Oil/Sauces = Useless

Well i just want to say an advice.

I find the oil(for using on the pan) and sauces like mayonnaise and ketchup useless calorie adds,,, and i dont even find them tasty :S, i mean, there are guys(ME WHEN I WAS LIL YAY! hehe) that eat eggs with ketchup... i mean, if you eat that you just taste the ketchup... there is no more egg taste there haha. Even in hamburgers - for example - if you have to add ketchup to a hamburger it means the hamburger is not even good, if the taste of the hamburger by its own was good enough there would not be any need for adding ketchup... 

Another thing is that there are way better sauces than crappy sauces like ketchup and that stuff, if you buy spicy tomato sauce or bolognese sauce for example, the taste of whatever you will put it in will improve a lot and still be healthy! The only dissadvantages on this type of sauces is that, as they are so natural, they go off quickly as they say "This product should be consumed 3 days after it has been opened" << or something like that hehe.

Here is when i wanna ask a question =D=D=D

What sauces like the natural ones i just mentioned do you use? Do you know any natural sauces that can stand on the fridge for at least a month after being opened? =D

i hope this helps and thx for ur sauce recomendations :L!

Most store bought sauces have corn syrup and preservatives, not to mention who knows what the quality of the ingredients (like eggs and oil) are...Probably not so hot.You probably don't like them b/c your body knows they are garbage!!!

Try making your own sauces

I like tahini a lot. It is a great add to homemade dressing.

Also a chimichurri sauce is delicious on meat or veggies (lots of fresh herbs, olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, S & P - mix in food processor)

I also make a sauce in my food processor using raw cashews (about 3/4 C), garbanzo beans (1 can, rinsed), nutritional yeast (4 Tbsp.), lemon juice, oil, water and salt and pepper.  It tastes amazing on brown rice and beans, fish and roasted veggies.

If you have a food processor have you ever made your own mayo?  Use fresh,local eggs and flavor it however you like.  Saffron, capers, smoked paprika. It tastes nothing like jarred mayo.

Have you tried high quality olive oil?  I love it, and it is totally different that the processed oils used for cooking.  Try buying an olive oil make with arbiquena olives (usually fron Spain, i think) It tastes AMAZING!

There's nothing wrong with condiments.... whether that's ketchups, pickles, relishes, mayonnaises, dressings, oils, herbs or spices they're providing a little extra flavour, maybe a touch of heat or acid, some mouthfeel.  If you're just going to eat plain, bland, ungarnished food all the time you lose a lot of the pleasure of eating...

If you have time to make your own ketchups & relishes... and a friend I have used to bottle the most amazing mushroom ketchup... they're great, but most of us don't.  So if you choose a good quality product with as few ingredients as possible that's not a bad second.

But we've all got time to make a simple bolognese or tomato sauce rather than get one out of a jar ...   Crushed tomatoes cooked with olive oil, garlic and onion, seasoned with fresh basil and black pepper.... not difficult and taste much better than most ready-made ones.  You can add flavours such as sliced mushrooms, chilli peppers, seafood, meat, beans...    Extra portions can be easily frozen and microwaved or heated up quickly another day

WAAAAA I LOOOOVE CHIMICHURRY SAUCEE hehe

could u tell me how to do it??? and is it simple? or do i need loads of stuff?

=D

For Chimichurri you can use a blender, a food processer, or just chop chop chop by hand.

I like to use cilantro, italian parsley, rosemary and basil. I would use a big handful of each parsley and cilantro leaves, a small sprig of rosemary (maybe 10 "needles") and about 10 large basil leaves. If you are using the blender or FP, just throw it all in.  If chopping by hand, I would do the rosemary first and chop it up very finely.  The other herbs don't need to be chopped as much, plus, if they are "over chopped' they will oxidize and turn brown :(  Also add 2-4 cloves of fresh garlic (depends on how much you like it raw), and a few teaspoons of lemon or orange zest.  The zest is the brightly colored outer part of the fruit only, not the white part underneath (the pith).  Use a paring knife to shave off a few strips of the zest, scraping out the pith if you get too much of it.

Add olive oil (just enough to cover) and salt and pepper to taste.  Again, if you are doing it in a machine, just put all of the ingredients in and let 'er rip.  If by hand, chop the herbs, garlic and zest and then pour over the oil, season w S & P and stir it together. Store in a jar in the fridge for up to a week.

I'm a huge fan of sauces, but I live by myself, so I feel your pain with perishables.  Now, when I make a sauce, I freeze the leftovers in an ice cube tray.  Then I pop them out when they're frozen, put them in a labeled container, and keep them in the freezer until I need them.  

Do you have any clue more or less how many days would a (for example) tomato ragu sauce bottle last without going off after being open?

Use your own judgement. If it looks ok and smells ok, chances are its gonna be fine. I had a jar of tomato ragu that was 1/2 full and kept it in my fridge for about 3 or 4 months just using some every so often. I get free food from my work if it goes out of date, its fine. I do have a line, obviously, but my policy is, if its not mouldy, its fine. I draw the line at mould.

Whatever happened to just using common sense and judgement to tell if somethings gone bad? Far too often people throw out perfectly good food just because of a number.

My simple bolognese sauce is a tin of chopped tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, and a small handfull of basil leaves. In a jug, stick the hand blender in it and blend till smooth. Then cook for 5 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly. Takes all of 6 minutes in total, so done by the time the pasta is finished. And before you cook it you can freeze what you don't need for the next time.

For a slightly richer flavour i roast tomatoes, red onion, and red pepper with 8 cloves of garlic. Take the skins off after roasting, blend and add seasoning to taste.

Oil is a LIFE saver for me. As I'm gaining and have such a high cal requirement, it becomes such a helpful low bulk way of adding taste and calories. I've played about with various infused types - chili, garlic... it's quite interesting, really. Sesame oil is tasty, and sunflower oil makes for amazing oven chips.

My family will make big batches of tomato sauce. The recipe is very similar to pen_coed: chopped tomatoes in juice, garlic, black pepper, a bit of olive oil, basil, blend and reduce very slightly. Normally, because we tend to freeze it, we reduce it again when we take it out of the freezer again because the ice will equate to a little extra fluid in the sauce. You can use this base to make bolognese, as a base for bakes and casseroles, in chili, all sorts.

I have to say I don't like dry food... But I have found a great alternative lately that I use in place of Mayo on my burgers and in my pitas, and even as a snack w/ homemade pita chips.

I make a low fat guacamole, equal amounts of mashed avacado, fat free cottage cheese(blended smooth), and salsa.  some s/p to taste, It tastes great, keeps my food from feeling dry, and it's only 45 cals/1.5g fat for 1/4 cup! Much better stats than mayo! If you put the avacado pit in the container with it, it keeps well in the fridge 5-6 days, just pour off the extra liquid and stir it up each time you use it.

Original Post by dadivan:

 i mean, if you eat that you just taste the ketchup... there is no more egg taste there haha. Even in hamburgers - for example - if you have to add ketchup to a hamburger it means the hamburger is not even good, if the taste of the hamburger by its own was good enough there would not be any need for adding ketchup... 

 

I always think the people who add so much sauce to food actually like the sauce and not the food. Me? I love plain plain food