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  #1   ^
Old Thu, Jun-05-03, 14:51
DebPenny's Avatar
DebPenny DebPenny is offline
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Plan: TSP/PPLP/low-cal/My own
Stats: 250/209/150 Female 63.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 41%
Location: Sacramento, CA
Default Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing

I don't know about you, but when I was a kid, we always had salad with dinner. And our favorite dressing was Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing. It was so fun to make and it tasted great.

So recently, I bought a couple of the cruets and of course they came with 2 packages of the dressing each.

I decided to try the dressing to see if it still tastes as good as I remember. I didn't look at the ingredients or the nutrition statement before I tried it.

It was sooooo sweet! I couldn't get over it. I used to love the stuff, but now it tastes almost like candy to me. Yuck! I threw out the three packets I had left.

So I checked the nutrition statement and the ingredients (first ingredient is sugar of course) and it has too many carbs per serving for my peace of mind (as of this writing I forget what it was).

But not to be undone, I decided to surf the net for a clone and I found one. And of course, one of its largest ingredients is sugar. Well I modified it, took out the sugar, and I am so pleased with the result, which tastes the way I remember Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing tasted like when I was a kid, that I'm posting it here:

1/4 teaspoon dried carrot (instructions to follow)
1/4 teaspoon dried red bell pepper
1 teaspoon lemon pepper (I use McCormick lemon pepper with garlic and onion, it doesn't have sugar in it, just make sure whatever one you use has lemon juice solids in it pretty high up on the list)
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes, well crumbled
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons dry, unsweetened pectin
1 pinch ground oregano

This makes enough for one bottle of dressing. Of course you can make up a bunch of it, in which case, you want to measure out about 5 teaspoons for a bottle. The pectin is about 1/3 gram of carbohydrate per teaspoon, so it adds a negligible amount. What it does for the dressing is thicken it up a little and keep it from separating so fast.

To make the dried carrot and red bell pepper:

Grate and mince a couple carrots and a bell pepper into very small pieces, don't mix them together. Spread them out thin on a baking pan and dry in the oven set to 250 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes, or until all of the pieces are completely dry but not browned. Store the excess in an airtight container. You can also dry them in your dehydrator by putting them on parchment or plastic wrap.

Let me know how you like it,
;-Deb

Last edited by DebPenny : Thu, Jun-05-03 at 14:55.
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  #2   ^
Old Thu, Jun-05-03, 16:01
Laura D's Avatar
Laura D Laura D is offline
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Plan: Protien Power
Stats: 168/155/135
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Location: coralville Iowa
Default

Hey, I am going to try that! I grew up with that salad dressing.
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  #3   ^
Old Thu, Jun-05-03, 16:38
DebPenny's Avatar
DebPenny DebPenny is offline
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Posts: 1,514
 
Plan: TSP/PPLP/low-cal/My own
Stats: 250/209/150 Female 63.5 inches
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Progress: 41%
Location: Sacramento, CA
Default Comfort food

It's one of those comfort/emotional foods for me. I have certain foods I remember from my childhood that every once in a while I have to try to recreate. This one is nice because it's low-carb.

Thanks for the note, Laura.

;-Deb
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  #4   ^
Old Sun, Jun-08-03, 17:39
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rishamoon rishamoon is offline
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Posts: 1,237
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 260/252/200 Female 5' 5"
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Location: Indiana
Default Question

Do you add that mix to an oil and vinegar mix to make the dressing? I'm looking for a good mix to keep on hand to make up some dressing on the fly. Also, what kind of oil is everyone using in their dressings and how do you store them? (oilve oil hardens in the fridge)

Thanks!
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  #5   ^
Old Sun, Jun-08-03, 18:43
DebPenny's Avatar
DebPenny DebPenny is offline
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Posts: 1,514
 
Plan: TSP/PPLP/low-cal/My own
Stats: 250/209/150 Female 63.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 41%
Location: Sacramento, CA
Default

Hi, Risha. Here's the actual salad dressing preparation instructions if you don't have a Good Seasons cruet:

Pour 1/4 cup of vinegar into a cruet or jar. Add 3 tablespoons of water, then the dressing mix. Seal and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup of oil and shake until well blended.

I use red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. I don't refrigerate it. The dressing will keep for a month or so.

A good-quality olive oil will keep for several months without going rancid. You need to store it away from light and heat. But you should never refrigerate olive oil.

Actually, I go through olive oil so fast, what with using it in cooking and dressings, it never has time to go rancid.

;-Deb

Last edited by DebPenny : Sun, Jun-08-03 at 18:45.
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  #6   ^
Old Wed, Jun-11-03, 20:47
rishamoon's Avatar
rishamoon rishamoon is offline
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Posts: 1,237
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 260/252/200 Female 5' 5"
BF:
Progress: 13%
Location: Indiana
Default THANK YOU

I was wanting to make up some dressing in a big batch and not have to fix little batches every time I have salad (every day) and then waste the left overs... You made my day.
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  #7   ^
Old Tue, Dec-30-03, 13:37
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curly curly is offline
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Plan: atkins
Stats: 303.5/283.5/170 Female 5'11'
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Default

i can't wait to try this!! i was just searching, hoping to find some italian dressing recipe, and i found a replacement for my VERY favorite! thanks so much Deb!

and thanks for the tip about refrigerating olive oil. i had no idea why my dressing was getting congealed!
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  #8   ^
Old Tue, Dec-30-03, 21:43
DebPenny's Avatar
DebPenny DebPenny is offline
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Posts: 1,514
 
Plan: TSP/PPLP/low-cal/My own
Stats: 250/209/150 Female 63.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 41%
Location: Sacramento, CA
Default A few notes

I'm glad you all are interested in the recipe. I've been making it for several months now and I've made a few changes. This is how I do it now:

1/2 teaspoon dried carrot
1/2 teaspoon dried red bell pepper
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano, ground up in a mortar and pestle
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon pectin

I mix this with:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar to which I add enough water to make 1/2 cup
1 1/2 cups olive oil

I have a 1 pint vinegar bottle that I now use as my salad dressing cruet. This recipe is a double recipe of the one above.

Also, I said above that there was about 1/3 gram carbs to a teaspoon of pectin. That's wrong. I finally found out the real count: 1/4 teaspoon = 1 gram carbs. So it works out to about 1 gram carbs per tablespoon of dressing.
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  #9   ^
Old Tue, Jul-23-13, 10:16
zajack zajack is offline
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Plan: atkins
Stats: 205/190/140 Female 66 inches
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Progress: 23%
Location: NE Oregon
Default

Am curious because the carb counts I find online only show 1 for the good seasons regular Italian? I make my own dressings too...but seriously like their regular (not zesty) blend and have not seen it as a problem before? Thanks for any info...
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  #10   ^
Old Tue, Jul-23-13, 10:47
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
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Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
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Default

I think, unless you're using special pectin, you can omit the pectin. Normal pectin doesn't work without sugar. Maybe that is why they put it in the salad dressing mix?

You could use a little bit 1/4 tsp or so, of xanthan gum instead.
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  #11   ^
Old Tue, Jul-23-13, 11:03
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MandalayVA MandalayVA is offline
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Plan: whole foods
Stats: 240/180/140 Female 63 inches
BF:too f'ing much
Progress: 60%
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Default

There's a brand of salad dressing mix I've used for years in my old Good Seasons cruets called Homemade Dressings. They're sugar-free, all natural ingredients (no gums or pectin) and awesome. They're not cheap--a three-pack will run you about $17--but the flavor and convenience is well worth it. You can buy them at Amazon.
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  #12   ^
Old Tue, Jul-23-13, 12:04
zajack zajack is offline
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Posts: 746
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 205/190/140 Female 66 inches
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Progress: 23%
Location: NE Oregon
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MandalayVA
There's a brand of salad dressing mix I've used for years in my old Good Seasons cruets called Homemade Dressings. They're sugar-free, all natural ingredients (no gums or pectin) and awesome. They're not cheap--a three-pack will run you about $17--but the flavor and convenience is well worth it. You can buy them at Amazon.

Looks wonderful and really isn't pricey...that $17 gets a three pack and that makes 24 cruets-full...so even if I make it double strength I oughta get 12...so not bad. . Will be ordering this....thanks!
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  #13   ^
Old Sat, Jul-05-14, 23:18
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Jamackarch Jamackarch is offline
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Plan: hflc
Stats: 166/157/125 Female 5'2"
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Location: Pacific Northwest
Default

Thanks for the recipe, Deb! and for the Amazon Homemade, Mandalay...I WILL be ordering that!
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  #14   ^
Old Mon, Jul-07-14, 13:31
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aj_cohn aj_cohn is offline
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Plan: Protein Power
Stats: 213/167/165 Male 65 in.
BF:35%/23%/20%
Progress: 96%
Location: United States
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy LC
You could use a little bit 1/4 tsp or so, of xanthan gum instead.

Thanks, Nancy. I just got some xanthan gum yesterday, and I wondered how much to use in a recipe like this.
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