I don’t know about you, but I love a good teriyaki sauce. Teriyaki is super versatile because you can use it on different proteins [chicken, fish, tofu, etc.] or use it to add flavor and pizzazz to your stir-frys. The one thing I teach many of my clients about is how to read food labels. This important skill can mean the difference between shopping for quality foods at the grocery store or loading up your cart with junk. Sauces are notorious for having many questionable and not-so-good-for-you ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, vegetable oils and artificial colors and/or flavors. All of these ingredients are wreaking havoc on your health. The good news is that you can make your own sauces at home which taste better, are better for you, and are something you can feel good about eating and feeding your family.

It’s amazing how simple sauces can be. Just a few ingredients and a little bit of prep and you’ve got yourself a tasty sauce! This also goes for salad dressings. I can’t remember the last time I purchased a salad dressing from the store because, let’s be honest, their aren’t many good-for-you salad dressings at the store, and they are just so easy to make at home! Currently, my favorite salad dressing to make is as simple as these few ingredients:

Poppy Seed Dressing

¼ cup olive oil + 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar + 2 Tbsp honey + 1 tsp poppy seeds + pinch salt & pepper

I have a challenge for you.

The next time you’re at the store, take a look at the list of ingredients on the foods you’re purchasing. Do you recognize the ingredients, is sugar one of the top 5 ingredients, are there artificial flavors or colors, does it contain vegetable oils [corn oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oil]? These are questions that most people are unfortunately answering yes to. It’s time to make a change and start to eat cleaner, one home cooked meal at a time!

[the ingredient line up.]

I get lots of questions about coconut aminos. What is it? Where can you buy it? Coconut aminos is a great alternative to soy sauce. The ingredients are organic coconut sap and sea salt. That’s it. It has 65% less sodium than soy sauce too! You can find coconut aminos online or at your local health food store. You typically won’t find it in your typical bit box grocery store…yet.

[simmer away baby.]

Gluten-Free Ginger Garlic Teriyaki Sauce

servings: varies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup coconut aminos
• ½ cup pineapple juice
• ¼ cup water
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, optional

DIRECTIONS

Add all ingredients to a small pot and whisk together. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let simmer uncovered for about 30-40 minutes until sauce has reduced and thickened slightly, stirring or whisking occasionally. Your sauce will thicken more when cooled. Enjoy with chicken, steak, stir-frys or whatever else you’d like!