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Weekly Salad Challenge | Delicious Dressings
What would a huge salad be without delicious dressings? (Dry and boring is the correct answer). You’ve got your veggie-filled base, and have topped it with some plant-powerful proteins. Now it’s time to add some flare & flavour!
Delicious Dressings Trifecta | Salt + Acid + Fat
Salt, acid, and fat are the groundwork of a delicious dressing. These three components balance each other out while also enhancing the flavour of your salad. A common ratio is 1 part acid to 2 parts fat. This article does a pretty good job of summing it up (it’s not vegan, but you can get the gist).
Salt
Fine or coarse sea salt is usually my go-to for dressings. Other salty ingredients can include tamari/soy sauce, or miso (a fermented paste – usually soy – often used in Japanese cuisine).
Acid
Lemon is my favourite way to add tang to salad dressings, but any type of citrus juice would work too. Use lime in Asian-inspired dressings, or orange for a milder option. Apple cider vinegar also works wonders in dressings. For a spicy & zippy acidic component, use Dijon mustard. Though feel free to use regular yellow mustard if your sinuses are like mine and can’t handle Dijon without spontaneously crying! Other vinegars to try out include red or white wine vinegar, balsamic, and rice vinegar. The latter can also be used with lime for Asian-style dressings).
Fat
The most common type of fat to use for dressings is olive oil. I don’t cook with oil (as I prefer to get my healthy fats from whole foods sources), so I use ingredients like nut/seed butters, fruits, etc. My favourite fat to use in dressings is tahini. It’s nutty without being overpowering and plays well with almost any flavour combo. Here are a few of my favourite tahini-based dressings:
Yum Sauce from The Full Helping
Lemon-Tahini Dressing from Oh She Glows
Balsamic Tahini Dressing from The Full Helping (I’ve used fig balsamic with orange juice in this recipe with wild success)
Herbed-Tahini Dressing from Dishing up the Dirt
Green Goddess Tahini Dressing from Thug Kitchen
Another fabulous fat for delicious dressings (I can’t stop with these alliterations!) is avocado. For hearty greens like kale and collard, diced/mashed avocado can actually be massaged into the greens prior to dressing them. I know, I know, massaging greens?? Trust me on this. By massaging the greens, you work the fat into each nook and cranny which actually helps break down the tough texture and turns it into something actually pleasant to chew! I typically use half an avocado either in a dressing or to rub into the greens, and keep the other half to dice on top of the salad afterwards.
One of the best resources I’ve found for delicious dressings (all vegan of course!) is this post from Sam @ It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken. She’s got everything there from Catalina to Ranch Dressings and Peanut Butter to Chipotle Lime. With 16 delicious dressings to choose from, you’re bound to find something you like!
Oil-Free?
As mentioned in the above post, a neat (& oil-free) alternative to olive oil in salad dressings is a recipe for ‘thick water‘. It sounds totally weird, but when you combine a cup of water and a tablespoon of cornstarch or arrowroot powder and heat it, the mixture turns into a viscous liquid that is perfect for replacing oil in salad dressing recipes! I’ve actually tried it myself and can vouch that it does indeed work!
Easy Does It
In a pinch, my go-to way to dress a salad is with a squeeze of lemon, a pinch of sea salt, and a drizzle of tahini. If I’m feeling extra fancy I’ll sprinkle some nutritional yeast on there as well. Stir it all together and voila! An easy but delightfully tasty salad!
Dressing Alternatives
If I’m making a more grain-heavy salad, I’ll sometimes switch things up and use a dip or spread as my flavour enhancer instead of dressing. My favourite spreads to use are hummus, pesto, and my own sweet potato dip.
Hummus is really versatile and is super easy to whip up! (It’s also readily found in the grocery stores with many different flavour options.) I love making pesto with fresh basil (I fear my basil plant from my balcony garden won’t be around much longer so I’m making as much pesto as I can these days!). My favourite tip for pesto is to add other greens like spinach, kale, or romaine with the basil to make it go further. My absolute favourite pesto recipe is this one from McKel at Nutrition Stripped. Finally, my sweet potato dip is just a mix of steamed sweet potatoes, tahini, and spices – it’s sweet and creamy with a flavour punch. I’m hoping to get the recipe up here soon!
Putting it All Together
Like I do for making the veg-heavy salad base, I like to make a big batch of salad dressing at the beginning of the week to have on hand. Then when meal time hits, I dress the salad to serve. I would avoid adding the dressing beforehand as things could get all mushy. If you want to go the avocado-massaging route, do that a few minutes before you serve the salad so the greens have time to soften. Then simply dress & devour!
It’s up to you if you want to add your plant-powerful proteins to the big salad bowl all at once or at each individual meal time. For maximum customization add them to serve & feel free to mix things up throughout the week.
Three Cheers for Salad!
And there you have it! From start to finish, how to create a vibrant & delicious big bowl of salad to keep you full & satisfied throughout the week! Not to mention all the yummy & nutritious veggies you’ll be eating too! If you missed it, check out 1) making the veggie-filled salad base, and 2) adding plant-powerful proteins.
Tell me, will you be starting your own weekly salad challenge? I truly find it’s such an easy way to pack in the veggies throughout the week. Meal times can be stressful, but having a huge pre-made salad ready to go really helps to make sure at least part of your day is healthy & filling!
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