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RECIPES/ Sides

Homemade Salad Dressing So Good You Will Want To Drink It Straight

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I am ready for some food on the lighter side! Enter this amazing Homemade Salad Dressing. It really IS SO GOOD that you will want to drink it, or at least eat more greens than usual, just so you can have it. I made this a week ago, and I have wanted a salad every day since.

I make it a priority to eat leafy greens every day no matter what, whether in the form of a smoothie or a salad. The amount of nutrients you can get in leafy greens just can’t be beat, & this dressing makes it super easy to actually want and look forward to a daily salad.

This dressing is a breeze to throw together. It uses ingredients that most people have on hand. The recipe calls for dijon mustard, which I didn’t have, so I used plain yellow mustard. It was still drinkable & delicious!

{it starts with a base of olive oil & red wine vinegar}

At our local farmers market, there is a booth that I always look forward to. She has tiny sample cups of salad dressing, and a chunk of bread to soak it up with. We love her salad dressing, and I buy a bottle every time we go. I have been missing her dressing now that it is fall, but I must tell you, this recipe tastes JUST LIKE hers. Even my daughter noticed this when she tasted it. Looks like we will be saving some money come Farmer’s Market season–or not–now that I have this recipe I will probably need to buy more greens!

{add seasonings & stir}

This would make a great dipping oil for bread when entertaining, and also a great marinade for chicken or fish. It is so much better for you than the salad dressings on the market, most of those are full of preservatives and high fructose corn syrup. Blech!

{pour into bottle & shake before using}

This recipe will be one I use often. It has been a week and I’m already out. Time to make more! Good thing it is an easy recipe.

Homemade Salad Dressing

Prep Time

5 mins

{so good you will want to drink it straight}

Recipe Type: Salad

Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 cup olive oil
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 1/2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. Dijon-style mustard I used regular mustard

Instructions

Mix together and shake well. Store at room temperature tightly covered.

Recipe Notes

from Cooking On Clover Lane

Have you ever made your own salad dressing? Do you have a favorite recipe to share?

RECIPES/ Sweets

Peanut Butter Banana Chia Seed Roll Up

I’m always looking for ways to reap the benefits of the nutritional powerhouse called chia. Chia seed is a super easy way to boost the nutritional value of all kinds of snacks.

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds and I are fast friends. Why?

~the are jammed packed with plant protein and minerals, healthy fats and fiber

~they provide more plant based Omega 3’s than any other food, even FLAX

~they have 5 GRAMS of fiber PER TABLESPOON!

~they are flavorless and partially dissolve in juice, soups, stews, shakes etc..

~they are FILLING!

These Peanut Butter Banana Chia Seed Roll Ups are really yummy, and are healthy and hearty enough to be considered breakfast, although we use them most often as a snack. They are easy to make ahead of time, and are quite portable. They could even take the place of a boring sandwich in those school lunches.

To make them extra yummy, try slathering some date paste on them as well. Date paste is an easy to make, super delicious sweetener spread. It reminds me of a caramel flavor, and I just love it. I use it most often on oatmeal, and I really loved the flavor it added to these rollups. Of course, it is optional. These roll ups are delicious even without the date paste.

Peanut Butter Banana Chia Seed Roll Ups

Whole wheat tortilla

Peanut butter

Banana

Chia seeds

Date paste, optional

Spread tortilla with peanut butter & date paste, if using. Sprinkle with chia seeds. Place banana on one side of the tortilla & roll up.

Enjoy!

Brunch/ RECIPES/ Sides

Buttermilk Biscuits

I had some homemade chicken pot pie filling left over, (the recipe made 2 pies, I only had one pie crust), so I decided to serve it over these Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits. It was a family pleaser! I had never made homemade biscuits before, but now that I know how easy they are to make, I will not be buying them in a can or mix again!

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup butter (for vegan, use Earth Balance)

3/4 cup buttermilk (for vegan, use alternative milk with 1 Tbsp vinegar)

In a bowl, stir together the dry ingredients; cut in butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened. Turn onto a floured board and knead 6-10 times. Roll to 3/4 inch thickness and cut with a lightly floured biscuit cutter. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake in a 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden. Makes 12 biscuits.

Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

Eating Healthy On Vacation–Or At Least Trying To!

It is interesting trying to eat healthy while on vacation. We have been gone a week. 3 days at Florida’s St. Pete’s Beach and now we are doing the Disney thing. We are having a blast, and eating is a big part of that fun. Really, it has been much easier to find healthy foods than I thought it would be.

Now, don’t get me wrong–I have had my fill of sugar and treats that I normally would not eat, after all, we ARE at Disney. Here is a sampling of some of the desserts we have had. Oh. My. Yum.

But, my body is used to getting an abundance of plants and is now at the point where I crave them if I don’t get them. Fortunately, I have been able to eat some type of green everyday. We have been blessed to be able to eat at a sit down type restaurant at least once each day, and when we do, I make sure I order something leafy and green as part of my meal. I also always get a side of vegetables. I have been eating a lot of fish while vacationing. No beef. No chicken. No pork.

Fast food and airport food has been a little harder, but I’ve been able to get creative. Breakfast at the airport one day was grapes and a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and sliced bananas on it.

Fast food lunch & airport lunch have been wraps and rice with vegetables. I also had a bean burrito.

We were at a water park the other day and there was not a thing for vegetarians. I got a chicken Caesar wrap and picked out the chicken. Thank goodness it had quite a bit of greens in it. I got hungry quickly after that but fortunately we had an amazing dinner that night–I ordered Roasted Carrot Ravioli–Carrot Silk, Fava Beans, Chanterelles, Pinot Noir Syrup and Lemon Dill Foam.

It was one of the BEST meals I have ever eaten! It was a dark restaurant, so the photo does not do it justice, but it was delish & so pretty!

I ended the meal with Bananas & Caramel–Crispy Baked Phyllo Squares Layered with Banana, Mascarpone Mousse, and Caramelized Banana. Yes, it made me feel sick due to the milk products in it, but it was SOOO worth it!

Breakfast is easy. We have stayed in a room that has a little kitchenette, so we hit up a grocery store for breakfast foods and snacks on our first day. The girls have enjoyed whole grain bagels because I bought cinnamon cream cheese, something they are not used to eating. That has been a treat for them. I also made sure they get plenty of fruit for breakfast–bananas, clementines, grapes and apples. We also have oatmeal topped with dried cranberries & cereal with almond milk. Eating breakfast in our room has saved us a ton of money!

Snacks at the parks are not to great, so we load our backpack with some healthier snacks. Here are some of our favorites:

~Sabra Hummus Dip with Pretzels
~Clementines
~Bananas
~Grapes
~Apples

~Cliff Bars

In the parks, I have been happy to see that they have these Edy’s Strawberry Bars. They are high sugar, but they do not contain high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors or flavors. They are strawberries & sugar. They are colored with beet juice & turmeric. Much better than all the crazy colored Micky ice cream bars out there!

What are your favorite ways to eat healthy on vacation? Any snack ideas for me?

Healthy Eating/ RECIPES/ Sweets

Healthy Snack Ideas For Kids

We are snackers here in this home. We have an afternoon snack and a before bed time snack.

I thought I would share a list of snacks that we have come to rely on.

~apples dipped in peanut butter or almond butter
~a bowl of frozen fruit, slightly thawed
~yogurt/honey/granola
~wheat thins and cheese slices
~pretzel rods
~carrots
~hard boiled eggs
~edamame
~homemade granola bars
~dry cereal (Cheerios or Shredded Wheat)
~homemade popcorn
~smoothies
~homemade popcicles
~clementines
~frozen grapes
~cheese tacos (tortilla with cheese, heated)
~vanilla wafers

Sweet Treats
~whole wheat brownies
~fudgy buttons
~chocolate chip cookies
~bryers ice cream
~peanut butter cookies
~fruit leather

RECIPES/ Sides

Easiest Homemade Whole Wheat Bread–A Guest Post

Easiest Homemade Whole Wheat Bread — A guest post from Kendra at Our Homemade Happiness

I’ve been making 1-2 loaves of homemade whole wheat bread every week for over a year now. I was tired of the preservatives and chemicals in store-bought bread and the taste was definitely lacking.

But my handy dandy bread machine should get all the credit. I would never go to all the trouble of making my own bread without one. It’s so awesome because it takes less than 5 minutes to throw the ingredients into the pan and the machine does the rest. After it’s all said and done, I’m left with amazing bread and only one dirty pan. And it’s super easy to clean because it’s non-stick. I’ve included my favorite whole wheat bread recipe below.

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD FOR THE BREAD MACHINE RECIPE

1 cup water
1/8 cup milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine/fast rising yeast (or 2 teaspoons active dry yeast)

Add ingredients according to the directions that came with your bread machine. Use the wheat bread cycle and light color setting. This recipe makes a 1 1/2 pound loaf.

BREAD MACHINE TIPS:
Follow the directions that came with your bread machine carefully. I first got a bread maker eleven years ago. I didn’t follow the instructions and my bread never turned out. Now I make sure my water is at the right temp (my directions recommend 80°F). I spoon the flour into the measuring cup instead of scooping so I don’t use too much flour. My previous bread maker recommended using bread machine/fast rising yeast so I still use that, although my new bread maker says active dry yeast can be used. I keep my yeast in the fridge so it doesn’t go bad.

If your bread doesn’t rise, try adding 2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten and 2 1/2 tablespoons water. Not all recipes work the same in different areas. I live at sea level. For high altitude areas, reduce the amount of yeast by 1/4 teaspoon and reduce liquid by 1-2 teaspoons until you find the right amount.

This is my rockin’ bread machine that I bought last year to replace my previous Black & Decker model. I was debating between this West Bend Breadmaker for $60 and theZojirushi Virtuoso Breadmaker for $270. Big diff in price! I read all the user reviews for each bread maker and I finally chose the less inexpensive West Bend bread maker. I’ve been very happy with it and I’m glad I didn’t fork over the extra $210 for the Zojiushi model.

HOMEMADE BREAD SAVES ME MONEY
$0.03 – Milk ($3.50/1 gallon)
$0.37 – Extra-Virgin Olive Oil ($9.44/25.4 oz.)
$0.35 – Honey ($7.48/32 oz.)
$0.01 – Sea Salt ($1.50/26.5 oz.)
$0.58 – White Whole Wheat Flour ($3.64/5 pounds)
$0.27 – Bread Machine Yeast ($4.24/16 envelopes)
$1.61 – Grand Total for 1 1/2 pound loaf
$4.75 – Whole Wheat Bread of Comparable Taste/Freshness from Bread Store

After making homemade bread in my bread maker 20 times, I saved the $60 I spent on it. I also make homemade pizza dough and french bread dough in it. I love that I get fresh, delicious, nutritious homemade bread without hardly lifting a finger!

Do you have a bread maker? What kind do you have and how do you like it? Do you have a favorite bread machine recipe to share?

Hi, I’m Kendra! I blog about all things homemade, especially cleaners, skincare, and healthy eating. I started my blog, Our Homemade Happiness, after my husband suffered from mono symptoms for over two years and his blood results showed some liver disease. Since the liver is responsible for filtering out chemicals and toxins from the bloodstream, I started to realize how many chemicals are in everything we buy, from processed food to household cleaners, lotion, and even air freshener. I’ve become inspired to rid my home of as many chemicals as I can, one product at a time, and blog about it along the way.

GF, Vegan & Raw/ Healthy Eating/ Meals/ RECIPES/ Sides

A Lunch Salad Full of Plant Protein!

This is my favorite on-the-go and go-to salad. It is very filling, healthy, delicious, and full of wonderful plant protein! Edamame, quinoa & chickpeas make this a plant protein powerhouse! I pick it up at Trader Joes, but don’t worry if you do not live close to a Trader Joes, because this salad can easily be made at home!

Here are the ingredients:

Spinach –about 2 cups

Cherry Tomatoes –2-4

Shredded Carrots – a palmful

Quinoa –1/2 cup cooked (directions here)

Chickpeas –1/4 cup, drained & rinsed

Dried Cranberries–palm-ful

Edamame –1/4 cup, cooked

Pumpkin Seeds –palm-ful

Salad Dressing —Carrot Ginger or your choice.

These are ingredients I now have on hand at home most of the time, exempt pumpkin seeds. I live right by a health food store that has pumpkin seeds so that is not a problem. The Carrot Ginger Miso Salad dressing it comes with is really good, but I have made this at home and really this salad goes well with any type of dressing. For some salad dressing inspiration, click over to my Salad Dressing Pinterest Boards.

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