Sauce and Spread Suggestions Welcome

[LaDiva]

I have rosacea and inflammation issues so have been trying to eat organic foods and nothing white. Well, almost nothing white. Broccoli is a great antioxidant, so I've been trying to eat lots of healthy veggies. Looking for suggestions about sauces, spreads, anything that will make these healthy foods taste more exciting and add some moisture to the mix without adding unhealthy fats, spicy seasonings or white stuff! Eating the right things seems to make a big difference. Thank you!

[Guest]

It's tricky at first, but I did find that my taste for more "plain" food improved over time.

In the beginning though, I'd make salad dressing from balsamic vinegar and olive oil, also melted old cheddar cheese can do wonders for adding some flavour to broccoli and asparagus for example.

Stir fries are a great way to eat vegies - can make a sauce with chicken broth, soy sauce, grated ginger, salt/pepper/garlic powder and corn starch to thicken - adds lots of flavour. (I keep fresh ginger in the freezer and grate it as needed... same thing with Campbell's low sodium chicken broth in the 900ml carton, leftovers in the freezer)

You can add flavour to brown rice by cooking it in chicken broth instead of water.

Also, I'd cheat with a tiny amount of ranch dressing for dipping raw vegies - after a while, I no longer needed the dip since my tastebuds seemed to adjust.

If making a roast, I'd always turn the juices into gravy by adding a little bit of corn starch, salt and pepper etc. - the gravy was great for not just the meat, but for putting over rice too.

I eat salads for lunch as much as possible - to keep me from getting hungry, I add diced cooked chicken breast to it (I cook an entire baking sheet of them at a time, then freeze them)

examples: greek salad with feta, kalamata olives, red onions, cucumber, tomato, sweet peppers and Kraft Greek dressing
also blue cheese, leafy greens, walnuts, sliced Gala apples, craisins and a balsamic vinaigrette
There's this Dole Asian Salad mix that I love... I add celery, peppers and chicken to it, and leave out the wheat noodles - super yummy... even better if you slice a steak thinly, marinate in soy sauce for a few minutes, then cook and sprinkle over salad.
Also, love spinach, mandarin orange slices and chicken with Kraft low calorie Italian dressing
Crumbled goat cheese adds richness to a basic salad too.. yum!

(I know that's using cheese a lot and that's full of fat, but if you don't use toooo much, the overall meal will still come out with a healthy percentage of fat since everything else is so lean.)

And then there's bean salad... easy to make from scratch and pretty yummy with a balsamic vinaigrette.

And now I'm getting hungry... time for a snack and then sleep!

[LaDiva]

Thanks SAAG! You have given me some great ideas. I have a hard time staying away from the mayonnaise jar and Ranch Dressing. Ditto for ice cream. Just started using Bulgur and it is good! You have some great tips about freezing things. Did not think about ginger, but a friend says she freezes lemon grass cut in slices. I have to steer away from vinegar. Feta and monterey jack cheeses are fine, but the others cause problems. Especially blue cheese. Don't understand what happened, but suddenly I cannot eat lots of foods that used to be OK. It is a puzzle. Thanks again. Looking forward to some stir fry with an ocean of gravy!

[PotatoCakes]

I don't use a lot of sauces because they aren't my thing but I do use high quality ingredients. Things like finishing salts don't require a lot but add a great deal of flavor. One of our favorite dishes is Dover sole sprinkled with a tiny bit of saffron-infused sea salt. Steamed veggies (broccoli is a favorite in our house), sprinkled with a touch of sel gris just before serving is divine. You don't want to overdo it with salt but using less of a higher quality salt at the end, vs while you're cooking, will give you more flavor while using substantially less. Here's a great place with tons of information and varieties of high quality salts: http://www.atthemeadow.com/shop/Gourmet-Sea-Salt

There's also an elegance to using things like fresh herbs, finishing salts, high quality olive oil (which has a ton more flavor than the regular stuff) & balsamics that make you feel like you are treating yourself, even as you are cutting back quantities. A super high quality Parmesan, freshly grated using one of those super fine graters, means you only need a tiny bit for a lot of wonderful flavor (and fewer calories) and freshly grating it feels so gourmet.

Same with chocolate... you eat get a giant Hershey bar or savor a small piece of high quality dark chocolate. Not only is the dark chocolate better for you but it comes with a feeling of luxury that Hershey just can't give you.

[spmcc]

RE: rosacea

I have rosacea + ocular rosacea and a lot of inflammation (and flushing) too.

I put together a rosacea diary - a mishmash from a couple sources e.g., NRS (National Rosacea Society) - to help me document my rosacea face and eye issues. On the first page, I wrote down food triggers. These are from multiple sources - and I added things to help me remember why I shouldn't eat certain things (e.g., histamine, nitrites, sulfites, MSG etc.)

To create the booklet, I print the first page once. Then the second page on the back. Then I print 2-sided, only the second page, about 15 times (gives me a month of pages). When you put the printed pages together and fold them, the booklet has the Food Triggers on the front cover and the rest of the booklet is the daily diary for me to fill in.

Here's a copy

[LaDiva]

Thank you PC. The Farmer's Market is in swing, so I'll check out the fresh herbs. I am not acquainted with sel gris, but will look it up. I do use sea salt, and went years without salting anything, but heck, why not? Cannot eat chocolate, but can drink coffee, so I am happy. Thank you for more good ideas PotatoeCakes!

Many thanks spmcc. Sometimes it is hard to sort out the culprits. I made a curried chicken the other night, and it turned out to be a no-no. Not sure if it was the curry, raisins or black pepper. Maybe all of the above, but I suspect the curry and black pepper. I will use this diary. Thank you for a helpful tool.

[spmcc]

Many thanks spmcc. Sometimes it is hard to sort out the culprits. I made a curried chicken the other night, and it turned out to be a no-no. Not sure if it was the curry, raisins or black pepper. Maybe all of the above, but I suspect the curry and black pepper. I will use this diary. Thank you for a helpful tool.

For me, curry *and* raisins are a no-no. It's terrible because I grew up on curries. I love them... but they don't love me now! I flush and get p&ps.

It's kinda sad... it seems that the 'tastiest' foods are off limits for rosaceans. However, one of my favorite meals is salmon, sweet potato, and steamed carrots (+ butter!). A very orange plate! I am happy to eat it every day. Then I read somewhere that this is an excellent meal for rosaceans. So strange that I found it on my own. I guess my body told me.