My vote goes to the natural stuff. I make my own salad dressing (a blend of olive and sesame oil, balsamic vinegar, soda water, garlic, honey, salt, ground pepper) and it's so yummy that I don't want to use anything else. I'd rather have the extra calories and a satisfying taste experience than use the tasteless stuff and feel cheated. YMMV.

F.

It depends on the condiment. I don't think you're defeating the purpose of a salad with dressing - I eat salads because they're delicious, and my toppings are part of it. I'm not eating them to avoid eating better or tastier food - it IS the better, tastier food

Low calorie, low sugar condiments (mustard, vinegar, sauerkraut, coffee syrups, etc) I don't measure overly strictly, just eyeball. Things like oil, heavy cream, or mayo I do measure out because I'm at the point in my weight management where those calories add up fast if I'm not careful, and it's a simple mindfulness practice. But even then I'm not obsessive about it. Unless the scale is going up when I'm maintaining or I'm stalled when trying to lose, I don't obsess about sauces and condiments without a good, physical reason to do so.

I'd never even thought of that! I am not fat phobic so I might add some sour cream, but salsa on a salad sounds scrumptious!

From another forum I heard of yogurt dressing, I find I like them, I've tried a variety of Bolthouse farms and like them, they're mostly 45 calories for 2 tbsps, which I do measure and count. DH brought home some Wegman's southwest yogurt dressing 90 cals, which I like. I also like Newman's Italian which I have been religiously measuring and counting, a friend of mine says she's gone to straight up vinegar, which is a little tart for me, but I have recently switched 1 tbsp of Newman's for a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and have been enjoying that.

I don't like the taste of nearly all "lite" dressings and feel like the veggies justify the dressing, rather than the dressing negating the salad. I find I just wouldn't eat the salad if I didn't like the dressing. Find what works for you and do that, it's good to listen to people"s suggestions, but you need to do what works for you, not anyone else.

Best of luck to you

P.s. I measure out my mayo, too, also regular, I even use tartar sauce (measured of course) on occasion, I don't want to give up anything permanently, that's me

Salsa is great on a salad, especially with Bolthouse farms salsa ranch dressing and a small pouch of salmon.

I add avocado

I'm not that strict but then again I don't use a lot of condiments save for the occasional mayo or mashed avocados on my sandwiches or wraps and I eyeball it for the most part. If I used condiments often, I might be a bit more strict, though.

I love using cottage cheese as a salad dressing, mix in 1/2 oz blue cheese crumbles in about 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and a bit of roasted garlic powder, soooo good especially with some hot sauce! If I have it on hand, sometimes I mix in a bit of powdered ranch dressing (have homemade recipes online if you wanna make your own) in cottage cheese, yum! Lots of protein and it's cheap too.

Another one of my fave dressing (this makes about a cup)- a packet of zesty Italian dressing or homemade (many recipes online tells you how, pretty easy), follow instructions for less oil but I use way less like 1-2 tbsp, more red wine vinegar, water and a bit of Splenda since I like sweet Italian dressing. I don't make this often since the vinegar in the dressing sometimes irritates my GERD.

I count condiments but how precise I am varies. I make my own salad dressing, and I use measuring spoons for that. If I were to buy some mayo, I would measure that too, but I just don't buy it. Things like mustard or sriracha or chili flakes I record but I just eyeball the amount and try to err on the side of overestimating. Like this morning I said I had a teaspoon of sriracha in my grits, but it looked like less really. Mostly this lets me feel virtuous without eating into my calorie budget very much.

Oh! Also, I make taco salads all the time, and I mix salsa and Greek yogurt for the dressing. Amazing.

Wow, thanks for the replies!

I haven't gotten to the point where I can use vinegar/oil into my salads, it just feels like it doesn't have enough substance if that makes sense? I love french dressing but I know it's so bad for me. I might look into the greek yogurt, that sounds like something up my alley for sure and salsa! Or maybe mix them both?!

Does anyone get heartburn from tomato-y sauces? I've been using prego on my meats lately and I'm constantly getting heartburn, sad because I love anything tomato I've had weird reactions for many things lately (citrus makes my throat itch like crazy lately, when I eat avocado I swear my tongue gets bigger or something awful feeling) I think greek yogurt and seasoning might work though!!

I agree with the low cal stuff, it tastes awful 95% time when I try it! Luckily I've picked up couponing so it's not a huge waste of $ now. (Aside note-so many more coupons for junk food than healthy food!)

Anyway, how do you guys eat balsamic vinegar?! Is it an acquired taste? I have a bottle of it and it's SO tart, I can't imagine eating it on a salad.

What do you think the difference is between oil and vinegar and french salad dressing? I think you'll find if you look into it that bottled salad dressing has less substance than home made vinaigrette which is french.

Perhaps its sugar you like in your salad dressing. No french dressing is not bad for you.

Have a look on the contents of greek yoghurt and make sure it dones't have added cream. Look for whole milk yoghurt. It certainly goes well on veggies. And if you ad garlic to it, even better.

the indians make a yoghurt salad called raita they have on the side of their curries. It takes the burn out of the heat. It usually contains a bit of cucumber or tomato (which i don't particularly like in my yoghurt) or capsicum. And they don't use much. Maybe a couple of tbsps.


I suggest if you don't know what goes in it, don't buy it. And if you can read the labels, do so. If its got added fat or sugar, maybe avoid it.

Balsamic vinegar is sweeter than most wine vinegars. It shouldn't be tart but it is very strong. You don't need much. If you mix your dressing use half and half of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar it should be yummy. As far as i'm concerned extra virgin olive oil is the only oil to use on a salad, although they may be rare exceptions.

Olive oil is considered to actually be good for you. It is a mono saturated fat and if you buy cold pressed, that means its not been put through any chemical procedures to extra the oil. It is literally cold pressed from olives.

I either use balsamic or red wine in most recipes. I like them both.

Sounds like you are getting some sort of allergic reactions to all this stuff. Check out intolerance to the thing in potatoes tomatoes and eggplant. I can't remember what its called but its in lots of fruit and veg and many people are intolerant to it. Its not life long but you do have to do an elimination diet and then only gradually reintroduce those things back into after your body has recovered. Here in Australia we have a clinic that helps with it. You should consult a specialist if you think that's whats going on.

Also heartburn is acid reflux isn't it? Some people have damaged the valve at the top of their stomachs from overeating or from another reason. Anyway if this is your problem, you are getting acid reflux and its not good for you so give up the foods that cause it. Apparently if you go for a long time with reflux some people can get oesophageal cancer from it. You can have a laparoscopic surgery for it but i am not sure its a great idea either. My mother had it and she said that now she has trouble with the food going down, although my mother is a bit mad and there may be an other explanation for her difficulty.

Back to the salad dressing, it would only be bad for you if you make your salad swim in it. Just use a couple of teaspoons of the real stuff and that should be sufficient really. good ingredients have plenty of flavour and you do not need to drown your salad.

Also i add 5 walnut halves to my salad which is very strong flavoured, high fat but super delicious and healthy. You have to be able to not give in an pig out on the nuts though.

Also try other seeds like sesame, sunflower etc. But be sparing. they have plenty of flavour so you don't need much. 1 tsp full is enough.

Secret swan the amount of calories in chilli flakes is so negligible it shouldn't need to be counted. Unless its got additives like salt and sugar in it as well. But if its chilli, its got nothing in it.

Mashed avocado is not a condiment. Its a high fat fruit. Its delicious and good for you but you need to be judicious if you are using it.

cottage cheese is not a condiment either. Its also cheese so watch out for the fat content. so is yoghurt not a condiment.

condiments are usually low in nutritional value and only small amounts are needed. Some of course could be high sugar but since you use so little, it shouldn't matter how often you use it. For most people. People who like a cup of tomato sauce, well they should count every darn calorie.

I think lite dressings are mostly consisting of water. They are a waste of money as far as i'm concerned, as is lite olive oil. I mean why would you water down olive oil, the most fantastic oil in the world. Its not watered down actually, its just got less flavour Its about the third or fourth pressing.

Oh actually when I meant has more substance I meant thicker, more satisfying than oils/vinegar which tend to be thin and runny. I tend to like the fattier, unhealthy dressings (french, ranch, thousand islands) so I think sooner or later I will have to limit how much I'm consuming them. And yes, it's def the sugar in french that I like!

Yeah I went to my see my doc about the weird reactions and he told me it was most likely allergies to foods that I'm consuming more of now and suggested I take an allergy pill when they arise, but I'm think I'd rather ditch them for now and slowly introduce them, or do a cleanse like you mentioned. I hate taking pills if I can avoid them.

Oh and yes I meant acid reflux!! That's the word I was looking for and I couldn't remember. My salads on their own are pretty healthy I think, I add spinach, mushrooms, tomato, Persian cucumbers, olives, sometimes shredded carrots but I'm not much of a carrot fan, problem is I can eat salad all day (with dressing) so calories add up quickly that way.

Hhm6, if you're experiencing what you think is mild allergic reactions to some foods, you should cut them out of your diet. I'm surprised your doctor said to take an allergy medication instead! The thing about serious allergies is that they can go from being mild to suddenly life threatening. Not something to mess with.

As for condiments, I use them but choose wisely, measure how much I use, and take the calories/fat into consideration. Condiments that are high in sugar (ketchup, barbecue sauce, some dressings) I stay away from completely because I'm trying to avoid sugar, but I put mayo in my tuna and in deviled eggs and ranch dressing (or other dressings) on my salads.

Here are a couple of salad dressings I enjoy. One has a southwestern flair. You just put about 1/2 C salsa (no sugar added), 1/4 or 1/3 C plain greek yogurt, about a tablespoon of lime juice, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin in a food processor, or you could just stir it up in a small bowl. You can tinker with the proportions and add a little salt if you'd like. Another one I enjoy is even easier, you just make up your salad, then use a garlic press to press a clove of garlic over the salad, drizzle on a little olive oil and fresh lemon juice, sprinkle on a tiny bit of salt and pepper, and toss the salad. Yum!