Coach Preston loves a good salad. “I basically do giant salads 1-2x a day. For some people, myself included, cravings are minimized when you feel fuller, hence I prioritize a high veggie intake. I measured yesterday and I had over 1000g just in vegetables.”Salads are a great way to get lots of veggies, but can also come with a huge amount of hidden fat – usually crammed in the salad dressing. Below are some of our team’s favorite ways to get a dressing fix without blowing through all your fat macros for the day. Coach Preston – “I usually rotate through a variety of hot sauces. I know it sounds weird but I’ve been doing it for years! I used to use Bolthouse Farms because they have some great flavors but I found I love just hot sauce. Trader Joe’s Hot Taco sauce and Red’s Wing Sauce are staples, but then I have like 20 different hot sauce bottles in my fridge that I’ll rotate through to add extra spice.”Coach Preston’s Hot Sauce Collection
Aviv’s Hot Sauce Collection
Coach Meghan – “I am someone who wants ALL the creamy, fat-filled ranch or bleu cheese dressing on my salads. Like I literally want to drown them in it. But there’s so much fat in them – and the low-fat versions always taste gross to me. So my favorite hack is to combine some non-fat Greek yogurt with a small amount of something flavor-packed, and then loosen it up with lemon or lime juice (or even just water). I get to use a ton of it to cover every inch of my salad and I’ve found it much better than any low-fat store-bought creamy dressing I’ve ever tried. My favorite flavor mixers are harissa paste, romesco sauce, or olive tapenade.”Meghan’s Homemade Harissa Salad Dressing
Tara – “We make a dressing that is equal parts olive oil, Dijon mustard, and some variation of vinegar (rice, balsamic, wine, etc). It’s good on all kinds of things, not just salads! We usually make single or double servings on the fly since it come together really quickly. You could also make larger batches though and put it in My Fitness Pal as a recipe. ”Coach Stephanie – “I use avocado, as a dressing and just mash it all up. Also sugar-free barbecue sauce!” Coach Dave – “I’m a hot sauce guy like Preston or I like a bunch of balsamic mixed with a tiny amount of olive oil and then salt and pepper. ”Lina – “I like using lemon with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. I do it on the fly when I make a salad. Or champagne dressing. ”Meghan – “Hot-Cold Chopped Salad!! This is how I get away with using no dressing at all! I find that most salads have big pieces of raw veggies that taste so dry to me – it’s why I always want to drown my salad in dressing. But, I’ve discovered the following trick that makes my salad less dry and lets me get away with using no dressing at all. First, I separate the ingredients into “hot” and “cold.” “Hot” ingredients are ones I want to serve warm – always the protein, but others too. “Cold” ingredients are the ones I want to serve cold – the greens are always cold! Second, I roughly chop all the ingredients into bite-sized pieces and combine the “hot” separately from the “cold.” If I’m taking it to go – this is how I pack it up – separately. Lastly, when I’m ready to eat, I microwave the “hot” ingredients for 1 minute. This releases some of their moisture and then, when I mix them in with the cold gives me a less dry texture, and I can get away without any dressing at all! Below is an example with a spinach & chicken salad I might make!”
