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Lightened salad dressing lose the fat |
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Written by Kathy Manweiler, MCT
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Monday, 21 May 2007 |
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 When I spoke at a weight-loss meeting recently, somebody brought up the subject of salad dressing.
"Kathy, do you have any salad dressings that are light but still taste good?" a woman asked.
She went on to say that the flavor of bottled diet dressings left a lot to be desired, drawing a chorus of amens from the rest of the group. And then the requests started flying.
"Can you make a healthier French dressing? A salad isn't worth eating without French dressing," one woman said.
"What about ranch? What can you do to lighten up ranch dressing?" another chimed in.
Other members mentioned a couple of other salad dressings, so I had my work cut out for me the next time I experimented with recipes.
I started working on a lighter version of ranch. This recipe was the easiest because I used the Hidden Valley Ranch mix. But instead of adding the milk and mayonnaise the packet called for, I settled on a mixture of buttermilk, fat-free milk, light mayo and light sour cream. Those changes saved lots of calories and fat grams, but still kept the flavor and texture I wanted.
Some ranch dressings have 186 calories and 20 fat grams in just two tablespoons, but mine has 44 calories and 3.1 fat grams, trimming the calories by 76 percent and the fat by 85 percent.
I tackled blue cheese dressing next. I kicked off this experiment with a recipe from chef Kathleen Daelemans. I usually love her creations, but she uses plain yogurt in her blue cheese dressing, which just plain didn't taste right to me.
So I adapted a recipe from the Joy of Cooking instead, mixing in light sour cream and light mayo. I also found reduced-fat blue cheese crumbles, and I think they work fine in this recipe. But if you're a blue cheese purist, using the real thing in my recipe adds only 5 calories and 0.6 fat grams per 2-tablespoon serving.
Some blue cheese dressings contain 180 calories and 20 fat grams per 2-tablespoon serving, but mine has 69 calories and 6 fat grams, reducing the calories by 62 percent and the fat by 70 percent.
French dressing was my final project, and it didn't start out so well. The first batch was a fat-free recipe from Better Homes and Gardens. Ewww. Let's just say that corn syrup, tomato sauce and onion make a truly awful combination.
Once my taste buds recovered, I came up with my own French dressing, banishing the onion and adding some vinegar, olive oil and a few seasonings.
Some French dressings have 180 calories and 12 fat grams in each 2-tablespoon serving, but mine has only 57 calories and 3.9 fat grams. That cuts both the fat and calories by 68 percent.
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KATHY'S BLUE CHEESE DRESSING
4 ounces reduced-fat blue cheese crumbles
1 cup light mayonnaise
½ cup light sour cream
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Whisk all ingredients together and refrigerate the dressing for at least a few hours to blend flavors before serving.
Makes about 2¼ cups.
Per 2-tablespoon serving: 69 calories, 2.2 carb grams, 89 mg sodium, 6 fat grams.
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KATHY'S FRENCH DRESSING
½ cup vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup light corn syrup
One 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
One teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper
Whisk all ingredients together and refrigerate the dressing in a tightly covered container for at least a few hours to blend flavors. Shake well before serving.
Makes about 1¾ cups.
Per 2-tablespoon serving: 57 calories, 6 carb grams, 238 mg sodium, 3.9 fat grams.
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KATHY'S RANCH DRESSING
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix
½ cup low-fat buttermilk
½ cup fat-free milk
½ cup light mayonnaise
½ cup light sour cream
Whisk all ingredients together until smooth and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
Makes about 2 cups.
Per 2-tablespoon serving: 44 calories, 3.3 carb grams, 202 mg sodium, 3.1 fat grams.
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ABOUT THE WRITER
Kathy Manweiler has lost 100 pounds. For more of her Don't Say Diet recipes, go to www.wichitaaliveandwell.com.
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WE'LL SLIM IT DOWN FOR YOU
Do you have a favorite food or popular recipe that you'd like to see made healthier? Send your ideas and recipes, along with a daytime phone number, to me at
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825 E. Douglas
Wichita, KS 67202 | Only registered users can write comments.
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