I have always LOVED salad, like legit loved it. There are so many different combinations you can put together and a huge variety of dressings.
And let me tell you, my friend, I make my own dressings. Yes – all of them.
Why? Because I have no interest in getting all the “other” stuff that’s contained in the ingredients. Things like vegetable oil, sugar, artificial flavour/colour, and preservatives. NO, THANK YOU! Thanks for coming out, anyway!
These ingredients are everywhere, and the more we consume, the more of a negative effect they can have. Suppressed immunity, poor blood sugar regulation, insulin resistance/diabetes, weight gain, poor skin health, cravings… the list goes on.
When you make your own dressing, you get to (happily) skip all that stuff and only include the goodies. Things like olive oil, sea salt, herbs, and other REAL ingredients. And the other great thing about making your own dressing is that you can use as much as you dang want. Gone are the days of having the dressing on the side and pouring just the teeniest amount on your salad. Boring!! No way; when you know the ingredients are healthy and nourishing, you want to pour that on, baby!
And I do. I LOVE me some healthy, homemade dressing.
Of all the dressings I make, this balsamic vinaigrette has to be the top. You’ll pretty much never see my fridge without it, simply because I always need to have dressing on hand (makes it way more likely you’ll choose the salad), and this is my super simple and quick go-to.
My family has always called it Mud (“pass the Mud, please!”) because, well, that’s kinda what it looks like.
So with that, here is the easiest (and might I say, most delicous) recipe for Balsamic Vinaigrette:
Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 cup olive oil
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper
Optional: dried herbs to taste (ex: Herbes de Provence)
Combine ingredients in a glass measuring cup and whisk until combined. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.