Needless to say after 11 days and 22 salads I found myself desperate for a change. I tried making my own vinaigrette which was fine for a while. (My favorite is to combine the WF Orange spread, diced garlic, cider vinegar, a little salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon plus a bit of water or grape seed oil.) That got a bit to monotonous so I moved on to using hard boiled eggs and making curried egg salad with the WF mayo to serve over the lettuce. (1 HB egg + 1 white, garlic salt, lemon juice, curry powder, splenda and a little salt... very yummy.) After that I started making things into lettuce wraps to get my lettuce that way. :) That worked for a while but I find myself needing a larger amount of lettuce than the wraps provided.
So, I decided it was time to make my own dressing. This is a creamy dressing with a rich flavor that tastes very similar to the salads they serve at Olive Garden (just avoid thinking about the bread sticks!)
IP Friendly Olive Garden-Style Dressing
1/4 C. Walden Farms Mayo
2 1/2 or 3 Tbsp White Vinegar - depending on preference
1 tsp Grape seed Oil
1/8 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil
dash of onion powder
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt and Fresh Ground pepper to taste
1/2 Parsley flakes (if desired, I omitted)
***I used a dash (less than an 1/8 tsp I would guess) of white cheddar popcorn salt. (0 Carb, 0 Sugar) ***
Blend or shake together until well combined.
This should provide you with enough dressing for at least 4 bowls of salad. It is simple to double the recipe. Play around with the spices and amounts to find what you like best and get the added bonus of it being a little different every time. You can make extra and store in the fridge for up to 10 days, just shake well before using.
*** I do not know if this is considered "on plan" or not. Mine has zero carbs, and zero sugar for a serving of 1/4 tsp and I figured that when divided out over 4 salads it wouldn't be an issue. It is technically made with cheese but I don't use the 1 oz of skim milk the plan allows each day so I figure it's probably ok. I have a message in to my coach to verify and I'll update when I find out for sure!!!
If you like a less of the bold flavor, just add some water or another tsp of oil for a lighter more vinaigrette style which would be great too.
Another possible modification would be to use a bit of the broccoli cheese soup packet (dry not prepared) to add a different cheesy flavor. I haven't tried that yet because for me this came out perfect.
The bold flavor of this is perfect for me. I served it over a large bed of romaine lettuce with chicken, a few bits of sundried tomatoes and some banana pepper rings (the pickled kind in a jar) and it was awesome. Felt like a total splurge. This salad is a GREAT option for taking to a gathering or potluck because there is nothing about it that seems like diet food, it is easily enjoyed by all.
Hope you enjoy!
Now for a quick progress report for myself... My week one weigh in didn't go as I expected. I seem to be the only one who didn't drop crazy amounts of weight the first week. But then today I checked back and the scale had budged much better! I have lost 5lbs in my first 10 days!!! I love this plan, have been enjoying the foods, feel better and don't feel deprived. I was able to cook enough food for an army this past week to serve some out of town company and I didn't have a single taste test! I even took my niece and nephew out for ice cream without caving! Feeling proud and successful and excited to see how things are looking by the end of the month!
That's all for now, have a joyful day.
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