My Favorite Guilt Free Salad Dressing

Photo: Tessemae

It's always better to make your own condiments and salad dressings, but sometimes we just don't have the time!  I've found a brand that is both tasty, good for you, and available in your local grocery store.  

Tessemae’s is one of my personal favorites. The story behind the brand is so cool, and they're committed to healthy eating and healthy living. Not to mention, everything is all natural and Whole 30 approved! You can find them at Kroger’s or Whole Foods in the refrigerated section by the boxed salads. If you want to see the whole line of dressings/sauces visit their website.

My personal favorites are Lemon Chesapeake, Lemon Garlic, Balsamic, Mild & Hot Buffalo Sauce, and BBQ Sauce. I haven’t tried them all and there are many more flavors online compared to what is in the store! I won’t lie the ranch was kind of stretch, so if you are a ranch person I would try something else.  It wasn’t quite like I was expecting. The other ones above are much much better.

I use it on my salads, season my chicken or dip veggies in it.  I love carrots and celery dipped in lemon garlic! Check them out at the grocery store or online and let me know what you think!

Guilt Free Sausage and Gravy

We live in the south and Southern food is always a weakness, but not always the healthiest.  Here's my take on a healthy sausage and gravy!

This is quite possibly one of my favorite recipes for 2 reasons:
1. It tastes AMAZING and is so easy to make.
2. Sausage and gravy is such a classic Southern food that I thought would be hard to duplicate, let alone with only 3 ingredients.  

I have made it multiple times for people and they can never believe it tastes so good. I have even been told it tastes better than regular gravy! Plus, you don’t get the bloating that comes along with eating regular gravy.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup raw cashews
2 cups water
1 pound of sausage (make sure it has no preservatives in it- nitrates, nitrites, sulfites, sulfates)

Soak your cashews in warm water the night before.  I just took a mason jar and filled it with my cashews and covered them with warm water to sit overnight.  In the morning, drain the water out and put the cashews in a blender or food processor.  

Put 2 cups of fresh water in with the cashews. Blend until creamy.  It took about 30 seconds in my food processor, but just make sure it is ALL blended. It shouldn’t be grainy at all.

Cook your sausage on medium heat.  When done drain excess grease.  Then put pan back on low-medium to medium heat and add your ‘cashew gravy’. Stir until warm.  You can also add more water at this time to thin it out, your call!

Add pepper or any other seasonings you want.  Try it and feel free to be skeptical like I was, but I can guarantee you won’t be let down.  Add it to your breakfast, lunch, or dinner menu!

Quinoa Oatmeal

Oatmeal is something that can give people a carbohydrate rush (that 30 minutes to an hour energy rush) and then a crash and burn in energy 1 hour later. One of my biggest suggestions for oatmeal lovers is try to make it gluten free.  Then, make sure to add a protein. I love to add in a couple scoops of almond butter or huge handful of nuts. An even better addition is something called collagen!

Vital Proteins collagen is tasteless and has 20 grams of protein in it. It dissolves quickly and you can mix it in to whatever you are eating! This will give you enough protein to prevent the blood sugar crash in 1 hour and help sustain your energy. Plus, collagen helps joint aches/pain.  We have had amazing success stories with people adding this to their daily routine! Collagen is also anti-aging.  It helps restore the collagen in your skin, which over time starts to break down and cause wrinkles. Joint support, sustained energy and anti-aging? Sign me up!

Another option for oatmeal is to make it with quinoa. It has more protein than oatmeal which means it helps sustain your energy longer after eating it, plus you feel fuller quicker. What I do is make a large batch of quinoa and keep it in the fridge to heat up when I need it. It's so much easier to substitute oats with quinoa when it's already pre-made and waiting for you!  So make a big batch and keep in the fridge for quinoa ‘oatmeal’ or add to dinner dishes.

For the quinoa oatmeal- warm it up with some almond milk in a pan on the stove. Add in your favorite toppings like cinnamon, walnuts, honey, PURE maple syrup, almond butter, etc. Add the collagen to make it even more protein packed!

Paleo Tomato Soup

There are so many tomato soup recipes out there, so I figured I would try my hand at one of them.  It was super easy to make, very tasty and completely dairy free!

Ingredients
1 Onion, chopped
1 TBS Coconut Oil
1 TBS Olive Oil
1/2 cup fresh Basil
1-2 tsp Sea Salt and Pepper
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
3 cups of Chicken Stock
5 Tomatoes- Vine (I used 4 large tomatoes)
6 oz Tomato Paste

Instructions
Cut tomatoes into quarter slices and toss with olive oil (I did melted coconut oil), sea salt and pepper.
Roast tomatoes on a baking sheet for 30 minutes on 350 degrees
With about 5 minutes to go on the tomatoes melt 1 TBS of coconut oil over medium heat in a large soup pan
Saute onion and garlic (until onion is translucent)
Add in your roasted tomatoes and saute for 1 more minute
Add in 3 cups of chicken stock, the basil (I ripped mine into smaller pieces first), and the tomato paste. 
Stir until tomato paste is dissolved into the broth
Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to low and cover pot
Let covered pot simmer for about 30 minutes
Pour soup into a food processor or blender and mix up until nice and smooth

Last but not least... Enjoy! (And even top with your fresh basil... so tasty!)

Recipe from Primal Palate.