Salads are an easy win nutritionally until you add the dressing. A couple of tablespoons of standard vinaigrette can match or exceed the calories of everything else in the bowl combined. This recipe pulls back the oil ratio significantly, uses honey as an emulsifier instead of egg, and still tastes like an actual dressing rather than vinegar water.

Salads give you vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and swapping one in for a heavier side is generally a good move. But the math turns against you faster than most people realize. Too much dressing or a handful of cheese and you have a side dish that out-calories the main.

Here is the thing that changed how I think about dressing: