Righteous Salad Dressings (vegan and gluten free)

Rocket & Roses HQ Play List:

Melissa Etheridge ~ Yes I Am
Ram Jam ~ Black Betty
Evanescence ~ My Immortal
Auf De Maur ~ Head Unbound
Soundgarden ~ Kickstand
Extreme ~ More Than Words
UB40 ~ Cherry Oh Baby
Jacqueline Du Pre ~ Elgar; Lento Allegro Molto
Shakira ~ Estoy Aqui
Billy Joel ~ It's Still Rock and Roll
Chely Wright ~ Wish Me Away
Nicola Benedetti ~ Spiegel Im Spiegel
Otis Redding ~ My Girl
The Cranberries ~ I Will Always

I never...never!..buy pre-made salad dressings. I struggle with the preservatives they add to them or they are too oily or laden with hidden sugars. So I tend to make my own or add a spoonful of hummus to my daily salads I have every lunch time. Ooh or Red Lentil pate..now that's always pleasing. lol.

Quite by chance as I cruised a supermarket aisle I saw a range of salad dressings all claiming (well apart from the Blue Cheese one!) to be vegan. In this country that is rare. So ML and I started to pull the various bottles off of the shelf to do the usual...suspicious ingredients scan. And sure enough they were indeed vegan and one was even an oil free variety. Now as with anything boasting the vegan title...they weren't cheap! And as much as I would've liked to purchase all four of the vegan dressings. I chose two and stashed them in my trolley.

Righteous Salad Dressings

The first dressing I tested out was the Ginger and Toasted Sesame. And although it had some oil in it I found I really liked it. The ginger wasn't as intense as some ginger based dressings I have made in the past and the sesame was a pleasant supporting flavour. But the combination together made for an almost smokey flavour and livened up my salad greatly.

Tested score: 9/10

The second dressing tested out was the Lemon and Mustard Seed option. To be honest I had no idea what to expect from this dressing. I hoped it wasn't too acidic as some lemon dressings can be. And I was intrigued by the mustard seeds and what effect they would have on the taste. Again this one had oil in it but neither of the dressings I tried were 'oily'. The first couple of mouthfuls of salad I wasn't sure at all. Then by the third...I was in dressing love. lol. The hint of lemon combined with the slight heat from the mustard seeds make for one very enjoyable dressing. Again not overpowering so you can still enjoy the contents of your salad. Both dressings were more of a subtle lift to the natural beauty of the veggies. Everything a good salad dressing should be.



Tested Score: 9/10

And the bonus to this testing was that I didn't react to the preservatives or extenders in the dressings....because they weren't any!! So I will endeavour to have these dressings in my fridge door awaiting the days when I haven't got something to go on my salads. ,,or the days when I just want them instead! lol.

Now the two that I didn't try....Raspberry and Sweet Basil which if I'm honest I wasn't sure about being more of a savoury gal. But I will try it because it would seem rude not too! lol.

Untested as yet.

I do admit the dressing looks a beautiful colour and would be a visual treat on a salad or as an accompanying sauce to a starter. (Ooh just started off a recipe tumble in my head...wheres my notebook! lol) So I think it's likely it will be going in the trolley in this months stock shop. lol.

The final dressing was the Oil Free option.....Oil Free Caper and Hot Peppercorn. Now this one isn't so visually appealing. But I suspect what it lacks in appearance it will more than make up for in flavour. I am looking forward to trying this one a lot and if my budget had stretched to buying three bottles  this time I would most definitely have bought this one to test also. Next time...

Untested as yet.

My inner child picked up this bottle and thought....Yum swamp water in a bottle. lol. But despite that...I want to try this one soon.

They also have a Pro-Heart Oil in their range and I hope to try that out too. And although the fifth dressing is a vegetarian one they have used cheese that doesn't have animal rennet in it. So for our vegetarian brothers and sisters they have a fifth option to try.

OK folks..thanks for stopping by and I hope if you find these dressings available where you are that you give them a try. You won't be sorry.

I hope your weekend is filled with love and light....

~Red~