GREEK SALAD DRESSING

---

​One of my favorite salads is the Greek salad. It's so simple, yet so flavorful! I believe the best part is the dressing. 
No matter what type of salad you're making, you can add this very flavorful dressing to give it that perfect taste. Plus, nothing is better than homemade!
​Why take the time to make your dressing you ask? Have you ever turned a bottle of store bought salad dressing around to look at the ingredient list? Those bottles are filled with tons of nasty chemicals, then we pour it over our healthy, beautiful veggies and ruin them!

​Let's take a look at some of those ingredients.

---

​Soybean oil: It's incredibly inflammatory due to it's high omega 6 content. It has been linked to insulin resistance which causes obesity.  These factors are involved in all the lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.

Sugar:  Would you willingly sprinkle sugar on your salad? NO! Of course not. We need to be very careful about all the sneaky ways sugar gets into our foods. It causes numerous health problems, not to mention weight gain, and causes cravings.

Modified food starch: Let's start with the word "modified." Chemicals such as sulfuric acid, chlorine or other chemicals are what's used to treat the "food." Speaking of the word "food", some possible sources can be corn, potato or wheat. If it's corn, we can bet that it's GMO corn. Bottom line, it's highly processed and can cause allergic reactions for those with wheat allergies.

Monosodium Glutamate: Good old MSG. It's a highly processed excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your cells to the point of damage. It can cause problems like headaches, obesity and fatigue. It is estimated that up to 40% of the population is sensitive to MSG.

Phosphoric acid: Made from phosphorus which is naturally found in foods, however, too much can cause problems. It has been shown that excessive phosphorus intake can decrease the amount of calcium in your body, leading to bone loss and put you at risk for osteoporosis and heart disease. It can also decrease your body’s ability to use other minerals, such as iron, zinc, and magnesium.

Disodium Inosinate: A purine that should be avoided by those with gout or uric acid kidney stones.

When looking at ingredient labels, I always ask myself if the ingredients are something I would add to my own recipe. I make salad dressings all the time and would never add any of these! The less processed food we consume, the healthier we'll be.

This recipe will take you only a few minutes to prepare and you'll have enough for plenty of salads. Keep it in the fridge and when ready to use, leave it on the counter for a little bit for the olive oil to liquefy again.

---