Customer Reviews

Salad Dressing

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Walden Farms salad dressings are a hit and miss. Some of them are a bit off, and some of them are really good, so I decided to try 'Asian' and was delighted. Wasn't sure what I was expecting, but the taste is very much like soy sauce with a slightly thicker consistency. I love to pour it over chicken or fish and then pop it in the oven. The only downsides have nothing to do with the quality/taste. 1, Sodium. This is to be expected with most salad dressings. If you eat it in moderation it shouldn't be an issue, but since it's zero calorie, some people think it's ok to pile it on. This isn't the case. 2, Price. The price tag might turn off the average consumer, but for me it's a trade off for the taste that I love and the zero calories/zero sugar advantages.

If you're curious, and just want to try it out, I say go for it. If you're a dieter and are looking for a serious way to cut calories, I say DEFINITELY try it out.

These salad dressings are a great alternative to other popular fat free dressings. I hate those sprays that are on the market now because there isn't enough dressing for a serving for pete's sake. I like Thousand Island Waldens Dressing the best -- made a salad with veggie steak strips, spinach, black olives and mushrooms and this dressing was perfect! I've tried Ranch, Balsamic, Caesar and Blue Cheese. The bleu cheese is bland, but the rest I've tried have been tasty and very satisfying. I'm glad that I don't have to waste a 60-80 calories on dressing for my salads.

I won't eat most light or fat free dressings because if you read the label, what they take out, they generally replace with sugar and sugar spikes my appetite big time and yet, a 1 TBS serving of my favorite regular Hidden Valley Ranch dressing doesn't even begin to cover my salad the way I'd like. I'd need at least 3 TBS to make it how I want and that's just too much fat for one meal. It's almost the RDA for an entire day so that's not really feasible for me.

What to do??

I was THRILLED to find this dressing at my local supermarket. I think it tastes "okay" right out of the bottle but to my tastebuds, it does leave something to be desired. To make it into something I look forward to eating, I do the following:

Hidden Valley Ranch has such a strong flavor so I can take 1 TBS of it, 2 TBS of Walden Farms Ranch dressing and approximately 2 TBS of water. Mix well and I have enough dressing for a good sized salad - about 1.5 to 2 cups of greens and it tastes GOOD to me. I don't feel at all deprived and I'm getting fewer calories (there are 70 calories in 1 TBS of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing) and it's plenty thick for what I want it to do and that's cover the salad. I don't want it drenched exactly but I want that ranch flavor with every bite. I eat this dressing almost exclusively now on any kind of salad - turkey taco, chef, asian greens, etc.

Sometimes I'll add 1 TBS of flaxseed oil to the mix to get the benefit of the omega 3's however, be aware that 1 TBS of flaxseed oil has approximately 120 calories in it so if you're watching calories then take that into consideration.

The above recipe is also not a bad dip for veggies though it is somewhat thin in consistency. I like it best on salads.

As a general rule, in my opinion, if you stay away from the creamy-type dressings, you should be ok. For example, I love the balsamic one and the honey dijon is pretty good, but ranch and bleu cheese are just inedible; I would rather just eat my salad plain. I'm on a very low cal and almost zero carb diet, so these (especially the balsamic) have been a life saver. I'm going to try the cocktail sauce next.

This review is specifically on the Ranch dressing, it may not apply to other flavors. I have to admit that I bought this on a gluten free foods web site and completely missed the zero calorie description. I don't know what people who eat zero calorie dressing are used to, but I was expecting a tasty gluten free Ranch dressing that is at least recognizable as Ranch(or dressing for that matter). I can't believe there are reviewers saying this stuff has flavor. Well, it does but the flavor is something like what you might get if you took a dirty dish rag, dipped it in latex paint and wrung it out on your salad: This is vile and nasty stuff! Don't waste your money on this one.

As other reviewers have said elsewhere, these Walden Farms salad dressings, and other Walden Farms products, can be hit or miss. But everybody's taste is different, so I would say they are definitely worth a try. When they hit it's excellent, with no calories, fat, or carbs, and few if any artificial ingredients. When they miss... well, you move on.

Pay close attention to the pricing on these items. They are all over the chart, ranging from reasonable to highway robbery. Some have shipping charges of $4.95 PER BOTTLE! It would seem to be a mistake, but they refused to acknowledge it and actually defended the charge. Others are over $8 per bottle w/free shipping; no bargain there either. Some, with shipping, are over $10 a bottle. It's not difficult to find much better deals on the web-try allstarhealth.com for starters, and there are probably even better ones out there.

I am a really picky eater. This is by far the best bottled salad dressing I've ever had. And the fact that its no calories, no fat makes it even better! Thanks to this dressing and some salad, I'm able to easily stick to my diet. Thank you Walden Farms!

Surprisingly great flavor and now the family likes this best - even better than standard counter dressings! We were pleasantly excited and will order more!

For type 2 diabetics trying to control blood sugar by diet alone or with minimal medication the Walden Farms brand is heaven sent. I have been using their dressings for several years. Not all of their dressings are as good, in my opinion, as the Thousand Island but all will help control blood sugars. What I like about the Thousand Island particularly is the creamy texture of the dressing and the taste. You can use it on salads, burger melts or in a low carb rueben wrap. (I use the Santa Fe Tortilla 6 carb wrap)

People who complain that Walden Farms products don't taste the same as 'normal' dressings have a valid point and it shows how much we have come to equate 'good taste' with sugar. One way to check out your favorite dressing or catsup is to look at the ingredients and see how high sugar, corn syrup, and high fructose corn sugar, is on the list. It is no surprise that sugar is often up there near the top and often listed multiple times. Some dressings produced by major brands, however, have only two carbs per serving. For many people, myself included, this is a tossup. In some cases taste and cost may swing toward buying the major brand. For more selections check at the Walden Farms website and don't forget to check at your local grocery or health food store to compare prices on this brand.

Clearly, if you are looking to control your families intake of carbs, the Walden Farms brand is a good choice. If you know of other brands with zero carbs that taste as good or better please add your comments to this review. There is nothing I like better than hearing about something that tastes great with zero or low carbs. Your comments may assist myself and others who are living with diabetes and want to live a better and longer life.

I was looking for no-fat salad dressings and stumbled across Walden Farms Thousand Island dressing. Wow, what a huge disappointment. Doesn't smell good, doesn't taste good, nothing. I'm serious. This product doesn't come anywhere close to the real thing and I have tried several no-fat dressing that do. Sorry, this needs to come off the shelf.