I love salad dressing, especially ranch. But most salad dressings aren’t exactly smart choices; even vinaigrettes can be filled with hundreds of calories and dozens of grams of fat. That’s why I often dress my salads with a tablespoon or two of hummus.
It might sound odd, but trust me, it’s delicious–creamy and just the tiniest bit tangy. Even better? It’s far healthier than your average salad dressing. To wit: the average ranch contains 148 calories and 16 grams of fat; the same amount of hummus contains around 50-80 calories and three to six grams of fat, depending on the brand you use (I’m a huge fan of Sabra and Basha). It doesn’t hurt that hummus adds a few grams of fiber and protein to your salad.
By the way, lest you be tempted to use fat-free dressing, a recent Iowa State University study found that people who do so don’t absorb any beta-carotene and little of the lycopene and alpha-carotene from their vegetables. That’s because these nutrients are fat-soluble, meaning even a little fat (like the kind you’d get from hummus) will help your body fully absorb them.
–Camille
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Camille
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Good advice. I don’t know Basha hummus. I think everyone should toss their bottled dressing and the extra sugar and salt along with it. I like olive oil and lemon or a little pesto and lemon juice.
Brilliant idea! I love chickpeas in salad, so it’s a natural match. Thanks!
What a good idea! I’m going to link to this on Vitamin G. So so smart! Why didn’t I think of that?!!? P.S. I love dressing salads with a little salsa sometimes! I’m a salsa addict.
xo