Last week we shared with you how we do breakfast now that we've switched to being SOS-free, not adding Salt, Oil or Sugar to any of our recipes. And this week we're going to continue with How We Do Lunch.
Join us to hear more.
Lunch is our most elaborate meal. We do more prep for lunch than any other meal.
And we love one-dish meals like a soup with lots of veggies, greens, beans, lentils or grain. Also stews make a great one-dish meal. And we love Buddha bowls. Whatever the lunch is, it includes a large serving of greens, either in the dish or as a side.
In switching to SOS-free one main thing we've changed is eliminating the oil in the dressings we use for our greens or salads. We do this by using nuts or seeds as a base instead of the free-oil from a bottle and we enjoy an equally rich and satisfying dressing. We offer lots of free recipes for oil-free dressings here.
In our baked goods, we replace the oil with applesauce or grated apple. This helps to provide the moist chewiness that oil gives them.
Salt is the trickiest one to find a substitute for. The closest we've come is with sumac. it provides something of a salty taste to dishes. But the way we usually swing a dish that had salt in it is by adding more spices or herbs. Or we'll add some "hot" ingredients like jalapeño, pepper flakes or chili powder. With this added heat, we don't miss the salt at all.
We'll also swing a dish that had salt in it to a sweeter taste using sweet veggies like carrots, sweet peppers, corn, peas or even dates, raisins or date paste.
Dates or raisins have been our main replacement for sugar. Although we haven't used refined sugars like cane sugar or coconut sugar for a long time, we were still using maple syrup, brown rice syrup, barley malt and things like that. We now replace those with dates or date paste and find we enjoy the food just as much as we did with the processed sweeteners.
It seems like the biggest concern people have about SOS-free meals is the flavor and enjoyment, the taste and satisfaction. Well, as we've said before, it does take some time for taste buds to adjust, but when they do, in several weeks or so, you become aware of tastes and flavors you didn't notice before.
As a result, we're enjoying the flavors of our SOS-free meals more than the meals we used to prepare with the salt, oil and sugar. We truly enjoy them more and are more satisfied then ever. Go figure, eh?
That being said, we didn't switch to SOS-free in order to enjoy our meals more. We switched because of the health benefits that the latest research is showing on the impact of salt, oil and sugar on our health. Given how good the food tastes and the benefits to our health, it's a no-brainer.
The recipe this week is a Quick Kale, Corn and White Bean Soup... SOS-free, of course. Give it a try. We think you'll like it.
To your Amazing Health,
Connie and Bill
Quick Kale, Corn and White Bean Soup (Serves 4)
- 1 medium onion, medium dice
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 bunch kale, torn from stems and chopped
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 28 ounce can Cannellini beans, rinsed (and drained if salted)
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- Ground black pepper to taste
In an Instant Pot, add all ingredients and cook for 4 minutes on high pressure. Allow to release naturally.
Open pot and serve.