I don't wanna say nothin' but some people are so dumb. (Jersey accent)   I mean, it is SO EASY to make your own salad dressing that it just seems silly to buy the crud that's out there in the stores which is usually is filled with sugar, bad oils, and all kinds of other junk that you really don't want.  So here is all you need to make a wonderful vinaigrette at home.  You can make it a batch at a time or mix a big shaker of it to have on hand when you need it.  I bought this great OXO shaker at Bed Bath and Beyond and I love how practical it is for making and storing your delicious homemade dressing.
The basic recipe is 1 part acid (vinegar, lemon juice, etc), 2 parts olive oil, dijon mustard, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  I use the same basic recipe whether I'm making red wine vinaigrette, balsamic, white wine, or even lemon vinaigrette.  Feel free to add your favorite herbs and spices too.  Below is what I use to make a big batch.

Ingredients:
1 t. dijon mustard
1 t. kosher salt or sea salt
1/4- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
ground pepper

Place first three ingredients in the bottom of your shaker (or in a liquid measuring cup).  If using a shaker, add the oil all at once.  Shake until everything is emulsified and thick.  Add more salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
(If using the measuring cup, slowly add the oil while you whisk it into the vinegar until all is blended.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.)  Use on your salad and store the rest in the shaker until next time!  If I am using a really good quality balsamic like the kind I find at Vom Fass, the dressing tastes heavenly.  I've been known to put some in a small container and bring it to a restaurant to dress my own salad.  Go ahead, give it a try.  And for crying outloud, stop buying the Kraft! 

Here is a picture of the lunch I had today.  Leftover brisket that my husband made in his Big Green Egg (by far the BEST brisket he's ever made!), No Potato, Potato Salad from Everyday Paleo, and a handful of spinach leaves dressed with the balsamic dressing I made last night.  If you've never tried this "potato salad" recipe, you MUST try it.  The cauliflower is a nice stand in for the potatoes.  And you don't get that full, sick, food buzz that you can sometimes get with heavy potato salad.  It was nice being able to just use the dressing I had on hand from last night too.

I am leading another wonderful group of people from CrossFit St. Louis and CrossFit Xtra Mile through a 30 day Paleo Challenge that started this past Monday, August 13.  We kicked it off with a nutrition seminar and then got busy taking pre-pictures and measurements.  When the gig is up on Sept. 11th we will take our after pictures and measurements and then bask in the healthy glow we will have developed after the thirty days of clean eatin'.
So far, I think everyone is on the right track.  We've had a few people succumb to the "carb flu", feelings of sluggishness that are common in the first few weeks, but usually subside as the month goes on.  We are trying to become more "fat adapted" and shift our metabolism away from being a "sugar burner".  For more on this, Mark Sisson has a great article and so does Nora Gedgaudas from Primal Body Primal Mind.  You can find her article here.  I just want people to be reassured that this decrease in performance, tired, sluggish feeling doesn't last forever.

I think the biggest problem people have is trying to figure out what the heck to eat since the grains and dairy have been removed.  Wheat is in everything!  But with some creativity, some good recipe websites and some planning, you will find that your effort pays off in spades in the way you look, feel and perform.  I have to use my sister-in-law as a prime example of how much better you can feel once you ditch the grains, especially wheat gluten.
Natalie (not her real name) and I have been tennis partners for years and I've also encouraged her to join our CrossFit gym to work on strength and endurance.  She has complained about her knees bothering her and would find lunging, squatting, and deadlifting painful.  It was frustrating as a coach, because I knew she needed to do these movements to strengthen up her quads and hamstrings, but with limited mobility our strength gains were at a standstill.  I talked to her about changing over to more of a paleo type diet, but she, like so many other people, didn't really attribute her joint issues to anything else but age. 

Finally, after one particularly sugar and flour laden Easter, she woke up the next day in full body pain.  She said even the joints that normally didn't bother her were hurting.  I told her that she had a choice...cut out the gluten, which is a known gut irritant and plays havoc on your immune system and adds inflammation to the body, and cut out the sugar for just a WEEK, or continue to be in pain all the time.  "What have you got to lose?"  Long story short, she did as I asked (FINALLY!) and has since sworn off gluten.  She is a new person.  She is almost pain free.  She doesn't even need the knee brace she used to wear to tennis.  And I don't have to her her whine! hehe
So now Natalie is my new spokesperson.  She isn't completely paleo, but the changes she did make work for her and have allowed her to continue the activities she loves without the joint pain.

So there you have it.  You really don't have anything to lose...except maybe that tire around your middle, and the acne on your back, and the joint pain...the list goes on!  Here's to all of you challengers brave enough to embark on this nutritional journey and to ask the hard questions about what is really healthy.  We don't need no stinkin' food pyramid.