Two ways to make low-fat dressing

Originally published in Mayo Clinic Health Letter , June 1995

Cutting back on fat in bottled salad dressings sometimes also means giving up flavor.

If you find fewer hits than misses, make your own dressings with these simple recipes:

• Creamy dressings--Start with equal amounts of plain low-fat yogurt and reduced-fat mayonnaise. Use this low-fat dressing in place of regular mayonnaise to make salads such as chicken, tuna or pasta. (Two tablespoons have less than three grams of fat. This compares to 22 grams of fat in regular mayonnaise.)

  For variety, add herbs and seasonings such as Dijon mustard and lemon juice. Estimate about one tablespoon of Dijon mustard for each one-half cup of dressing. Start with one-half teaspoon of dried herbs-dill, tarragon, rosemary, oregano, basil. Then adjust for taste.

   

• Vinaigrettes--Reverse the ratio of at least three parts oil to one part vinegar used in traditional recipes to 1:3 oil to vinegar.

  Enhance taste with flavored vinegars such as balsamic, raspberry or tarragon and other liquids such as orange juice, pineapple juice or wine.

  For flavor without any fat or calories, skip the oil completely and use flavored vinegars only. If you find most vinegars too strong, opt for a mild selection like rice-wine vinegar.

Salad dressings

Plenty of choices and better labels make it easy to limit fat and calories

Originally published in Mayo Clinic Health Letter , June 1995

Fresh salads, made with crisp greens and bright-colored vegetables, are the ultimate low-calorie food. To preserve that lean makeup, be careful how you dress them.

Pouring two tablespoons of regular dressing on your salad adds 100 to 200 calories--in some cases, doubling the salad's calories. That same serving also contains 12 to 20 grams of fat (18 to 31 percent of the Daily Value).

Luckily, salad dressings with reduced amounts of fat have taken over supermarket shelves within the past several years.

Products containing little or no fat make up the fastest growing segment in the salad dressing category, according to a 1993 marketplace survey. Plus, new food labels make it easier to spot just the dressing you want to keep fat, calories or sodium under control.

What's in a name?

Since the food labeling regulations took effect last year, serving sizes for salad dressings have been standardized to two tablespoons. Products also must meet specific criteria for these definitions:

• Free--A fat-free dressing contains less than one-half gram of fat per two tablespoons.

  Fat-free doesn't mean sodium-free unless the label specifically says so. In that case, a sodium-free salad dressing contains negligible amounts of sodium--less than five milligrams.

  You'll see the description "free" used most often to refer to fat-free dressings.

   

• Low--A serving of a low-fat salad dressing has no more than three grams of fat. It's also low in calories if it contains no more than 40 calories.

  A low-sodium dressing has no more than 140 milligrams of sodium.

   

• Light--These dressings still can be a little confusing. Even though they definitely have at least 50 percent less fat than their regular versions, the fat savings may not be as much as you think.

  For example, two tablespoons of a regular Blue cheese dressing have 16 grams of fat. A light version has seven grams of fat - the same as some regular Italian dressings (see "Light isn't always lower").

  Dressings that are at least 50 percent lower in sodium than the regular versions may also be called "light"--if they meet the criteria for a low-fat, low-calorie dressing.

  But we found light usually was used to describe products with reduced levels of fat only. Sodium levels ranged from 270 milligrams for a light Ranch dressing up to 480 milligrams for a light Italian.

Choosing dressings

To be sure you're getting the salad dressing you want, read the Nutrition Facts label. Don't stop at the product claim on the front of the bottle. And remember these points:

• If you want a salad dressing that truly has little or no fat, choose fat-free or low-fat products.

  They're your best option if you prefer the convenience of bottled dressings and routinely use more than two tablespoons. Otherwise, making your own low-fat dressings is easy (see "Two ways to make low-fat dressing").

   

• Light dressings can have the same amount of fat as some other flavors of regular dressings.

   

• Fat-free doesn't mean sodium-free. If you want to keep tabs on sodium, look for products containing less than 300 milligrams (12 percent of the Daily Value) in a serving.

  If you follow a low-sodium diet, your doctor or a registered dietitian may recommend you use low-sodium or sodium-free dressings.

   

• If you prefer the flavor and texture of a regular salad dressing, simply limit the amount you use. Here's one trick to try: Put about a tablespoon of dressing in an oversized bowl. Then add your salad and toss to lightly but evenly coat the greens. You may be surprised how far a little dressing can go.