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Do you think that making salad dressing is difficult? I think that a lot of us do, and honestly I use to be one of them! I would opt to by dressing all the time at the store, especially the ones that said “low fat” or “healthy.” In our fast pace lifestyle we do look for taboo words like that, and want to be able to trust that, that is the case. However, companies are smart, marketing teams are smart and they know that. Therefore a lot of companies are hoping you take their word for it. The truth of the matter is, we cannot just trust the advertising and the big taboo words to catch our eyes these days. We need to read the labels. In this post I share one of my favorite winter salads, Healthy Winter Pomegranate Delicata Salad. It has one of my favorite seasonal dressings that is easy, clean and perfect for this time of year!

So what about Low Fat salad dressing?

Below is a very popular low fat salad dressing here are the ingredients:

water, corn syrup, vinegar, sugar, whey (from milk), modified food starch, container less than 2 % of salt, soybean oil, dried garlic, xanthin gum, artificial color, phosphoric acid, propylene, glycol alginate, dried onions, spice, natural flavor, potassium sorbet and calcium disodium edta (to protect flavor), caramel color

Now what does that really mean? How ingredient lists work is that the ingredient that the product is made most of is 1st and then the 2nd most is second and so forth. So when we have a “low fat” food or product that isn’t naturally low fat, the manufacturers need to replace that taste— so what does it look like they are replacing it with? Yep…. sugar. Corn syrup a form of sugar is the majority of this dressing, second to water, the fourth ingredient is plain sugar as well.

Not all fat is bad. Let me say that again, not all fat is bad

Not all fat is bad. Let me say that again, not all fat is bad. Actually good fats help you get the most out of your veggies in your salads! The fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K require fat for absorption. Absorption– meaning your ability to absorb the benefits of those vitamins! So in reality if they are not eaten with quality ingredients in your salad dressing you are not getting the most out of your salad! ( MIND BLOWN! Friends I never knew this until I started looking into it!)

I am all about balance and I sure do look at ways I can cut fat out of my diet at times. However when it comes to cutting down fat I urge you to look at what the company is putting in the product to cut fat out. What actually are they using to substitute it? In the case above it is large amounts of sugar which has the opposite effect you are looking for.

Ingredients in the Pomegranate Vinaigrette

3/4 cups pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup grape seed oil ( you want a light, mild tasting oil)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp balsamic
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

This is a 7 ingredient dressing we can produce, minimal sugar, no additives, preservatives or artificial colors/flavors! It really can be so simple to throw together a dressing for the week or two weeks ahead. I promise once you start doing it regularly you won’t even notice it anymore! Plus the taste of homemade dressing is just not even comparable to store bought, trust me 🙂

Is cutting a pomegranate hard?

Believe me, I sure use to think that! Until I messed around with it a few times and saw a cooking show a few years back of someone cutting into it. I remember them showing to put it into a bowl of water and the rest is history. So easy! The recipe calls for pomegranate seeds which are called arils. You can buy arils already out of the pomegranate, but sometimes those can be really perfume-y tasting, so I usually get a pomegranate and open it up myself! I am telling you, it is not hard and you will be amazed once you watch the video below!

How do I know a pomegranate is ripe and ready to pick at the store?

The skin should be firm and taught. The arils when filled with juice start to exert pressure on the sides of the pomegranate causing the sides to start to flatten. When you pick it up you want a heavy pomegranate. Use other pomegranates to compare. The heavier one usually alludes to more juice.

What other ingredients make this salad irresistible?

Grilled Delicata Squash

Herbed Goat Cheese

Pecans

Whole hearts of palm ( found right next to the canned artichokes)

Grilling Delicata Squash

As the Fall and Winter months get colder you may not want to go outside to grill your delicata squash. That is totally fine! Go ahead and pan sear your squash with the same ingredients.

However, take advantage while you can to grill your delicata!

All you need to do is cut them into 1/2 inch rings
Season with garlic ghee, salt and pepper on each side
Grill 5 minutes on each side on medium heat and you are good to go! Check out the video below to see how simple.

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