One of my New Year’s resolutions is staying healthy and eating more raw vegetables. Salad is the perfect way to do it, but it’s pretty boring as well.
Every time I started to eat more salad I was over it in 3 days, just couldn’t chew on plain leaves anymore! I could have used salad dressings, but they are mostly full of unhealthy ingredients and high in calories (that might not affect all of us, but I am one of those people whose liver can’t work with too many chemically made ingredients and I feel very sick if I eat too much of it; unlike my husband who can eat what he wants and feels completely fine…yes I am very envious of him!).
I could have added some other things like raisins, dates, figs, walnuts, almonds, feta cheese, shredded mozzarella, chicken, turkey, fish, bacon, cracker and so on and so on. That sounds fantastic! My idea of eating more raw vegetables would have turned into a complete feast instead of a healthy snack in between. That also wasn’t very attractive (well, definitely yummy, but who wants all those calories?).
Back to the beginning: HOW TO SPICE UP YOUR SALAD! Or, how to spice up your salad and still make it a low-calorie meal.
A friend of mine gave me a surprisingly amazing Christmas gift that solved all my problems in a second! She gave me a set of fruit vinegars and a gift card from “Vom Fass”.
It included eight different flavors (Raspberry, Mango, Calamansi, Grape/Ginger/Lemon, Pomegranate, Quince, Cherry and Pear).
My husband grew up always eating salad with a main dish and he was more than pleased to see that I had something new to bring to our oh-so-unalluring salad life. First I tried Calamansi and I think that’s one of my favorite. Then I used it on some salmon and I love it! The second vinegar I tried was Cherry. It says on the description that it is excellent with walnut or hazelnut oil, but since I just had olive oil, I mixed the vinaigrette out of the two ingredients I had. Mhm…my taste buds were jumping with excitement!
Not only can you measure how much vinaigrette you use, but it’s a healthy way of spicing up a salad. Oil is an important part of a diet so that your body can absorb more vitamins.
I was curious where I can buy more vinaigrette in Ventura when mine are gone and with the gift card I felt lucky to get more of the good stuff.
The store “Vom Fass” is on 451 E. Main Street in Ventura and just recently opened in September 2014. I talked to one of the owners, Mike, and one of his employees. They explained how I can use the different oils for salads and cold dishes compared to the other oils that actually can be heated and used for cooking and baking. For example, olive oil is great for salads, to sauté or roast, but not on high heat. They also have other oils for cooking and baking as well as health oils for smoothies and oatmeal.
Mike’s favorite vinaigrette mixes are lemon oil and date vinegar, hazelnut oil and raspberry vinegar, walnut oil and pear vinegar. His favorite vinegar is a Spanish Red Wine Vinegar named “Vinagre Viejo De Montilla” and I must say he has a really good taste. It was delicious!
When you come into the store you can sample the oils and vinegars before you choose what you want. Next to the good explanations by the staff (they know what they’re talking about!), you can read the descriptions under each product and get an idea what you can use it for. You can sample all the oils, vinegars, liquors and spirits.
I am a big fan of olive oil and got myself the Garlic Olive Oil, Oregano Olive Oil and Lemon Olive Oil.
There are plenty of different shaped bottles to choose from (I think the fish is so cute, I also saw a heart shaped bottle) and you pay one time for the bottles, then bring them back to refill.
You can get gift cards and gift baskets tailored for you. When I went in the store they had a sale going on for 20% off the vinegar sets. Also, assorted wine and liquor are available to buy. For your next get together there are plenty of things to spice up your salad and meat dishes, ideas for new recipes and hey, personally, I think it’s a fantastic gift! Thumbs up!
Today I made another salad (my one-salad-every-day-rule has been going very well!) and tried Garlic Olive Oil with Pomegranate Vinegar…
All I can say is I am not tired of chewing on leaves anymore!
Check out the store in Ventura!
AROUND VENTURA 