I have a confession. I’ve been eating terribly since Memorial Day. We spent the weekend bouncing between a local festival, a Memorial Day parade, and grilling out at home with delicious desserts. Once I start with the sugar in full force, it’s incredibly difficult to reel it back in. Lucky for me, our CSA started on Thursday which means we’ve been enjoying fresh fruits and vegetables for the last several days. Once I’m on a healthy eating kick again, my sweet tooth will begin to simmer down to a more manageable level. But what do I do when I’m in the in-between stage of gorging myself on sweets and eliminating sugar from my diet? I choose healthy sugars and sweets — things like fresh fruits and non-refined sugars.
Rarely do I have a taste for salt when I’m on a sugar binge and this never became more apparent than when I went to make a salad for lunch over the weekend. I was so excited to nosh on all the bright vegetables from our CSA but when it came time to choose a dressing, I was sorely disappointed. All we had available in the refrigerator were salt-based dressings while what I was craving was — you guessed it — sweet. So I did what any sane person would do in the situation and I made my own sweet dressing. I grabbed some orange juice, honey, and a couple herbs and spices, and whisked the mixture together. The result? An easy, healthy and sweet, salad dressing.
Easy and Refreshing Citrus Ginger Salad Splash
Ingredients
- 1/2 C fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp dried cilantro (or basil if you’re cilantro-averse)
- 1 tsp ground ginger
Directions
Pour orange juice and olive oil in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Add honey and whisk. Finally, sprinkle in cilantro and ginger. Whisk well until all ingredients are uniformly mixed. Dress your salad and enjoy!
Not only did this dressing hit the spot, it’s healthier and lighter than any salad splash you’d find in a store. After I made it and started eating my salad, my husband and son both tried it on their salads, too. It was a hit all around!
Try this citrus ginger salad splash on fresh vegetables from your garden or your CSA, or dress up your favorite fruits with it, too! It’s versatile and delicious.
xo
TALK TO ME!
Did you try it? What do you think of the salad splash?
What’s your all-time favorite salad dressing?
Linking up with Confessions of a Mother Runner and The Fit Foodie Mama for Meatless Monday.
39 Comments
I like orange juice in there and I am all about cilantro-looks delish!
Thank you! It’s pretty tasty. 🙂
Sounds like a refreshing dressing for a hot summer salad! I love making my own too.
It’s so simple, so satisfying, and so delicious! Store bought is too easy. 😉
Sometimes I also crave a sweet salad dressing and this looks really good. I love all the variations you can do with salads in the summer 🙂
I love salads year round, but I agree — so much amazingness in the summer!
This sounds delicious! I love the citrus ginger combo.
It really is delicious. I’m not just tooting my own horn!
I LOVE ginger flavors in salads – this really does look so refreshing!
I love ginger everywhere. And garlic. Noms!
I adore homemade dressings! Once I realized how easy they were to make I never went back to the dreck in the bottle. I need to wean off sugar ever since my daughter’s sweet 16 party resulted in way too much birthday cake hanging around here. Ugh.
I threatened to throw away a box of cookies and I was met with instantaneous “WHY!?!?!” from my kids. There were almost tears. OMG…
Must. Stop. The. Sugar!!!
This sounds amazing!! Definitely pinning for later. 🙂
Thanks, Clarinda!
This does sound very refreshing. The dressing is perfect for a hot summer day.
Absolutely — light and sweet!
Orange juice + cilantro – what’s not to like! yummy!! My favorites.
Perfect! This dressing is definitely for you. 🙂
MMMM. Sounds delicious. I have learned to really love cilantro and now grow it myself. Your dressing is on my must-try list for sure!
A home garden is on my list for this summer, but it might get pushed back another year. I have a black thumb and no clue what I’m doing!
It sounds like it has a nice punch to it! Lots of flavours!
It’s surprisingly mild! You could certainly spice it up with more ginger, though. That would definitely give it a little more zip.
I always hesitate to make homemade dressings, but then when I do I remember how easy it is. This recipe sounds great!
I know, why is it such an intimidating process?! It really shouldn’t be since it’s sooooo easy.
I never would have thought to add OJ into a salad dressing…but mixed with the honey & other ingredients sounds awesome! I have a nasty sweet tooth, but I tend to reach for my trust-worthy ranch dressing most of the time…
Once my sweet tooth is awakened, it’s really hard for me to tamp it down. I’ve been on a binge for at least two weeks straight. #imnotanaddict
And yes, the oj was kind of a weird grab. But it was actually really, really good!
oooh. I want to try that as a marinade or a sauce too. Maybe on chicken? I just bought chicken too!! It’s gonna happen. 🙂
Yes, definitely with chicken. You might want to add a bit of salt or tamari if you bake it with chicken, though.
That sounds pretty yummy!
I really love all kinds of dressings and condiments. While certainly not good for me, a good fresh ranch or honey mustard is hard for me to turn down. I make a really lovely apple cider vinaigrette that is great on salads with apples and walnuts and romaine or spinach.
Oooh, that sounds delicious! I love apple cider vinegar and I’m sure your dressing is amazing.
I am definitely going to give this a try! I am TRYING to start eating healthier and am eating a lot of salads. I could pretty much eat ANYTHING with cilantro!
Definitely do and let me know how you like it! (I love cilantro, too. Yum!)
I have been eating a lot of salads lately and I love homemade dressing. This sounds delicious, cant wait to give it a try!
Oh wow, I totally am going to make this!! Looks delicious and easy! Printing this recipe now…
[…] I mentioned on Monday, I’m in the throes of making a major effort to reduce my sugar-intake yet again. I know […]
This sounds delicious! I really don’t use much ginger in my cooking but I should since there are so many health benefits. Can’t wait to try different summer salads this summer!
I LOVE ginger. I use garlic and ginger every chance I get!
I just made this exactly as written and it’s seriously delicious!
So glad you liked it!