Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

Posted: **Wed Jul 22, 2020 2:16 pm**

Hi, discussion board members.

I am hoping some of the users here can offer recommendations on ways to season boiled greens like kale, collards, turnip greens, etc. I had been using low-fat ranch or common spices like garlic and onion powders with added salt.

Now I'm trying to get away from sodium and junk calories, but haven't warmed up to anything after a couple weeks at this. The best I've hit on is nutritional yeast + cayenne pepper.

If anyone can recommend some simple spice blends, SOS-free dressings, etc. I'd be very grateful.

Ben

Posted: **Wed Jul 22, 2020 3:03 pm**

I like a tiny bit of red balsamic vinegar +/- pepper. This is my kids' preference, too.

They're also good with water sauteed onion or garlic.

No need to do without a ranch-like dressing. Here's Jeff Novick's dressing recipe. I personally add in a bit of onion powder and thin it with apple cider vinegar rather than the acidic options he recommends, but it's quite delicious and close to a ranch flavor. (I've only tried it with chick peas so far.)

JeffN wrote:Here are two of my favorite bean based recipes

1) My favorite hummus recipe - Basic Hummus

1 Can Eden Foods No Salt Added Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained.
~1/4 cup water
~1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic

Blend in food processor or blender

Adjust water & lemon juice to the consistency you like.

To make it spicier, add in some hot red pepper flakes.

To make it chunkier, only blend about 2/3 of the can, and mash the remaining 1/3 by hand, and then add in

Optional - to make it really creamy, blend in 1-3 tsps of either unsalted tomato paste, cooked sweet potato or tahini.

2) My favorite salad dressing recipe - Creamy Garlic Dill Dressing

1 Can Eden Foods No Salt Added Butter Beans, drained (save the drained bean liquid).
4 (-6) Tbsp bean liquid
2 (-3) Tbsp plain vinegar or balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 (-1) tsp garlic powder
1/2 (-1) tsp dried dill weed

Blend in food processor or blender till creamy.

Adjust the amount of bean water & vinegar/lemon juice to the consistency you like.

Adjust the amount of garlic & dill to the flavor you like.

Any white bean will work but I find butter beans make the creamiest dressing.

I also use this on baked potatoes!

Enjoy!

In Health
Jeff

P.S. 1 can beans is approximately 1 1/2 cup cooked beans.

Posted: **Wed Jul 22, 2020 7:31 pm**

I usually like my collards, mustard and turnip greens with a splash of apple cider vinegar. I usually eat kale raw or in a recipe, not on it’s own as a side. Beet greens are lovely with 3-2-1 dressing and chunks of roasted beets.

Jane Esselstyn 3-2-1 Salad Dressing

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp maple syrup

Another dressing a like is Jeff’s tahini dressing. I use it mostly on salads, though. Just mix together equal parts of tahini, lemon juice and water. I usually add a squirt of dijon.

If you don’t like greens on their own so much, just mix them into dinner. You can toss kale into the last few minutes of cooking time for your pasta, or mix spinach into the sauce. I made soup today and had chopped cabbage in there. Also, roasted Brussel sprouts count, too. Enjoy!

Posted: **Thu Jul 23, 2020 7:12 am**

I like my greens with a drizzle of Napa Valley Naturals Grand Reserve Balsamic Vinegar (4% acidity) that I buy from Whole Foods. It is also sold on Amazon, Vitacost, and other markets.
https://products.wholefoodsmarket.com/p ... ars-a1d8bc

On cooked veggies, for a salty taste without any sodium, I like Benson's Table Tasty Salt Substitute that I buy from Amazon. It really tastes like salt but there is no sodium in it.

Since you like your greens with garlic salt and onion salt, try your greens with Benson's Table Tasty and a sprinkle of garlic powder (no salt) and onion powder (no salt).

Posted: **Thu Jul 23, 2020 9:57 am**

Hot sauce!

Most are McD compliant. For ex., the popular Tabasco sauce has just 3 ingredients: peppers, vinegar and salt.

Yes, there's some salt. But you are literally using just drops.

Posted: **Thu Jul 23, 2020 10:52 am**

When I'm making greens to share with my husband I add a little smoked paprika because it reminds him of how I used to make them with bacon or a ham hock. We have them with a splash of Louisiana hot sauce.

Posted: **Thu Jul 23, 2020 11:12 pm**

All of the above ideas are great and I've done versions of them throughout the years. I rarely use recipes. If you don't mind using a little salt, it can be added just before you eat it, on the surface of the food; you'll taste it the most then and not require very much.

Sometimes with spinach I'll cook it with onions or onion and/or garlic powder (no salt added), but then add some soymilk (just water and organic soybeans) towards the end of cooking along with just a tad of salt at the table. It kind of reminds us of creamed spinach from back in the day.

I don't remember the name of it, but we used to get and love a hot pepper vinegar at some Cracker Barrel locations years/decades ago. It was delicious on cooked collards, mustard, turnip, and kale greens.

The Esselstyn family (Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., his wife Ann, their daughter Jane, and son Rip) are known for their daily consumption of greens. You can search out books of theirs and Jane has a YouTube channel where she and her mom make all sorts of dishes, including greens.

Posted: **Wed Aug 05, 2020 10:44 am**

Thank you all for the input.

I had some success replacing the cook water with vinegar and adding chopped green olives (~1,000 mg sodium). Good in its own right, but not what I would call savory. I'm disinclined to spend on seasoning mixes (because I go through so much), but will continue to experiment. If I could just find something to cut the bitterness of cooked greens w/o the tang of an acid...

Maybe at the end of the day I just have to allocate all my sodium "budget" to my daily dose of greens.

-Ben

Posted: **Wed Aug 05, 2020 5:58 pm**

I prefer to stir fry kale and other greens with lemon juice and garlic. Lemon tricks the palate into thinking you added salt.

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