Why Make Your Own Salad Dressing?

“Clearly, some time ago makers and consumers of American junk food passed jointly through some kind of sensibility barrier in the endless quest for new taste sensations. Now they are a little like those desperate junkies who have tried every known drug and are finally reduced to mainlining toilet bowl cleanser in an effort to get still higher.”  Bill Bryson

How aware are you of what is in your bottled salad dressing?

Any story sounds true until someone sets the record straight.  (Prov. 18:17; NLT)

I trust you’re trying some of the different salad dressings and giving a new face to your daily green salads!  Jerry commented that he really liked the Maple Tahini dressing from last week.  He’s been living the “bachelor” life for over a week now while I’m in PA with my folks.  I made that dressing before coming to PA and left it in the refrigerator.  He said that it’s great on a green salad topped with dried cranberries.

Today’s dressing is a pretty green dressing using cucumbers and avocados.  Again, this is another easy dressing to whip up in the blender or food processor.

By this time, someone might ask, “Why should I make my own salad dressing?  Can’t I just go buy one in a bottle?”  Yes, there are many, many salad dressing varieties now available in the supermarket.  However, how healthy are they for the body?  When we spend the time and put forth the effort to create a healthful salad full of fresh vegetables such as romaine lettuce, spinach, fresh cucumbers, peppers, scallions, tomatoes, red cabbage, etc., doesn’t that labor of love deserve a fresh dressing with equally healthful ingredients instead of artificial ingredients that can do a body harm?

Most commercial dressings begin with inferior oils such as soybean oil.  Many dressings also contain high fructose corn syrup along with other artificial flavorings, colorings, and preservatives.  Stabilizers and thickeners, such as modified food starch, are also used.  Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is another culprit often found in commercial dressings.  The ingredient list is often several inches long.  By the way, just for the record, I cannot find any ingredient lists for common salad dressings on the Internet.   Nutrition information is offered such as calories and fat grams, but I cannot find the list of what is actually in the dressing.  So I had to make a trip to Walmart to read some labels so that I could better explain to our readers why they want to make their own dressings.

At Walmart, I found that along with the above mentioned non-food ingredients, I also discovered that phosphoric acid, titanium dioxide, propylene glycol, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, and calcium disodium EDTA are other common ingredients in most all commercially made salad dressings.  I sure don’t see many God-foods on that list.  Convinced?

Enjoy your homemade salad dressings!

Prayer Power
Father, thank You that our readers desire to become healthy and walk in optimal health.  Bless their efforts as they continue to seek You for their food choices.

Link of the Day
Avocado Cucumber Dressing

Blessings on you as you purpose to make more of your own salad dressings.

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