I am not a big fan of store-bought salad dressing just because so many of them have unheard of ingredients and just don’t taste that great. Many of my clients with sensitive stomachs can’t eat onion and garlic and they are staple ingredients in most dressings too. So… I thought I would share some easy to whip up, tasty, and healthy (i.e. no artificial junk) dressings with you. Don’t get me wrong, I grab a pre-made dressing on occasion, but home-made dressings truly tastes so….much better!
One of my favorite place in the whole wide world is Paris, France. I love running on the Seine with the Eiffel tower in the background. I mean, really, who wouldn’t love that? I also love the food in Paris, particularly the mustard-y dressing that is so simple and so tasty over baby salad greens.
Since I have been craving so much salad these days {post holiday sweets overload, I am sure}, I have been whipping up homemade dressing too. To make a nice French style mustard vinaigrette, be sure to start with a good quality Dijon mustard. When making this dressing, I use Maille, Dijon Originale.
Simple Mustard-y Dressing:
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
2 tsp. fresh chives, chopped (traditional recipe calls for a shallot but for my FODMAP followers use chives)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard* best quality such as Maille
3T olive oil-good quality, of course!
Mix salt, vinegar, and chives and let sit for a few minutes to infuse flavor.
Add mustard and olive oil and whisk to blend.
This dressing is great over baby salad greens but also tastes great mixed in with a pint of chopped cherry tomatoes.
I also am a BIG fan of this easy Asian dressing that tastes great over grilled chicken, rice noodles or lettuce greens. Toasted sesame oil gives this dressing a nice flavor.
Along with Tamari, a naturally brewed soy sauce. I use the reduced sodium variety. 
Whisk it up and it is so yum!
Asian Sesame Soy Dressing:
1/3 cup peanut oil or olive oil
2 TB. sesame oil
3 TB rice wine vinegar
2 TB tamari (soy sauce), reduced sodium
2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup scallions, green part chopped
ground pepper
Whisk all the ingredients together and enjoy!
And here are a few more yummy dressing for you to try!
Orange Drizzle Dressing:
This dressing is tangy and sweet.
Great over salad greens, mixed with a handful of orange sections and toasted walnuts.
(Dressing from my book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Well with IBS, Alpha, 2010)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TB orange juice
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 TB maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Whisk ingredients together and toss with greens. Yum!
Poppy-seed dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1-2 TB red wine vinegar-to taste
2 TB milk (lactose free for those with lactose intolerance, though this small amount should be tolerated by most)
1 TB poppy seeds
1-2 TB sugar (to taste)
Place all the ingredients in small glass jar with lid. Shake vigorously. Enjoy over spinach salad with strawberries slices and toasted walnuts.
Try these yummy dressings made with real ingredients. And do me a favor and take a look at some of those bottled dressings in the store or even your refrigerator! If you don’t recognize the ingredients, perhaps, you should not be putting them in your body. Just saying’…
Lisa
That Asian-style dressing looks wonderful! Is tamari FODMAP safe?
katescarlata
Tamari is low in FODMAPs and delicious. 🙂
Lisa
Seriously! I had no idea – I’ve been avoiding it since I thought soy products were to be avoided. Oh snap!
Ashlee
Thank you so much! I’ve been trying to find good home-made low fodmap dressings…I am definitely going to give these a try!
katescarlata
I hope you like them! If you come up with any other delicious recipes please share! 🙂
Samantha Matete
I’ve been avoiding Tamari and gluten free soy sauce because it is soy…..so are they ok then?
katescarlata
Samantha…not sure I answered you yet…yes it’s okay to use soy sauce–it is the fiber in soy that is a problem and so soy sauce is allowed. So is soy lecithin and soy bean oil. Tofu and tempeh are allowed as well due to processing and fermentation that lowers FODMAPs.
Samantha Matete
Hi Kate, Thanks for answering. But wouldn’t soy sauce need to be avoided because it usually contains gluten? I’m not celiac but since going gluten free has greatly improved my digestive troubles. I avoid all products that the main ingredient is gluten such as bread pasta etc, do or should I avoid ALL gluten containing products like soy sauce?
katescarlata
The low FODMAP diet is not a gluten free diet. (FODMAPs are carbohydrates and gluten is a protein). There is overlap in the low FODMAP diet as wheat, barley and rye contain both FODMAPs and gluten. (So some of the foods you choose on the low FODMAP diet will be gluten free–such as breads and pastas). Some individuals with IBS find gluten to be problematic but the vast majority of clients that I work with can tolerate small amounts of gluten. Certainly with celiac disease not a trace of gluten is allowed in the diet…. If you want to enjoy soy sauce –you could try a gluten free variety such as San-J tamari..if you want to also avoid gluten. That is what I use–just because I think it tastes better than other varieties. But, the soy in soy sauce is not enough to be a FODMAP issue–just reiterating that point for others out there. 🙂
Samantha Matete
Well I am one of those IBS suffers that find gluten to be problematic with bloating and gas symptoms just like the high fodmap foods cause but the level or amounts of gluten I’m unsure of yet. I guess the only way to find out is to try some soy sauce and see how I go. I think I maybe able to tolerate very small minute amounts like that would be in products like soy sauces etc.
Suzanne
Thank you so much for the salad dressing recipes! I love salad and am happy to see I can still eat my chef salad with meat and cheese. But I do miss my ranch and blue cheese dressings. I was wondering if there are any bottled or recipe salad dressings that are creamier such as these.
Also, my symptoms are 80% better being on the low FODMAP diet! YAY! But I still have 20% tummy bloating that is intermittent. I was wondering if almond butter (2 TBS a day) or other low FODMAP food could be a possible trigger.
katescarlata
Suzanne, I don’t know of a ranch or blue cheese dressing that is appropriate on the low FODMAP diet. Maybe someone else can pipe in?? Almonds do have FODMAPs but can be consumed in a 10 nut portion. I think this would equate to about 1 TB of almond butter or so. So…maybe try splitting up the 2 TB of almond butter and see if that helps. Poor small intestinal cleansing can contribute to bloating too –so try to space your meals out (about 3-4 hours apart) which may help increase the number of cleansing waves you experience during the day. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth can be the cause of continued bloating–so talk with your doctor about that as a possible issue as well.