At the peak of the cucumber harvest, a favorite dish is sliced cucumbers dressed in a mixture of sour cream and dill. But don’t confuse this dish with a cucumber dill dressing, which blends the cucumbers with yogurt, chopped fresh dill and a little lemon juice to create a healthy, nutritious salad dressing.
Basic nutrition data
One cup of cucumber dill dressing has 134 calories, 11 grams of protein and 17 grams of carbohydrates, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database. Low-fat yogurt contributes 3 grams of total fat, which includes 2 grams of saturated fat and 11 milligrams of cholesterol. The cucumber adds 1 gram of dietary fiber to the dressing, which is 3 to 4 percent of the recommended daily intake for fiber, according to the Institute of Medicine.
Vitamins
Cucumber dill dressing provides 0.4 milligrams, or 30 percent, of the recommended daily value, or DV, of riboflavin; 0.2 milligrams, or 15 percent, of vitamin B-6; and 1 microgram, or 42 percent, of vitamin B-12. It also has 8 to 11 percent of the daily value of thiamine, folate and vitamin C. Riboflavin and thiamine are B-vitamins needed to metabolize food into energy.
Vitamins B-6 and B-12 help lower your risk of heart disease by lowering levels of homocysteine in the blood, according to Harvard Health Publications. Folate is essential for the growth of new cells and can prevent birth defects.
Vitamin C is a well-known antioxidant that also has an important role in wound healing. Lemon juice and cucumber each contribute 40 percent of vitamin C. The cucumber, yogurt and dill provide almost equal amounts of vitamin A to give you a total of 268 IU, or 9 percent DV.
Minerals
The combination of cucumber and yogurt provides essential minerals. One cup of cucumber dill dressing has 358 milligrams of calcium, which is 36 percent of the recommended daily value, as well as 12 percent of the daily value of magnesium and 42 percent of phosphorus.
All three minerals work together to build and maintain strong bones. Yogurt contributes 90 to 93 percent of the calcium and phosphorus and 63 percent of the magnesium; cucumber supplies the rest.
You must have potassium to keep muscles and nerves working properly and to ensure a regular heartbeat. Cucumber dill dressing has 628 milligrams, or 13 percent, of the daily value of potassium.
It also has 3 percent of the daily value of oxygen-carrying iron and 18 percent of zinc, which is necessary for normal growth, neurological development and a healthy immune system.
Considerations
If you use 2 tbsp. of cucumber dill dressing on a serving of salad, you’ll get 17 calories, 1.4 grams of protein and 0.4 grams of fat. You’ll also still gain 2 percent of the recommended daily value of potassium, magnesium and vitamin B-6, 4 percent of calcium and riboflavin, and 5 percent of phosphorus and vitamin B-12.