Recipes for Sauces and Dressings
Homemade Sauces and Dressings are a great way to get more fat and flavour into your meals. They are also a great way to make vegetables taste DELICIOUS…… so that you eat more of them.
A flavourful sauce can easily transform a ho-hum meal into an AMAZING one 🙌🏼
The beauty of making your own sauces and dressings is that you can load them with healthy fats and nutrient dense herbs and spices so that they are delicious and GOOD FOR YOU.
Dress your salads with them. Drizzle them over roasted vegetables, steamed or grilled vegetables. Use them to flavour buddha bowls and wraps.
I want to share with you some of my favourite sauce and dressing recipes. When working with any new recipes, we may sometimes need to tweak or adjust the recipe slightly. The two most significant areas that need attention are that of oil quality and the use of sweeteners.
A FEW NOTES ABOUT OIL QUALITY
When making sauces and dressings it’s really important that you are using a high quality oil. Most of these recipes are using olive oil as a base. Do your research and make sure you are using a high quality olive oil. There is a lot of fraud on the olive oil market. Good olive oil is medicine. A refined olive oil or an inexpensive olive oil the grocery store is not what you are looking.
If you find olive oil too strong in flavour, or want to use a lighter oil for example in mayo, avocado oil is a good option. I prefer a cold pressed avocado oil.
If the recipe calls for sour cream or yogurt – I prefer organic grass fed. If you are dairy sensitive, you might be alright with sheep or goat yogurt. If not, you could use coconut yogurt or another dairy free substitute.
OPTIONS FOR SWEETENERS
Many salad dressings and sauces contain sweeteners, and are a nice contributor to the overall flavour. Most of these recipes, if calling for some sweet flavour will use honey or maple syrup. These are fine for most people as the amount used in the recipe is usually not a great deal. If you have issues with your blood sugars, the easiest substitute for any sweetener is liquid stevia. It’s VERY sweet – so start with just a drop or two and taste. If you tend not to like the “aftertaste” of stevia, trust me, it works well in sauces and dressings as the tangy flavours mask the aftertaste really well.
THE RECIPES
VINAIGRETTE SALAD DRESSINGS
Balsamic Vinaigrette I find straight balsamic too sweet so I go half apple cider vinegar half balsamic on this.
DAIRY-FREE CREAMY SAUCES and DRESSINGS
Classic Homemade Mayo I would use a cold pressed avocado oil here. If making your own mayo feels overwhelming, there are products available at the health food store based on avocado oil.
Dairy Free Ranch based on cashews
Green Goddess Dressing using tahini
DAIRY BASED SAUCES and SALAD DRESSINGS
Green Goddess Dressing using yogurt
Greek Tatziki with yogurt and dill
BRIGHT AND FLAVOURFUL VEGETABLE SAUCES
A FEW ASIAN INSPIRED SAUCES
A Peanut-Free "Peanut" Sauce based on sunflower seed butter
WHILE ON THE TOPIC OF ASIAN INSPIRED SAUCES HERE IS MY FAVOURITE STIR FRY SAUCE
Stir fries are such a main stay for getting more vegetables into our diets. Here is a great and simple stir fry sauce. Coconut aminos can be substituted with Braggs Liquid Aminos or a high quality organic tamari or soy sauce such as San J (available at most health food stores). Avoid soy products that are not organic. This recipe uses fish sauce which is super nutrient dense and adds a lot of flavour. Thai Kitchen has one that is readily available in the ethnic section of most grocery stores. If you don’t have it on hand, add more coconut aminos, or Braggs or organic soy sauce.
PESTOS, GREEN HERB SAUCES and DRESSINGS
Of all the sauces, my favourites are the green sauces. Such a delicious way to get more greens into the diet including wild greens and other herbs. For great recipes and how to incorporate more of these wild foods into your diet see my post on Pestos and Green Sauces linked below
Pestos and Green Sauces: A Great Way to Get More Herbs into Our Diets
Of all the sauces, my favourites are the green sauces and pestos. They are such a delicious way to get more nutrient dense foods into your diet. They are a great carrier for wild greens and a wide range of other herbs, not just basil. Other stronger tasting herbs and wild greens can be substituted in many of the classic green sauce recipes I share below…