Tag Archives: salad dressing

Amazing Homemade Pesto

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In our journey to eliminate sugar and dairy from our diets I am constantly on the lookout for new recipes as well as ways to still make the recipes we love without having to ‘sacrifice’ an ingredient. I have found that in many cases it means I am making my own salad dressings, condiments and even pasta (I made an italian sausage tortellini soup in the slow cooker which was fabulous btw! but all the tortellini in the store had some kind of cheese in it – so I grabbed a recipe and made my own substituting with vegan cheese. It worked perfectly!) Yes it means more time in the kitchen, though I am learning how to cut that down, but it also means better healthier and tastier meals.

IMG_2331So you can imagine how happy I was to find this homemade pesto recipe. The ingredients are simple and it was super easy to make! I love pesto for pasta dishes and for this slow cooker Lemon Pesto Salmon I make – oh my gosh soooo good! And I always cringed when I used it because of the dairy in it. But making my own allowed me to substitute the vegan parmesan and presto I had a delicious and super tasty homemade pesto! It was so good my daughter and I were eating it with a spoon BEFORE we added it to anything else.

This recipe calls for pine nuts, which are quite expensive, but you only need a small amount and if you buy them in bulk you can get only what you need; then it’s not so bad. And honestly I don’t think you’d want to leave them out as they add to the overall result!

Fresh_BasilIt also calls for fresh basil, which I love! the scent is so refreshing. I recently bought a basil plant which is producing way more fresh basil than I am using, so I was happy to discover this which calls for a good amount of it.

The thing that impressed me the most with this recipe was how easy and fast it was to make. Within 5 minutes it was all together and done.

If you’re looking for a great pesto recipe definitely try this one out, cause you know it does go with just about anything (yes I am thinking of other recipes I can make that use it so I can make some more 🙂 and for my fresh basil too.

Homemade Pesto

3/4 c. packed basil leavesIMG_2332

3 tbsp. pine nuts

1 clove garlic

1/4 c. vegan parmesan cheese

1/2 virgin olive oil

Place basil, pine nuts, garlic, vegan parmesan cheese and oil in hand food chopper (I use Tupperware’s Quick Chef® but any small hand food chopper will work). Turn handle until finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes 2/3 cup

 

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Sugar Free Condiments

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When we went sugar free at our house I began reading labels more diligently to ensure that we were not purchasing products with sugar in them. I believed that if we had to eliminate sugar for Matthew to have it really make a difference, we needed to do it across the board. Which meant everything, not only the obvious stuff like candy, cookies, cake, etc. but the hidden sugars as well. So in things like bread, ketchup, relish, mayonnaise, even table salt (yes it’s true), all contain sugar.

Some of these things I have been able to easily make myself. For instance, I bought a Cuisinart breadmaker and now make all our bread. Anything from whole wheat to cinnamon swirl, I have been able to find or adapt a recipe to make yummy fresh bread. And I love my breadmaker! In the past I avoided making bread because I always had trouble getting it to rise and ended up with a firm heavy loaf. With the breadmaker I simply put all the ingredients in, select the right loaf, size and crust and I walk away. In 3-4 hours I have fresh bread. That is my kind of breadmaking!

Condiments are one of those foods that we as a society use frequently that can be very high in sugar. Things like salad dressings, ketchup, barbeque sauce, and mayonnaise. Though I have found and tried some recipes in making my own, there are some products available to buy from the grocery shelf without sugar, that are excellent. Though I am very dedicated to meeting my family’s dietary needs, I do not want to spend my life in the kitchen! So when I find a product in the store that meets our requirements, it makes life a little easier.

These are the condiments that I have found, so far, that are sugar free and delicious.

Bodacious Tomato Ketchup – made by Honey Bunny, this organic tomato ketchup is sweetened with honey and is very good. I used to be a loyal Heinz ketchup user and found that other brands just did not measure up, but I find this one to be quite good.

There are also other brands of ketchup out there that sweeten it with agave and though I have not tried them myself, could be a good alternative.

Amazing Dad’s BBQ Sauce – also made by Honey Bunny this is a really good BBQ Sauce. The original flavour is the only one that is without sugar, sweetened with honey.

 

Vegenaise – made by Earth Island, this is a dairy free, as well as a sugar free option for mayonnaise. There is no sweetener in this product whatsoever.

Relish – I have yet to find a relish on the grocery shelf without sugar, so my only option at this point is to make my own. But I am sure there is one out there, so I will keep you posted!

Salt – I no longer buy regular table salt but have moved to buying Sea Salt. There are many brands out there to choose from, but I find Bob’s Red Mill Sea Salt to not only be a good brand but reasonably priced.

Condiments in general seem to have a lot of added sugar in them. Salad dressings are another condiment that often have added sugar. Though I have found some tasty salad dressing recipes I have yet to discover a product off the shelf without the added sugar.

In the meantime check out your local grocery store for some of these sugar free options, give them a try and decide for yourself!

PS If you have found any sugar free products such as salad dressings or other condiments I invite you to comment below and share your discoveries with us! It is always great to share resources.

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