Easy healthy eating with easy vinaigrette recipes

I am big on salads. Whenever Caitlin asks for ideas for a new menu, I am the first one to suggest adding something green. That said, you can imagine my delight when one of our partners, Progressive International, wanted to work with us on a Foodies’ Night In event that featured tools that help to create the perfect salad. Sign me up! They have a new dressing shaker that will not break, a colander that hangs over the center divider of the sink to put your waste (very handy) and a grater that is super easy to store when you are finished using it (perfect for parmesan or fresh lemon zest).

Caitlin and Kelly come from a big time foodie family. Sunday nights are always spent together in the kitchen laughing, talking (loudly) and enjoying one delicious course after the other. Their father has become know for his antipasto salads that start off the meal each week. His salads are not your average salad. You can be sure that Sunday night dinner begins with an over-sized and gorgeous salad that has been thoughtfully prepared and dressed. About a year ago I got up the nerve to ask what his secret was – I am telling you these salads are amazing. And, Mr. MacEachen was nice enough to share: it’s all in the dressing.

Now, I still consider myself to be a foodie in training. Up until about a year ago, dressing was primarily purchased and rarely something that I created from scratch. So, knowing that the secret was his dressing changed everything. Ever since then, I have been recreating Caitlin’s vinaigrettes (and of course I still enjoy a store bought dressing as well).

Caitlin has taught me to take fresh greens, make fresh croutons, toss in some herbs and a good dressing for a delicious salad. One super easy vinaigrette recipe is this roasted Lemon Vinaigrette.

Another recipe that I’ve been making quite frequently is this Hummus Vinaigrette. The simple addition of chickpeas makes me feel like more of a gourmet. I like to toss the extra chickpeas with cherry tomatoes, chilled asparagus, feta, olive oil and balsamic, a little salt and pepper and some fresh lemon. Delicious.