Salad Dressing and cheese are killing my diet, help!

I keep trying eat healthy, and for the most part, I'm doing pretty good, but cheese and high-calorie salad dressings are killing my diet.  I got some vegetarian cheddar cheese from the grocery store last night and am going to try that as a substitute for regular cheese, but I'm at a loss when it comes to the salad dressing.  I can't get through a salad if it doesn't have dressing.  Any suggestions out there?

Make your own salad dressings by blending oil (olive, flax, hemp, walnut..etc) with vinegar and/or lemon juice, and a bit of mustard to help keep things together

Or try blending an avocado with a little olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and salt + pepper to create a healthier creamy dressing. 

You could always just do mustard, salsa, balsamic vinegar, lemon/lime juice..etc on their own if you're watching calories. However it is important that you eat some FAT with salad so that you better absorb certain vitamins, so little drizzle of oil or a couple slices of avocado will do nothing but good!

**hint: eating healthy fats helps you to LOSE fat, it also helps regulate blood sugar and keeps you full/satistfied longer!!

Try this new salad dressing that I am crazy in love with! Just mix all these ingredients.

2 lemons' squeezed juice
1 lime's squeezed juice
2 tablespoons of agave nectar
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

It gives your salad a very refreshing taste! I mix that dressing with romaine and butter lettuce, corn, zucchini and some grated carrots. 

Thanks for the advice!  I've been a meat n potatoes gal since birth, so I need all the help I can get when it comes to cutting out all the little things, like cheese and dressing, that derail my diet.  I'll mix up my own concotion tonight and see how it goes :-)

Often just using a lot of variety in fruits and vegetables in salads means that I don't need additional dressings.  Greens, grated carrots, tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese or grated parmesan, cucumbers, apples, pears, artichoke hearts, hard boiled eggs, jicama, nuts, seeds, beans, etc.  Some items already come with a bit of oil or seasoning on them and that adds to the flavor of the whole salad, other items are strong enough on their own that you don't need extra dressing and again it adds to the overall flavor.

Another option is to do a little bit of a high quality dressing, olive oil and a bit of an aged basalmic vinegar is great.  Or just dip your fork in the dressing of your choice before loading it for each bite, it's surprising how little dressing you use this way when you're not drowning the salad.

Lemon juice with olive oil and oregano is another favorite dressing.  Give yourself a little bit of time to adjust to new flavors and keep trying variations of what you like.

Bolthouse has creamy yogurt dressings that are 35 calories for 2 tbsp and also delicious. Besides that homemade dressing is the way to go. If you like hummus or tazatziki those are good 'dressings'.

As for cheese I pick my battles. I like low fat mozzarella, ricotta, cottage cheese and feta just fine. But cheddar, gouda, jack, etc. DO NOT taste good without the fat. So I eat those once a day and only when I can actually taste the cheese. On sandwiches I like mustard and that overpowers the cheese flavor anyway. On tacos I use salsa and lime and don't miss the cheese. I'd rather have havarti on toast, cheddar with crackers or a quesadilla with pepperjack so the cheese is prominent. Feta and parmesan are really great for salads because they pack a lot of flavor into a little calories. I use parm, smoked gouda or the sharpest cheddar I can find when I make cheese sauce because it doesn't take as much to get great flavor.

be sure to measure ur dressing out and then this is my method......

put ur salad into a container with a lid, add the dressing, and shake like crazy. every little piece will be "dressed" and u can use less dressing than if ur just pouring it on

I agree.. The Bolthouse yogurt dressings are incredible! I actually like them better than regular dressings! The Caesar is my favorite and at 45 calories per two tablespoons... It is a great way to add that yummy flavor!

I like this dressing :

just mix together yogurt, vinegars and honey then add other ingridents, put in fridge for an hour or two before using. I found the longer it sits, the better it tastes.

• 1 cup fat-free plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon dill weed
• 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 3/4 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons = 19 calories. 

Or sprinkle olive oil on them ? not exactly low in calories, but very healthy. beats all the other fattening dressings!

Original Post by garrettsmom2001:

I agree.. The Bolthouse yogurt dressings are incredible! I actually like them better than regular dressings! The Caesar is my favorite and at 45 calories per two tablespoons... It is a great way to add that yummy flavor!

They're amazing. The caesar is my husband's favorite and I love the blue cheese. It has more of a blue cheesy flavor than most of the full fat varieties. :) I'm so glad I saw them and tried them.

I rarely use dressing. Instead I toss a can of Thai Chili Tuna on my salad. A big flavor punch, extra protein, and good fats for about 90 calories.

Neither one of those are killing your diet. You are, since you are putting them on your food. 

Try using a tiny bit of blue cheese crumbles.  Then add balsamic vinegar.  Delicious. 

Try Fat Free Plain Greek yogurt, a Ranch seasoning packet, and skim milk to thin it out to your liking.

Original Post by dannyc249:

Neither one of those are killing your diet. You are, since you are putting them on your food. 

*high five*

Thanks for saying this.

They have new spray salad dressings at Walmart every flavor you want I get ranch and you can have 10 sprays for 15 calories and it is amazing!

Original Post by sungiant:

Original Post by dannyc249:

Neither one of those are killing your diet. You are, since you are putting them on your food. 

*high five*

Thanks for saying this.

I understand the concept of being responsible for our own actions instead of blaming other things but, come on! The OP is simply looking for advice on how to dress a salad without going overboard in the calorie department.

Perhaps a little compassion and actual help for someone new to Calorie Count is more in order than a snarky comment or two. Neither one of these posts answer the OP's question and probably does nothing but make her feel bad.

I usually dress salads with a small amount of olive oil (1/2 teaspoon or so) and a larger amount of red-wine vinegar.  That might not be enough for a dressing junkie but at least it adds moisture and flavor.  Google salad dressing recipes, too; I bet you can find some good ones made with buttermilk and yogurt.

The other thing is: Keep trying.  Your tastes can change.  That you're a cheese and salad dressing fiend now doesn't mean you're doomed to be forever; your taste buds can adjust.

Also: What are you putting in your salads?  Maybe you need more interesting vegetables and fruits to dress things up without using so much dressing?

I LOVE my salsa!!! Try substituting your salad dressing with salsa. 10 calories vs 90calories. Salsa also adds great flavor to ANY salad

Thank you :-)  Your right, I am new to eating salads, espcially as meals in and of themselves, and have always slathered them in dressing and cheese because I've never had a wieght problem before having a baby.  Now that I'm dieting and subsequentally eating salad every day, I'm just trying to find healthy ways to make salad taste better, and I've gotten a ton a great ideas from everyones replies!