Many people love to eat salad, but not many people know that store-bought dressings are loaded with calories.
Most store-bought salads dressings contain GMO processed oils, a lot of sugar, and salt – making them very unhealthy!
It would be ideal to make our own salad dressing. However, sometimes I’m too busy and just need something quick to pour in my salad.
Unfortunately, finding a salad dressing that is ideal for weight loss is a real challenge.
After years of jumping around from salad dressing to salad dressing, I’ve finally have found the best store-bought salad dressing for weight loss.
The Best Store-Bought Salad Dressing For Weight Loss
Low calorie doesn’t mean healthy. However, I tried my best to find a balance when picking out the best store-bought salad dressing for weight loss.
Here are my top 3:
1. Whole Foods’ Garlic Tahini Dressing:
45 calories per serving (2 tablespoons), 135mg of sodium, and 0 grams of sugar per serving.
It’s sugar-free, oil-free, and dairy-free. It also has 2 grams of protein per serving.Ingredients: Filtered Water, Roasted Garlic Puree, Sesame Tahini, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Reduced Sodium Tamari Soy Sauce, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Non-GMO Corn Starch, Cultured Dextrose, Xanthan Gum, Dried Yeast.
2. Whole Foods Black Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette:
40 calories per serving (2 tablespoons), 290mg of sodium, and 2 grams of sugar per serving.
Ingredients: Filtered Water, Expeller Pressed Sunflower Seed Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Organic Distilled White Vinegar, Cane Sugar, Black Garlic Puree, Salt, Organic Red Miso, Dried Garlic, Onion Powder, Xanthan Gum, Yeast Extract, Dried Oregano.
3. Plant-Based OrganicVille Balsamic With Olive Oil Vinaigrette & Marinade:
60 calories per serving (2 tablespoons), 240mg of sodium, and 1 gram of sugar per serving.
Ingredients: Water, Organic Apple Juice From Concentrate, Organic Balsamic Vinegar, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Organic High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Salt, Organic Dried Garlic, Organic Acacia Gum, Xanthan Gum, Organic Black Pepper, Organic Basil, Organic Oregano, Organic Marjoram.
By no means are my picks perfect, but they will do the job while you are on your weight-loss journey.
I realize that my number 1 and 2 picks are both from the Whole Foods grocery store. If you do not have a Whole Foods near you, try buying it online.
If you still cannot find them, head over to your preferred grocery store and pick a salad dressing based on my recommendations in the section below.
What To Look For In A Healthy Salad Dressing For Weight Loss?
I know how overwhelming it can be to pick a salad dressing from the dozens of options at the store.
Lucky for you, I listed below what you should look for on the nutrition label.
The nutrition label on the back of a salad dressing bottle usually shows how many calories are in each serving size.
1. Low In Calories
You need to be careful because sometimes one brand will show that 1 serving size is 1 tablespoon, and another brand will show 1 serving size is 2 tablespoons.
Try to find a salad dressing that is 60 calories or less per 2 tablespoons.
I’ve seen salad dressings at the grocery store that go as high as 180 calories per 2 tablespoons.
Remember that to lose weight, you need to be burning more calories than you’re taking in.
It is so easy to pour several tablespoons of dressing into our salad without realizing it.
After all, it’s the salad dressing that is making our salad tasty.
So pick a low-calorie dressing and be mindful of how much you’re actually pouring into your salad. Measure it with a measuring spoon if you need to.
This will make it much easier to stay under your daily calorie allowance while still enjoying your salad.
2. Clean Ingredients
To make sure you’re picking a healthy salad dressing, look for clean ingredient lists without cheap oils, HFCS, additives, food coloring, and thickeners.
As a rule of thumb, the shorter the list of ingredients, the better.
That is the problem with a lot of fat-free salad dressings. They may be low in calories, but to make them taste good, they add a lot of sugar and artificial ingredients.
If you cannot recognize the name of the ingredient, it’s probably not good for you.
3. Good Quality Oil
It’s common to see salad dressing that has canola oil as one of its main ingredients.
The reason manufacturers use canola oil it’s because it’s cheap and because it has a neutral flavor.
However, it’s one of the most highly-processed oils, and it’s full of trans fats.
Don’t be fooled by soybean oil, vegetable oil, safflower, and sunflower seed oil, either.
These oils are usually made from GMO crops. They are rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which can contribute to inflammation when consumed excessively.
Look for a dressing made from avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, or an oil that is non-GMO expeller pressed.
4. Low In Sugar
Look for salad dressing that has 2 grams or less of sugar per serving. The reason is that we usually consume several servings.
If you were only eating one serving, it wouldn’t matter too much to have more sugar than I recommend.
But if you’re consuming four or five servings, then the sugar can really add up and cause unwanted weight gain.
5. Low In Sodium
Look for salad dressing that has 250 mg or less of sodium per serving.
The reason is that there is already enough sodium in the foods you are eating, and you don’t need to add more.
Brands With Honorable Mentions
The following brands are the best in quality, no question.
The problem is that they are not low in calories. So while we are in weight loss mode, we might need to sacrifice a little of the quality to make it easier on you.
The other option is to buy one of the following salad dressings, but just use a lot less of it.
Here are the top 3:
- Primal Kitchen: made using avocado oil, has no sugar, and has clean ingredients.
- Chosen Foods: made using avocado oil, has no sugar, and has clean ingredients.
- Bragg Vinaigrette: made using extra virgin olive oil, is low in sodium, and has clean ingredients.
These brands are a little pricier. However, you are paying for top-notch ingredients.
Download this cheat sheet to learn the secrets to go from busy and out-of-shape to energetic and fit!
Brands To Avoid At All Costs
Stay away from brands like Walden Farms, Hidden Valley, Kraft, Brianna’s, Ken’s, and Newman’s Own.
These are just a few examples, but they will give you an idea of the nutrition labels and ingredients you need to avoid if you want to lose weight.
Conclusion
If you want to lose weight, stay away from salad dressings that are high in calories, high in sugar, and have inferior oils.
While it might be tempting to choose low-quality dressings, this will only make your number on the scale increase while not helping fill you up either.
So, what is the best store-bought salad dressing for weight loss? Try the Whole Foods brand salad dressings I mentioned above!
You can still get flavor without adding pounds by choosing one of these healthier alternatives.
What is your go-to salad dressing? Let me know in the comments section below.
Lily
Hi, I'm Lily! Like you, I have struggled with my weight. It was not an easy journey but I was able to lose 40 pounds and have kept it off for 14 years. My goal is to share with you all the research, tips, and tricks that I have learned over the years to help you lose weight also.Download this cheat sheet to learn the secrets to go from busy and out-of-shape to energetic and fit!