One of many simple pathways to better health is to replace store-bought salad dressings with ones that you make with ingredients that are all pretty good for you. Our good friend Megan shared these; following them you’ll find my chai recipe that I shared with her. For additional ideas for adding more raw food to your diet, see our e-Book of Mostly Raw Recipe Ideas.
Italian dressing
Tips - If some spices are not powdered, blend in coffee grinder or blender. If you don't have all the spices, don't worry. It tastes great anyway. : )
Mix all spices together and store in a tightly sealed container.
To prepare - whisk 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup oil, 3 T water and 2 T dry mix.
Poppy seed dressing
2 cups olive oil
1 cup honey
1 cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons poppy seeds
a pinch of mustard powder
Blend on high in your blender until it really thickens. What we served today, we had to dilute because it is so thick. : ) It stores for a long time in the fridge.
"Ranch-like" : )
This is simply a combination of mayonnaise and salsa. We buy a "Vegenaise" (made from grape seeds) at the health food store. My sister makes her own mayo and uses that. I never measure - but I would guess that it would be about 1 cup of mayo and 1/2 - 3/4 cup salsa.
An old favorite is just -
Another favorite is to use:
tahini
mix with water
lemon juice
salt and spices
optional - yogurt
Chai tea (homemade)
I've made my own chai now and it is delicious. Serve it with rice milk and a smidgeon of honey. I mix a big pan of it on Sundays and then drink a cup of it a day...wonderful spicy warming tea...with good energy...and great elimination from it as a bonus!
Bring it all to a boil, and then cover and let sit for 20 minutes.
Then bring it all to a boil a second time; cover and let sit again.
Finally, strain out the spices and store the tea in two glass canning jars in the fridge.
A skillet full of steamed chard is delicious. I put garlic powder in the water before adding the torn up chard. Get the water to boil and immediately shut off...it will continue to cook to a "tee" 🙂 We consume far more steamed greens than raw...so much tastier.
Don't forget to boil your water before adding it to the crock pot and it'll reduce your crock pot time considerably.
Yummy hot "chocolate" milk
