Healthy Homemade French Dressing (American Style)

Weekends have been so perfect lately I can’t really complain about the last two days of rain. The only downside is this is the exact week the lilacs are blooming in our backyard. Every year I look forward to the days when I can sit on the back patio and drink in the intoxicating fragrance of the lilacs. But I’ve either been at work or it has been raining. Fortunately, before the rain started, there was time on Friday night to enjoy the flowers while decompressing from the busy week. And by Sunday afternoon the rain had stopped which allowed me to make up for lost time by capturing a few shots of these beauties in full bloom.

These are just two of our mature Palabin lilac bushes.

Palabins have cute little heart-shaped leaves.

We planted them several years ago and every year they are more beautiful than the year before. I found a poem about lilacs planted by a mother and it makes me wonder if my boys will ever come back to this house years from now and think about how we planted and enjoyed the lilacs.

Here’s an excerpt. (You can find the rest at the link.)

“The Lilacs Mother Planted“

by Ed Blair

Oh, sweet and fragrant lilac, the one she loved so
well,
Thy fragrance brings to memory sad thoughts I
cannot tell;
Sweet lullabies of childhood sung at the evening
rest,
By mother clasping closely the one she loved the
best.
A voice that gently whispered sweet words of
love to me,
A face so kind and gentle, a heart with love so free;
Still yet my heart throbs feel them, still yet I see
them there,
When lilacs that she planted with fragrance fill
the air.

The rain drops are actually rather flattering don’t you think?

While taking pictures of the rain soaked lilacs I noticed the chives also blooming on the back patio.

Who knew chives could be so beautiful!?

Paleo French Dressing

This paleo friendly salad dressing recipe was inspired by my youngest son Nathaniel. At a mere eight years old, Nathaniel is a serious salad eater. We usually dress our salads with oil and vinegar. But he has eaten the American version of French dressing at a few salad bars and liked it. The downside is these dressings undoubtedly contain things like high fructose corn syrup and soybean oil, among other questionable ingredients. But something happened recently that motivated me to come up with a healthier version of French dressing. We went to a restaurant that was out of French dressing and Nathaniel actually burst into tears. It was at that point I realized I better help the child out!

This boy NEEDS his salad and he wants his salad to have “French dressing” on it. How could I resist?

The healthy salad dressing recipe does contain honey so it’s not the lowest carb dressing out there but it’s great for a change of pace. Most of the ingredients are pretty basic while there are a couple of slightly more unusual additions that are optional. I just happen to know the American version of French dressing usually contains some form of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Worcestershire sauce contains things like molasses and cloves and I think these additions give the dressing an added depth of flavor. But if you don’t have those on hand you can still make the dressing and it will be totally fine.

Paleo French Dressing Recipe

Healthy Homemade French Dressing (American Style)

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Healthy Homemade French Dressing (American Style)

• Author: Lea Valle
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 10 mins
• Yield: 2 1/2 cups 1x
• Category: French
• Cuisine: Dressing

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons coconut aminos (or gluten-free soy sauce)
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon molasses (optional)
• pinch of cloves (optional)

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Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until very smooth.
2. Keep refrigerated

This is one serious salad eater. He recommends you try this healthier version of French dressing!

Thanks for stopping by! (Check here for more lilacs from last year)