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| Yes | 14% | 98 votes | Total: 721 votes | |
| No | 86% | 623 votes |
Yes
by A. Pesarosa
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Add to FavoritesChances are, if you favorite salad dressing is very delicious and tasty, it's fattening. People will always be quick to point out there are fat-free varieties. I have a few bottles, myself. They are practically full. One is out-dated.
According to a survey by the Association For Dressings and Sauces, the top three regular, full fat salad dressings people most like are Ranch, Italian, and Blue Cheese.
From the household names in my fridge: Ranch - 16 g. fat and 150 cal., per 2 tbs. serving Italian - (sorry, make my own) Blue Cheese - 13 g. fat and 120 cal., per 2 tbs. serving
I love a good salad dressing as much as the next person, but yes, the very best ones are fattening. Even my newly discovered oil-and-water based Greek salad dressing comes in at 11 grams of fat and 100 calories per serving.*(Don't even ask about my favorite jarred, specialty Caesar - so creamy that it can only be found in the refrigerated section of the produce market!)
The thing to remember is: if you are already happily and healthily maintaining your weight eating as you please, then, by all means, go ahead and keep eating whichever dressings you like. Particularly, if it keeps you reaching for the carrot sticks, broccoli, and fresh salads instead of the potato chips.
If, on the other hand, you are trying to quickly drop 5 or more pounds- you definitely want to keep an eye on your intake of fat and calories, and watch out for ones that may otherwise sneak past you. If you're on a lowfat or low-calorie diet, or if you use more than the recommended serving size, you could easily blow your whole meal allotment on just a salad!
If you're not crazy about fat-free dressings, you can always do what the fashion models do and spritz with a little lemon. Or, consider making your own healthier house dressing' with olive oil, vinegar, and your favorite spices. Balsamic vinegar is delicious all on it's own, and may offer other health benefits.
Another way to avoid unwanted calories in your salad dressing is to think about topping your salad with veggies and meat prepared in your favorite marinade, instead of salad dressing. You can just have everything all at the same time- no muss, no fuss, no fat-free.
I actually have a friend who eats salad with only salt and pepper to taste. With the yummiest and freshest naked ingredients, she says, there is no need to dress a salad at all.
Salad dressing can be tricky, adding extra fat and calories, but there is no need to suffer over it. Even if it's fattening enough (like my sinful creamy Caesar) to count as a forbidden food,' it's better to enjoy what you like in moderation, rather than deprive yourself and then go overboard.
Simply check the labels, and rearrange other foods in your diet to make room for your favorite salad dressing, if need be. You will also need to remember to use the correct serving size, as many people go over without realizing.
Keep in mind, there are always creative ways to enjoy a salad with healthy ingredients from your kitchen, or without using any type of dressing. The most delicious salad dressings are often fattening, but your salad doesn't have to be.
* (I do have one lowfat favorite - Ken's Steakhouse Caesar Lite is surprisingly delicious and spicy, for a low-calorie salad dressing.)
Learn more about this author, A. Pesarosa.
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No
Of course salad dressing is not always fattening. Like anything salads can be healthy, or unhealthy depending on what you choose to eat. For the purpose of this article I have compared some salad dressings to see what kind of difference there is. The first thing that I discovered is that this is not readily available information in a forum where it can be easily compared. Many sites and products will spend lots of time talking about how low fat they are and how natural they are. This leaves out mention of the points that are relevant to this discussion, how much fat is actually in the dressing.
Low fat or fat free are not as straight forward as they may seem. Fat free doesn't mean that there is no fat. Fat free means that there is less then 0.5 grams of fat in a single serving and low fat means three grams or less of total fat. Some will say that it is a straight forward as the type of dressing. A creamier dressing, they will say, will be more fattening. I have not seen this to be so.
In comparing the fat content of four types of dressing, I have found that they can all be high or low fat, depending on what you buy. The dressings that I compared were all for serving sizes of two Tbsps. A regular Italian dressing had 109 calories (100 from fat), with 11.1 total grams of fat, while the low fat alternative of the same dressing had only 20 calories with only three from fat. The total fat in this dressing, 0.3 grams. The regular Ranch dressing had 148 calories (140 from fat) and 15.6 grams of fat. The low fat Ranch dressing had 48 calories (3 from fat) and 0.3 grams of fat. The regular Caesar dressing had 150 calories (144 from fat) with a whopping 16 grams of fat. The low fat Caesar dressing had only 60 calories (41 from fat) and 4.5 grams of fat. Regular Honey Mustard dressing rang in at 150 calories (117 from fat) with 13 grams of fat while the low fat Honey Mustard had 70 calories (36 from fat) and 4.0 grams of fat.
These numbers speak clearly to the fact that every salad dressing is different. A range of 16 - 0.3 grams of fat is huge. That is the difference between a very unhealthy side dish, and a great healthy choice. How can you know that you are making the best choice for the dressings that you buy? Read the label. Reading the label will show you what is in the dressing. It will tell you about calories, fat sources and other dietary concerns.
The source of the fat in the dressing is also significant. In a fattening creamy dressing, most of the fat will come from butter, cream or some other saturated fat from dairy products. These fats will raise your cholesterol and settle into your hips. In an oil and vinegar dressing made with olive oil, the fat will be rich in essential fatty acids such as Omega 3 and 6. These fats will help your skin and hair to be healthy. It will raise your good cholesterol and lower your bad cholesterol. These fats are essential to the function of the brain, skin and many other organs.
As with any other part of a healthy lifestyle, you will need to be careful about what you put into your body. The more you educate yourself and read labels, the more you will be able to make an educated decision about the healthiest products for yourself and your family.
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http://www.calorieco ntrol.org/foodlabels .html
http://caloriecount. about.com/calories-s alad-dressings-ic040 1
Learn more about this author, Jen Leech.
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