Blog Archives

7 Simple, Healthy, Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes

6/17/2014

Do you like Ranch, Caesar, Vinaigrette, Blue Cheese? Want to serve delicious salads but don't want to compromise your health? Well, here is your solution! Seven healthy recipes for your favorite dressings!

Miso Salad Dressing

Caesar Salad Dressing

Blue Cheez Salad Dressing

Creamy Pear Vinaigrette

French Salad Dressing

Vinaigrette

Creamy Green Goddess Dressing

1 Comment

Real Food Pantry Makeover

6/16/2014

0 Comments

It can be overwhelming to trade out your old favorites for new healthy choices! It's easier than you think to get rid of the food that no longer serves you and replace it with options that will create health and vitality!

It's actually fun! So, where do you start?

Step 1 Kick the Processed Foods to the Curb!

Replace all of your bagged, boxed, processed, tempting food! Donate it to your local food bank if you can. Get it out of your house so when the craving demons come out, it's not there to call your name! If the food is not helping you reach your goals, get rid of it. And remember, the devil lives in boxes and bags of tempting food and will relentlessly call your name and since you are not the Christ, you don't need to be tested! It will NOT help this process, trust me on this one, get the devil out of your house!!

Step 2 Restock

Oils and Fats

You'll want to have good oils on hand for cooking and making dressings, sauces, etc... Get rid of any processed vegetable oils such as Canola, Vegetable oil, Crisco, etc... They are damaging to your heart cells!For more information on this, see my article, Healthy Fat, What's That? The oils to have on hand are cold pressed organic oils such as flax and olive oil. A great brand to use is Omega Nutrition. They make olive oil, flax oil, coconut oil and a few others. They do not ever expose their oils to heat, light or oxygen, so they stay fresh for a long time. You'll want to have some ghee to cook with as well as butter. I also get grass fed lard at my farmer's market. It's great for frying. I prefer to use Kerrygold or Strauss brand butters as they are from grass-fed cows. You can also find Organic Valley butter at Costco usually.

Condiments & Spices

A pantry will be most useful it is stocked with foods to please your palate as this is THE necessary ingredient for your success! Start with spices. You want some good Celtic, Himalayan or Real Salt. Get a pepper grinder and some peppercorns. Fresh pepper has many health benefits as does good salt and other spices. For spices, Trader Joe's, Frontier, Simply Orgnanic and The Spice Hunter are some of my favorite brands. Some good spices to get you started are cinnamon, nutmeg, oregano, thyme, basil, parsley, garlic salt, onion powder, cumin, marjoram, ginger, cayenne, Italian seasonings, ground mustard seed, garlic powder, all-spice, coriander, curry, cream of tartar, dill, paprika, sage and any others that suit your fancy. Other things to keep handy are canned, organic, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Apple cider vinegar and raw wine vinegar. Mustard and Dijon mustard. Gluten free soy sauce or coconut aminos. I always, always have fresh onions and garlic on hand too.

Natural Sweeteners

There are so many delicious recipes you can make to satisfy your sweet tooth! Some of my favorite sites for healthy recipes are www.elanaspantry.com www.marksdailyapple.com and www.beyonddiet.com . Don't forget to check out my sweet recipes too! My favorite healthy sweeteners and the ones you will find in the recipes on these sites are: pure birch xylitol, rapadura, coconut palm sugar, raw honey and stevia.

Flour

In many of the baking recipes, you'll see them call for almond flour, coconut flour, sometimes buckwheat, tapioca or quinoa flour. Have some of these on hand or plan your baking ahead! I always have almond and coconut flour on hand. You can easily make a grain flour by grinding grain in your high power blender. You might want to do a little experimenting with my flourless pancakes or cupcakes to get the idea of how delicious food can taste without all the processed carbs!

Canned Goods

In addition to canned tomatoes, I like to have some jarred spaghetti sauce on hand just in case I get in a pinch. I look for an organic brand made with olive oil. I also keep canned beans, artichoke hearts, pesto, nut butters, Amy's organic soups, canned pumpkin, coconut cream and pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix, just plain old pumpkin). If you like hummus, it's good to keep garbanzo beans and tahini handy. I also like to have organic chicken and beef broth on hand for when I don't have time to make my own stock.

Nuts and Seeds

You'll need something to grab and go to snack on. Nuts are the perfect thing! I like to make my own trail mix with nuts, seeds, unsweetened dried fruits (make sure fruit is the only ingredient!) such as goji berries and coconut flakes with dark chocolate.

You can also make your own flavored nuts, Here are some recipes.

Herbal Teas

Teas can greatly benefit your health and are a great way to stave off the desire to eat. My favorite teas are white tea and I also love Slique Tea by Young Living. If you want to curb your cravings, calm your anxiety and slow your desire to eat when you're not hungry, Slique is a great tea! You can order it at www.youngliving.com To order, you'll need to note my member number which is 1802065. For more questions about Slique Weight Loss products please email me at maria@mariarippo.com.

Healthy Grains

The ones I eat regularly are gluten free oatmeal, quinoa, millet and rice. I also like to keep some brown rice pasta on hand and you can also try the ones made from quinoa, millet, etc...to find the ones you like. Other good pasta alternatives are kelp noodles and spaghetti squash. Shredded zucchini also makes a great pasta.

Step 3 Recipes!

A well stocked kitchen will do no good on it's own. Start finding recipes for simple food you can make.
Find a few snacks you really enjoy. Here are two posts I wrote on what we eat for snacks. Consider finding a week's worth of go-to recipes you enjoy for you main meals as well. If you are stuck and would like help, consider setting up a complimentary coaching appointment with me for some pointers!.

0 Comments

Miso Salad Dressing

6/11/2014

0 Comments

Many of my salad dressings have ingredients that stimulate the immune system, heal the gut and improve digestion. I like to use apple cider vinegar, garlic and raw honey for these purposes. Another very healthy ingredient to use in dressings is miso. Miso is a fermented soy product and is shown to be high in antioxidants and polyphenols. It has been shown to be beneficial for cardiovascular health. It is known as an anti-aging food, good for the skin and digestion as long as it's not pasteurized. It has also been shown to reduce hot flashes. An easy way to consume it ins in salad dressing.

The following recipe is from www.great-easter-sun.com

Yield: Approximately 1/2 - 3/4 cups

Ingredients:

1 TBS Miso Master Organic Red Miso

4 TBS tahini (sesame paste)

1 - 2 TBS lemon juice

4 TBS water

1 TBS minced scallion

Directions:

To prepare this quick, versatile dressing, combine with miso and mix until smooth. Add lemon juice, and water, again mixing until smooth. Add scallion and serve this delicious salad dressing.

0 Comments

Gluten Free Flour Recipe

6/2/2014

0 Comments

I got this great recipe from Dr. Mercola's Nutritional Typing Meal Plan. This can be used in place of gluten flour in most recipes.

Combine:

1 1/2 cups coconut flour

1 cup of rice flour

1 cup of potato starch flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup garbanzo flour or fava flour

2 TBS xanthan gum

0 Comments

Ranch Dressing Recipe

6/1/2014

0 Comments

I found this awesome recipe on Marks Daily Apple!

This makes a great dip too. Just whip it up, chop some veggies and you have a super yummy and healthy snack for you or the kids!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup full-fat Greek-style yogurt

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cultured buttermilk

2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

1 heaping teaspoon chopped fresh chives

1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon dried dill

1/4 teaspoon Celtic or Himalayan Salt

1/4 teaspoon tamari

1/8 teaspoon granulated onion powder

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 of a small garlic clove, finely minced

Instructions:

Simply whisk together all ingredients. The flavors tend to get bolder after a few hours or overnight, so make the dressing ahead of time if possible and refrigerate.

0 Comments

Caesar Salad Dressing

6/1/2014

1 Comment

Ceasar Dressing from the Nourishing Traditions Cookbook

Ingredients:

½ to 1 tsp Dijon style mustard

1 TBS raw wine vinegar

1 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 TBS finely grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 TBS expeller pressed flax oil or extra virgin olive oil

1 pastured egg yolk

2 anchovy filets (optional)

1 clove garlic

Directions:

Place ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

1 Comment

Blue Cheez Dressing (Vegan/Raw)

6/1/2014

0 Comments

Ingredients:

1 cup raw sesame tahini (non raw will work too!)

3/4 cup pure water

1/a cup fresh basil

1/a cup fresh parsley

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 Tablespoon fresh oregano

1 teaspoon Himalayan or Celtic salt

1 Tablespoon Dulse (seaweed)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in blender and mix until smooth.

0 Comments

Creamy Pear Vinaigrette

6/1/2014

1 Comment

Ingredients:

1 pear

½ cup olive oil

1/4 cup unpasteurized apple cider vinegar

1/16 - 1/8 tsp SweetLeaf Stevia, add more if needed, but go slowly, its very sweet!

2 TBS chopped red onion

1 ½ tsp fresh rosemary

¼ tsp fresh black pepper

1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp Nama Shoyu, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or Soy Sauce

½ tsp Celtic or Himalayan Salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until creamy. Store in jar in refrigerator.

1 Comment

Fresh French Salad Dressing by Blendtec

6/1/2014

0 Comments

Ingredients:

¼ cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

2 medium tomatoes, halved and seeded

3 cloves garlic

1/8 sliced red onion

2 TBS water

2 TBS tomato paste

3 dashes hot sauce

1 Tsp Dijon mustard

1 TBS honey

1 tsp Celtic or Himalayan salt

½ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp paprika

Directions:

Place ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Store in jar in refrigerator.

0 Comments

Author

Hi, I'm Maria. I practice hypnotherapy and holistic coaching specializing in emotional eating, addictions, depression, anxiety and PTSD. I LOVE what I do! One of my goals is to be in the Guinness Book of World Records for doing headstands in the most places around the globe! I have a love affair with butter and red wine and all REAL food Mother Earth lovingly provides her inhabitants. I collect recipes, hoard books, scavenge for heart rocks and go totally crazy when my 4 kids try to talk to me all at once. My favorite pastime is witnessing people realize the miracles in every moment and reminding myself to do the same. I love silence. I am a lover, a mystic, seeker of the Divine, a Warrior of Light, Alchemist. Welcome!

RSS Feed

Categories

Author

Archives