Hey guys 😊❤️

How’s everyone doing today? I hope this heat isn’t driving you up the wall – I find myself craving a lot of really fresh, vibrant salads – pasta salads, rice salads, salads with grilled and raw veggies – anything that feels refreshing really.

I really believe that most people who say that they don’t like salads, just haven’t had a good one yet. Now, when I say salad, I don’t mean some limp lettuce, a couple of tomatoes and maybe some diced cucumber; that sounds incredibly sad and I will have no part of it!

A salad doesn’t have to be a low-calorie snooze fest. Salads can be super tasty, vibrant, refreshing, delicious, nutritious (and even very high calorie) meals! My goal here is to share three salad dressings that turn any boring veggie plate into a delicious meal that even the family’s biggest veggie skeptic will enjoy – or at least try!

Yogurt – Basil Dressing – aka my latest obsession

This really is our latest obsession at home – I love using fresh herbs in my cooking. I recently bought a big bunch of basil (because my little basil plant is dying – boo 😒) and wanted something other than pesto. So I tried something different; and we loved it so much that I’ve been making it a couple of times a week since!

Ingredients:

1 cup Greek yoghurt – I use 10% fat

2 cloves roasted garlic

1/2 cup fresh basil

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method:

Mash basil leaves in mortar and pestle with the olive oil and sea salt. Then transfer mashed basil into a bowl with yoghurt and minced garlic and add salt and pepper to taste. That’s it! Then add to salads, over grilled chicken, on toast or eat with a spoon (I don’t do that – at least not in front of other people 😂)

Sesame – Tahini Dressing

This is another easy way to elevate any salad – I love mixing this in with some grilled veggies over rice or a nice fresh lettuce and lentil salad. Using simple ingredients may seem boring, especially when we’re talking about veggies, but adding a flavorful dressing to your meal can make a world of difference. This sesame-tahini dressing packs amazing flavor and turns any salad or roast veg dinner into something really special. The nutty flavor from the sesame oil and the creaminess from the tahini is a great combination!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons sesame oil

1 heaped tablespoon tahini

1 clove (roasted) garlic – minced

juice of half a lemon

salt and pepper

Method:

Whisk all the ingredients together and add this dressing to your meal – that’s it! I like using roasted garlic in most dips and dressings because roasting it in the oven for even just a few minutes will take that away that spice and zing that raw garlic tends to have; but again this is optional as there is a very small amount so raw garlic works here too.

Olive oil – Mustard Dressing

Finally, the third and final salad dressing that I’m going to share today is this really simple olive oil and mustard dressing. I use this with pretty much everything – whether it’s a Greek style salad with feta and olives or a chicken, tomato and pasta salad – it gives a great zing and adds a lot of flavor.

Ingredients:

1 heaped tablespoon whole grain mustard

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon chilli (optional)

Juice from one lemon

salt and pepper

Method:

Just mix everything together and add to your salad – if you make this ahead of time, store in the fridge and thin out with some more oil before using; this dressing is quite thick as it is and it will solidify in the fridge, so just add some more oil and lemon juice right before you use it and enjoy!

That’s it from me for today – I hope you’ll try these dressings out for yourselves and make them your own. My goal here is to show how easy it is to turn something boring into something delicious with just a few ingredients and a couple of minutes! Get creative – you might enjoy messing about in your kitchen more than you think!

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Sarah’s Healthy Eats – @holisticnutritionninja

As always, if you do try them out, please let me know 🙂

Thank you for taking the time to be here and read this ❤

Until my next post, be well xXx