I know sometimes it seems like I am unconcerned with healthy eating, what with the burgers, pizza etc that I have posted lately, but when we are at home I do try to make an effort to make our food semi healthy. I tend to cut down or omit the oil, salt and sugar in recipes when I can. So when I found this replacement for oil on fatfreevegan.com I had to try it out.It’s basically a mix of cornstarch and water. I doubled up the cornstarch in the recipe and it made a really thick gloopy substance that looked pretty disgusting, but when I mixed it in to my salad dressing it worked really well. If you’re going to try it I would recommend mixing with a food processor or blender. To be honest there was a slight powdery taste to the dressing, because I increased the cornstarch, but it’s not too noticeable. I would rather have a wee bit of a powdery taste than a bigger bum so I am not too bothered about it! The downside is that you might missing out on Omega 3s from the oil you might have added instead. I guess you could use a mix of oil replacer and oil to deal with that. The photo above is of some Lemon Zinger Dressing from Vive! It’s very lemony and very zingy! :)
And here is yet more soup :) I saw this last year on VeganLunchBox.com and have been meaning to try it ever since. It’s a lentil soup with veggie hot dogs added toward the end of cooking. It reminded me of lentil soup my Mum used to make (that she put a big lump of ham in (eeew!)). It was very tasty. However, even though I halved the salt, it was still too salty for me. Next time I wouldn’t add any while cooking and possibly a little at the end if needed.
6 comments:
I've tried that oil replacement in salad dressing before. I think it's okay--as you say, better than the alternative! :)
I have not found a vegan hot dog that i enjoy. Which ones do you use?
Ok, I don't mean to sound all motherly or anything but... you need some fat to absorb the nutrients from green leafy veggies in salads! They've done studies that have shown that when you have a salad with fat-free or low-fat dressing, you absorb almost none of the nutrients of the vegetables. I always make sure to have nuts, avocados, or olive or flax oil (or some combo of all of them!) with my salad. Fat free dressing just doesn't seem worth it to me!
laura, yes, I think okay is the right word for it. It’s not brilliant but it is less fattening!
veg-a-nut, I used Lightlife Tofu Pups. I think they are a little less “rubbery” than some of the others :)
bazu, thanks for the info. Your concern and advice is appreciated :) I wouldn’t eat a salad (with fat free dressing or not) completely on its own. I would have it along with dinner (on the same plate, not as a starter) so I kind of assumed that the fat from the rest of the food would help absorb the nutrients. Maybe I shouldn’t assume things?! I just like the fat free dressing as a way of cutting down the overall fat in a meal. Also, what if you eat salad with no dressing? Is that bad too? That’s what I do most of the time... I think if I am making dressing in the future I will perhaps just make lower fat dressing (part “thick water” and part oil) to be on the safe side!!
I must try the hot dog soup as I am bored with my usual lentil soup, will make a nice change. The weather now cold enough here to have soup daily.
Like bazu I also make sure to add a little olive oil if I don't have avos or nuts in my salads. Not only for absorption but I find since becoming vegan I don't get enough oil and being ancient don't want to look like a prune with very dry skin.
This is great info to know.
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