Good morning!
Ohhhh Saturday mornings are my absolute favourite time of the entire week! Eric and I watched some cartoons and ate cereal. Good times. :mrgreen:
I realized this morning that I have been keeping something from you all. Well, two things actually.
The first one is what I like to call Fudgsicle Soft Serve
Oh yes.
1 large frozen banana, a glug of almond milk, and 1/2 tablespoon of cocoa powder! It tastes just like a soft, melting fudgsicle. Process in a food processor for a couple minutes and…BOOM.
Now onto salad talk.
Salads are a staple in my diet. I love experimenting with different toppings and dressings. The lettuce is really like a blank slate- what ever you decide to put on it always comes out fabulous.
Better Than Bottled Balsamic Vinaigrette
The easiest and most delicious homemade dressing I have ever made!
Adapted from Dreena Burton’s Eat Drink & Be Vegan ‘Back-to-Basics’ dressing.
Ingredients:
- 2.5 tablespoons balsamic, white, or red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard or regular mustard
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 minced clove of garlic (optional)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Directions: Toss all ingredients into a bowl and whisk! Makes about 1/2 cup of dressing.
This was sooooooo easy. I can’t believe I bought bottled stuff for all those years!
This dressing has an array of delicious flavours:
- sweet– maple
- tang– vinegar
- Buttery and smooth– olive oil
It is SO GOOD!
I had a hunch this would pair perfectly with some dried cranberries. I also sprinkled on some sesame seeds for fun.
The next get together I host I am definitely going to make this dressing. It tasted like a gourmet salad!
Confession #2:
I have recently weaned myself off a long fat-free salad dressing kick.
I bought the fat free stuff for years and years. I was a die hard fan…even though I admit, I couldn’t pronounce many of the ingredients on the bottle.
I always thought that if I used the regular stuff with oil I would be consuming too many calories. But you know what I discovered? A little bit of the GOOD stuff- with fat!- is much more satisfying than drowning the salad in fat free dressing. I have just a couple tablespoons of this homemade dressing on my salad and it is perfection. The olive oil gives the salad more satiety too.
When you use the real stuff, less is more.
I used to be the fat free QUEEN, my friends. I bought fat-free cheese slices, fat-free yogurt, fat-free ice cream, fat-free cool whip, fat-free candy, fat-free cookies, etc!
It is quite funny because now I eat a ton of healthy fats in my diet, from avocados to nut butters, chia seeds to olive oil. I never used to eat any of these things in the past because I was scared of the fat. My poor body was deprived of healthy fat for years. Luckily I am making up for lost time! :mrgreen:
~~~
I’m off to shower and then hit the road to meet Krissy at a huge outlet mall. So excited!!The perfect activity for this rainy Saturday.
At least the snow is almost gone…
Have a Fabulous Saturday!
Happiness is a way station between too much and too little.
~Channing Pollock
I used to always use fat free dressing and would get sick. Recently I cleaned out my fridge and looked at the ingredients list….TONS OF SUGAR! No wonder it made my IBS go crazy. Now I love a little bit of olive oil and rice vinegar or a slurry of avocado, hummus and olive oil with vinegar. Delicious.
that fudgesicle dessert looks awesome! Can’t wait to get a banana in the freezer so i can try it. Also…I used to eat totally fat free in high school..how silly we were! I now eat avocado, nut butters, salmon, kalamata olives on a regular basis and haven’t gained any weight. Love healthy fats!
You definitely made a good choice buying that set of bowls – they make for some pretty pics!
I agree about the salads at restaurants, they always do it and I hate it!!! I love salad and I can’t stand being served a ridiculously small portion with a few pieces of lettuce and dried up carrot and beetroot. Just does not cut the mustard.
Hello,
Thank you so much for posting that salad dressing recipe! I just so happen to be looking for a good vinaigrette recipe. Oh and yes.. so much better than bottled. YUM!
Healthy fats are so important. They help your skin hair healing process….
I was also healthy fat deprived for many years. Thank goodness I realized they are called “essential fats” for a reason! haha.
The real stuff tastes so much better than the fat free…I’ve never been able to stand fat free!!
Angela! that soft serve really looks amazing! oh how simple it is.
I musttry it when I have bananas in stock :)
I love home made salad dressing! And I agree, I hate when you order a salad at a restaurant and its so boring! Thats why I usually don’t order salads when I’m out, but I think restaurants should kick it up a notch!
The dressing is amazing. I had it two nights in a row now. And the leftovers were great the next day. Thanks for sharing!!
That fudgesicle soft serve sounds amazing! I’ll be sure to try that as well as the recipe for salad dressing you’ve posted. I’ll admit I sometimes get bored of salads, and I think a lot of that has to do with the dressing!
I’m scared of fats and trying not to be! I will eat nut butters now but its 25% less fat and i don’t eat olive oil or lean beef/lamb, it’s all low fat meat! Tastes awful though haha! That fudgsickle looks lovely! yumm! xxx
I just tried your banana soft serve and I’m in love!!! I had to go back for seconds!!! This one’s a keeper!!!
Angela, I made the salad dressing today for lunch and it was delicious, we all loved it!!
Did you use white balsamic on yours? I used the regular balsamic on mine, it was so good. We had it on a spinach + watermelon + feta salad, awesome!!
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Ana
Oh YUM! That soft serve looks delish!
I usually use low fat salad dressings–but naturally low fat, as in, a mix of vinegar, lemon, etc. Because I tend to toss in a looot of nuts. No fat fearing here!
I finally made this salad dressing and it’s amazing! I imagine I’ll be drizzling this on pretty much everything. Mmmm…
Thanks, Angela!
I was totally there myself before. Fear of fats is soo bad for you, I have been mis informed for many years about what’s bad and healthy when it comes to fats.
Just made the dressing and took a lick-so so good! I can’t wait to serve it on the salad with dinner for my friends tonight. Thanks Angela!
this is so good! i’m planning on serving it over a the quinoa confetti casserole from the same book tonight for dinner, but hopefully there will be some leftover for lunch salads tomorrow!
Holy *$&*$#&*#$&!!!!! I forget just how delicious your Better-Than-Bottled Balsamic is! For some reason, I forget about it for a few months, but remembered it when I was craving balsamic last week.
And, wow—it’s even better than I remember! I’m currently inhaling it via the Mt. Salad I’m savoring right now. Yum!
Back to the greens,
Deb
Thanks for yet another keeper! I happened to have a little dressing leftover from a batch I made & happened to put it in a salad with fresh herbs (thyme, chives & oregano). I could not believe how insanely perfect this salad was. Holy moly. =) (The rest of the ingredients were just power greens, tons of radishes, olives, & tomatoes. It didn’t even need crunchies! Angela, you are brilliant. One of the things I love about your work is that it is wonderful as is but almost always completely adaptable to what is fresh or that you have on hand. I seriously have a fridge full of your stuff almost all of the time. Life wouldn’t be the same without YOU or YOUR ROCKIN’ BLOG.