Art of Natural Living

It’s easy to whip up a Homemade Italian Dressing Mix.  Tasty and economical, it’s perfect to give or keep.   

I enjoy making my own salad dressing–partly because it’s healthier, but also because it tastes better.  Yes, sometimes when I look at the ingredients in a commercial dressing, water is the first ingredient.  Well, no wonder it tastes like, um, water??

Now normally I mix up a little of this and a little of that right before I serve a salad.  This allows me to tailor the flavors of the dressing to the salad ingredients.  Citrus kale salad?  Hmm, cardamom or ginger would be good.

But when times get particularly busy, it can feel like every minute counts.  So today I’m making up an Italian Dressing Mix that I can mix up super easily into a multi-day homemade dressing bottle. 

And to help out friends who may also be busy, I’m going to share some of this for the holidays!  Read more

Festive and slightly sweet, this Citrus Kale Salad is also easy, with my simple prep tips.  Make the holidays healthy again!

When I think of the holiday season, what comes to mind first is the beautiful variety of sweet treats and desserts.  I love them all dearly, but life’s about balance too.  And truthfully, healthy holiday food can be just as much fun!

Lately I’ve been making a Citrus Kale Salad with a honey (or maple) cardamom dressing.  (You can use ginger if you don’t like cardamom).   It’s super tasty and, even better, the prep is super easy.  ‘Cause who isn’t busy around the holidays! 

Topped with mandarins, pomegranate seeds and pecans, it’s still got a hint of sweet.  Just in case your sweet tooth needs appeasement!  Read more