4 of 8

No

Write now Article Tools

No, dressing is not fattening, as long as you yourself make it. I for one abhor the terminology behind "fattening" foods, regardless, but whether salad dressing is fattening or not is one to which I can make a factual statement.

The reasons that store-bought salad dressings are fattening is they in general contain fattening items. I don't mean cream or butter; I mean sugars you don't need and preservatives. If two teaspoons of Kraft Balsamic give you 90-some calories and 72 of those are fat-related - http://www.path2healthyliving. com/RecipeSaladDressing.html - it's no wonder people associate "salad dressing" with "fattening". Ken's Squeezable Ranch is even more intense, at 140 cal/serving. (I admit it, we have it in the fridge here though I substitute home-made vinaigrette half the time).

If that is what's going on behind the pretty packaging, and you want to lose weight, you don't want to go there.

Or do you?

Annie's Goddess dressing, for instance, makes out at 130 cal/ serving, but only 13 grams of that is fat http://www.consorzio.com/catal og/goddess-dressing-p-1000016. html. There's also one called Follow Your Heart, but it doesn't say on the website how much of what ingredients are in it.

Basically, the way to go is do-it-yourself. It isn't hard to make good salad dressing, either! There are hundreds of ideas: http://www.cooksrecipes.com/sa lads/salad-dressings.html.
The "Weight Watchers" site, too, has a number of recipes for salad dressings that aren't fattening http://www.weightwatchers.com/ util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum =1&art_id=38181. There are other ideas here: http://www.weightwatchers.com/ util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum =1&art_id=9361, and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S alad.

So, salad dressing isn't fattening all the time - you just need to put those extra minutes into making it.

Food for thought, on a final note: not all fat is bad, no matter if it's saturated or un-saturated. You need to decide for yourself, but getting yourself down too thin is bad for you too, worse than a "fattening" dressing might be. Just remember that the issue isn't black and white http://healthylazy.tribe.net/t hread/94ea13f5-fea0-420a-8f5a- e56cc1ec0215.

Learn more about this author, Jess Howe.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Is salad dressing always fattening??
We want to hear your view. Write now!