The swap: Bottled dressing for homemade

Store-bought dressings, generally fatty and full of sugar, can be an enemy to the runner. Keep your salad healthy by tossing the bottles and switching to simple, homemade dressings.

It’s unfair but true. You create a gorgeous salad with in-season, organic veggies, leafy greens and colourful ingredients full of vitamins and flavour. It’s supposed to be the healthy option. Enter the store-bought dressing and everything goes downhill. Use these simple dressings and your salad still has a chance. You’ll actually know what’s in it!

Lemon avocado dressing

This recipe is a great alternative for the person who loves the creamy dressings but doesn’t want to suffer the consequences of Caesars and ranch. It’s simple, with only five ingredients (one of them is water) and there’s no cream or sugar. Plus there’s only two steps: put in a bowl. Blend.

Basic balsamic and oil

If you haven’t yet tried the balsamic vinegar and oil blend, try it and you’ll be a convert. Mix three parts olive oil with one part balsamic vinegar. For lighter salads, opt for white balsamic. Sprinkle in the desired amount of Italian herbs. Fresh herbs are better.

Sesame honey garlic

This is a tasty dressing that works on most salads. It’s texture is grainy because of the sesame seeds and mustard and has a flavour perfect for summer salads at a barbecue. To increase the health factor, opt for a combination of quality oils or ones enhanced with omega-3.

Greek vinaigrette

A sharp vinaigrette that compliments savoury salads is a must-have in the fridge for summer. This one uses ingredients already in most kitchen’s: lemon, garlic, oil, red wine vinegar, pepper and Italian herbs. It’s a simple and honest recipe for all cooking abilities.