Plant Based U

Fat-Free and Low Fat Vegan Plant Based Recipes

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Is Your Favorite Salad Dressing Making You Fat?

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Today I want to talk to you about something that could secretly be sabotaging your weight-loss goals. Something so popular in America many people don’t even think twice about eating regularly. Some may even think that it’s OK to eat or even “harmless”.

I’m talking about store-bought salad dressings and the fact that they are probably making you fat… or at least keeping you fat!

Those creamy, oily, sugary processed salad dressings that come in hundreds and hundreds of different flavors could be keeping you fat.America is convinced that although salad is health food, the only way to choke down bland and boring lettuce is to slather it in rich decadent dressing.

I really don’t like store bought dressings. I actually despise them and almost NEVER use them.

I’ve had so many salads in my life that pretty much any store bought salad dressing turns my stomach. Even those oil-free supposedly “healthy” salad dressings (which in no way shape or form are even remotely healthy.)

 The top 3 Reasons Why Store Bought Salad Dressings Are Bad For You:

 

#1. Classic Dressings Are Oil/Mayo/Cream Based

Often times creamy dressings have even MORE calories than pure oil. How can they manage to make a dressing worse than pure concentrated fat? By adding high fructose corn syrup to it!

Check out the calorie count of some popular salad dressings:

Calories and Fat in 2 TBS Caesar Salad Dressing
150 cals       16 g

Calories and Fat in 2 TBS Thousand Island Dressing
140 cals       13 g

Calories and Fat in 2 TBS French Dressing
120 cals       12 g

Calories and Fat in 2 TBS Olive Oil
120 cals       14 g

Now while you may think that 100-200 calories of dressing is not a big deal, I want you to ask yourself, when was the last time you had a gigantic salad and only used 1 or 2 TBSP of dressing? It is extremely hard to make the dressing stretch that far and give your salad enough flavor. Many lunch salads come with 2-4 oz of salad dressing. Did you know that’s the equivalent of 4-8 tablespoons? That can be an extra 300-600 calories in your dressing alone!

A green salad with some vegetables might have between 50 and 100 calories depending on how many vegetables you add to it. If you’re also tossing some nuts, avocado, cheese, bacon or chicken onto that salad as well you can be adding another 200-500 calories and your “innocent” little lunch salad is looking rather indulgent compared to a fast food hamburger (which is mostly bread anyway and lower in fat). A high fat diet has been shown time and time again to negatively impact those with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many other common diseases.

P.S. Check out my healthier raw vegan Caesar salad dressing recipe.

photo from 123RF

#2. Rich High Calorie Dressings Prevent You From Losing Weight

Most women think that the key to losing weight is to skip their regular lunch fare and just have a salad for lunch. Well as we learned above, what you put in your salad and what dressing you choose really matters in terms of calorie and fat content. Drizzling dressing haphazardly over your daily salad is not going to help you reach your weight-loss goals if you already have a problem with portion control and late night snacking.

#3. Store Bought Dressings Are Mass Produced And Contain Questionable Ingredients

Many dressings are based on 3 things, oil/fat, vinegar and high fructose corn syrup. Next they add in artificial flavourings, colours and preservatives and salt. None of these items are good for you, and they are all 100% refined. While the low calorie dressings may seem like a “better” choice, they are still based on vinegar and high fructose corn syrup, and let’s face it, you deserve better than that to build your body with. Artificial colours such as “caramel” (also used in colas) are added to many store bought dressings to make it look better but caramel colouring has been labeled in California as “known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.” 1.

So what is the solution then?

Figure out how to MAKE your own tasty and nutritious salad dressings from WHOLE FOODS and healthy fats. It’s a good idea to learn how to master both low calorie and nut based dressings so you have a variety to choose from and you don’t have to eat the same ones week in and week out.

For this weekend only I’m giving away a copy of ’70 Healthy Salad Dressings’ when you buy the GOLD package of my new ebook ‘Simply DecadentSmoothies’. Essentially you are getting 2 ebooks for the price of one and access to over 120 whole foods recipes you can make in any old blender in 5 minutes or less.

I have to say I much prefer homemade salad dressings to store bought ones. Even though they take a few minutes to prepare and don’t last for months in the fridge they are infinitely tastier and better for you. Also instead of adding nuts to my salads, I prefer to blend nuts or seeds into my salad dressings instead of using oil. Ingredients like hemp seeds, tahini (sesame seed butter) almond butter and chia seeds are some of my favorites. I also make some really tasty fat free salad dressings with fresh citrus juice and
vegetables.

If you make salad dressing just once every 3 days you’ll be well on your way to having a heart healthy AND waist line friendly salad that will help you achieve your weight loss goals.

So get in your kitchen and start blending your way to a healthier trimmer you with ‘Simply Decadent Smoothies’ and for this weekend only get ’70 Healthy Salad Dressings’ as your bonus to keep.

What’s your favorite homemade salad dressing recipe?

5 Secrets For Making Quick And Healthy Vegan Meals At Home

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I want to share with you some more helpful hints on how cooking low fat vegan and plant based meals at home can fit into your schedule and help you on your way to losing weight without too much fuss. If you’re new to the lifestyle and want to reach your goals faster, check out my Low Fat Vegan Starter Kit which covers meals for breakfast, lunch AND dinner!

image credit: thesurvivorsclub.org

 

5 Secrets For Making Quick Healthy Meals At Home

 
1. Plan in advance what you will be eating (at least 5 days a week) breakfast and lunch and then 4 or 5 nights for dinner if you like.
Take a few minutes to write down some ideas for what you enjoy eating (that is healthy and nutritious) and what you think you can manage preparing for the week. It is very hard to stick to a healthy diet if you don’t do this crucial first step in figuring out your meal options. 
 
2. Shop once a week on a weekend for all the food you will be eating throughout the week. 
Know how many fruits, veggies and bags of salad you will need for the week and keep it on hand. If you have healthy items in the fridge you are more likely to eat them than if you have nothing around when you’re short on time and having hunger pangs. Also cleaning out your fridge regularly and keeping it organized will help you see not only what you have to work with but also prevent you from letting food go to waste by spoiling or freezing if it’s stuck at the back of the fridge. 
 
3. Eat the same (or very similar) thing for breakfast and lunch during the week to keep things simple. 
Studies have shown those who eat the same healthy breakfast or lunch every day have an easier time sticking to their diet plans and reaching their goal weight. Control temptation for eating on the go and grabbing takeout by planning in advance and eating meals you love every day during the week. 
 

Breakfast ideas during the week: large fruit smoothie, large green smoothie, steel cut oats with dried fruit and nuts, fruit salad with toast and jam and/or peanut butter, fruit salad with coconut or almond yogurt (available at the health food store), fruit salad and a whole grain muffin etc. See my ‘Simply Decadent Smoothies’ recipe ebook for delicious ideas.  

Lunch ideas during the week: large salad with fruit, vegetables and homemade nut based dressing (oil-free of course), steamed vegetables and/or lentils and rice with a homemade or low fat store bought sauce, baked potato with hummus and a side salad, homemade soup, stew or chili, roasted vegetable sandwich on whole grain bread with fruit, etc. See my ‘Comfort Soups To Keep YouWarm’ recipe ebook for hot lunch ideas. 
 
4. For hot meals (or salads) do your cooking (or prepping) once or twice a week. 
Make a big batch or double batch of soup, stew, casserole, curry etc. that you can easily pair with a whole grain such as rice or quinoa and a salad or veggies. For salads use large tupperware containers and portion out your lettuce and assorted veggies, dried fruit and toppings. Make a homemade dressing or find a tasty oil-free dressing you enjoy and have little containers to take with your salad each day. For delicious dinner recipes the whole family will enjoy I recommend my “Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World” recipe ebook. 
 
5. Use cooking devices such as slow cookers or pressure cookers to save active cooking time in the kitchen.
 
With a slow cooker you can prep everything on a Sunday morning or afternoon and then by dinner time you will have a hot meal ready to eat and you can save any leftovers for meals throughout the rest of the week. With a pressure cooker you can easily make homemade vegetable broth, soup, or fresh beans in only a fraction of the time so you don’t have to hang around watching the stove for an hour while things cook. 
 
The most important aspect to sticking to a healthy diet and lifestyle is planning ahead. Life can get hectic at times and we can feel rushed and make a lot of excuses for eating unhealthy snacks and meals on the go, but if you master the art of shopping in advance and learn how to make a few healthy recipes you like to eat every week you will be well on your way to success. 
 
Just schedule yourself some time every week for shopping and preparing a few healthy recipes, a little effort in these areas can make a big difference to your health and not to mention your waistline…
 
I hope I’ve inspired you to take the next step and get back into the kitchen. 
 
You can do it, I believe in you!

5 Good Reasons to Include Fermented Foods In Your Diet

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photo credit: openjourney.com

Today I want to talk to you about something new and exciting that I’m experimenting with…

Cultured foods!

My good friend Kevin Gianni from Renegade Health absolutely loves including homemade healthy cultured foods in his diet. And for good reason.Many of us have or have had impaired digestion at one time or another in our lives. Maybe it was from a processed foods diet, frequent use of antibiotics, or even a run in with a parasite while traveling.Or you may have a more serious condition like chronic constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, celiacs disease, Crohn’s disease or colitis.

If any of these situations resonate with you, then keep reading. I’m going to share with you the benefits of eating homemade cultured foods and why you should consider adding them to your diet.

Proper digestion is crucial when it comes to building and maintaining a healthy body and immune system. So when your digestion is out of whack you can experience a lot of pain, bloating and discomfort and possibly even end up with some absorption problems depending on the severity of your issue.

If you need some help with building more beneficial bacteria in your system you should check out Kevin’s new book called

Cultured: Learn To Make Healthy Fermented Foods At Home

Let’s take a look at some other reasons you may want to include cultured foods in your diet:

5 Good Reasons to Include Fermented Foods In Your Diet

1. Cultured Foods are Easy to Make at Home and Taste Great

We all know how much people love the taste of fermented foods like cheese, yogurt, kefir, sourdough bread, sauerkraut, miso, and traditional pickles. They have an interesting tangy and complex flavour that ads zip to whatever you’re eating.

Even if you’re vegan there are many delicious cultured foods to experiment with and try making at home. Almost any vegetable can be turned into a delicious fermented food!

2. Fermenting Vegetables Increases Their Nutritional Profile

On top of the existing vitamins and minerals vegetables provide naturally, the beneficial bacteria in cultured foods produce new enzymes and additional minerals which increases their nutrition content. So fermented foods can be a great “good for you” condiment for any meal.

3. Fermented Foods Can Aid In Healing Your Digestive Tract

Processed and refined foods can damage the sensitive villi in your digestive tract and kill off the beneficial bacteria that resides in them. By bringing in new cultured and fermented foods you can help repopulate your intestinal flora with beneficial bacteria and help restore your natural PH balance.

4. Homemade Fermented Foods Are Better Than Supplements

Probiotics generally only contain 1 or 2 main strains of beneficial bacteria, but homemade fermented foods can develop many more strains of good bacteria and diversify the flora in your digestive tract.

5. Fermented Foods Can Promote Good Oral and Dental Health

Many oral and dental health issues such as gingivitis, halitosis, and cavities occur because of a proliferation of bad bacteria in the mouth. When you eat fermented foods that are rich in lactic acid and other beneficial bacterias they can reduce the levels of harmful bacteria in your mouth and keep them in check.

Some of the delicious fermented foods included in Kevin Gianni’s recipe ebook are:

  • sauerkraut
  • applekraut
  • pickles
  • coconut and water based kefirs
  • almond and coconut yogurts
  • vegan cheeses and sour cream
  • rejuvelac
  • miso
  • tempeh
  • gluten free breads with teff and lentils
  • popsicles
  • and many more

If fermented foods sound like something you’re considering including in your diet check out Kevin’s ebook Cultured: Learn To Make Healthy Fermented Foods At Home:

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4818804

What’s your favorite cultured food to eat?