Sodium-Free Italian Dressing

Since I have been in the process of losing weight the last couple months, my diet has changed extremely!  While how much sodium an item did not even phase me in the past, I noticed that I had to start monitoring it.  Once I lowered it, I started seeing the pounds fall consistently over the last month and a half as I stopped retaining as much water.  Take note, that watching my sodium is not the only thing I'm doing in addition to counting my calories and working out at the gym, but it's one of the major items for my successful weight loss.  * I am not giving out medical advice for your situation. *

Because I'm not eating a purchased dietary program's food, I am still able to eat the same foods I love but with caution.  I don't feel restricted or deprived by my food cravings for pizza, pasta, bread, or dessert.  Although, I must monitor and plan for certain allowances.

While one of my favorite foods is grilled chicken, I had to seriously find an alternative of my favorite Kraft Foods Zesty Italian dressing to fulfill my goal of 1500 mg/day for sodium and still eat other things!  I'm pretty stoked about this new recipe I came across but modified it for my dietary needs.  Now, I can eat my favorite grilled chicken using this as the marinade and still be within my limit.

If you'd like to join me in my new adventure, I'm using My Fitness Pal and my username is haymancm.  It'd be pretty cool to do this together! :)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup oil
1-2 tsp Mrs. Dash Onion & Herb seasoning
1 tsp sugar

Directions:
Combine all ingredients, stirring until dissolved.  Store sealed in the fridge.  Use for your favorite salads or marinades.

Thousand Island Dressing

Putting aside ranch dressing for salad, my husband's favorite salad dressing growing up is Thousand Island.  But, shoot!  After 19 years of marriage, I've never really bought it at the store...I always bought ranch.  Recently, I bought some Thousand Island dressing.  And, uh-oh, we are almost out.  So, my husband challenged me to find a recipe for it.  This recipe is adapted from allrecipes.com.  What do you think?

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbs sweet pickle relish
dash of garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together and serve.

Honey Mustard Dressing

When I worked at Applebee's, I loved their honey mustard with their chicken fingers!  Yumm!  The honey mustard at the grocery stores, just seemed "overpriced" and blech to me!  I found this easy recipe out of frustration and curiosity, as we rarely go out-to-eat anymore, a complete 180, compared to 5 years ago.  The recipe is adapted from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Miracle Whip (not mayonnaise)

1 tbs mustard

2 tbs honey

1 tsp lemon juice

Whisk all ingredients together, until nice and creamy.

The Miracle Whip makes this thick, while the mayonnaise made it super runny.  This is a very small batch, and need to make more for larger servings.  It stores well in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Italian Chicken/Steak Marinade

We love tender, juicy, and full-of-flavor grilled chicken.  Making grilled Italian chicken is a staple in our kitchen.  A favorite marinade that is inexpensive, is to use a bottle of Italian dressing for either chicken or steak.

To ensure even cooking throughout the meat, I like to butterfly-cut the chicken, first, as it will cut down on cooking time.  Then, let the meat soak up the dressing for at least an hour before grilling.  Just save some of the dressing for drizzling on the meat afterwards.

To have prepared meat on hand, already cooked, is ideal for any busy cook.  Usually, I have my husband grill many pounds of meat at once, to save time and propane.  Grill the meat on high, to get the grill marks, then on medium/medium-high heat, until thoroughly cooked through.

To save money on meat and waste, I like to slice the meat first, before it hits the table for a meal.  I use my kitchen scissors to slice it quickly.  Once off the grill, just let the meat cool some before slicing; it keeps the juices locked in.  Then, drizzle the extra dressing to the meat to seal in the flavor, before serving.

Sometimes, I'll add a little bit more dressing and some water for the leftovers to keep moist when reheated.  I portion each freezer bag with 2 cups of cooked meat.  One bag = one meal.  Label each bag and date it.