Best & Worst Light Salad Dressings & Vinaigrettes

A light salad is always a great option for a healthful meal but just because you chose a light dressing or vinaigrette, you should still look at the label. Even some light salad dressings can be full of calories, sugar and high in sodium. Here is a list of some great options and a few to avoid from my recent segment on WGNO.com.

Love it!

Some of my favorites include Annie's Natural & Organic Lite Gingerly Vinaigrette and Bella's Blackberry & Fig Balsamic salad dressing. Some low-calorie dressings might have fewer calories but often have higher sodium content. Bella's line of salad dressings is great because they include varieties with less than 20 calories per two-tablespoon serving, and just 10 to 125 mg sodium (compared to 400+ mg sodium in many other brands of low-calorie salad dressings). And I just discovered Bragg's "Bragberry" Vinaigrette, made with apple cider vinegar, fruit juices and purees and stevia sweetened -- with just 20 calories and zero sodium per two-tablespoon serving.

Like it!

The options listed in the “Like it” section are low in calories and added sugar, with less than 300 mg sodium per ounce. A few of these options are OPA Greek yogurt-based salad dressings (in the refrigerated area of the produce section) and Newman's Own Lite Italian (it's also one of their lower-sodium varieties).

Hate it!

Although Kraft Three Cheese Lite Ranch Dressing seems to be a good option, it has 360 mg of sodium and other ingredients include MSG and artificial food coloring. Brianna’s Home Style Blush Wine Vinaigrette Dressing has 25% of a day’s worth of sodium and more than half the recommended amount of sugar in a single ounce. Most people will use about 2-3 ounces of dressing on their salad.

For more information on her best and worst picks, check out Molly’s full article on WGNO.com.