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How to season a salad without harming your figure
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What to do if you want a variety of tastes, but not extra centimeters at the waist.
You can experiment with ingredients for salads as much as you want, but without the right dressing they lose their taste. However, there is an insidious side here – I chose the wrong dressing or added too much of it, and hello, extra calories. So how do you choose a sauce that won’t stick to your thighs?
We study the label and the composition of the product
The simplest thing to look for when choosing is the order of the ingredients in the composition. As a rule, they are arranged in descending order – the more product is in the composition, the closer to the beginning it is. What ingredients should be the first in the dressing?
Many are based on vegetable oils, where they act as a source of fat-soluble vitamins. For example, sunflower oil is rich in vitamin E, which supports healthy skin, hair and nails. In addition, the unsaturated fatty acids in the oils normalize blood cholesterol levels and maintain a balance between “bad” and “good” cholesterol.
Therefore, it is important that high-quality oil gets into the filling. Fortunately, many companies pay special attention to this issue. For example, a guarantee of the natural origin of the oil is a patented quality control system , which allows only natural raw materials into production.
In addition, vegetable oil obtained by one of the most environmentally friendly methods – the method of physical refining, which in addition improves the quality of the product. Impurities and associated substances are removed using hot steam. As a result, such oil is equally suitable both for dressing salads with raw vegetables and for preparing hot dishes.
Looking at mayonnaise from a new angle
In fact, mayonnaise is not an opponent of a slender figure if it contains natural ingredients. But, like any product, it must be consumed in moderation. In fact, the main characters of this sauce are vegetable oil, eggs and spices. Agree, the set is quite useful.
What good can there be in mayonnaise? A quality dressing contains omega-3 and omega-6 unsaturated fats. By Harvard Health Publishing, they, unlike the saturated ones, are good for health.
In addition, if the product contains egg yolk, then along with it the body receives substances called by the American biochemist Bruce Ames … These are carotenes. You can find them in vegetables and fruits, but only the yolk contains the fats necessary for their assimilation.
Some mayonnaise manufacturers use dry egg mixtures instead of natural eggs. But, as the practice of responsible and natural-minded producers has shown, it is real liquid egg yolk that allows you to achieve a thick dressing consistency without the use of emulsifiers, stabilizers or starch. By the way, if there are no eggs or egg powder in the composition, then this is not mayonnaise, but mayonnaise sauce.
It turns out that mayonnaise is not as terrible as it was written about earlier. And even nutritionists are sure of this. Mayonnaise is as complete a product as everyone else. It just needs to be properly incorporated into the diet.
Recipes for those who love to cook themselves
What to keep in mind if you decide to make mayonnaise at home? Raw yolk can turn out to be a source of salmonella, and, alas, it will not work out by eye to determine if the egg is infected. In production, the choice of ingredients is more careful. So think again if it’s worth the risk.
In addition, to make mayonnaise at home, you will have to spend a lot of time and effort, but there is no guarantee that the resulting version will suit you. Plus, homemade mayonnaise, if improperly prepared or stored, can become a breeding ground for bacteria. Industrial mayonnaise still has a proven recipe, thanks to which a certain taste and texture are created, and aseptic packaging allows you to store the dressing longer than homemade.
Better to experiment with a ready-made version. For example, do bright curry dressing… To do this, add a pinch of seasoning to mayonnaise, a little lemon juice to enhance the acidity, stir in ground cashews for crunchiness and serve with fried asparagus or a salad of warm vegetables.
Color experiments can be continued with greenery. Make green mayonnaise… To do this, beat the sauce with parsley or dill and add lemon juice to taste.
Another interesting option, especially for those who like a combination of sweet and salty, is Alimango sauce. Its name is translated from the Filipino language as “Crab”. Mix mayonnaise with fresh mango puree and a spoonful of honey. It is better to serve this sauce with salads with fish or crab sticks.
Also try to do it yourself Thousand Islands sauce… Its sweet and sour taste complements leafy salads or poultry dishes. Here you need to mix mayonnaise with ketchup and wine vinegar, add finely chopped bell peppers, onions and parsley. For those who like it hot, throw in some chili peppers in the sauce.
Feel free to experiment with oil-based dressings too. For example, if you take dill for pesto instead of a bunch of basil, and replace olive oil with sunflower oil, you will get no less tasty. This pesto goes well with a salad of fried eggplants, large and juicy tomatoes, red onions and feta cheese.
Or try the popular Italian dressing the thunderbolt… Here you need to mix finely chopped garlic, parsley and lemon zest into the oil. Best served with fish dishes.
And another option is refueling the vinaigrette… The main thing is to remember the ratio of the main ingredients: we take a spoonful of wine vinegar for three parts of the oil (that is, there is one tablespoon of vinegar for three tablespoons of oil). Season the mixture with salt and pepper.
As you can see, there are a lot of options for tasty, and most importantly, harmless salad dressings. The main thing is not to be mistaken with the choice of the main ingredients.