You'll Want To Slather This Homemade Ranch On EVERYTHING

Ok, so you've chopped up your fresh, crisp veggies, cooked your protein, and are now ready to toss your salad. But now it's time to add the main ingredient to your greens. That's the salad dressing of course.

Everyone knows eating a salad without dressing is like not eating candy on Halloween. But it's no secret that store-bought salad dressings can be loaded with sugar, unhealthy fats, and sodium. The solution? DIY so you have complete control of the ingredients—and flavors. "A DIY dressing also helps you to cut back on sodium, sugar, additives and preservatives," says Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN, and author of Read It Before You Eat It - Taking You from Label to Table.

It also lets you cater the ingredients to the flavors you most enjoy. "I love to make my own salad dressing, so that I can play with the ingredients and pair it perfectly to the components of the salad," says Taub Dix. "I like to add mashed avocado, honey, fresh lemon or lime, grainy mustard, balsamic glaze and sometime a little horseradish sauce." Other ingredients that make flavorful additions to salad dressing include things like shredded ginger, garlic, and tahini.

If you don't have the time to make your own dressing, but want to modify a store-bought one to switch up its flavor or lower its calories by using a smaller portion of it, Taub-Dix recommends mixing in some balsamic vinegar, or any other ingredient you prefer. That way you get the best of both worlds.

If you're ready to start cooking, the internet is peppered with salad dressings that are so delish you might want to drink them straight up. Here are the best ones. You've been warned.