turkey breast I found at the deli. Or pepperoni if I feel like being bad. :)

Last week I made an awesome salad with just the vinaigrette, spinach, red onion and tomato. It.was.awesome.

Yesterday for a snack I even did it the lazy way and just chopped up cukes in a bowl and drizzled the ingredients on top of it (I just topped it with blue cheese instead). Seriously, so good – and so pure and clean! No high fructose corn syrup or preservatives, like one of the lower-fat brands I already had in my fridge:

{A word if you are going to try this: it’s very tangy. I am the kind of girl who would go for the pepperoni and cheese at a party over the cookies any day, so this doesn’t really bother me. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you!}

Since you have to combine foods in certain ways and you can’t have any added sugar initially, Somersizing has really kicked me into eating a lot of clean foods faster than I had originally planned! I’m really happy at how that worked out, although my grocery bill is definitely a bit higher each week what with all the dairy and fresh produce I’m buying.

So there you have it – work with and tweak it until you like the taste for you! If you’re new to eating olive oil, they make lighter blends if you want to work your way into it. Just make sure it’s cold pressed – I read that cold pressed olive oil is much healthier for you but I can’t remember why now. If you were trying to make this for more than just one or two people, try stretching it with a little water to make it go further. Experiment with spices, too – see what you like best!

Now go make some salad! :)

Linked to:

Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesdays at the Table

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the party!!!! :)

Also, Darlene is offering a sale on her Cricut cutting mats – only $9.99! Check here for the details.