Lemon Herb Dressing

I personally NEVER buy pre-made salad dressings from the store anymore for a few reasons…

First of all, the TASTE of homemade dressings is much more flavorful. It’s worth the five minutes to takes to make a dressing at home. Your taste buds will thank you.

Second, I have CONTROL over what goes in my body. Almost all store-bought salad dressings contain fairly significant amounts of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).  Unless you’re in a health food store, it’s almost impossible to find a salad dressing that doesn’t contain large amounts of HFCS.

Furthermore, almost all store-bought salad dressings contain heavily refined soybean oil and/or refined canola oil… both of which are VERY unhealthy. Yes, that’s correct, canola oil IS unhealthy, despite the marketing propaganda you’ve been fed claiming that it’s healthy.

Due to the refining process of soybean and canola oils, the polyunsaturated component of the oils is oxidized and makes these oils very inflammatory inside your body.  A body which is fighting off inflammation cannot efficiently process fat. Don’t slow down your progress!

Soybean oil is also WAY too high in omega-6 fatty acids. This throws your omega-6 to omega-3 balance out of whack.  Instead of having an ideal ration of 1:1, most people have abnormally high ratios ranging from 16:1 or even 25:1! Eek! That’s way to high, and completely avoidable!

Olive oil is definitely healthier, but when it comes to store-bought dressings…even salad dressings that claim to be “made with olive oil” on the FRONT label are deceiving. If you read the ingredients on the BACK label, they are almost ALWAYS made of mostly refined soybean oil or canola oil as the main oil, with only a very small amount of actual olive oil as a secondary oil.

Good oil choices include: Udo’s oil, nut oils, palm oil, butter, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, flavored olive oils, flaxseed oil, hemp oil, grapeseed oil and avocado oil.

Stay away from the processed oils with this quick, tasty, and SUPER-healthy dressing.

Lemon Herb Dressing

• 1/4 cup minced shallots or red onion
•  juice of 3 lemons
• 1 – 2 Tbs White Wine vinegar
• 1/2 – 1 cup olive oil
• 1-2 dropperfuls of stevia or 1-2 tsps honey/maple syrup
• 1 tsp dijon mustard (optional)
• 1 tsp sea salt or more to taste
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 4 Tbs minced basil, cilantro or herb(s) of choice – optional

Combine the shallots, lemon juice, vinegar and salt in a small bowl or mason jar. Set aside to marinate for 5-10 mins. This step is KEY! The marinated shallots are what make this dressing really POP!

Next add the rest of the ingredients and shake/wisk together thoroughly. Taste and adjust flavors as needed.

The fun thing about this dressing is that everything is just an approximation and can be modified. If you want a sweet dressing, add more stevia, honey or maple syrup. If you like it a little more tart add more lemon juice or white vinegar. If you’re in the mood for an Italian Style dressing use basil and oregano. If you want something lighter, use cilantro. And don’t forget about dill! Dill is another tasty variation.

Toss with your favorite mixed greens and enjoy!!

Please share this with your friends! I welcome your comments below.