How can I eat healthier?, I often hear people asking. One of the simplest way to change your lifestyle is simply to add more vegetables into your daily eating habits. As simple as that. Don’t worry about what you shouldn’t be eating first, just focus on adding more and more vegetables in your diet. The rest will come later. One of the easy ways to add more vegetables is to add an extra salad that you will really enjoy, and what better way to enjoy your salad than to create a delicious homemade salad dressing that is good for you? Before we get into this deliciously healthy recipes for a French shallot, raw honey and apple cider vinegar salad dressing, let’s learn more about why apple cider vinegar is a healthy choice for our salad dressings.
Why should you use Apple Cider Vinegar?
Did you know that apple cider vinegar has many health benefits? Just like the famous quote from Hippocrates, the Father of modern medicine, says “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”, you can truly take advantage of every food that will help you maintain a healthy lifestyle and feel better in your body, but without sacrificing taste and delicious food. Personally, I’ve been using organic raw apple cider vinegar for a decade to get rid of sore throats at the earliest signs of it. It works every time. I use it diluted in a bit of water and gargle with it every 20-30 minutes for the first few hours and then every 1-2 hours until it’s all gone (which is usually within 24 hours). I gargle and swallow it after for full benefits (you want to make sure you don’t have an empty stomach).
It is also the only vinegar that isn’t acidic in the body, in fact it helps to balance the body’s pH to a more alkaline level (healthy side) and doesn’t contain any yeast, which is great for people who maybe suffering from Candida Albicans or have a yeast allergy or intolerance; or simply trying to reduce the amount of yeast in their lives. I personally think it also tastes delicious, it adds a fresh and light flavour to any salad dressing. It’s always a good thing to keep in your pantry. Make sure it is raw (unpasteurized) to keep all its health benefits: the commercial pasteurized kind (without the “mother”) doesn’t have the same benefits, and of course, make sure it’s organic. Some good brands that I like are Bragg, Eden and Filsinger (this one is Canadian, produced in Ontario). They each have their own distinctive taste, some are sweeter than others. Just like wine and olive oil, any kind of good vinegar will mature with age as well and you will need to taste various brands to find one you like.
What are some of the benefits of apple cider vinegar?
Natural apple cider vinegar is a wonderful natural treatment for a number of ailments which could require antibiotics and other medications, which can have a number of side effects. Some of the benefits of natural apple cider vinegar:
- Reduces sinus infections and sore throats
- Balances high cholesterol
- Helps with skin conditions, such as acne
- Protects against food poisoning
- Fights allergies in both humans and animals
- Prevents muscle fatigue after exercise
- Strengthens the immune system
- Increases stamina
- Increases metabolism which promotes weight loss
- Improves digestion and cure constipation
- Alleviates symptoms of arthritis and gout
- Prevents bladder stones and urinary tract infections
(source: foodmatters.tv)
You can have the best of both worlds, getting healthier AND enjoying a delicious salad! This salad dressing is perfect with a green or red leaf organic lettuce, some organic apple slices and some raw organic walnuts or pecans. Absolutely delicious and fresh! Now, on to the recipe…
Bon appétit!
French shallots, raw honey and apple cider vinegar salad dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium-size French shallot , minced (approx. 1/4 cup)
- 1/3 cup raw organic apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup high quality extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp raw , local organic honey (could be replaced with maple syrup for a vegan option)
- 1/4 tsp unrefined sea salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in a Mason jar, close the lid tight and shake very well, for about 5-10 seconds.
- This should give you enough for a few large salads. Shake well before use.
Recipe Notes
This should give you enough for a few large salads. Shake well before use.
Note: I do not believe anyone should worry about counting calories, but here is the nutritional information for one serving
Calories: 90kcal | Fat: 5g | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 35mg | Carbohydrates: 10g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin C: 2% | Iron: 0.1%
This recipe contains affiliate links for products that I use or recommend.
I *love* homemade dressing! Honestly, I haven’t bought dressing in years. Whenever I talk about this I feel a bit bad, because I never want to come across as shaming to those who still buy bottled dressing — I just feel like these folks are really missing out! It wasn’t until I started making my own that I realized how icky and goopy and overly salty the store-bought ones are.
This one sounds so yummy and simple; perfect for *any* salad. I’m going to try this this coming week since I have all of the ingredients 🙂
I agree, I know there are some companies that make decent high quality products (although not very many), but ever since I started making my own, I realized that it’s so ridiculously easy to make with just a few ingredients, and it tastes SO much better that I really enjoy eating salads now, as opposed to when I was younger and thought I didn’t like vegetables. LOL Please let me know how you like it! For the best flavour, make it 2-3 days ahead. It’s so good!
Didn’t know all that about apple cider vinegar, sounds like a magic potion to my ears all those benefits. Wondering if it’s similar if it would be pear cider? or is it just the apple kind? Either Way nice informative post!
Thanks! Oh yes, raw apple cider vinegar is quite the magical potion! I always make sure I have some in my house. I believe it’s apple only, I don’t think pears have as much medicinal properties, but I could be wrong, I’ve never really seen pear cider vinegar. Apples are very healthy to begin with. You have to make sure it’s raw and unfiltered (with the “mother” at the bottom), it’s the part that creates the fermentation, which makes it very healthy, kind of like the scoby to make kombucha.
I’ve heard about apple cider vinegar being good for you. I love the idea about gargling with it for sore throat. I usually use salt water but I’m always open to new ideas.
I agree – homemade dressing is so much better then bottle dressing. I’ll have to try this dressing out on one of my many summer salads.
It works so well for many things! And I personally love the taste, so it’s a win-win. haha Definitely give this a try, you won’t regret it. Don’t you just love that summer salad season is just around the corner, with all the delicious local produce bursting with flavours! So good!
Yum, yum, yum! I love shallots in dressing and this combo sounds just heavenly! I can’t wait to whip this up — I bet it would be fantastic on fruit based summer salads. Pinned for future reference — thanks for sharing, Gabby!
Oh yes, it is! Make it ahead of time so it sweetens a bit to use with fruits 🙂