Another great (non-toxic) salad dressing!



Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette, Blueberry Goat Cheese, and Toasted Pecans

Sitting in my fridge is a bottle of homemade Lemon Basil Vinaigrette which I whipped up this afternoon.  I can't wait for my salad at dinner tonight!

So, why is this on a Lyme blog?  Two reasons.

First, it's going under my "Eating Well" subheading.  In order to recover from illness and give our bodies a fighting chance, we need to eliminate the chemicals that are found in so many foods, salad dressings being one of them.  Have you read the label of your store-bought salad dressing lately?  Are there a few words you can't pronounce, that sound like chemicals?  Do your liver a favour and make your own dressing!  It's so easy, and with the right oils, so good for your body.  By the right oils, I mean extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil.  Never use vegetable oil or canola oil.

Secondly, this Lemon Basil Vinaigrette comes from the U.S. restaurant Pizzeria Uno.  This was one of my favourite restaurants to frequent when we travelled to the U.S. for my Lyme appointments.  Now that I've finished my Lyme treatment, I'll definitely miss my visits to this restaurant.  It was always one of the highlights in an otherwise difficult and stressful trip.

This is not just any pizzeria.  Pizzeria Uno features some very unique and delicious pizzas.  I always loved the ones that had a whole-grain rustic crust that was slathered in olive oil, and topped with different varieties of mushrooms.  Fairly healthy, as far as pizza goes.

One day while dining there, I fell in love with their salad that had a generous helping of a delicious lemony, garlicky dressing on it.  I asked the waiter if they sold the dressing, and even though they didn't have any for sale, they did something even better.  The manager came and gave me a photocopy of the recipe!  Bonus!!!  Had I been able to buy a bottle, it would have eventually run out.  Now, I will have the dressing for life!  I must say that that was so very generous of them, and I am very appreciative, being the recipe addict that I am.

I have had the recipe in my possession for quite some time, but only made it for the first time today.  That's because I needed to do a little math to reduce the amounts in the recipe.  The recipe is written for restaurant use, and I don't usually keep 6 cups of olive oil on hand! LOL  With the recipe reduced to a more manageable size, I finally made it today.  I'm hoping that it tastes as wonderful as it does in the restaurant.

I am going to include both versions of the recipe:  the original one, with restaurant-sized quantities, and the reduced recipe.  I first divided the original recipe by 6, and then in half once more to come to the final numbers.  I hope I didn't mess up the math!  That's why I'm including the original for you to see, just in case.

Lemon Olive Oil Vinaigrette (which I have re-named Lemon Basil Vinaigrette because it sounds better!)

kosher salt                           2 tbsp.
black pepper                        2 tbsp.
seasoned minced garlic*     1/2 cup
fresh chopped basil             3/4 cup
fresh lemon juice                 1 1/2 cups
olive oil                                6 cups

*To season the minced garlic, add 1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning and a pinch of crushed red pepper.

Here is the reduced recipe.

Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

kosher salt (or sea salt)        1/2 tsp.                                       
black pepper                        1/2 tsp.                      
seasoned minced garlic*      2 tsp.     
fresh chopped basil              3 tsp. (= 1 tsp. dried, but fresh is better)            
fresh lemon juice                 6 tsp. 
olive oil                                1/2 cup                               

*To season the minced garlic, add a pinch of Italian seasoning and less than a pinch of crushed red pepper.

Method

1. Measure all ingredients except olive oil and place into a mixing bowl.
2. Using a wire whisk, briskly mix the ingredients while slowly adding the olive oil to blend.
3. Store in the refregerator until ready to use. 

Shelf life:  3 days

I think that the dressing needs time for the flavours to mesh together, so I'm refrigerating it for a few hours before using.  Beware.....it is REALLY garlicky!

The restaurant served this over a salad of field greens, with goat cheese and candied pecans.  Yum!

I ♥ Pizzeria Uno!  Please come to Canada!

Best Ever Caesar Salad

OK, if we are going to try to get the chemicals and toxins out of our meals, one good place to start is with salad dressings.  Have you read those labels lately?  Here are a few of the yummy ingredients:

potassium sorbate (maintains quality)
calcium disodium EDTA (maintains flavour)
propylene glycol alginate
polysorbate 60
spice (beware of this.....it probably means some MSG)
colour

There are so many salad dressings out there that you can make yourself, quite easily!  But at the very least, if you don't have the time, look for all natural products.  In my city, we have a wonderful independently owned grocery store that has a wide variety of homemade salad dressings.....with NO chemicals!  It's convenient, but healthier than other bottled brands you find on your grocery store shelf.

But if you don't mind whipping up your own dressing, I have an AMAZING recipe for you for Caesar Salad dressing.  This is by far the BEST Caesar dressing I've had.  I'm addicted!  It is so flavourful, and has a bit of a bite due to all of the raw garlic.  It's not a creamy dressing, but I actually prefer it to the creamy variety.  So here it is.  I hope you and your family will enjoy it!

Caesar Salad

1 large head romaine lettuce - cut or tear into pieces
1/2 lb. bacon cooked and broken into small pieces
1 c. bread croutons
3/4 c. parmesan cheese - to your taste

Dressing

Combine in a jar:

6 tbsp. vegetable oil (I use grapeseed oil which is a much healthier alternative to other oils.)
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1 dash tabasco sauce
1 dash worcestershire sauce (Look for an organic brand with no MSG.)
1 tsp. chopped parsley (optional)
1 tsp. finely chopped garlic (I use three cloves.)
1 pinch each - sugar, pepper (white if you have it), dried mustard, and tarragon

Shake well to combine.  For the best flavour, make the night before or at least 2 hours ahead of time.

Eating well

It's important to eat well when you are suffering from a chronic illness.  Eliminating certain foods, like yeast and sugar, can help to minimize yeast overgrowth and inflammation in the body.  Not that I've been the perfect example to follow.  It really is hard to give up foods you love, because they are so comforting when you're feeling so awful.  I really do sympathize with you.

What you can do is try to find substitute recipes for the things you love.  Can you switch from sugar to xylitol or stevia?  If you need to avoid gluten, can you find a gluten-free bakery or make bread-like recipes with almond meal instead of flour?  The internet provides some great resources at our fingertips.  Here are a few blogs you can check out:

Good Food
Elana's Pantry
Healing Cuisine

It is most important to try to get toxic food out of our lives.  Easier said than done, I know!  The more we prepare our own food, rather than relying on pre-prepared, boxed, or processed foods, the easier it will be to avoid toxic chemicals, such as MSG. 

Here is a recipe for a taco filling using spices from your kitchen, rather than relying on the taco seasoning packets you can purchase at the grocery store.  They have a ton of sodium and MSG, and should be avoided.  You can use this taco filling for tacos, burritos, or in a taco salad like I did.

This was our dinner tonight!

Taco Salad

On a plate, layer the following:

chopped romaine lettuce
fresh diced tomatoes
shredded cheddar cheese
ground beef cooked with homemade taco seasoning (recipe to follow)
crushed nacho chips
sour cream
salsa (optional)

Ground Beef Taco Filling (Adapted from Maximized Living Nutrition Plans)

First, make the taco seasoning mix by combining the following ingredients in a small bowl or zip lock bag:
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cumin (I use 1 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. oregano (I use dried basil instead)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (I use 1/4 tsp.)

Add the taco seasoning mix to browned ground beef (1 - 1 1/2 lbs.) along with 1/2 - 3/4 cup water and cook until reduced to desired consistency.  If desired, you can add 1/2 cup salsa to the pan while heating.

Enjoy!

Still on the roller coaster, but life is good

If you have come to my blog because you have been diagnosed with Lyme, I want to give you some encouragement.  Many blogs out there appear to focus on the negative, not because the writers are 'being' negative, but because Lyme is such an up and down illness.  It takes a long time to get well, so Lyme sufferers often feel unwell during their treatment.

I want you to understand that Lyme treatment is like being on a roller coaster.  You feel a bit better, then you feel ill again, then you feel OK for a bit, and this repeats itself over and over.

Once thing that contributes to not feeling well is the 'herxheimer reaction'.  This occurs when beginning antibiotic treatment, or changing antibiotics.  As the bacteria begin to die off, the body is overloaded with the dead spirochetes and is unable to dispose of them quickly enough.  Other articles I've read state that the dead bacteria give off neurotoxins.  You may feel flu-like, and your symptoms will feel worse.  But it DOES pass. 

When I started on doxycycline one year ago, I had a herxheimer reaction on my third day of treatment.  I felt flu-like, had the chills, and was tired.  It lasted for six days.  I have had many herxheimer reactions over the past year.  Lately, they seem to produce a terrible fatigue that lasts a couple of weeks.  I think I'm in the middle of one right now.  My doctor said to stop my antibiotics for a few days to help my body catch up with toxin disposal. 

There are many other things a person can do to help rid the body of toxins:  drink lots of water, squeeze the juice of a lemon into your water, take a bath with 2 cups of epsom salts.  Some people have an inability to get rid of toxins and have to take medications such as cholestyramine to help.

It's wonderful when a 'herx' passes, because then you usually feel better than you did before the herx.  That has been my experience, anyway. 

I started feeling very good around June 1, which is one year since starting antibiotics.  When I first saw my LLMD in June of 2011, I asked him how long it would take for me to heal, and he said about a year.  And what do you know......it was a year!  I was overjoyed in June, as I had more energy and was feeling so good, almost 'normal' on some days.  I started wondering when I might go off my meds!

But now, in July, I've had a bit of a backslide.  I started getting fatigued once again about a week ago.  Why would this be?  Am I having another herx?  Am I reacting to the full moon?  (Apparently, Lyme symptoms are worse then.)  I also found out that my thyroid levels have gone out of whack again, and I'm a bit hypothyroid.  That could certainly be contributing to the tiredness, too.  Hopefully, the thyroid problem will correct itself soon.  I discovered the root problem:  A pharmacist had ADVISED me that it was OK to take my Synthroid (thyroxine hormone) with my minocycline each morning.  Apparently, this is a no-no!  After double-checking with 2 other pharmacists and 2 doctors, I've been told not to mix the two.  The minocycline was likely preventing the full absorption of the Synthroid.  It's too bad I was ill-advised 4 months ago, and now will spend my summer 'tired'. 

I see my LLMD this week and have lots to discuss with him.  We might change up my meds.  Not sure.  I'll keep you updated.

But just so you know, and this is the encouraging part, I really AM feeling quite good, despite some lingering symptoms.  I am able to be a wife and mother, and do all of the things I need to do:  cook, clean, laundry, drive kids around, enjoy a movie with hubby, have company overnight.  I could not do ANY of those things a year and a half ago.  So, the antibiotic treatment has been worth it.  It has given me my life back. 

Things CAN improve......persevere and never give up hope!