Easy Salad Dressings - Part 2

This is the second part of my blog posts on simple, yet affordable, salad dressings.

Note: These recipes were not created by me, but are adapted from Jamie’s Ministry of Food

Lemon Dressing

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Lemon
• Seas salt and black pepper

To create the dressing, we put the oil and the salt and pepper into a jar. We then squeeze in the lemon juice (all of it!) and mix together well. Easy!

Balsamic Dressing

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt and black pepper

All we need to do is put all the ingredients into a jar and mix well. Simple, tasty and cheap. 

Each of the salad dressings in the two blog posts are simple and taste great. They are also far more affordable than what you buy in the shops.

Leave your comments and let me know what you think of each of the dressings!

Easy Salad Dressings - Part 1

When buying foods from the supermarket it is very important to look at what ingredients are in them. Many foods contain things that should not be in them, preservatives and the like, as well as other ingredients that just add to the calories.  With that in mind, this blog entry will show two different recipes for easy and cheap, but healthier, salad dressings. Another two recipes will follow next week in the second part of my Easy Salad Dressings. 

Note: These recipes were not created by me, but are adapted from Jamie’s Ministry of Food

French Dressing

This is an easy French dressing recipe.

Ingredients:

• ¼ of a clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons of white or red wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Seas salt and black pepper

To create the dressing, we peel and finely chop the garlic. Then, we put the garlic, mustard, vinegar and oil into a jar with a pinch of salt and the black pepper. Simply mix this together for a tasty salad accompaniment.

Yoghurt Dressing

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons of natural yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons of white or red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and black pepper

As with the French dressing, all we need to do is put all the ingredients into a jar and mix well.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think of the dressings. 

Health Benefits of Tuna

Tuna

When discussing super foods it is often broccoli, cauliflower and other vegetables and seeds that get mentioned. However, tuna fish is a food that should genuinely be considered up there with other super foods. Tuna fish is a truly nutrient dense food that is packed with goodness, with many health benefits.

The Nutrition of Tuna – A True Health Food

The health benefits of tuna stem from the macro and micro nutrients that they contain. Tuna is an excellent source of high quality protein (for the importance of protein click here), which is why it is so often eaten by weight trainers and other athletes. Tuna is also rich in a variety of important vitamins and minerals. The vitamins that tuna contains includes; niacin, B1 and B6. The minerals contained in tuna include; selenium, magnesium and potassium. One of the most important and beneficial elements of tuna is the fact that it contains the omega-3 essential fatty acids (and for more information on why these are so important click here).

The Health Benefits of Tuna

With all this being said with regards to the nutrients contained in tuna, what does it all do for us?

Well the high levels of protein can have numerous positive effects. The benefits of protein include; help with weight loss, promoting healthy muscle growth, repairing of tissue and injuries, building of skin, nails and cartilage and help with circulation. 

Tuna contains a very high level of selenium. Selenium is essential in flushing toxins from the liver, which in turn will promote good health overall. Some research also suggests that selenium deficiency is linked to many diseases including; some forms of cancer, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and diabetes.  

As mentioned previously, tuna contains great levels of omega-3 essential fatty acids. The importance of essential fatty acids can be found on my previous blog entry Essential Fatty Acids. However, a quick look shows that omega-3s promote heart health and reduce the risks of heart attacks and blood clots. It also appears that omega-3s can protect against rheumatoid arthritis, cardiac arrhythmias, depression, and anxiety and may have anti-cancer affects.

An Interesting Healthy Snack

Apple and Peanut Butter?!

Eating Healthy and Snacks

Eating healthy is often a very hard thing to achieve. We are told different information from different sources. However, it is generally considered that eating little and often is a good method of eating right. This means that we need to snack throughout the day, around three larger meals. With that in mind it seems very easy to fall into the trap of snacking on foods like crisps (potato chips) and other foods that lack any real nutritional value.

Carbs plus Protein or Fat

It is also important to note that when we snack on sugary foods we get hungry an hour or so later, meaning we eat again and the calories begin to pile up. The reason for this is that carbohydrates are fast burning, so when we snack it is important that we combine some good carbs with some protein or fat, or both for that matter. This brings us to an interesting healthy snack that is packed with nutrition and should keep you full that little bit long – apple with peanut butter.

Apple and Peanut Butter – Yum

Apple and peanut butter did not sound that appetising to me, however, once I had tried it I became hooked. This is now a standard snack for me to have because it is tasty as well as simple and quick to make. I tend to slice my apple up and spread some peanut butter on it, but it could easily be chopped into sticks and dipped into peanut butter for the same effect!

This really is an interesting snack to try out and one that should give enough nutrients to be worthwhile.