Salad Dressing: Boost Your Flavorful Diet

Salads are part of the diet of most people, especially those who care about following a balanced diet. They are tasty, can be made with many ingredients and are very healthy!

Carla Cotta, Functional Nutritionist at the Essendi Clinic in Rio de Janeiro, comments that it is very important to consume salads as they provide an excellent supply of phytochemicals and bioactive compounds, as well as vitamins and minerals, which are important and fundamental in preventing chronic degenerative diseases. . "Salads provide vitality and cellular nutrition above all," he says.

What a lot of people say, though, is that a good salad should be accompanied by a good dressing. And that's where the problem often lies: what are the most suitable sauces to accompany a salad? Are there any healthy and tasty sauces? These are common questions about the subject.

Below, nutritionist Carla cites some suggestions for healthy sauces that go well with a salad, and guides you about the types of sauces to avoid.

8 Healthy Salad Dressings For You To Try

Check out some dressing ideas you can make at home by adding a new flavor to your salad without neglecting your health!

Read also: 10 foods that guarantee good health

1. Herb and cottage sauce

Check out the recipe of nutritionist Carla:

Ingredients

• 2 cups cottage cheese, tofu cottage or tofu cream
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 tbsp fresh minced leek
• Pink or gersal salt (sesame + salt) to taste

Method of preparation: Mash the cottage or tofu cottage with a fork and mix in the other ingredients or mix in the mixer as desired.

2. Pesto Sauce with Black Pepper

Here's how to prepare this nutritionist recipe:

Ingredients

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• 1 packet of basil (only the leaflets? Already cleaned)
• Sicilian Half Lemon Juice or 1 Lemon
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (here you can go less or more depending on taste)
• 5 cashew nuts or nuts
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Method of preparation: Beat everything in a blender until cream.

3. Passion Fruit Sauce

Check out a very different recipe suggestion below:

Ingredients

• 1 passion fruit pulp
• 100 ml of water
• ½ Lemon Juice
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste

Method of preparation: Shake in the liquefier all the ingredients. Then strain (due to the passion fruit seeds). Pour the dressing over the salad leaves of your choice.

4. Apple Sauce

A suggestion of sweet and sour apple sauce for you to try:

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Ingredients

• 1/2 apple (large) without shell
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 carrot
• Salt to taste

Method of preparation: Beat everything in a blender. Serve with the salad you prefer.

5. Mango Sauce

Bet on the fruits to spice up your salad. Here's how to use mango in sauce:

Ingredients

• 2 ripe sleeves
• 1 Orange Juice

2 tbsp vinegar

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp of salt

Method of preparation: Peel the sleeves and cut all the pulp. Put the pulp in a blender with the orange juice, vinegar, olive oil and salt. Beat well until cream forms. (If the sauce is still too thick, just add a little more orange juice, vinegar and olive oil).

6. Kiwi Sauce

Another recipe for salad dressing with fruit:

Ingredients

• 3 kiwi fruit
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste (optional)

Method of preparation: peel the kiwifruit, discard the hard edges and beat in the blender with the olive oil, vinegar, salt and black pepper (which is optional) until smooth.

7. Vinaigrette dressing with red onion and cilantro or parsley

This is another tip from nutritionist Carla. To prepare the sauce check out a recipe suggestion:

Ingredients

• 1 diced red onion
• 2 medium diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped parsley (or coriander)
• Olive oil to taste
• Salt to taste
• Vinegar to taste

Method of preparation: In a bowl place the onion, tomatoes and parsley. Then season with vinegar, salt and olive oil to taste.

8. Basil flavored olive oil sauce with mustard seed

This is another salad dressing suggestion according to nutritionist Carla.

Flavored basil olive oil can be found ready for sale on the market. Then just mix the amount of olive oil you want in a container with mustard seeds and add the dressing in the salad.

Use creativity when assembling your sauce!

Several types of healthy sauces can be created to spice up a salad, just use creativity! • Vegetables are the main foods to use in healthy sauces, besides honey and yogurt. Other examples are: carrot sauce, beetroot sauce with olive oil and basil, honey sauce and yogurt sauces ?, says Carla.

Just don't overdo it on salt?

When preparing a salad dressing it is very important not to overdo the amount of salt.

Carla explains that excess salt (NaCl) means increasing sodium intake. ? This excess sodium may favor fluid retention, increased blood volume, leading to cardiac overload? since the heart will need to pump more blood volume? and, with that, can generate high blood pressure, kidney overload, among other health problems ?, says.

Tips for replacing salt

Carla explains that they can be used as salt substitutes: Himalayan pink salt or Guérand salt. "They are salts rich in various minerals and not just sodium and chloride," he says.

"You can also use herbal salt: with three parts of herbs and one part of unrefined coarse salt," he explains.

"Using fresh herbs and spices can also flavor and lower salt," the nutritionist adds.

The Sauces You Should Avoid

Carla points out that types of sauces / products should be avoided as a side salad:

• The ideal is to avoid ready seasonings, concentrated broths and others containing monosodium glutamate and preservatives. "Fresh foods should always be prioritized," says the nutritionist.
• Vegetable creams and ketchup should be avoided as they are industrialized and contain preservatives. "Also, they often contain artificial flavor enhancers," he says.
• Sour cream is also industrialized and contains preservatives. "And for people who have lactose intolerance, it can lead to gastric discomfort, gas and other problems," says the nutritionist.
• Salad-ready sauces should be avoided as they are industrialized and contain preservatives, artificial flavorings, sometimes hydrogenated fats and often artificial flavor enhancers, as well as excess sodium and / or refined sugar, Carla points out.

Now you have good tips for creating healthy sauces, making your salads even tastier! Remember not to overdo the salt and, if possible, give preference to pink Himalayan salt or Guérand salt. Avoid ready-made sauces as much as they have so many harmful health ingredients.

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