Healthy Dressings

When made with raw, organic milk, butter can be a healthy food choice, since it's naturally rich in healthy fatty acids, healthy cholesterol, and vitamin A.

If your body can't tolerate high quality dairy butter, you can still enjoy butter by mastering the following dairy-free butter recipes; extra-virgin olive oil and coconut oil are used as bases to create buttery goodness.

If you love spinach dip but your body doesn't love the milk and sour cream that are often used to make most commercially prepared varieties, give this tahini-based spinach dip a try.

Not only is this raw spinach dip out-of-this-world yummy, it's rich in tryptophan, which means that when eaten with a carbohydrate-rich food (like baked, whole grain crackers), it makes for an excellent evening snack that promotes deep sleep.

Though hummus made with chickpeas is a favorite dish in our home, occasionally, we like to mix things up and make different types of hummus that are chickpea-free.

If you're a fan of almonds, I encourage you to give the following almond hummus recipe a try - it's rich in naturally occurring vitamin E, magnesium, and calcium, all of which can help keep your heart and blood vessels healthy as you age.

I've long maintained that pasteurized dairy products should be avoided whenever possible, as eating them regularly is associated with a number of health challenges, the most common of which are: chronic ear infections, nasal congestion, acne, eczema, a variety of autoimmune illnesses, and even cancer.

I almost never eat dairy products, but like a lot of people who follow a dairy-free diet, I find myself craving different types of cheese from time to time. I mean, come on, nothing provides a mouthful of flavor like a nice helping of cheese, right?

For most of us, there's no denying that mayonnaise makes everything better. And if you make healthy, homemade mayonnaise using extra-virgin olive oil, organic eggs, and other simple ingredients, you can continue making everything better with mayonnaise without compromising your health.

If eggs aren't your thing, a great alternative to egg-based mayonnaise is the following vegan mayo made with avocados and basil.

If I could choose only one fruit to eat for the rest of my life, avocados would receive serious consideration. Not only are avocados creamy and delicious, they are abundant in healthy raw fat, fiber, vitamin K, folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin C.

If eating avocados straight up isn't your thing, give one of the following easy guacamole dip recipes a try. It's near impossible to mess up a guacamole recipe, and freshly made guacamole is far healthier than commercially prepared varieties, which sometimes don't even contain real avocados.

Chickpeas are one of the least expensive, nutrient-rich foods that you can eat. Chickpeas are rich in a number of nutrients, most notably folate (folic acid), manganese, tryptophan, copper, iron, and of course, healthy protein.

Due to their high folate and tryptophan content, chickpeas are an excellent food choice for women of child-bearing age and people who have trouble getting restful sleep.

Enjoy the many health benefits of chickpeas through our two favorite hummus recipes, found below.

This all-raw, nutrient-dense dip is an excellent substitute for dairy-based dips that are commonly provided with vegetable platters.

I recommend serving this dip alongside a bunch of celery sticks, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, broccoli & cauliflower florets, raw zucchini sticks, bell pepper slices, and any other raw vegetables that you desire.

If you want to ensure a program of nutritional excellence, it's essential that you include healthy fats -- like those found in avocados -- in your everyday diet. To the best of my knowledge, the low-fat era was essentially created and fueled by studies that did not differentiate between healthy fats and fats that have been damaged by excessive processing and heating.

If you love cheese but have a problem tolerating dairy products that are derived from cow's milk, you may want to try Greek feta cheese that is made from sheep's milk or a combination of sheep and goats' milk.

A great way to enjoy Greek feta cheese is in a traditional Greek salad that includes feta, olives, leafy greens, fresh tomatoes, cucumber slices, and sweet red onion slices.