Secrets of Success

Vinegar for Salad Dressing

Top your salad with a tablespoon of vinegar instead of dressing. Seasoned rice vinegar and balsamic are two of my faves. SO much flavor for so FEW calories!

Iceberg Lettuce, How I Love Thee...

Iceberg lettuce has a bad reputation. Which is a shame! So, here are some reasons why you should invite iceberg back into your healthy eating plan.
1. its inexpensive
2. mostly water (= hydration)
3. mostly fiber (= more fiber!! -wink, wink!)
4. adds bulk to regular salads (i.e. more food!! yay!)
5. neutral taste (you went to the trouble to make your own salad dressing you should at least taste it!) AND
6. memories (lunch box sandwiches! yum!)

Healthier salad dressing

I reduce calories in vinaigrette salad dressings by diluting a serving slightly with water and shaking thoroughly to mix. The dressing goes farther on the salad without adding calories and sodium.

Salad Dressings

when dressing a salad leave it to the last possible minute to ensure crisp veg and no soggy lettuce

Just Add Water!

Once in a while I have a taste for full fat dressing and I just can't bring myself to eat a whole serving and take the hit from the fat and the calories! So, I get half the serving size and add that same amount of water to it. I mix it up on a little saucer and pour it over my salad. My sister thinks it's gross, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. If restaurants can do it and get away with it so can I!

Skip the Salad Dressing

Summer is the perfect time for salads and fresh veggies. I find that drizzling them with fresh lemon or lime juice adds a tremendous amount of flavor without all the hidden calories.

Dip only your fork in your dressing

Instead of pouring salad dressing on your food, just dip the tips of the tines of your fork in the dressing before you stick the fork in the salad. This way, you'll have the flavor of the dressing in each bite while saving a lot of calories that your salad would normally be swimming in.

Buy a condiment squirt bottle with a narrow tip for your salad dressing.

I use one of those plastic condiment squeeze bottles with a narrow tip for my salad dressings. Even my kids can use the bottle without squirting too much out onto the salad. It saves TONS of calories and fat by squeezing out a smaller stream. This saves money too!

Salad Shake

Make up all your salad ingredients. Put them in a ZipLock bag then pour a tablespoon of dressing (Vinegar & Oil mixes are best) then zip up the baggie and shake. All the ingredients are covered and you have used maybe a tablespoon of dressing. All the ingredients get covered.