Keto Blackberry Vinaigrette

 Salads are a staple in my keto eating plan. And they are a great portable food for you to take to work so that you can get the necessary vitamins and minerals you need from green leafy vegetables. Yes, the veggies may contain a few carbs, but this is where the majority of your carbs should come from anyway. The problem for most keto eaters is not the salad, rather it is the dressing. While there are many commercial salad dressing that only contain 2 – 4 carbohydrates per tablespoon, these extra carbs can add up really fast. One of the best types of salad dressings are oil and vinegar dressings known as vinaigrette’s. Generally, vinaigrette’s contain little or no carbohydrates, and the have the added benefit of being high in healthy fats which makes you feel sated thereby making you feel fuller and less hungry. Having said that, even commercially prepared vinaigrette dressings are less desirable than homemade, simply because you have no control over the ingredients.

Vinaigrette’s are a combination of oil, vinegar, herbs and spices that are mixed together to form a temporary emulsion. Because the emulsion is temporary, and the oil and vinegar will separate, the easiest solution is to place the vinaigrette in a bottle or container that can be shaken each time before use to mix the oil and vinegar together again.

If you have read any of my other articles, then you know we live on a small farm and grow most of our our own vegetables (whenever possible), blackberries, and raise chickens and rabbits among other things. So when it came to making my own vinaigrette style salad dressing, using blackberries was an obvious choice. Blackberries, raspberries and even blueberries make delicious vinaigrette dressings, and they are really simple to make. This quick, and easy homemade blackberry vinaigrette contains only 0.46 grams per tablespoon, that's 4 to 8 times less carbs than many commercially made salad dressings. So let's get started.

Blackberry Vinaigrette

¼ cup blackberry juice/pulp

¼ cup apple cider vinegar with the Mother

½ cup olive or canola oil

2 drops of liquid sucralose or two teaspoons of sugar substitute (optional)

Total Recipe

Calories – 742, 112 grams fat, 2 grams protein, 7.4 grams carbohydrates

Per Tablespoon

Calories – 46, 7 grams fat, 0.125 grams protein, 0.46 grams carbohydrates

Combine all ingredients together in a wide mouth pint canning jar or small bowel and mix with a wire whisk or use an immersion blender. Taste the dressing for sweetness and adjust to suit your personal needs as blackberries are quite tart. That's it, this dressing is that simple.

Processing Your Own Fruit

Whether you grow your own berries or find them on sale at your local supermarket, making your own puree is quite simple. To make our own blackberry puree simply add 4 – 8 cups fresh blackberries to a small to medium sized pan with about ¼ cup water and bring them to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or until the fruit is nice and soft. Then take an immersion blender and puree the contents and they are nice and liquified. If you need to add a small amount of additional water do so, it will not hurt the final outcome of the puree.

Once you have processed the berries and you have nice puree, it is now time to strain the berries to remove all of the seeds. Place a fine strainer over a medium sized bowl and in small batches pour the puree into the strainer and press the solids with a spoon to extract all the juice. Continues this process until you have strained all the fruit. What you are left with is an unsweetened blackberry juice that can now be used to make your vinaigrette.

Take the extra juice and pour it into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen remove the blackberry ice cubes and store them in a plastic freezer bag and you are ready to make another batch. BTW, most ice cube trays, or at least the ones we have hold just about two tablespoons of liquid.

Conclusion

As you can see this recipe is easy-peasey! So if you have fresh berries in your garden, or know where they grow wild, or you just happen to find them on sale of your local farmer's market or grocery store, then check out this recipe. Not only id this recipe low carb, it is a good source of healthy fats, and powerful anti-oxidants. The best reason to make it of course is that it tastes great and it has no preservatives As always, if you have found this article informative and enjoyable please share it with your friends on social media. Don't forget to check out of Facebook page CulinaryyoU or add us to your circle on Google+, or check our recipes on Pinterest.