Recipe #67: Creamy Cilantro Salad Dressing

Ever since we decided to cut out fast food altogether we have taken serious strides to watch our sodium intake. I think I've made it clear how upset I get when something that is coined "healthy" is actually jacked high in salts. Before I started watching how much sodium I took in on a daily basis I would only watch my caloric and fat content. But was I successful in losing weight? Not really. It was not until this summer that I really began eating only a 1/3 of the sodium milligrams I used to ingest.

However, this meant eating more calories and (good) fat in order to compensate for the lower sodium content and here is why: I noticed that products lower in fat and calories are actually much higher in sodium. (Food companies are substituting fat with sodium for flavor.) Because of this observation I have made a very conscious effort to look at the back of the nutritional information before buying anything.

Even though it has been kind of tough to always check every product it has ultimately been worth it. Do you know why? I've actually lost a couple of pounds! (Yeah, buddy!) But one downside of my incessant label checking has been with my recent discovery of salad dressing made with yogurt. Don't get me wrong if you are only watching your calories and fat levels than yogurt dressing is a fantastic option.

The fat content and the calories are remarkably lower than regular creamy salad dressing and it tastes great. But like with every product I check the sodium levels are a higher percentage in the yogurt than the regular dressings. Here is my attempt to make a yogurt dressing that is filled with flavor and creaminess but is super low in sodium. It may not last as long in the refrigerator without all of the salt preservatives but it will be a heck of a lot healthier for you! This blogger and I had the same idea: http://pinchofyum.com/creamy-cilantro-dressing and I was very happy with it!

Ingredients:

* 1 bunch of Cilantro
* 2 large cloves of Garlic
* 6 Tbsp of Plain Non Fat Yogurt
* 5 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* 2 tsp of Honey
* 2 tsp of Lime Juice
* 3 tsp of Water
* 1 Jalapeno




Cooking Directions:

In a food processor or blender add all of the ingredients.

Then blend on medium high until you find the desired consistency.

Pour the dressing in a bowl and refrigerate for an hour before serving over a bed of lettuce.