Showing posts with label salad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salad. Show all posts

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Greek Salad Dressing

Being Gluten-Free definitely means that you are going to miss out on a lot of great meals that the world has to offer. On the bright side, you can become the king or queen of salads. There are endless options and combinations and as long as you are making your own dressing, you know it will be Gluten-Free.

I love how salty and wonderful Greek salad is. Any chance I get to put some olives and homemade feta cheese into, I'm all over it! Traditional Greek salad has no lettuce at all but I really enjoy more of an Americanized version of the salad. I toss this dressing in with romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, red onion, black olives and feta cheese.

And of course, it is Gluten-Free!

1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1        Clove Garlic, crushed
1/2    tsp Lemon Pepper Seasoning
1/4    tsp Salt
1/4    tsp Dried Oregano
1/4    tsp Dried Basil

Blend together all of the ingredients in a jar, shaker or food processor. Crumble some feta into the dressing if you would like.

Spinach Salad with Orange Vinaigrette


This is a great salad that I found in an old Curves book that I picked up at a garage sale. Not only is it Gluten-Free but it is also very good for you!

No one can deny how good spinach really is for you. It is packed with vitamins and minerals. Many of us remember having the green slop on our plates during dinner but nowadays there are much nicer ways of serving it. It is also hard to ignore how much healthier it is for you in its raw form. Vegetables lose a lot of their nutritional value when you cook them. The heating process breaks down the vitamins and minerals in the food and they are gone before they get to your plate.

The recipe is simple and very quick to make. A great last minute salad.

Vinaigrette:

2 1/2 Tbsp Orange Juice
1       Tbsp Wine Vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4     tsp ground black pepper
1/2     tsp salt

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker or jar and mix until well combined.

Salad:

2    cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup sliced baby mushrooms
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

Place the salad ingredients in a bowl. Mix with the vinaigrette and serve right away.


Try adding almonds, pecan, cranberries, raisins, bacon bits or any other topping you enjoy. There are endless ways to enjoy this salad.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Avocado Salad Dressing



So, now that I am on the hunt for salad dressing, I have come across a few more.

I absolutely love the taste of avocado and use it whenever possible. I would grow it if I could but I do not think my climate lends to good growing conditions. (Although I am going to look that up now :) )

Avocado is an amazing healing food and should be incorporated into your diet at least a couple times per week. When it is in season and at a good price, I eat as many as I can!




1 avocado, pitted and peeled
2 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped or squished
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 lemon, juices
1/2 cup olive oil
pepper to taste

Put all but the olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Then add the olive oil while the processor is still running on low.
If you need to thin it out, add a little water. Pour over a salad of fresh greens and enjoy!

Garlic - This ingredient is a fantastic candida fighter but only when consumed raw. Not only does it help to kill off candida in your system, it helps to balance the natural flora of your digestive system. Dressings are a perfect way to get raw garlic into your system.

Green Onions - These have anti-fungal properties and help to kill off candida in your system. Green onions from the store that come with roots attached |(most do) can be used and regrown in your windowsill or garden. I have a post about this which you can see here.

Italian Salad Dressing


It always amazes me how many things wheat and gluten can find its way into. Salad dressing tends to be loaded with gluten to give it a thicker texture.
For a while I had basic oil and vinegar but it got very boring very quickly. I don't know why I waited so long to look up dressing recipes because there is actually an impressive selection of recipes that are gluten free. Here is one of my new default dressings that is also the base for Poppy-Seed Dressing that I will upload soon.

1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp sea salt
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
3/4 cup olive oil

Mince the garlic first. Then add the rest of the ingredients to a jar or bowl and mix it up until it emulsifies. I like to make it in a jar so that I can pop a top on and save the leftover dressing.


Garlic - this ingredient stimulates the liver and colon, helping the body to detoxify. In order to get the benefits from garlic, it must be eaten raw. It is also an anti-fungal which helps to kill off the candida and helps to increase the good bacteria.