When you make a salad, dress it, and start crunching on the healthy meal, you feel pretty proud of yourself. You made a smart dietary decision and a little smirk appears on your face. You might even utter, “I did good today,” under your breath. What did you dress that salad with, though? Was it a store bought dressing that is rich in saturated fat, excess calories, added sugars, and sodium? 

A salad is a great meal option if you want to improve your health. It’s very easy to undo the benefits of all these nutrient-dense vegetables if you dress them in an unhealthy, processed dressing. Most store bought salad dressings contain soybean or canola oils, which aren’t as beneficial as olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil. Dressings may also contain artificial flavors, added sugars, sodium-rich preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, and unhealthy trans fats. 

The Big Three Ingredients To Avoid

There are three primary ingredients in store bought dressings that are extremely unhealthy for you. They have many names, so it takes some time to learn what to read for on the ingredient labels. That’s why we always encourage people to make their own dressings with fresh ingredients. The three unhealthy ingredients to watch out for include:

Sugar: One tablespoon of store bought dressing like ranch or Italian can have 10 grams of sugar per tablespoon. 

Saturated Fat: The average bottle of store bought Caesar dressing can have 3.5 grams of saturated fat per serving, which is often one tablespoon. 

Sodium: The average bottle of soy ginger dressing, miso dressing, or even Italian dressing can have between 450-550 milligrams of sodium per serving. 

All of that matters because most people use store bought salad dressings to dress their salads. Don’t flood your body with these unhealthy ingredients! Keep your body healthy and your sodium levels down by making your own salad dressings. Use the following dressings during any of our cleanses. 

Zesty Orange Ginger Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 3 teaspoons raw tahini
• 1 teaspoon ginger root, freshly grated
• 1 teaspoon grade A maple syrup
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

• Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. You can add 1 tablespoon of water if the dressing is too thick. 
• Store the dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Curry Almond Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 2.5 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons raw agave nectar
• 2/3 cup filtered water
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon curry powder

Instructions:

• Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. 
• Store the dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

Citrus Booster Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 1 orange, juiced
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon grade A maple syrup
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

• Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. 
• Store the dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Creamy Green Goddess Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado, peeled and pitted
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of sea salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper

Instructions:

• Add all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender. If the dressing is too thick, add a couple tablespoons of water to ease the blending process. 
• Store the dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Vincent Stevens

Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.