Low Calorie Salad Dressings

Make a salad into a main meal with all the different ingredients available and gain extra portions towards your 5 a day quota. Be adventurous with colour, flavours and textures. What salad would be complete without a dressing to enhance the flavour? Forget heaps of mayonnaise, there are low calorie alternatives…

Table 1: Low Calorie Salad Dressings Compared

Product	Garlic and Herb Dressing, Reduced Calorie, Hellman's Light*	Five Herb Salad Dressing, Better for You, Morrison's*	Classic French Vinaigrette, Get Dressed, Kraft*
Ranking
Calories Per Serving	10ml† 23.3kcal	10ml†   4.5kcal	10ml†   3.9kcal
Calories Per 100ml	233kcal	45kcal	39kcal
Fat Per Serving	1.9g	0g	0g
Fat Per 100ml	19.3g	0g	0g
Conclusion	This delicious dressing had an excellent taste which complimented the salad perfectly. The garlic flavour enhanced the ingredients whilst not overpowering them. A perfect substitute for high calorie mayonnaise. It also makes a great dip!	Appearance could be off putting - lots of herbs in what looks a bit like clear jelly. However, when tasted fears subsided. A lovely light taste which brought out the flavours in sweetcorn, carrot, asparagus alike!	Looked attractive and enhanced the appearance of the salad. A good tangy, herby taste. A worthwhile purchase.

Table 2: More Low Calorie Salad Dressings Compared

Product	Creamy Dressing, Waistline, Crosse & Blackwell*	Vinaigrette Dressing, BGTY, Sainsbury's*	Californian Tomato Dressing, Virtually Fat Free, EPC*
Ranking
Calories Per Serving	10ml† 12kcal	10ml†   2.3kcal	10ml†   7.6kcal
Calories Per 100ml	120kcal	23kcal	76kcal
Fat Per Serving	0.6g	0.01g	0.04g
Fat Per 100ml	6.3g	0.1g	0.4g
Conclusion	This was deemed by all a "poor man's salad cream". Heavy and extremely thick it lacked texture and flavour.	A "suspect" colour did not tempt us. A very non descriptive, almost watered down vinegar taste. Did nothing for the salad..	Suggested as a dressing for salads or a sauce for pasta this was deemed by 100% not suitable as a dressing for salads. One of our panel even suggested it tasted like something the dentist would give you to rinse your mouth! Very strong tomato / vinegar taste – very overpowering!

†Retailer's Recommended Portion Size

We always warn that sauces and dressings heaped over salads and vegetables can unwittingly load on the calories. A careful look around the supermarket can lead to some wise choices. Our low calorie dressings (both creamy and vinaigrettes) are better choices than thick mayonnaise or salad creams. Hellmann's Light and Morrisons led the way to encourage a tasty salad meal. Give them a try!