Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Weekly Recipe Roundup

I'm back again feeling better about life. I still don't have the motivation to really work up a sweat, but I'm done beating myself up for now. After all, as I'm so fond of telling my husband, I don't sit down at all during the day except to eat or feed our Moose baby. I'm always moving and usually carrying around this ridiculously heavy baby as I go. I shouldn't see it as a fluke that I keep losing weight, because I am working my body constantly and filling it with good fuel. Both of these are reasons to be proud. And hey, I'M LOSING WEIGHT! There's no room for pouting.

So here I come with new inspiration in recipe form. These are again courtesy of my parents, two great salad dressings that are easy to make and so much better for you than the calorie-stuffed and chemical-laden bottled variety at the store.



Italian Oil and Vinegar
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1 Tbs. water
1 garlic clove, mashed
Salt, parsley, basil, oregano to taste
Dash sugar
Shake up well. The secret is room temperature.
You can also use white wine vinegar in place or red wine vinegar.

Classic French Dressing
2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
6 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 Tbs. Chili Sauce (Homade brand preferable)
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Shake up well and store unused portion in refrigerator.

More advice from my dad: "I find the secret to a good dressed salad is to put as little on as possible and mix well. You can always add more, but it's harder to take away if overdressed."

And what good is salad dressing without an amazing salad?

Chopped Salad
1/2 head lettuce (preferably not iceberg, but Romaine, red and green leaf, butter, spring greens, mixed greens, etc., are best)
1 seeded tomato, diced
1 small avocado, diced
2-3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
1-2 green onions, sliced, including green portion
Optional: 1 boiled egg, diced
Dress lightly with either of the above dressings and mix well.



If you try any of the recipes I post, let me know what you thought. If you have any you want to share send them my way.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting I have been looking for some dressing recipes!

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  2. I love the recipes and even though I have the oil and vinegar one almost everyday I don't get sick of it. Another thing Ryan and I have done is instead of bacon we cut up a few slices of pepperoni and a little mozzarella. We have also decided to stop beating ourselves up about adding meats and cheeses. If you are eating a mostly vegetable diet then you can handle a few extra calories. It also makes it so much easier to eat a salad at least once everyday.

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  3. I'm with you Steph, I don't beat myself up so much about eating the other stuff. That's mostly because when I have my green smoothies I know I've already eaten an apple, banana, orange, spinach, kale and handfuls of fruit. I don't have to stress if my lunch or dinner wasn't perfectly balanced, and it's much easier to feel good about my efforts.

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