Recipes For Dressings
Recipes for Salad Dressings….and Vegetables and Meat Dressings too!
One sure way to save money and get healthier is to make your own dressings! There are so many wonderful fat rich, nutrient rich oils that are great for us
(yes, in small amounts!) and to ensure that you are getting the best, you must make your own salad dressings. There is just too much at stake to NOT do it yourself!
I hate to rant about the dangers of many store bought foods, but here I go anyway…
Store-bought dressings contain inflammatory oils, like canola and “ vegetable oil,” (YIKES! What is vegetable oil? Let's sum it up quickly: Canola oil and anything labeled “vegetable oil” is not something you want to put in your body, but great for mechanical lubricants) Like many vegetable and seed oils, soybean oil is highly refined, stripped of nutrients and processed at a high temperature, further damaging the integrity of the oil and increasing the risk of rancidity and are definitely inflammatory. You see, refined, rancid oils create inflammation in the body, which is the opposite of what you want when consuming healthy fats. YES, even the “olive oil” vinaigrettes, that contain inexpensive and blended , inflammatory oils like soybean oil, which tends to be the most common in these products. Here is a list of ingredients from an organic brand that costs over $5.00 in my local grocery store:
Organic Vegetable Oil (Organic Canola Oil, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil), Organic Balsamic Vinegar (Organic Wine Vinegar, Organic Concentrated Grape Must), Water, Organic Distilled Vinegar, Organic Cane Sugar, Sea Salt, Less than 2% of: Organic Garlic Puree, Organic Red Bell Pepper (Dried), Organic Onion (Dried), Organic Black Pepper, Organic Basil (Dried), Organic Oregano (Dried), Organic Marjoram (Dried), Organic Parsley (Dried), Organic Gum Acacia (as a Thickener), Xanthan Gum (as a Thickener).
The oils are heated to a long hot temperature to process and jar and all of that adds up to more expenses and in the end your health is what pays for these processes.
Store bought dressings also contain sugar, and other unhealthy additives. (like Gum Acacia and Xanthan Gum)
Salad dressings are an easy habit to change to make your life healthier.
Making your own salad dressing is simple and a great way to add healthy fat to your diet.
Come learn more with John and me, this is just one of many topics we cover in our classes.
RECIPES for my favorite dressings
Once you have the basic ratio down of acid to fat content nailed you can create any combination that you have on hand. Dressings that are great on just about everything think: meat, poultry, fish and vegetables!
………………and then you can build your own repertoire of recipes. The most common ratios are 1:2 or 1:3 parts vinegar/acid to fat/ oil.
You either already know or will learn a level of acidity you prefer in your own dressings. It doesn’t matter the actual ratio, but check out this page for a nice variety of vinegar/acid to fat/oil ratio dressings. For acid
Caper Dressing
This is great on fish and on top of potatoes and I always add 1-3 tablespoons of capers to the salad!
2 garlic cloves, crushed.
3-4 Tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice.
1 tsp. caper brine.
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Seeds, Herbs and Lemony Dressing
This is a wonderful dressing that doesn’t keep but is so fresh and lively. Be sure to garnish whatever you use this dressing on with pumpkins seeds and lemon rind!
4 teaspoons pumpkin seeds, toasted
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 whole preserved lemon Plus
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup parsley leaves
¼ cup basil leaves
½ to 1 cup cup olive oil
Fine sea salt and black pepper to taste
Asian Caesar Dressing
This is a salty- fishy -umami - rich dressing that is outrageous on steamed potatoes or broccoli!
2 teaspoon ume plum vinegar
4 tablespoons sweet white-miso paste
5 tablespoons tahini
3 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoon tamari
Juice of one fresh squeeze lemon- about 4 tablespoons
8 anchovy filets, coarsely chopped
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Blend all of this in a blender or hand whip it, but do adjust the taste to how you like it! I love this with a whole bunch of hand chopped parsley and warm steamed new potatoes and added white anchovies!
I make this next one almost every other day! It is from my brother Lance who is an amazing cook and hunter.
This is one delicious recipe that is an amazing stand alone dressing. If you triple this recipe you will have about 2 cups! And it will keep for 3-4 days. This dressing is tossed with roasted brussels and it is just delicious. Toss the sprouts just before serving. But, it is also great on lettuce!
And one final tip: Always add radishes to your salad!
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
2 tablespoons minced minced shallots
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
