Do you use it? I tried the "measure it out and put it in a little container, then dip your fork into it" method and I'm pleased. I was able to get a little dressing with each bite, and there's still about 1tbsp left over. (I measured out 2 according to the caloric intake, though.)

Am I better off avoiding it completely, though? I'm a paranoid person, and so far, that's the main reason I've lost ANY weight. I don't want to be lured into false saftey thinking I can have dressing again when it's only 20% less bad for me just by dipping my fork.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

and it was three cheese ranch dressing. It was the only thing we had, and as is, my salad was painfully boring. (cheese, lettuce, grated carrots.)

I use salad dressing but usually a low fat version.

I use all the garlic red wine vinegar I want and 1 TBS of extra virgin olive oil. Delicious. I used to go dressing-free because I was unwilling to spend ~100 calories on olive oil, and I hated the taste of fat-free/low fat dressings. But I've discovered that a salad with EVOO is way more satiating for me than a salad with a FF/LF dressing.

I add my dressing to the salad and shake it all up in a tupperware container or in a big ziploc baggie to spread it around. Same on veggies.

Now I try to work in 1 tbs of EVOO every day, either on salad or on vegetables. I really love it.

I use to load my salads w/ dressing and cutting back was very hard. Nowadays I limit myself to 1-2 tbsp. of oil & vinegar dressing depending on the size of the salad. In all honesty though, I could do without the dressing altogether.

I sometimes substitute salsa. It is lower in calories, full of flavor, and gets good veggies in my diet.

I use full-fat dressing for taste, and I console myself by knowing that some vitamins that are in the salad need to be eaten with fat to be absorbed properly.

I use dressing on every salad usually. I just stick to the 2TBS and also do not buy anything with more than 3g of sugar.

First of all, I would UN-boring up that salad of yours. Romaine hearts, baby spinach leaves, Grape tomatoes, hearts of palm, pomegranate seeds, cubed mango, red onion, colored peppers, radishes, mandarin oranges, roasted peppers - the list is endless. You can add in protein as well - turkey breast, grilled chicken, tuna. With foods like these, you don't need much added flavor or moistness.

There is no way on earth I'd eat a salad or any other food that I don't enjoy. Deriving pleasure from my foods is a MUST for me. This way there is no deprivation passing up the *other* stuff. This way it's no hardship to STAY on plan. No reason to go off plan when on is so good. That's been a major key to my longevity to eat well. I enjoy every morsel that goes down my throat.

I dress my salad with a mix of 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar + 1 tbsp fat free Raspberry Vinaigrette (13 calories).

Experiment. Be creative. Find foods that you love and will look forward to eating.

I would love to un-boring up my salad, and my food in general, but I just don't have the money. We already did our shopping for the next few weeks (a week or two ago.) We just don't have the money. I HATE lettuce, I would much rather romain or SPINACH, believe me. I wanted to add in chicken, but we didn't have any (another thing we're out of).

So this is a sort of have-to-do for now for me. Kinda sucks but not THAT bad.

You don't have to eat salads with no dressing in order to lose weight. You don't even have to use low calorie salad dressings. You do have to control the portions and calories in some way.

There are a lot of ways to dress a salad and stay within calorie "budget."

I don't use bottled low-calorie dressings very often, because most taste horrible to me. Instead I dilute regular dressings or I make my own.

Rice wine vinegar is my secret weapon. It's much milder than regular vinegar, so you can add a lot less oil (or even no oil). It's also a great way to dilute regular dressings. I pour one tablespoon of full-fat dressing in a little tupperware container and add one to two tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, snap the lid and shake it to mix the dressing/vinegar. This works really well with very thick dressings, because it thins it enough to coat the salad more easily.

I also make my salads in a tupperware container or a ziploc bag and add the salad dressing and shake it to get the whole salad well coated. I don't have to do the fork dunk, and yet all of the salad gets coated (I only use thin dressings or dressings I've thinned with rice wine vinegar).

If you have asian markets/groceries or grocery stores with a large oriental section, asian dressings tend to be much lower in calorie than American style dressings. Some eggroll dipping sauces make good, low-calorie salad dressings too (though you've got to check the label for ingredients and calorie count, because some are higher in calorie because of sugars).

Salad dressings are very easy to make. Most recipes are for a whole cup, but if you experiment you can easily make just enough for one salad using the splash and dash method.

I'm not much of a dressing/sauce/syrup/etc. person, so I mostly eat my salads without dressing of any kind. I will occasionally dip my fork in the dressing, but I probably only do that maybe four times—and that is for really big salads. I like the ingredients in my salad just as they are, but that's because I try always to eat interesting salads that have a lot of flavor and even natural juiciness and good fats. I definitely don't like my salad to be coated with dressing. *shudder* That's as awful to me as pancakes made soggy by syrup or cereal that has sat too long in milk.

If you like dressing, or feel you need it to dress up an uninspired salad, you can absolutely have it. You just have to be smart about it. Use tines or measure out an acceptable amount.

I always use dressing. I either use the tines method, or use my tbs to measure 2 tbs.

Salt, freshly ground pepper, and a sprinkle of red wine vinegar is enough for me on just about any salad.

Always has been - I didn't each much in the way of salad dressing when I was getting fat, either. I don't think I've bought a bottled salad dressing once in my entire adult life.

I do sometimes make my own mustard vinaigrette - proportions of 1 tbsp mustard, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, 4 tbsp olive oil, whisk until emulsed, then use very sparingly or toss in a salad that serves a whole family. But I don't do this often and I don't really need it to enjoy a salad.

I am a mom of three teenagers, and a semi adopted one. My fiancee has been laid off and I am the only income currently. I know broke! LOL.

Check out local farmers markets for fresh fruit and veg, cheeses too. Invest in some fresh herb plants and use good vinegar and olive oil. If you make sure to buy your produce a few days (not more than a week) at a time. You save a ton of money. Also, keep some protein out from dinner the night before, and throw it in a salad.

Just a few suggestions.

I don't much like salad but just 2tbsp makes it bearable for me, and sometimes I like something I can make without thinking.