Homemade salad dressings

One of my greatest struggles with eating healthier was salads. I really do like salads (assuming of course they have lots of goodies on them), but I've never really found a salad dressing that I liked (well besides triple chunky blue cheese, but then that totally defeats the purpose!). My mom was always really good about making her own salad dressing (back when balsamic vinegar was still considered very gourmet), and she passed along her skills to me. In fact, when I was growing up (and still today), making the salads and dressings became my job. I wanted to share a few quick easy dressings that I use all the time. There's nothing wrong with store bought dressing, I just prefer to make my own so I know exactly how much oil is in it and that there's no hidden evils (sugar, palm oil, etc.).

Lemon Vinaigrette:
Whisk together the juice of one lemon, 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (this is where it's worth the money to spend, since you'll be eating the oil "raw"), and a pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Optional- add in 1/2 garlic clove. Whisk until combined, it will become a dark yellow color and be thicker. (This is the one in the picture). Goes great with a crunchy lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and sliced parmesan (BJ's has a great deal right now on good quality Italian parmesan).

Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette:
Whisk 1 tablespoon mayo, 1/2 tablespoon dijon or deli mustard, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinaigrette, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. This will be a thicker dressing and is good on chicken as well as salad. It goes great on a baby spinach salad with goat cheese, carmelized onions, and strawberries.

Garlic Vinaigrette:
This is Ryan's favorite! Whisk together a finely minced garlic clove, 1 tablespoon red wine (or champagne) vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. The garlic is potent, but makes for a delicious salad! Goes great with romaine or even iceberg.