Judy E. Buss

One of the main building blocks of a healthy diet is a daily raw vegetable salad. Easy and quick to make, fresh vegetable salads are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Unfortunately, salad dressings don’t get the respect they deserve.

Most commercial dressings inflict a triple whammy on their users. First, they come in plastic bottles which contain dangerous chemicals that leached out of the plastic and into the food. Second, these salad dressings are made with numerous unhealthy fats, and additives, such as preservatives, artificial flavors, sweeteners, and colors; sugar, high amounts of sodium, thickeners, and other chemicals we can’t pronounce. The label on the backside of a commercial salad dressing looks more like a Harvard lab experiment than food. Third, by consuming such salad dressings you are denying yourself the added nutrients that freshly made ones offer.

Making your own dressing in one minute right in the salad bowl before adding the veggies and/or other ingredients, boosts the nutritional profile of your salad, saves you money, and is, by far, tastier than its commercial counterpart.

With only a few inexpensive ingredients, you can make a wide range of wholesome salad dressings. The simplest – yet extremely versatile – is a basic vinaigrette, made from extra virgin olive oil, wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice), salt and pepper. You can also prepare a larger amount of the dressing and refrigerate it in an airtight jar enough for several days. Do bring the dressing to room temperature before using, since the oil congeals when refrigerated.

Your home-prepared dressings work in numerous other recipes as well. In warmer weather, for example, most of these dressings taste great in cooked chilled brown rice and other whole grain salads, in pasta or potato salads.

To make your own dressings, don’t be tempted to purchase a large number of fancy (and expensive) oils and vinegars. They also unnecessarily rob too much pantry space in your kitchen. To vary the flavor of your dressings, simply add fresh or dried herbs, spices, mustard, or fruit juices, or citrus zest – the sky is the limit! Nutritious salad toppings, namely roasted seeds, nuts, chopped dried fruit, or marinated artichoke hearts serve as an extension for your delicious “health-in-a-bowl” culinary experience. Take charge of your health; empower yourself to choose better health over disease! It’s never too late to start!

AVOCADO-CITRUS SALAD

2 servings

3 fresh mint sprigs
1 orange
1/2 ripe Haas avocado (The small type avocado)
4 large Romaine lettuce leaves, shredded
CITRUS DRESSING:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons orange juice from the cut orange (see directions below)
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients. Set aside.

2. Detach the mint leaves from their stems (discard the stems), and coarsely chop the leaves and add to the dressing.

3. With a sharp serrated knife, peel the orange thickly, exposing the juicy flesh all over the fruit; begin by removing the top and bottom of the orange. Cradle the peeled orange in one hand and over a plate, cut between the segments (leaving the membranes in place), and lift the segments free. Halve each orange segment – discard the seeds – and add the cut segments and the juice puddle on the plate to the dressing.

4. With the same knife, cut the avocado in half lengthwise and remove the pit. With a teaspoon, scoop out small chunks of avocado flesh and add to the salad.

5. Add the Romaine lettuce leaves to the salad and mix gently.

LEMONY COLESLAW

2 servings

3 cups finely shredded green cabbage
DRESSING:
3 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh, chopped cilantro leaves (about 5 sprigs)

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Mix in the cabbage.

“Mission Nutrition” Tips and Recipes from Judy E. Buss, Syndicated Eating-for-Health Columnist

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