In a time of year that is oversaturated with ambitious resolutions, here’s what you can expect from us: consistent love for movement, and a relaxed focus on living life fully: whole foods (sometimes chia, sometimes chocolate) good memories (sometimes Mason jars, sometimes spicy margaritas). But just because we don’t pursue any quick fixes, doesn’t mean wanting to have an additional focus after a month of sweets comes from falling into the trap of diet culture: it just means a fresh start. ⁣

That’s why we wanted to kick off the first Fit + Hungry of 2020 with our fave dressings: the ones that take salads from ehhh to YEESSS. What’s more- you might just learn a little about the science behind them, so you can chef it up this year, too!⁣

 

Follow Karina and Rivki on Instagram: @karinaveee @rivkiabinowitz 

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In a time time of year that is oversaturated with ambitious resolutions, here's what you can expect from us: consistent love for movement, and a relaxed focus on living life fully: whole foods (sometimes chia, sometimes chocolate) good memories (sometimes Mason jars, sometimes spicy margs). ⁣ ⁣ But just because we dont pursue any quick fixes, doesn't mean wanting to have an additional focus after a month of sweets comes from falling into the trap of diet culture: it just means a fresh start. ⁣ ⁣ That's why we wanted to kick off the first Fit + Hungry of 2020 with our fave dressings: the ones that take salads from ehhh to YEESSS. What's more- you might just learn a little about the science behind them, so you can chef it up this year, too!⁣ ⁣ Bonus- 2 of our fave recipes at 3:50, and our diet philosophy at 5:06 Recipes from the video: Tahini Dressing: ¼ cup oil ¼ cup tahini 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey ½ teaspoon fine sea salt 2 tablespoons ice-cold water, more as needed Honey mustard dressing: ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil  2 T maple syrup 2 tsp fresh lemon juice  ½ tsp Dijon mustard  ½ tsp salt ½ tsp pepper

A post shared by KARINA VEE Fitness Coach (@karinaveee) on

Delicious and simple salad dressings to spice up your current salad routine.

Recipes from the video: 

Tahini Salad Dressing

Tahini Dressing:

¼ cup oil

¼ cup tahini

2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

2 tablespoons ice-cold water, more as needed

Honey mustard dressing:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 

2 T maple syrup

2 tsp fresh lemon juice 

½ tsp Dijon mustard 

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper 

 
The science behind the dressing:

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE DRESSINGS – Become a salad pro

KNOW THE FORMULA

Here’s the formula:

1) 3 parts high-quality oil – extra virgin olive oil, hemp seed oil, flaxseed oil, pumpkin seed oil – get creative! Think outside the olive oil box

2)1 part something acidic – vinegar, lemon, lime

3) A dash of salt and fresh ground pepper

CHOOSE YOUR INGREDIENTS

A. OIL

You can go with extra virgin olive oil, which we use 95% of the time. Or choose a light, flavourless oil like grapeseed oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil. For some extra flavour, you can even swap in a touch of nut oil like walnut oil or hazelnut oil; or a bit of sesame oil adds a delicious Asian vibe. Just use a light touch with the more strongly flavoured oils.

It goes without saying that higher quality oil is going to taste the best. But personally, as you can see by the photo, We are not opposed to a little Costco generic brand love. Tastes pretty great to me!

B. VINEGAR

-Most wine vinegars will yield a lighter vinaigrette. 

-Rice vinegar is also a nice, light choice. 

-Apple cider vinegar lends a nice little bite. 

-Balsamic vinegar is a bolder choice but lends a wonderful sweet/tart flavour to the mix. 

-Lemon juice is often substituted for vinegar, but I prefer to supplement the vinegar with acidy citrus juices (orange and lime juices also fall into this category) rather than replace the vinegar entirely. Generally, I’ll swap out half the vinegar for citrus juice if I’m going that route.

C. ADD-INS/SEASONINGS

As we referenced in the formula above, aside from oil and vinegar, the only other thing you really need for a superb and super-simple vinaigrette is a bit of salt (like kosher salt or sea salt) and pepper (freshly ground black pepper).

But it’s fun to do more, if you want! Here are some ideas for deliciously aromatic add-ins:

  • Fresh chopped herbs like dill, basil, parsley, cilantro, mint, or thyme (dried herbs work, too)

  • Finely fresh ginger

  • Dijon mustard adds flavour and acts as an emulsifier – it’s kind of vinaigrette’s best pal.

  • Coconut sugar/maple syrup/stevia/honey helps mellow the vinegar’s acidity, if necessary, plus, honey works as an emulsifier, too.

  • Tamari

  • Miso

  • Tahini

  • Nutritional yeast

  • Mayonnaise/vegannaise

  • MIX IT!

Yes, oil and vinegar like to stay separated. But for vinaigrette, we want it together – at least long enough to get it onto our salad.

One effective way of mixing it together (also known as “emulsifying”) is to use a blender. But it might over-complicates the process and, let’s be honest, who likes the extra clean-up? And this is all about simple!

So, almost always mix the vinaigrette in the whisking in a bowl or shaking in a jar. If you are feeling lazy but still insist on eating healthy food, try this purely inspired greens review, as it contains fruits and vegetables with all the nutrients you need.

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