salad » Living Lou

Basic Balsamic Vinaigrette

With warm weather comes cravings for healthy, fresh salads. The thing is, salads can get a little boring if you’re eating the same old dressing and vegetable combination every day. I know this first hand because that’s exactly what I did with this dressing. I’m surprised I haven’t posted this recipe for Basic Balsamic Vinaigrette because I would bring this salad dressing for lunch every single day of my senior year of high school.

Ever since I graduated from high school, (almost two years ago…wow) I haven’t been making this salad dressing nearly as often. The truth is, I don’t think I’ve been eating as many salads as I used to. I think that’s one of the side effects of university – healthy eating habits go right out the window. Recently, I’ve been making more of a conscious effort to eat healthy foods and snacks and I can tell you that I feel so much better. Is anyone else planning a health kick this month? Mine’s been going pretty well so far, I mean, I didn’t buy any chocolate covered pretzels last time I was at the grocery store.

Basic Balsamic Vinaigrette (makes 3/4 cup)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
1/8 tsp salt and pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Directions

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt and pepper.

Next, while continuously whisking, pour in olive oil in a light, steady stream. Continue to whisk until olive oil is incorporated into vinegar and dressing has thickened, about 30 seconds. The dressing should be thick enough to coat a spoon (as seen in photo above). The oil and vinegar should not be separate.

Are you on a healthy kick too? What kinds of recipes are you looking for? Let me know. Give this Basic Balsamic Vinaigrette a try for your next lunch.

- Lou

Carrot Salad

Last week I mentioned this health kick that I’ve been on lately and this Carrot Salad is a result of said new health kick. There’s something about February that has me craving the freshness of summer, and I think this salad definitely brings that freshness to the table (ha! literally and figuratively). I’ve also had carrots on my mind recently with the relaunch of an old favourite app of mine, CarrotLines™ Powered By Tommy Europe™. Now I’m sure you all know that I am a total app addict – hence my tweet about Songza the other day (seriously obsessed with the 60s French Pop Playlist), but CarrotLines is the only health app I have on my phone because quite frankly, with the CarrotLines app, I don’t need another one.

My favourite feature of this free app is the bar code scanner, it’s amazing. When you scan the bar code of a product, it pulls up the nutritional information and tells you if the product fits with your nutritional goals, whether it be low-fat or gluten free etc. Plus, there is exclusive nutrition and fitness video content by Tommy Europe. I’ve loved using the app while grocery shopping and for purging my pantry of items that I really shouldn’t be eating. I already had the CarrotLines app on my phone so all I needed to do was update it, but if you don’t have the app you can download it from the Canadian app store.

Now, to spread the #carrotlove I've created this delicious Carrot Salad. It's so simple and is a great way to change up your salad routine.

Carrot Salad (serves 4-6)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

For Salad
5 large carrots, peeled and grated
4 mini cucumbers, sliced
1 green onion, sliced

For Dressing
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large bowl, toss together vegetables for the salad.

In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.

Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat.

Carrot Salad is one of my favourite salads because not only is it gorgeous and colourful but also really easy and delicious.

- Lou

Disclaimer: I am proud to be a media sponsor and brand ambassador for CarrotLines™ Powered By Tommy Europe™. All opinions expressed are my own.

Roasted Red Pepper Dressing

I go through phases, you could even say obsessions with certain things. Sometimes it’s a movie, or a song, maybe it’s a band or a photographer, perhaps an ingredient or a food is grabbing my attention, but there’s always something. For instance, I’ve had a long time love affair with the films of Wes Anderson and roasted red peppers. Recently, I’ve become obsessed with The Devil Wears Prada.

I caught it on TV the other night, and let’s just say that I watched it at 9:30 and then again at 12. Yep. Officially obsessed, and I want to watch it again tonight. I feel like my film teachers would shake their heads in disgust if I said that I was obsessed with this movie. And my fellow classmates, I don’t even want to know what they would think. I don’t care though because I love it. The best part is that a couple of months ago I was lucky enough to attend a Q&A session with director David Frankel, and perhaps hearing him talk about the process of making The Devil Wears Prada (among his many other films) just made me fall even more in love with the film. Whatever the reason, I’m obsessed. You can’t deny that Meryl’s delivery of Miranda Priestly is just perfect, how she remembers all those lines and delivers them so quickly and with such a frosty demeanor. Love Meryl. Have I mentioned that before?

This salad dressing is packed with flavor. The roasted red pepper adds a nice sweetness and makes the dressing creamy without adding any sour cream or yogurt. I feel like Miranda Priestly would approve of this salad dressing, at least I hope she would!

Roasted Red Pepper Dressing (makes 2/3 cup)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1 roasted red pepper
1/2 clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp basil

Directions

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until combined.

Now that is a delicious salad dressing that is perfect for Meatless Mondays.

Do you think Miranda Priestly would approve?

- Lou

Coleslaw

I’ve recently rediscovered my love for coleslaw. I find that it’s such a good snack to have in the fridge at all times because it’s just so tasty. This recipe is a variation of the recipe my great grandmother, or Nana as we called her, would make. She was an awesome cook, and a pretty stellar lady herself. She never ran out of stories of her days growing up in Northern Ontario, and her many siblings. She would always be drinking her beer, and somehow, despite her small stature she could eat more than all of us. She never failed to order dessert, one of her favourites was the apple crumble.

It was pretty ironic that I stumbled upon her hand written recipe card the other day, a recipe which she had written down for my mom back in 1989. It was only last week that I had been thinking about how delicious her coleslaw was, and finding this recipe was definitely something I welcomed with open arms. It really is one of the best I’ve ever tasted, I find that it has the perfect balance between tangy and sweet. Try out the recipe for yourself and let me know what you think.

Nana’s Coleslaw (makes 6 cups of coleslaw)
Recipe adapted from my Nana’s by Lou

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup +1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup water
6 cups of shredded cabbage
1 shredded carrot

Directions

In a small saucepan, bring olive oil, sugar, vinegars, salt, spices and water to a boil. Boil for 30 seconds and remove from heat.

This recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups of dressing. Personally, I like my coleslaw to be drenched with dressing, but start by pouring 1 cup of dressing, and adding the other 1/2 cup if you want to. Toss to coat.

Enjoy your coleslaw, I’m going to have a bowl right now.

- Lou

Ranch Dressing

Ranch dressing is one of those condiments that has hundreds of uses and can be found in fridges of homes all around the world. Kids love it, adults love it – ranch is pretty universal. It’s easy to buy it, but if there’s one thing we can all agree upon it’s that bottled, store-bought versions of a food usually contain nasty and unpronounceable ingredients. Phosphoric acid, disodium phosphate, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate anyone? What is disodium and why is it everywhere? I think that unless you’re a food scientist, ingredient labels can seem like another language. It reminds me of when I used to take chemistry – so glad that I dropped sciences two years ago. I don’t know about all of you, but I’d much rather make my own dressing and know all of the ingredients I’m putting in. Plus it usually tastes better and is better for you – double bonus.

I mentioned that ranch dressing has tons of uses; you can use it on a salad, for dipping veggies, or treats like french fries and pizza. I for one enjoy a little ranch dip with my chicken fingers and chicken wings. You can even throw some ranch dressing into mashed potatoes to give them a little kick. When something as simple as ranch dressing has so many uses, why not enjoy a healthier version, one where you don’t have to worry about MSG and high-fructose corn syrup. This is a dressing you’ll be proud to use and serve to your family.

Ranch Dressing (makes 1 cup)
Recipe Inspired by: Confections of a Foodie Bride, originally from The Gourmet Cookbook, 2004

Ingredients
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp 5% sour cream
1/3 cup +1 tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 small clove garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp dried parsley

Directions

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process for 10 seconds or until combined and dressing has the desired consistency. I like my dressing to be slightly runny but just thick enough for dipping as well.

This ranch dressing makes the perfect summer main course, a chicken ranch salad that kids and adults alike will enjoy.

- Lou