MAKE SIMPLE DRESSING/ SAUCES ~ no more rancid oils / cheap fillers! Try these ingredients instead.

Dressings, sauces & dips at home is E.Z.

The most important part: making sure you have healthy ingredients on hand. The rest is creative and up to you!

Here are some tips:

• Make a batch to last a couple meals and then store in the fridge in a glass jar.

• Shake before use.

• Notice how the flavours intensify over time.

• Manage consistency with water and liquid ingredients.

Ingredient ideas:

• Healthy liquid oils like- 100% olive oil, hemp oil, cold pressed nut / seed oils

• Lemon / lime / orange / other fresh juices- these act as a natural preservative

• Apple cider vinegar- use unpasteurized and this acts as a natural preservative

• Other vinegars like balsamic / wine

• Hot sauce

• Tamari / soy sauce

Herbs & spices:

• To make fresh & nutritious dips you can blend fresh herbs like basil, cilantro, parsley, mint etc.

• Dried herbs / spices

• Fresh cracked pepper

• Sea salt / rock salt

To thicken:

• Nut / seed pastes

• Miso paste

• Powdered spices

• Yogurt

• Hard cheeses like parmesan and soft cheeses like goat, feta, etc.

Simple ideas:

• Dressing: get a jar that has a lid. Pour half 100% olive oil and half balsamic vinegar. Add a dash of apple cider vinegar, sea salt and pepper to taste. Shake well. Some people like it more oily and others more vinegary, alter the ratio to your ideal taste.

• Sauce: use the same recipe as above and now add a scoop of nut paste, such as tahini, and tamari. Add sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Add a dash of hot sauce (if you like spice), and water to the consistency you like.

Nutrition: why do I make sauces, dips and dressings at home?

1. Cheap and processed ingredients! Opting for these ingredients is cutting yourself short since they likely contain less nutrition then the actual wholesome version. In the store we can see a lot of canola oil, safflower oil, palm, soybean, cottonseed (which are all GMO, grown with chemicals. Plus who knows when they were made. The creamy sauces contain powdered and modified milk ingredients.

2. Preservatives and additives. Stores need long-term storage so products usually have preservatives to extend shelf stability.

At home we can control ingredient listings and batch size to keep our meals fresh + nutritious!

Hopefully this sparks some creativity in your home.

Samantha