Salad Dressings

This post was inspired by my friend Jennifer who is starting to change her eating habits! She is totally inspiring! We have salad nearly every night before our dinner, as a "first course" so to speak. A large helping of salad fills us with nothing but the best, and a large portion will curb overeating in the "next course".
Here are some of our family favorites for salad dressing:

Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c white wine vinegar
1/4 c honey
1/4 tsp paprika
1 T poppy seeds
2-3 T pureed strawberries or raspberries
1/4 t basil
Blend all ingredients except poppy seeds in high-powered blender. Add seeds and pulse a few times.

This dressing is great for green salads with fruit in it (mandarin oranges with nuts and seeds, apples/raisins/pumpkin seeds, etc.)

Also, it makes a lot of dressing, so feel free to half it/quarter it, etc. This applies to all of the dressing recipes!

Maple Syrup Dressing
3/4 c extra virgin olive oil
3/4 c red wine vinegar
6 T maple syrup
1/2 t sea salt
1/4 c brown mustard
1/4 yellow or white onion
1/2 t garlic powder
Blend all in high powered blender until smooth.

Basil Parmesan Vinaigrette
1/2-3/4 c fresh basil leaves
1 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c parmesan cheese
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
3 T white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t sea salt
Blend all ingredients in high powered blender. Let sit in the fridge at least 2 hours to meld flavors.

Basic Salad Dressing
1 c extra virgin olive oil
2 T unrefined flaxseed oil
1/4 c vinegar (either raw apple cider, red wine or balsamic)
1 T Dijon mustard
***You can also add either 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped herbs (parsley, oregano, thyme), sundried tomatoes and green onion, substitute some walnuts for part of the oil (this makes it creamy) OR add tomatoes & basil.
Blend in high powered blender until smooth

Favorite Dressing for sweet salads....
1/2 c honey
1/2 c raw apple cider vinegar
1 c extra virgin olive oil
1 T mustard
1 t sea salt
1 small red onion, cut into fourths
1 T poppy seeds
Blend all ingredients except poppy seeds in high powered blender until smooth. Add seeds and pulse a few times.



All of these dressings come from Green Smoothie Girl's recipe collection! Check her out!