Tag: bragg’s apple cider vinegar

Easy Tangy Apple Cider Vinaigrette

On June 11, 2015

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Recipes, Vegetarian

I used to HATE salads.

Okay, maybe “hate” is too strong of a word.

But I didn’t like them for a long time. I didn’t eat salads until I was just about forced to as a freshman in college (because I was too picky to eat anything but cereal and pasta!).

I started slowly by eating some basic raw vegetables like lettuce, carrots and celery, but it took time to build up to adding in all the creative things I now toss into my salads (everything from lentils and sprouts to pumpkin seeds and broccoli!).

I don’t know if it was a texture thing or what, but for the first year or so that I ate salads, I didn’t use salad dressing. It wasn’t for health reasons either. I was just grossed out by the idea of a gloppy dressing being all over my raw veggies.

I started with squeezing some lemon juice on top. Gradually, I worked my way up to where I am now, making homemade dressings.

I haven’t looked back since! It’s just so stinkin’ simple to make your own salad dressings!

You basically just need oil/fat + vinegar/acid (citrus) + herbs + optional sweetener and other flavorings. Not only that, but you avoid all of the unnecessary added ingredients that extend the shelf life and flavor of the store-bought stuff (i.e., sugar, soybean oil, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate, etc.).

If you do get store-bought dressings, please please please look for as few ingredients as possible and do not buy Fat Free or Lite dressings!

Why??

The vitamins in leafy green vegetables are best absorbed in the presence of fat (they’re fat-soluble), so we need to eat fat with them. Plus, when companies take fat out of dressings, they add in cheap, refined oils, sugar and other stuff.

No bueno 🙂

Today’s vinaigrette dressing is one of the simplest to make but is full of great flavor!

It’s a little lighter than my FAVORITE dressing (the tahini-based kale salad dressing), so it’s perfect with a fresh, crisp salad on these warmer days we’ve been having lately. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Easy Tangy Apple Cider Vinaigrette

This simple salad dressing is versatile and can be used on any salad. Raw apple cider vinegar is particularly beneficial for digestion!

1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar (with "The Mother")
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon raw honey
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1 cup olive oil (extra virgin)

Put all ingredients in a blender until combined OR put everything in a mason jar and shake until combined. Use about 2 tablespoons with a big bowl of your favorite salad fixins’!

*The fresh thyme adds an extra pop of flavor but the dressing will still taste good without it!

Farmer's Market Salad with Better-Than-Kraft Raspberry Vinaigrette

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On August 19, 2014

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Paleo, Products I Use, Recipes

Water, Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Soybean Oil, Canola Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil), Red Wine Vinegar, Vinegar, Contains Less Than 2% of Salt, Red Raspberry Juice Concentrate, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Dried Onions, Spice, Poppy Seeds, Natural Flavor, Oleoresin Paprika, Potassium Sorbate And Calcium Disodium Edta (to Protect Freshness). Contains: Poppy Seed.

Those are the ingredients in a bottle of Kraft’s Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette.

Tasty, huh?

Most salad dressings we buy in the store contain lots of preservatives and chemicals, and as you can see above, very little (less than 2% each!) of real, whole food ingredients we’d expect to see in a salad dressing.

What’s most shocking?

Kraft’s raspberry vinaigrette doesn’t even contain raspberries!

Now there’s a head scratcher.

Homemade salad dressings are one of the easiest upgrades you can make to your diet. They take very little time to make and, in most cases, require either a whisk or a blender to mix everything together.

That’s why I wanted to try a recipe for a homemade raspberry vinaigrette that tastes 100 times better than the bottled stuff…and actually contains raspberries! 🙂

I served it on top of a summer salad, whose recipe is below, but feel free to put it on any salad you like.

The dressing is inspired by this recipe, but I made several tweaks.

Farmer’s Market Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Dressing

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar (Bragg’s is the brand we use! Make sure it contains “The Mother”)
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons honey (I used raw honey)
1 teaspoon dried basil
2/3 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen, thawed
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salad (All veggies are ideally organic! Check out this post for how to save money on organic food.)

1 head of lettuce of your choice or 6-8 cups of salad greens
2 peaches, thinly sliced
2 avocados, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1/3 cup sliced almond, toasted
Optional: 1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced into thin ribbons

Directions

Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender for 30-60 seconds and liquify. If you have a Vitamix, follow these directions.
Assemble salad and toss ingredients together, leaving almonds aside.
Drizzle dressing on salad and sprinkle almonds on top. Toss to combine.
Optional: Top salad with chicken or fish, or serve with a side of soup!