Home made salad dressings

In a previous posting I listed some changes I wanted to make to our diets. One of those changes was to get away from store bought dressings and sauces. My beef with store bought dressings is the potential for the oils to become easily rancid. (You can read more about rancid oils in a previous posting).

Oils and Vinegars

Here are some recipes we’ve been enjoying.  So easy to make. And it just feels good knowing that they are better for you.  The trick is to have good quality staple ingredients in stock: olive oil, lemon juice, honey or agave, a selection of vinegars and you’re set. No need for any fancy equipment. I typically just put all the ingredients into a mason jar and give it a good shake to mix all the ingredients up. Having said this, my Mum did get me a nice looking dressing bottle (from Wedgwood no less).

Salad Dressing Jars and Bottles

Balsamic Dressing
INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp flax seed oil
salt and pepper

METHOD:
Blend all ingredients together and chill.

Honey Mustard Dressing
INGREDIENTS:
5 tbsp dijon mustard
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 tbsp honey or agave
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

METHOD:
Blend all ingredients together and chill.

Peanut Dressing I
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup of peanut butter
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp soy sauce or Bragg
2 tbsp water

METHOD:
Blend all ingredients together and chill.

Peanut Dressing II
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup of soy sauce or Bragg
1?3 cup water
2 tbsp ginger
1 minced glove of garlic
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1-2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp honey or agave

METHOD:
Blend all ingredients together and chill.

Lemon and Parsley Dressing
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tbsp honey or agave
1 inch piece of ginger
1 bunch of parsley or dill
1 tsp salt

METHOD:
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend away.
Keep refrigerated for up to a week.

Blackberry Dressing
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of fresh blackberries
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of avocado
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey

METHOD:
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend away.
Keep refrigerated for up to a week.

Tahini Dill Dressing
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp tahini
1/4 bunch dill
1/2 lime juiced
1 tsp agave
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

METHOD:
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend away.
Keep refrigerated for up to a week.

Tahini Garlic Dressing
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp tahini
1/4 cup apple juice
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

METHOD:
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend away.
Keep refrigerated for up to a week.

Sources:
Fresh: the ultimate live-food cookbook by Sergie and Valya Boutenko
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

Quinoa (keen-wa) has been described as a super food.  According to Wikipedia superfood is a ”term sometimes used to describe food with high phytonutrient content that may confer health benefits as a result”.

Uncooked Quinoa

Bob’s Red Mill label states that whole grain quinoa is the most nutritious grain around. Not only is it high in fiber, iron, but it also contains all 8 of the essential amino acids (good news if you are a vegetarian!).

Quinoa has been on “my list” of foods to eat more often. I’ve committed to trying a new quinoa recipe once a week. The first one I tried was OK. It was a pilaf type of dish.  Then I tried a veggie burger recipe: it was good, but I couldn’t quite categorize it as quick and easy. Whereas this salad recipe can be; it is quick, easy, and tasty.   We had it along with pasta and veggies.

Cooked quinoa

SALAD INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of quinoa (I used a mix of Bobs Red mill Whole Grain Quinoa and Trader Joes Red Quinoa)
1/2 a chopped red pepper
1/2 cup shelled edamame (Trader Joes frozen edamame)
Bunch of diced green onions
1/2 cup dried cranberries or cherries
White Wine Vinaigrette Dressing (See recipe below)

DRESSING INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 -1 tsp honey
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup of quinoa and cover. Cook on medium heat for 12 minutes. That’s it!  Rinse in cold water and toss with the rest of the ingredients. Mix the dressing ingredients in a glass jar. Give it a good shake and pour over the quinoa mix. And voila there you have a good tasty salad dish.

Quinoa Salad

Super green smoothies: Odwalla make them so they must be good for you, right?

I’ve been reading a lot about how we don’t eat enough greens (In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan and Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon). Greens include lettuce, spinach, kale, swiss chard, and even dandelion leaves and are all packed with nutrients.  

In Defense of Food

According to www.rawfamily.com “Greens are high in cellulose which makes them difficult for the digestive system to break down”. That is unless they are in a liquefied form.  And so the green smoothie comes through for us.  

 To be able to make decent smoothies you need a decent blender.  I have a vitamix which I now love. It has taken me a while to really use it. I bought it at a very weak moment. I was 5 months pregnant and a sales guy told me how it made the best baby food…like I said, it was a very weak moment. (FYI my hand blender made baby food just fine and it was a whole lot easier to clean!).  However, the vitamix does make good smoothies. The blade rotates so fast it actually creates heat so for smoothies you need to add ice or frozen berries to keep the drink cold. Warm smoothies just aren’t very appealing. 

Vitamix

There are tons of recipes out there. Two good resources include:  The raw family’s website and Vitamix’s website.  Here is one recipe that I came up with that adds some protein, fat (omega 3) and some good immune boosting nutrients too.

Ingredients include:

2/3 cup full fat plain Greek yogurt or Kefir (fermented milk drink full of good bacteria)
1/2 banana
1 cup frozen berries (If you use fresh berries, make sure you add ice to keep the smoothie cold)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 carrot
1/2 apple
1 tbsp Flax seed oil
1 tsp probiotics powder
large handful of Organic greens (kale, lettuce or spinach)
and / or 1 scoop of super green power (Trader Joes)

There are lots of variations to play around with. Experiment away. It’s a great way to use up fruit and veggies that may not get eaten in time. And it is cheaper than buying store bought super green smoothies in a plastic bottle.

I love trying new salads. Lucky for me New Seasons is on my way home from work. Even though I like to make my own food, I have stopped on more than one occasion to pick up a pint of New Season’s Kale and carrot salad.  It is really good. And given all the food books I’ve been reading lately that tell me to eat more “greens” (more on that in a later blog!) this Kale salad is perfect. 

Kale

Here is my version:

INGREDIENTS
Kale
1-2 carrots, grated
1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
1-2 gloves of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of fresh ginger, grated
2 tbsp of Bragg liquid aminos or soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil

METHOD:
Wash the kale and remove and discard the tough center stalks. Chop the leaves into long narrow strips. (Think cutting cabbage for coleslaw). You can eat Kale un-cooked but it can be pretty chewy. I lightly steam mine for 3-4 minutes then plunge it into cold water. This helps to keep the green color and prevent further cooking.

In a large bowl mix the cooked, and now cooled, kale with grated carrots and sunflowers. In a glass jar with a lid mix the dressing ingredients, give it a good shake and then pour over the kale. That’s it! Pretty simple, very tasty and good for you too. 

We had this last night with wild rice, falafel with tahini sauce. I hope we have enough for leftovers….

I have been reading Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. This book contains a lot of valuable information on nutrition. I’m still trying to absorb the first chapter! One thing that Sally talks about is animal protein. How we need it. I’m not ever going to eat meat. It just isn’t going to happen. So I need to work within that framework.  My latest thing has been to eat more eggs. I don’t particularly like eggs by themselves. They have to be hidden in things. This omelette is one of my current favorite that I feel good about eating. Paired with some sweet potato fries it makes a pretty good meal.

A word about eggs: please, please try to buy free range eggs. Yes, they do cost more. But the eggs are more nutritious when they come from hens that have been feeding on bugs and grain, rather than just grain. And they come from happy hens! Free range eggs are a lot easier to find these days. Most grocery stores sell them. For those of you who like to shop at Costco; they sell them too.

Free Range Eggs

INGREDIENTS:
Butter
2-3 eggs
Handful of spinach
Salsa
Goat cheese
Salt and pepper 

METHOD:
Beat eggs lightly and set aside. Melt the butter in your omelette pan of choice (I highly recommend an iron skillet) over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot; pour in the eggs. Cook until the eggs are just set (usually less than a minute), and then flip the omelette.  Spoon on some salsa, goat cheese and chopped spinach onto one half and fold the omelette over.  I usually turn the burner off at this point as cast iron retains a lot of heat to allow the omelette to continue cooking. Flip the omelette if you like the eggs well cooked. Add a little salt and pepper.

Sweet Potato Fries

SWEET POTATO FRIES
INGREDIENTS:
Sweet potato
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. The hardest part is peeling and cutting up the potatoes (Trader Joes sell some pre-peeled and pre-cut sweet potatoes for when you are in a hurry). Once that is done, toss lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out on a cookie sheet or something similar. It is best if the potatoes are not touching. This will allow them to crisp up a little.  Cook for 15 minutes and flip the fries with a spatula. Cook for another 15 minutes or until they are tender and starting to crisp.

This salad is a favorite of ours during the summer. It makes a change from regular potato salad. There are quite a few ingredients but it is so worth it. I usually make a big batch so we have it for a couple of days.  It goes well with a number of meals. We usually have it with quiche or omelettes.  Remember to make it ahead of time so it has time to chill.

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS:
Dressing-
1/3 cup of olive oil
2-3 tbsp pure Maple syrup
3 Tbsp Orange juice
3 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Salad-
2-3 large sweet potatoes (the ones with the red skins)
1 cup of chopped green onions
1 diced apple
2 -3 sticks of chopped celery
1 cup of chopped parsley
1 cup of toasted pecans, chopped
1/2 cup of golden raisins
1/2 cup of brown raisins

METHOD:
To make the dressing simply mix all the ingredients together.  I mix them in a mason / jam jar and give it a good shake.

For the salad; peel and cube the sweet potatoes and steam for 10 minutes until they are just tender. Don’t overcook or they will go to mush.  Let the potatoes cool. In a large bowl add the diced apple and mix with a little lemon juice. This will prevent it from turning brown. Add all the salad ingredients together and pour the dressing over. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Sweet Potato Salad