Health Awareness Group
Dress up your salad
Kailyn Schmidt '09
Issue date: 2/28/07 Section: Features
Choosing a salad over a hamburger and fries is the obvious healthy option, but what you may or may not be aware of is that choosing a particular pre-made dressing can add the extra calories that you were trying to avoid.
An easy alternative to using the pre-made dressings provided by Chase and Emerson dining halls is to make your own vinaigrette with a variety of the ingredients available. Here is an example of a quick and simple dressing that you can try and modify to your liking.
INGREDIENTS: Your favorite vinegar (3 parts; balsamic is always popular, but raspberry, white wine, or champagne vinegar are also available in the dining halls); soy sauce (2 parts; not as much as the vinegar but a few seconds worth); extra virgin olive oil (1 1/2 parts; about half the amount of the vinegar used); any spices available (oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper); a spoonful of mustard (to add flavor and thickness)
PREP: Combine all ingredients in a bowl or cup. Mix it all together with a fork and drizzle over your salad. The amounts of each ingredient will vary depending on the size of your salad; generally a serving size is about two tablespoons (equivalent to two spoonfuls using the metal spoons found in the dining halls).
WHY MAKE YOUR OWN DRESSING?: The advantage to making your own dressing is that you know exactly what the ingredients are and how much of each ingredient was used, unlike pre-made dressings.
An easy alternative to using the pre-made dressings provided by Chase and Emerson dining halls is to make your own vinaigrette with a variety of the ingredients available. Here is an example of a quick and simple dressing that you can try and modify to your liking.
INGREDIENTS: Your favorite vinegar (3 parts; balsamic is always popular, but raspberry, white wine, or champagne vinegar are also available in the dining halls); soy sauce (2 parts; not as much as the vinegar but a few seconds worth); extra virgin olive oil (1 1/2 parts; about half the amount of the vinegar used); any spices available (oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper); a spoonful of mustard (to add flavor and thickness)
PREP: Combine all ingredients in a bowl or cup. Mix it all together with a fork and drizzle over your salad. The amounts of each ingredient will vary depending on the size of your salad; generally a serving size is about two tablespoons (equivalent to two spoonfuls using the metal spoons found in the dining halls).
WHY MAKE YOUR OWN DRESSING?: The advantage to making your own dressing is that you know exactly what the ingredients are and how much of each ingredient was used, unlike pre-made dressings.
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