It is only February & normally here in Calgary it's still cold, the snow is on the ground and salads are the last thing I want to eat.
Not this year! The temperature has been very mild & the snow has almost melted. I have even been out without a coat!
My body has been craving salads.
Normally this is no problem I have some favourites like my "Everything but the kitchen sink salad", which is just what it says, any and every veg I have chopped up with nuts and seeds added then mixed with a favourite dressing.
The difficulty is I am addressing 2 issues, firstly my pre-diabetic glucose levels and secondly my weight and most salad dressing you can buy are either high in oil or sugar or have something I suspect as not being healthy added. All the plans that prevent & reverse diseases recommend adding no oil as there are more than enough essential fatty acids in veg & fruit. Fortunately the books I mentioned the other day by Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. T Colin Campbell, Dr, Thomas Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn & Rip Esselstyn as well as cookbooks by Leanne Campbell all have delicious dressings.
But what to do when there are none in the fridge an no time to make one?
I have at last discovered the freshness of a few drops of lemon juice, a splash of apple cider vinegar or Komucha. While these are all acidic they actually help your body maintain alkalinity which is vital to health. If they are too tart for taste-buds a few blueberries or a slice of mango chopped into the salad bring the hint of sweetness needed. I have always found processed foods including dressings in Canada to be too sweet and certainly that is no help when watching weight, glucose levels or food addictions, but the added fruit to a salad helps find a balance between too acidic and too sweet. It also adds nutrients and fiber which sugar, honey, maple syrup or argave do not. If sweet is what you crave see the mango dressing under the label "Dressings etc"
If your dressing lacks "stickability" put a tsp or less of of ground flax seed in your dressing - a little goes a long way so experiment with a pinch or too first. The flax meal greats a gel when mixed with water so a pinch shaken with a no-oil dressing can just add a bit of sickability like oil does.
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