Eat This! Summer Condiments

Condiments can be your best or your worse friend – either a flavorful addition to healthy foods, or an additive nightmare hiding a wide range of fat-loss-stopping ingredients like high sodium, chemicals, corn syrup, wheat, cornstarch…etc etc.  Making your own condiments is simpler than you think – and you won’t have to make them very often.  This way you KNOW what you are eating and feeding your family.

Bonus – you can season any of your own condiments any way you choose!  Enjoy!

All Good Mayonnaise

There’s a trick to making good mayonnaise.  Go online and google mayonnaise and do a little research if you are new to it!  Once you try it, you’ll never go back to the commercial stuff…

Ingredients:

1 cup grapeseed oil or extra virgin olive oil

1 organic egg (must be fresh)

juice of 1 lemon

Instructions:

Everything should be room temperature.  Use a blender or electric mixer.  Combine the egg and lemon in the bowl or blender, whipping  well.  GRADUALLY add the olive oil – drop by drop.  This takes time so don’t get in a hurry.  Add lemon last, to taste.  Makes 1 cup.

All Good Ketchup

Homemade ketchup – no corn syrup, low in sodium (can omit salt).

Ingredients:

4 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

2 cups water

.75 cup apple cider vinegar

6 TBS raw honey

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp sea salt

.5 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

Place tomato paste in pan and stir until smooth, adding water very slowly.  Add vinegar slowly as well.  Add remaining ingredients and stir over low heat till simmering.  Place into bottles or jars and cool.  Refrigerate.  Makes 5.75 cups.

Cherry Ketchup

Wonderful on any poultry or meat.  Not all ketchup is tomato based!

Ingredients:

1 10-oz  package (2 cups) frozen pitted cherries (not in syrup!)

.5 cup dried cherries

.5 cup cider vinegar

.33 cup water

2 cloves garlic, crushed

.25 tsp ginger

.25 tsp ground allspice

.25 tsp ground cardamon

.25 tsp ground cinnamon

.25 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions:

Combine pitted cherries, dried cherries, vinegar, water, garlic, sugar, ginger, allspice, cardamom, cinnamon and cayenne in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly. Transfer to a blender. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel. Holding lid securely in place, blend until smooth. (Use caution when blending hot liquids.) Transfer the ketchup to a small bowl or jar.  Makes 1.33 cups.

Cornell BBQ Sauce

Non tomato based, and neither spicy nor sweet. It’s been popular for over 50 years. Piquant and pungent, smells awesome cooking! Outstanding on chicken marinated and then grilled on charcoal or gas grill, oh my.

Ingredients:

2 cup – Apple Cider Vinegar

1 cup – Coconut Oil

1 each – Egg

2 tbsp – Sea Salt

Instructions:

In heavy saucepan, combine oil, vinegar, salt, poultry seasoning, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Bring just up to boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat. For a thicker sauce, quickly whisk in the beaten egg, and then let cool. Store extra sauce in glass jar with lid in the fridge, keeps up to 2 months. A SERVING IS ONE TBS makes 3 cups.

Salsa

Ingredients:

1 sm Onion; chopped

1 sm Green bell pepper; chopped

1 sm Red bell pepper; chopped

1 Tomato; chopped

1/2 c Fresh lime

Pepper to taste

1 tb Fresh basil;

Hot red pepper flakes

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Let stand 20 minutes before serving. Add hot pepper flakes if desired.  Makes about 2 cups.

Non-Dairy Ranch Dressing

A great alternative for those that love ranch but want to avoid dairy! You can use any combination of spices but below is one that works well.

Ingredients:

0.5 cup – Almond Milk

2 tsp – Lemon juice

1 cup – Veganaisse, Grapeseed Oil

Herbs – see below

Instructions:

Mix lemon juice and almond milk and let sit for 10min. In bowl, whisk together veganaise, lemon juice and almond milk mixture, .5tsp dried chives, .5tsp dried parsley, .5 tsp dried dill weed, .25 tsp. garlic powder, .25 tsp onion powder, and .25 tsp ground black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 30min before serving.

Walnut Pesto

Quick, easy, and so tasty!!

Ingredients:

4 ounce – Fresh Basil

8 Garlic Cloves

2 gram – Mint

1.5 cup – Raw Walnuts

.5 cup – Olive Oil

Instructions:

Soak walnuts overnight, then rinse. Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Mexican Mole

A delicious mole sauce that is yummy served on chicken.

Ingredients:

1 – Apple, peeled and cored

0.5 banana

2 cups – Low Sodium Chicken Broth

0.25 tsp – Ground Cinnamon

2 ounce – Dagoba Dark Chocolate

9 –  Dried Chile Peppers

3 – Cloves Garlic

0.75 cup – diced onion

1 tsp – Oregano, dried

0.5 cup – Pine Nuts

0.25 cup – Golden Raisins

0.25 cup – Sesame Oil

0.25 cup – Sesame Seeds, raw

4 each – Roma Tomatoes

Instructions:

Toss the pine nuts and sesame seeds in a skillet. Set aside. Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles. 2-3 chile negros, 5 ancho chiles, and 2 serrano chiles. Place the chilies on a sheet pan and toast in the oven at 350 for 3 to 5 minutes until fragrant (not too dark). Cover the chiles in a bowl with warm water until they soften, about 10 minutes. Then puree the chilies in a blender with the broth. In a large skillet heat the oil. Add the onions, serrano chiles and apple and cook until brown. Add the banana and the plum tomatoes, then puree the chiles, pine nut sesame seed mix, raisins, cinnamon, oregano and chocolate. Simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Transfer the mixture in batches to the blender and puree until very smooth. If too thick add broth, if needed strain through a sieve. This mole can be made a day or two ahead and refrigerated.