Snazz Up Your Meals With Delicious Homemade Dressings

Let’s Play Dress Up!

Here are some ideas for snazzing up off-the-rack meals with panache. Just add ingredients to your blender and blitz ’til creamy.

Swirl some Red Pepper Mango Dressing into your favorite guacamole dip for an added layer of smooth sweetness and color.

DRESSING

Oil-free Red Pepper Mango

(1 ½ cups)

BASE

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped

Put Creamy Curry Dressing on grain salads, like cooked farro or barley, or more traditional mayo-based salads, like chicken or potato.

Substitute ¾ cup yogurt for the Base in the Creamy Fresh Herb Dressing and use to marinate chicken. Creamy Curry

(2 cups)

½ cup sunflower seeds, soaked in warm water ½ hour ½ cup EVOO

Creamy Fresh Herb

(2 cups)

½ cup cashews or sunflower seeds soaked in warm water ½ hour 3 Tbsp hemp seeds or EVOO

Add Lemon-Herb Dressing to bulghur, riced cauliflower, or tabbouleh salad for a little extra tang. Lemon-Herb Dressing

(2 cups)

1 cup EVOO

Use Spicy Cilantro Sauce as a light dressing for an out-of-this world pasta salad, or on zoodles. Spicy Cilantro Sauce/ Dressing

(1 ½ cups) 1 tsp tamari 4 Tbsp cashews, soaked in warm water ½ hour

Salad dressing isn’t just for leaves and twiggies anymore. Great for day or evening meals, it can zhuzh up even the most tired dishes with minimal effort. The best part is you can always make it work with what you’ve got in your fridge and pantry — and a little creative thinking.

ACID SWEET

Juice of 1 lime 1 mango, skinned/ pitted/chopped

HERBS/OTHER

¼ tsp ground cumin Salt to taste

Juice of 1 lemon 1 apple, cored and chopped 2 celery stalks, chopped 1 clove garlic 1 ½ tsp grated ginger 1 Tbsp curry powder

Juice of 1 lemon ½ pear, peeled and chopped

4 Tbsp lemon juice ½ Granny Smith apple, chopped

Juice of 1 lime 2 dates, pitted and soaked ½ cup each, roughly chopped leaves: fresh cilantro, mint & basil 1 clove garlic

2 celery stalks, chopped 2 tsp crushed garlic 1 tsp Italian seasoning ½ tsp ground coriander 2-3 Tbsp water ¼ - ½ tsp salt

¼ tsp powdered mustard 1 tsp salt 2 basil leaves, chopped 1/8 – ¼ tsp cayenne (optional)