The summer is the perfect time to hone some key skills in the kitchen, skills that will keep your palate pleased while you maintain a lean diet all year round. When we think of a lean diet, we often think of bland, boring foods, which leave much flavor to be desired. Learning how to make a tasty marinade/dressing will come in handy for your next BBQ and will be perfect to have on hand so you can ditch the high-sugar bottled salad dressings year round.
A killer marinade (or dressing) contains four key components:
Fats, acids, seasonings and sweetness.
The fats are the base. They help transfer fat soluble flavors into the meat (if used for a marinade) and will help the meat retain moisture as it is cooked. The next layer are the acids. Acids bring a tartness to the dressing and franky, I think this is a necessary component to the flavor profile. Additionally, acids help tenderize the meat by breaking down the connective tissues. For the third layer we add seasonings. Seasonings can vary depending on the season, however my typical go-to's tend to be celery seed (adds a great pop of flavor), dried basil, grated fresh garlic, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Other seasonings options could be herbs de provence, fresh chopped herbs, grated onion...really, the sky's the limit with seasonings. In the final layer, we add sweetness. A little goes a long way with this final piece but it's wonderful in balancing the acids in the dressing/marinade.
Tunisian Marinade (My Mom's Recipe):
Fat:
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
Acid:
1/2. lemon juice
Seasoning:
1 c. onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. garlic, chopped
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. hot sauce
1/4 c. fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp. tumeric
1 tbsp. dry sherry
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
Sweetness:
1 tsp.brown sugar
Combine all the ingredients and use as a marinade for flank steak (score the meat before placing in the marinade) and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Enjoy, this is super tasty!
My Go-To Salad Dressing:
Fat:
1/2 c. oil (extra virgin olive or avocado)
Acid:
1/8 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. vinegar (rice, apple cider, balsamic, champagne, white/red wine)
Seasoning:
1 tbsp. celery seed
2 tsp. dijon mustard
Optional: fresh grated garlic (I'm usually in a rush so I use powdered)
1 tbsp. pink sea salt
1 tbsp. fresh cracked black pepper
Sweetness:
1 tbsp. local honey (or a few drops of Stevia)
On a typical week, I mix up a big batch of the salad dressing and keep it on hand for a week or two at a time. I've tried many containers but I'm loving my Progressive Salad Shaker right now (pictured). I'm working on swapping out all my plastic containers to glass and have alternatively tried a small mason jar with a whisk ball for easy mixing prior to using.
Enjoy and let me know how you like these recipes if you try them! Be sure to follow me on IG here for more tasty & simple fat-loss meal ideas.
A killer marinade (or dressing) contains four key components:
Fats, acids, seasonings and sweetness.
The fats are the base. They help transfer fat soluble flavors into the meat (if used for a marinade) and will help the meat retain moisture as it is cooked. The next layer are the acids. Acids bring a tartness to the dressing and franky, I think this is a necessary component to the flavor profile. Additionally, acids help tenderize the meat by breaking down the connective tissues. For the third layer we add seasonings. Seasonings can vary depending on the season, however my typical go-to's tend to be celery seed (adds a great pop of flavor), dried basil, grated fresh garlic, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Other seasonings options could be herbs de provence, fresh chopped herbs, grated onion...really, the sky's the limit with seasonings. In the final layer, we add sweetness. A little goes a long way with this final piece but it's wonderful in balancing the acids in the dressing/marinade.
Tunisian Marinade (My Mom's Recipe):
Fat:
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
Acid:
1/2. lemon juice
Seasoning:
1 c. onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. garlic, chopped
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. hot sauce
1/4 c. fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp. tumeric
1 tbsp. dry sherry
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
Sweetness:
1 tsp.brown sugar
Combine all the ingredients and use as a marinade for flank steak (score the meat before placing in the marinade) and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Enjoy, this is super tasty!
My Go-To Salad Dressing:
Fat:
1/2 c. oil (extra virgin olive or avocado)
Acid:
1/8 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. vinegar (rice, apple cider, balsamic, champagne, white/red wine)
Seasoning:
1 tbsp. celery seed
2 tsp. dijon mustard
Optional: fresh grated garlic (I'm usually in a rush so I use powdered)
1 tbsp. pink sea salt
1 tbsp. fresh cracked black pepper
Sweetness:
1 tbsp. local honey (or a few drops of Stevia)
On a typical week, I mix up a big batch of the salad dressing and keep it on hand for a week or two at a time. I've tried many containers but I'm loving my Progressive Salad Shaker right now (pictured). I'm working on swapping out all my plastic containers to glass and have alternatively tried a small mason jar with a whisk ball for easy mixing prior to using.
Enjoy and let me know how you like these recipes if you try them! Be sure to follow me on IG here for more tasty & simple fat-loss meal ideas.
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