A few blog posts back we talked about about oil and many people are surprised at the amount of calories and fat it has in just ONE TABLESPOON! Weighing in at 126 calories and 14 grams of fat per tiny little tablespoon, can you imagine how many calories you are adding to your pan while sauteeing, adding to your vegetables before they go to roast, or how much you add while making a salad dressing?! Kudos to you for bypassing the store bought stuff that is packed with added sugars, sodium and all kinds of funky ingredients that help it last longer on store shelves.

Remember - Shelf life in foods decrease your shelf life.

Ok, ok, let’s get to it. If you’re serious about nixing empty calories from your diet that give you zero joy, then I challenge you to do ONE THING and that is to not use oil for one month. I will bet you will lose pounds and inches simply by omitting this one ingredient from all your food prep. I do weekly television segments on FOX 2, Studio STL and Producer Steph took this challenge and LOST 4 LBS IN ONE WEEK!!!

“But, how in the world do I make a salad dressing without oil?” It’s my #1 question.

If you are making your own dressing, you are probably adding 1/3-1/2 cup of oil as a base.

Lets do the math:

1/3 cup = 5.33 tablespoons = 672 calories, 75 grams fat
1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons = 1008 calories, 112 grams of fat

So, let’s get this straight. You’re on a kick to take control of the ingredients in your food (awesome, BTW!) and you just added perhaps between 700 and 1000 calories and 75-100 grams of pure fat.

That’s all types of oils. Olive oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, vegetable oil, canola oil.

To add insult to injury, please know that these oils are nearly all void of health promoting phytonutrients including any fiber. The olives, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, avocados, coconuts and vegetables were all squeezed to extract their oil, leaving behind the key components that restore and maintain great health - it even leaves behind the nutrients that actually help you lose weight: fiber!

There is a solution! It is so very easy to simply omit oil and substitute with whole foods that have a higher ratio fat, there by obtaining all the health benefits.

This is such a fun exercise and you don’t need to leave home or even spend a dime! Simply open your fridge, rummage through your pantry and spice drawer, and divide up into five sections the ingredients found in the chart. Start blending and tasting!

There is no wrong way to do this. Just start adding ingredients to your blender, add a little water, vegetable broth, or fruit/vegetable juice to thin if needed and taste. Just remember to write down any concoctions you create that you really love so that you can make it again! Because there will be no preservatives used, you’ll want to use a tightly sealed glass container and store in the fridge. You may only get 3-4 days of life from it.

Here’s my go-to tahini based dressing that people love! Hence, the name. It’s SO easy!

This chart will help you make creamy dressings, if you want to make more of a vinaigrette, You can omit the ingredients in the Whole Food Fats column and experiment with using:

ground flax seed
chia seed
agar agar
mustard powder
mustard (yellow, Dijon, stone ground)
tomato paste
oats

These will all give you a lighter dressing, but for a true vinaigrette, use a flavored vinegar (I like California Balsamic), and something from the Sweet, Savory and Spice columns.

Here’s my Oat Based Creamy Italian that bypasses a lot of fat and delivers a robust flavor. You can increase the oats for a creamier texture, or don’t use quite as much for a thinner consistency.

I do hope you experiemt with this chart and find great joy in making new dressings. I really hope you’ll share your concoctions with me and perhhaps we can even do a video together to help others on their journey as well!

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ANATOMY OF A SALAD DRESSING