Trying to get more greens into the diet of children can be a challenge. I suggest starting out with familiar foods and trying to adapt recipes to make them as healthy as possible. Take Caesar Salad as an example. Most children will eat this salad, it’s familiar, served in most restaurants and homes, but can be laden with sugar and mystery oils that are not healthy and promote weight gain.
It’s so easy to make salad dressing and you need very few ingredients. The best part of making it yourself is knowing you what you are consuming when using heart healthy oils like flaxseed oil, walnut oil, coconut oil, or extra virgin olive oil. I have been using MCT oil lately because of the incredible health benefits and fatty acid profile. MCT oil is virgin coconut oil and chia seed oil making it a vegan source of essential Omega 3 fatty acids. When a person consumes the correct fats they are used as energy and not stored as fat, which is what we all want correct? MCT oil is made up of caprylic and capric acid and when consumed, very little is stored as fat, but used for energy. The other health benefit of these types of acids is the ability to boost the immune system. These acids help fight fungi, bacteria and viruses inside the body. I often recommend MCT oil for anyone suffering from a yeast overgrowth or skin conditions such as eczema.
So this brings me to salad dressing. The best part of my job is finding ways to get the most healthy, nutrient dense foods into meals we eat everyday. MCT oil has very little taste and therefore makes a great addition to a homemade dressing. This caesar salad dressing is dairy free and has the lots of garlic, again very helpful for fighting bacteria and viruses.
Anchovies are what make up caesar salad dressing, I promise you will not even notice they are there. Anchovies are a great choice for fighting inflammation and this dressing is a great way to sneak them into children’s diets.
Caesar Salad Dressing
4 cloves of garlic
1 tin of anchovy fillets
2 Tablespoons of Dijon mustard (look for a gluten free, sugar free variety)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons raw honey
1/4 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup MCT oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Add all the ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until fully incorporated and creamy. Store the remaining salad dressing in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 4 days.
