Daily Mail, Tuesday, August 27, 2019 Page 43
MARY BERRY’S CLASSIC
SALAD DRESSING
235ml, £4, ocado.com
Per serving (30ml): Calories,
120; saturated fat, 0.72g; sugar,
6g; salt, 0.36g
WHAT’S IN IT: Rapeseed oil, water,
sugar, white wine vinegar, season-
ings including mustard seeds,
basil, parsley.
EXPERT VERDICT: On the plus side, rapeseed
oil is high in healthy monounsaturated
fats, helping to keep cholesterol levels in
check. Mustard seeds supply selenium,
important for thyroid and immune
function and healthy hair and skin.
A home-made oil and vinegar version
would be healthier — avoiding the one-
and-a-half teaspoons of sugar per serving
(a fifth of the daily limit; per 100ml there
is 20g sugar, which makes it higher in
sugar than a digestive biscuit). And at
120 calories a serving, it’s also not
waistline friendly. 2/10HELLMANN’S SESAME
& SOY DRESSING
210ml, £1.65, sainsburys.com
Per serving (30ml): Cal, 77;
saturated fat, 0.66g; sugar, 2g;
salt, 0.44g
WHAT’S IN IT: Water, cider vinegar,
rapeseed oil, soy sauce, honey,
sesame seeds and oil, seasonings
and spices.
EXPERT VERDICT: Sesame seeds are
high in iron but there’s less than 1g
per serving. Sprinkling over a
couple more teaspoons of these
would provide 7 per cent of your
daily iron needs (try a Chinese-
style salad with romaine, spring
onions, peanuts, coriander, plus
this dressing and sesame seeds).
The dressing is medium calorie,
but one serving has around 1/14th
of your daily salt, quite high for a
tiny part of your overall diet. It
also has half a teaspoon of added
sugar. On the plus side it’s lower in
calories than others here. 6/10WAITROSE BLUE
CHEESE DRESSING
235ml, £1.86.
Per serving (30ml): Cal,
180; saturated fat, 1.6g;
sugar, 2g; salt, 1.11g
WHAT’S IN IT: Rapeseed oil,
white wine vinegar, water, sugar,
blue cheese powder, egg yolk, salt.
EXPERT VERDICT: Adding 180 calories-
worth of dressing to your salad is
like adding a chocolate bar. This
has a huge amount of salt, too — one
serving has nearly one fifth of the
recommended 6g daily maximum.
The 4 per cent blue cheese powder
is not enough to add calcium to
your diet but raises the fat content:
there’s 8 per cent of your recom-
mended saturated fat limit per
serving. Best avoided. 1/10TRACKLEMENTS
HONEY MUSTARD
DRESSING
240ml, £3.29, ocado.com
Per serving (30ml): Cal,
164; saturated fat, 1.95g;
sugar, 3.6g; salt, 0.42g
WHAT’S IN IT: Sunflower oil,
cider vinegar, honey, mustard,
water, sugar, salt.
EXPERT VERDICT: This contains only
ingredients you’d find at home, i.e.
nothing artificial, which is a plus,
but a serving contains 164 calories
(roughly the same as a bag of
crisps) and nearly a teaspoon of
added sugar.
There’s also nearly a tenth of
your daily limit of saturated fat
per serving, but this is offset by amuch higher level of unsaturated
fats (sunflower oil supplies both
types), which is healthier and
good for keeping cholesterol levels
in check.
Sunflower is also a good source
of vitamin E, which protects our
cell DNA from damage — a serving
could supply more than your daily
vitamin E needs. Vitamins E and C
work together to protect cells from
damage, so ensure the salad contains
vitamin C-rich ingredients such as
red pepper or spinach. 4/10TESCO MANGO
& CHILLI SALAD
DRESSING
250ml, 85p.
Per serving (30ml): Cal,
66; saturated fat, 0.6g;
sugar, 3g; salt, 0.4g
WHAT’S IN IT: Water, rapeseed
oil, mango puree, red chilli puree.
EXPERT VERDICT: The mango puree
is enough to add flavour but not
nutritional goodness. But have it
with chunks of the fruit, watercress
and prawns for a healthy salad that
provides plenty of vitamin C, fibre
and protein.
The sugar content per serving
(8 to 9 per cent of your daily limit)
is less than healthy, but this
dressing could still be a good
option for slimmers, with its
acceptable level of 66 calories a
serving. The chilli heat may also
mean you use less dressing for the
same flavour impact. 5/10SAINSBURY’S
SWEET BALSAMIC
260ml, 85p.
Per serving (30ml): Cal,
18; saturated fat, trace;
sugar, 1.74g; salt, 0.23g
WHAT’S IN IT: Water, balsamic
and red wine vinegars, grape
juice concentrate, sugar, corn
flour, seasonings.
EXPERT VERDICT: Despite ‘sweet’ in
the name it doesn’t have as much
sugar as many salad dressings, at
a little less than half a teaspoon in
a 30ml serving.
It’s amazingly low in calories and
gets brownie points for being one
of the lower salt dressings. As it’s
fat free, it’s worth adding healthy fat
sources, such as seeds or avocado,
to your salad to ensure fat-soluble
antioxidants — such as the beta
carotene in leaves and tomatoes
— are better absorbed. 9/10PIZZA EXPRESS HOUSE
LIGHT SALAD DRESSING
235ml, £1.50, most
supermarkets.
Per serving (30ml): Cal,
89; saturated fat, 1.26g;
sugar, 1.38g; salt; 0.66g
WHAT’S IN IT: Water, olive oil,
vinegar, egg, salt, other seasonings.
EXPERT VERDICT: A creamy ranch-
style dressing with some of the oil
replaced with water. ‘Light’ only
has to mean 30 per cent lower infat or calories — in this case fat —
than an original version of the
product, so if you were hoping for a
low-calorie dressing, you’d be
disappointed because this has
more calories than a chocolate
digestive. The sugar is low and the
saturated fat content is fine.
As for salt content — a serving
supplies over a tenth of your
recommended limit. 2.5/10MORRISONS
CAESAR DRESSING
175ml, £1.10.
Per serving (30ml): Cal,
120; saturated fat, 1.2g;
sugar, 0.8g; salt, 0.36g
WHAT’S IN IT: Rapeseed oil,
water, egg, Parmigiano
Reggiano, vinegar sugar,
garlic, Worcester sauce and
other seasonings.
EXPERT VERDICT: Caesar dressing is
often thought to be one of the
worst dressings because of its
creaminess, but this version isn’t
too bad. Unlike home-made Caesar
salad dressing which may be
packed with cheese, it’s not high
in saturated fat or sugar, and 120
calories per serving isn’t awful.
The 7 per cent Parmigiano
Reggiano gives only 2.5 per cent of
your daily calcium per serving.
Use this dressing to bind a
vibrant slaw of red cabbage, apple,
carrot and red onion which would
contain more antioxidants than
traditional iceberg lettuce. 6/10ASDA EXTRA
SPECIAL FRENCH
VINAIGRETTE
255ml, £1.29.
Per serving (30ml):
Cal, 102; saturated
fat, 0.6g; sugar, 3.8g;
salt, 0.32g
WHAT’S IN IT: Water, vinegar,
rapeseed oil, sugar, mustard
and seasonings.
EXPERT VERDICT: Made with Char-
donnay vinegar and a combination
of ordinary and cold-pressed
rapeseed oil. While this may affect
the flavour, it makes no nutritional
difference. There’s still nearly a
teaspoon of added sugar per serv-
ing, though the salt and saturated
fat contents aren’t bad. Make a
sugar-free version by shaking
together oil and vinegar in a 2:1
ratio, then add mustard. 3/10RAW VIBRANT LIVING
ORGANIC APPLE
CIDER VINEGAR WITH
TURMERIC & GINGER
500ml, £4.29, ocado.com
Per serving (30ml): Cal, 2;
saturated fat, 0g; sugar,
0.2g; salt, trace
WHAT’S IN IT: Apple cider vine-
gar, water, ginger, turmeric, chilli.
EXPERT VERDICT: A popular alterna-
tive to standard dressings, because
it’s low in calories and people
believe it reduces blood fat levels.
There is a perception that vinegar
aids weight loss, perhaps by stimu-
lating fat burning. A 2009 study in
the journal Bioscience, Biotech-
nology, and Biochemistry found
people consuming 1-2 tablespoons
of vinegar had modest weight loss
(2lb-4lb) and lower triglyceride
levels than those who drank none.
But this study didn’t specifically
use apple cider vinegar and, over-
all, the evidence that it’s an aid to
weight loss isn’t compelling.
This product contains curcumin
(the active ingredient in turmeric)
and ginger, which have anti-
inflammatory effects, but the
quantities per serving are low and
I doubt if they had much effect.
A vinegar dressing works well
with potato salads — the acid
slows the release of sugar from the
potatoes, reducing blood sugar
and insulin spikes that may
increase diabetes risk.
You’d need to add oil to turn this
into a proper dressing. If mixed
half-and-half with olive oil, this
would increase to 130 calories per
two tablespoon serving. 7/10This week: Andie
MacDowell’s shoulders
AT THE LA premiere of her
new film, Ready Or Not, Andie
MacDowell wore an off-the-
shoulder dress. The actress,
61, says her favourite ways to
exercise are hiking and yoga.
‘Hiking is more than just
exercise — your cortisol
levels are balanced by
walking in nature,’ she said.
WHAT TO TRY: The weighted stand-up works
every muscle and strengthens shoulders.
Lying on your back, hold a weight in your right
hand. Raise it so your right arm is almoststraight in front of
you. Engage your core
muscles and place your
left hand on the floor
behind your body
to get in a standing
position while
holding the weight
aloft. Keep your
right arm straight
throughout the
move and finish
with the weight directly above
your head.
Repeat five times on each side,
building to ten.SECRETS OF AN
A-LIST
BODY
How to get the enviable
physiques of the stars
You’ve made a healthy lunch.
So why use a dressing with as
many calories as a chocolate bar?
SUMMERTIME is high season
for healthy salads. But the
dressing you choose can make
a big difference. From classic
Caesar to fat-free balsamic,
we asked dietitian Helen Bond
to assess the benefits of ten
supermarket salad dressings.
We then rated them. ANGELA
DOWDEN reports.TOSS OUT!
What to toss
in your salad
...and what to
Picture: RICH FURY/FILMMAGICPicture:
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