by Luke Bawden

Created on: January 30, 2009   Last Updated: March 12, 2012

Salad dressings are the icing on the well healthy nutritional cake and here you can have a cake-load for all to enjoy. Salads as a staple are a must and great for all seasons. So as a general rule if you stick to the natural whole foods for the salad and dressing you can't go too wrong. Just plain lemon juice is mint-deluxe for many salads. A mixture of one third vinegar and two thirds oil is the rule of thumb for dressings in many cultures. So looking at cold pressed extra virgin olive oil with cider vinegar will give you a very healthy tasty option. Many cook books have recipes for vinaigrettes with a raft of healthy ideas.

The key to healthy salads and dressings is to steer away from the processed foods whilst being mindful of the huge nutritional benefits of vegetables and especially raw vegetables in our diets. Getting the kids to eat veges can be a huge task so if they require tarting up keep the benefits and detriments in perspective. Having some tasty healthy treats stashed in the fridge is a sound idea for when those hunger pains hit. Tasty food on tap can help stop us getting over hungry and then diving for the instant refined carb hit. Experimenting with dressings that complement the endeavours on the salad front is well worthwhile and beneficial to the tribe.

Many of the suppliers out there today have a very responsible approach towards making their dressings healthy and there is plenty of choice and information for selection purposes. One key issue is, in order to get especially the younger generation to eat healthy food, we need to compete on an even playing field with the highly flavoured fast food industry by making our food choices flavoursome.

There are many variations on the dressing front. Most have oil of some description and/or vinegar or lemon juice. Then there are things like yogurt and mint or sour cream and sweet chilly sauce and the list goes on. It is well worthwhile learning the craft for more choice and knowledge of what is actually in the dressing. Cooking is art and with this art if you can make broccoli and Brussel sprouts appealing to the family they will be forever thankful. We owe it to ourselves to make the healthy options more appealing and the art of cooking is where inspiration must be gathered.

Salad dressings can for sure be fattening but most of the time they are a healthy companion that add a yummy component to a very healthy meal choice. Today we have a far greater appreciation of what fits where on the list of bad, good, then tasty and nutritious.Thanks to the education on offer and the masterful displays on the multitude of cooking shows it is getting easier and easier.The days are long gone when the limited choice made for bad uneducated choices, for now salad dressing isn't always fattening, it is a key ingredient in one of nature's most nutritious and delicious dishes.

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