It seems I am always watching my weight, and one of my favorite meals is a simple chef’s salad. I toss together some lettuce and veggies, adding in lean turkey, ham, or a hard boiled egg for protein. All those ingredients are very healthy, but what ruins an otherwise healthy salad is the dressing. Made with mayonnaise, they are just full of fat. I’ve tried most of the “healthier” salad dressings on the market, and most don’t deliver a great performance. I cannot stand the taste of fat free dressing. Fat does give foods a good flavor, and I do believe dressings need a little bit of fat to pull off a great taste.
Our families all time favorite healthy salad dressings are made by Kraft Foods, and we especially love their Light Done Right! line. The most popular is their Raspberry Vinagrette, but we also like the Thousand Island, which has always been one of my favorite varieties of dressing. I had almost given up on eating it again, since I didn’t care for the fat free versions, but Kraft pulled off another winner with their Light Done Right! Reduced Fat Thousand Island Dressing.
This dressing looks like any normal Thousand Island dressing. It has the same color, and consistency, and is full of chunks of pickles and onions. I can eat it without feeling guilty!
Nutritional Information*
* Per 2 tablespoons
Calories: 60
Fat calories: 20
Total fat: 2g
Saturated fat: 0g
Trans fat: 0g
Polyunsaturated fat: 1g
Monounsaturated fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 340mg
Carbs: 10g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 7g
Protein: 0g
Thoughts
It has been a challenge finding a low fat salad dressing that I enjoy. Most of my favorite dressings are the creamy ones, such as ranch and thousand island. Unfortunately, creamy dressings are normally made with high fat ingredients like mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk or heavy cream.
Most “light” dressings on the market contain 8 or less grams of fat per serving, but Kraft’s Light Done Right! Thousand Island only has 2 grams of fat, and they do it without sacrificing flavor. The dressing is thick and creamy, and gives my salad a nice rich flavor without the fat.
Kraft’s regular Thousand Island Dressing contains 6 grams of fat, so the healthy version cut the total by 2/3 and still tastes great. Of course you have to be careful not to use too much dressing on your salad. When using a low fat product, it’s sometimes easy to overdo it. How healthy your salad is depends directly on how much dressing you use. I try to stick to the 2 tablespoon serving size, and don’t feel I am being deprived one bit.
Kraft Light Done Right! Thousand Island dressing is a good choice for those trying to watch their fat and calorie intake.
