Diary of a Nutritionist

A fast food junkie for over 17 years, I have always adored condiments and creamy dressings.  Even after becoming more nutritionally aware, I still do.  While I still have a childlike reaction to the occasional taste of ketchup (there is not a whole lot I consume on a regular basis that requires ketchup, or I am sure I would eat it more– even though I have 100% flavored up a “bland” salad with it before) I absolutely love, love, anything that reminds me of my “old-time” favorites:  Ketchup.  Mayo. Creamy Marinara…

This creamy sun-dried tomato mayo is a wonderful additional to any of your favorite dishes, and a fabulously healthy replacement for traditional mayos, dressings, and marinades.

Healthy Sun-Dried Tomato Mayo uses:

• Use instead of mayonnaise on your favorite sandwich
• Sweeten with a touch of agave, and use instead of ketchup, or BBQ sauce
• Marinate raw veggies, cooked veggies, or even poultry, and white fish dishes
• Use instead of hummus or guacamole, or even add to hummus and guacamole for a fun and untraditional twist
• Use as a dip for your favorite crackers, and chips
• Use as a creamy dressing, or add water, (or a touch of olive oil) for a thinner, and more consistent dressing
• Spread over toasted sprouted grain breads for a delicious Italian tasting treat
• Double up the recipe for an amazingly “raw” marinara sauce, perfect for raw pastas, or cooked pasta dishes

Ready for it!?

Raw Sun-Dried Tomato Mayo

this picture is obviously not beautiful, but seriously… when was the last time you saw a photograph of condiments hanging in someone’s house?

In your high speed blender combine:

• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 16 sun dried tomatoes (soaked for 10-15 minutes in warm water)
• 2 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
• 11 tbsp warm water
• 1 pinch cayenne spice
• I also threw in 2 pinches fresh whole gourmet peppercorns

Blend until it is creamy… and enjoy!

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How did you like this recipe?  How did you modify it?  How did you use it??

GIVEAWAY

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Back to my love for ketchup, I have been asked, many a time, “Why is ketchup unhealthy?”  Without jumping into a lengthy diatribe, it is safe to say that ketchup is more, or less, a beautiful concoction of tomatoes, vinegar, and SUGAR.  Lots and lots of sugar.  I try to avoid sugar for many reasons, but I am not afraid to admit that I like my life sweet. That being said.. aside from my usage of raw honey, and agave, I am loyal to NuNatural NuStevia (recipes), because honestly it is the best tasting Stevia I have ever tried!  I am particulrly fond of their Vanilla NuStevia, but I used to be infamous for carrying around a handful of NuStevia packets in my purse– hey! You never know when you will want to sweeten up something, and you won’t see me reaching for Splenda! 

So… Thanks to my generous friend Ron at NuNaturals, and to welcome me to my new home in Dallas… we’ve got two exciting offers (and one is a contest, and I love contests!)

1.  15% to all of my readers that enter in the code BLG930 when they place an order (any amount) at NuNaturals.com.  I highly suggest you try their Vanilla NuStevia… life changing…  Even cooler… Free Shipping on orders of $35 and more.  I can honestly tell you that this will be money well spent.  Calorie free, and versatile, I have made some of the most amazing recipes with their Vanilla NuStevia!  And if you want to make your own ketchup, try the above recipe sweetened with their Stevia.  Sugar-free!  Delicious!  Great for anyone trying to ween themselves off sugar, and other artificial sweeteners.

Now for the WELCOME TO DALLAS CONTEST… WIN NUNATURALS NUSTEVIA

2.  NuNaturals will send four (4) of my readers (U.S. Only):

 one (1) box of our NuNaturals White Stevia Powder, 50 ct. packets, PLUS one (1) bottle of our Vanilla Stevia Liquid, 2 oz.

Starting today… I will be looking for 4 of my readers that comment below with some cool ideas of what they would make with their prize of NuStevia.  It doesn’t have to be crazy creative, but I would love to see some refreshing ideas!  What are you dying to make?  It can be raw!  Vegan!  (Non-Vegan), Cooked, Vegetarian, Dessert!  Breakfast, Dinner!  Whatever!!!… Comment below with your recipe, and then retweet this!  Spread the word!  The 4 readers that retweet, and send me over a mouthwatering recipe, will win their own NuStevia (and I had some pretty cool recipes last time, so I am pretty excited about this WELCOME TO DALLAS contest!)

Additionally, these “(4) four contest winner’s recipes will be submitted to NuNaturals, WITH THE ENTRANT’S PERMISSION, for consideration to be added to the NuNaturals ALL-STAR RECIPE COLLECTION that we offer all of our customers around the world. This is a proud collection of recipes supplied to us by Award Winning Chefs, Authors, and Professional Nutritionists in the world of Food & Health.”  It is a pretty hefty collection of fun recipes using Stevia!

Contest starts NOW, and ends on Tuesday Aug 17th at Midnight!  Winners to be announced on Wednesday, the following day!