I love goooooooold
Liquid gold salad dressing.
Usually when I’ll make a salad, there are a few dressing options in the rotation:
1) balsamic, olive oil, fresh herbs, salt and pepper
2) apple cider vinegar and a pinch of Stevia
3) lemon juice and olive oil
4) store-bought goddess dressing
5) salsa, guacamole or hummus
I switch it up fairly often to keep from getting in a rut -love my salad beasts- and especially love fresh herbs for some pizazz. When my friend Lara posted this recipe for a dressing she loves, I couldn’t wait to try it. The Pilot and Liv were at Whole Foods grabbing some groceries, so I texted to ask if he’d mind grabbing some fig jam. Everything else we had on hand!
I followed the recipe exactly, and was so surprised that it didn’t seem to need anything else. No herbs, no salt and pepper- it was perfectly seasoned and vibrant as is.
The only thing I’ll change next time is that I’ll make a double batch 😉
This afternoon, I enjoyed some of the liquid gold dressing atop salad greens with shish kebob leftovers: grilled chicken, potatoes and peppers. It was wonderful. I can’t wait to try it with greens, salmon, dried berries, almonds and goat cheese… I’m salivating just thinking about it!
What’s your favorite salad dressing? Do you like to make your own? If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend the hummus/balsamic vinaigrette combo- it’s outta this world.
We’re off to take the cousins to the pool and then out for Mexican tonight! Since my legs have recovered from this weekend, I’m excited to get some nighttime cardio in, too.
Hope you’re having a great day!
xoxo
Gina
Summer Shape Up friends: Check in here! Leave a comment to let me know how workout 4 went! How ’bout those lunge combos? 😉
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Love the workout week 4. The ending core exercises were cool (and tough!).
I used to buy this organic roasted red pepper dressing. It was fantastic. I’ve never been much into dressings that smell too strongly of vinegar and it’s hard to find ones that aren’t. I’ve bought way too many bottles, used one serving, and then threw the rest away. Maybe I need to start making my own too.
Loved the lunge combo, next time I plan on using a little heavier weights. The plank and roll move killed me in the best way possible.
Love these salad dressing ideas! I’m always looking for new ways to dress up my salads. Thanks!
That salad looks so delicious! And I always love to mix up my mostly daily salads with a new dressing so thanks for sharing this! Can’t wait to try it out now.
This week’s workout left me wiped – omg were those reach & rolls killer! & the jumping lunges following the combos? yikes! Wanted to share that a friend & I were doing workout 3 over the weekend and the trainer at our gym walked into the room and pounded us, saying he “loved seeing strong women!” So motivating! Thanks for makin’ us look tough 🙂
That salad looks sooo good! (I also love that you’re using the Measure, Mix, and Pour from The Pampered Chef. It’s awesome!) Thank you for sharing all your great recipes!!!
The salad dressing sounds fantastic and your salad looks delicious! My favorite salad dressing is balsamic vinaigrette or Italian dressing.
Apple cider vinegar, Dijon, olive oil, a bit of honey (or agave), s&p. And I could eat it everyday and not get tired of it:) If I’m feeling like something a bit creamier, I’ll add in a chunk of goat cheese and shake it up. So yummy!
I saw lara post that recipe! It sounds amazing but I think I’d have a hard time finding some of those ingredients! I’ll have to do some hunting around!
I am getting married in the fall and registered for one of those salad dressing glasses with the measurements on the side. I’ve always wanted to try making my own salad dressings! Sounds delicious 🙂
I am totally going to have to try the balsamic and hummus thing because I adore both! I’m usually just a simple balsamic girl, but one of my faves is a green dressing made with tons of herbs, garlic, lemon juice, and a bit of olive oil (the recipe is here: http://eat-spin-run-repeat.com/recipes-2/?recipe_id=6035594). It requires a blender, but I always make a big batch so that it lasts for the week. The additional time and washing up is totally worth it!
#4 is such a great workout!!! Usually when I see ‘lunges’, I think of that as my easy break between the other exercises, but wow! that whole combo thing was no joke! Thank you!!!
Workout 4 went well! The lunge combos were killer…
This dressing looks great. It’s so good to mix it up from the ol regular (mine would be balsamic & olive oil). I’m actually in the process of making a salad dressing blog post as requested by a friend, so I’m going to definitely link up this post! 🙂
Workout 4 was killer… Those lunges left my legs burning! Loved it!!
Um yeah, about those lunge combos. I literally was shaking and cursing. My legs were so wasted by the end of the workout after all the hammy work too that I couldn’t do my regular HIIT intervals. (I usually do sprints at 7.5 and recover around 6.5 but today I had to do 5 minutes at 7 and 5 minutes walking for the 30.) Gracias. 🙂
Lunge combo went well today, but I was crazy and did three rounds of the jump lunges after each set…my legs will NOT be my friends tomorrow 😉
Hahaha, I can’t look at FIGJAM without thinking of the acronym {F*** I’m Good, Just Ask Me}.
Looks like I might need to add a new dressing to my rotation.
It’s the jumping lunges that get me!
I have the hardest time making a dressing that I like (and isn’t from a store with tons of ingredients)…what ratio do you use for lemon juice and olive oil?
Liked the week 4 workout- BUT it was super hard to do anything on the floor because my 15 month old took every opportunity to give my wet kisses and tackle my head- Got it done though!
Your salad looks heavenly! I love homemade salad dressing – have you ever tried balsamic infused olive oil as a base for your salad dressing?
Workout 4 was great! Jumping lunges will get me everytime… felt great to be able to do the 30 min hiit, I can feel and see progress which is a great feeling 🙂
Yummy! Will have to give it a try. My fave is a balsamic reduction with olive oil. You have to use a good organic balsamic vinegar (whole foods, or anything organic) and simmer on low heat until its syrupy. Whisk in olive oil. It’s super sweet and yummy and simple!
Umm yeah… So between the lunge combo and jump lunges my legs were toast by the time I went to the track to do my HIIT!! But I pretty much killed it;) I almost bought the champagne vinaigrette last time I was at tj’s but didn’t know what I would use it for! Next time fo sho:)
I’m a week behind so I just did week three workout and the plie squat, burpees, squat jumps are serious business!
We have a store in Charlottesville called oil and vinegar. Hundreds of different flavors. My current favorite is a lime grape seed oil with a strawberry balsamic vinegar, to die for!
Week 4 was no joke today! I’m already feeling it in my legs and bum!
That dressing sounds great; I must remember that orange vinegar next time I’m at TJs.
Holy hamstring soreness!!! Workout 4 rocks! Thank you!
I checked in on the earlier post, but WO4 was awesome! Those lunge combos are killer!
My go to dressing is a simple family fave: olive oil, red wine vinegar and garlic salt.
A crowd pleaser dressing that I usually take to dinners is mayo, olive oil, garlic, rice vinegar, sugar salt and pepper. Tossed with lettuce, craisins, walnuts, green apples and Gorgonzola, it’s amazing!
Did the workout this evening after crossfit!! It was awesome!!!
Loved the workout today. It was great. The HIIT training was tough. I did it on the elliptical. It was great though. Thanks for all the work that you did on these.
I love to make my own salad dressing and throw hummus on there as well. I also like to throw rice and beans, my salad dressing, guacamole and salsa on salad. My all time favorite though is to make a homemade ginger/almond dressing put it on salad with coleslaw mixed in and to add some cut up baked tofu. It is really yummy.
Well I feel like quite the celeb now being featured here 🙂 Yay, I’m so glad you liked it!
This dressing sounds so good!! I love a little sweetness in Salad Dressings. My favorite for summer is my strawberry dressing: http://swissfitchick.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/tuesday-recipe-sweet-and-savory-strawberry-bliss/
So so delicious!!
Orange and fig dressing? I’m sold! I usually make my own dressings too – it’s much more convenient than keeping a million different bottled dressings in my fridge. My most recent favourite is a lemon shallot dressing recipe I got from Fine Cooking magazine!
I always make my own salad dressings! I use to buy them all the time- but then I started looking at the ingredient list. Generally, I try and follow the rule “if I can’t pronounce it, I shouldn’t be eating it”, which eliminates most dressings.
Now I buy infused balsamic vinegars (my favourite is pomegranate) and mix it with some olive oil, honey and salt. Delicious, everytime!
Yep, legs are definitely feeling SSU today 🙂 LOVE it!
I LOVE tj’s Ceasar Romano dressing!
Winn Dixie has a Dijon Wasabi thats delicious.
I NEED that dressing container. I love that it has written what to put into a dressing on the side. I think I’ve seen that before but you just re-reminded me about it!
Workout #4 was tough in a hurts-so-good kind of way! It was tough to do the HIIT right after, but I did it and was a sweaty mess at the end. 🙂
I made this dressing today and, oh, my goodness!!! It is named quite appropriately and is out of this world! I don’t think it will go as far as the original post says but I’ll try to stretch it.
I wondered where you get the container you mix it in and now see it’s Pampered Chef. I’ll have to look into buying one. Looks very handy.
Thanks for your great posts.
I love making my own salad dressings – homemade balsamic vinegar is usually what ends up happening, but the other day I made a honey lime vinagrette with white vinegar, honey, lime juice, some fresh orange juice, and salt!
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this recipe (and thank you to Lara’s blog, too!)! I went to TJ’s yesterday and bought the Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar and fig butter (I asked for fig jam, but this was a great substitute they suggested. I want to go to Whole Foods when I get closer to one, because the one in the original recipe is sweetened with apple juice versus sugar in the fig butter).
Blew. My. Mind. And taste buds!
I topped 1/2 bag TJ’s spring mix with about 1 1/2 TB dressing, 2 sliced radishes, cucumber slices, slow roasted deli chicken (TJ’s, naturally), goat cheese, and raw pumpkin seeds. New stable dressing, for sure!
You’re the best, Gina! Thanks again!
ahhhh! i’m so happy you liked it as much as i do, and am so happy lara posted the recipe 🙂
I use balsamic/hummus combo for dressing all the time! Love it, so easy, always on hand.
I’m headed to TJ’s tomorrow though and will pick up that vinegar for sure to try out the recipe. Sounds really really good. I love the taste of figs & orange.