Mojito dressing

This is a staple in our kitchen! We always have a bowl of it right on the counter and use it every single day.  It is our mojito dressing, so delicious, so healthy, and so simple to make.  This is the base we use for our salad dressing, on our veggies after we steam them, as a dip, a dressing for our wraps and we drizzle it on our meals at times at the very end.  It is used in some latin countries for nearly everything. Instead of buying those unhealthy dressings off the shelf with unnecessary, unhealthy ingredients, use this instead. We have some ideas below you can add to this mix to make it unique depending on what you're in the mood for.

Mojito dressing base:

1. 1 cup olive oil
2. 3 garlic cloves
3. 1/4 cup organic fresh cilantro
4. 1/4 teaspoon himalayan salt

I like to make it fresh every 3 days so this is how much I make at a time.  You can make more to last you longer,  but not more than a week since this recipe calls for fresh organic cilantro and garlic and does turn color if out for too long.

In a mortar and pestle as you can see in the picture, you can mash the garlic and cilantro with the salt until it's almost a paste because of the release of its juices while mashing them together.  If you do not have a mortar and pestle, you can try using your food processor.

When it's mashed really well as you see in the picture, add to the olive oil in a bowl.  You want to cover it until use.  It's that simple to make, and the flavors get better as the garlic and cilantro sit in the oil longer.  Now like I said before, this is a base for our dressings.  These are some additions we mix in with it.

NOTE: when it comes to dressings, before you add it, dress up your salad and veggies with some herbs such as oregano, pepper and a little salt, so you only need to use very little dressing.  I love adding some crushed red peppers for a little kick.

1.  Vegenaise (an eggless mayo we get at Whole Foods) is great when we feel like a creamy dressing, we add just a half a teaspoon to a half a teaspoon of the mojito to our salad.

2.  Vinegar, whether it's rice, white, apple cider, or red wine vinegar, we add just a half a teaspoon to a half a teaspoon of the mojito dressing as a light dressing.

3.  We toss a teaspoon of the mojito dressing with a half a teaspoon of mustard and vegenaise for our wraps.

4.  We add a teaspoon of soy or teriyaki sauce to a teaspoon of the mojito dressing and toss well with sometimes a quarter of a teaspoon of miso paste and add to our chicken, steak, fish, veggies, quinoa or anything else you like.

Keep in mind that this is something you can use on its own or toss up with something else to make it the perfect tasting homemade sauce.

CILANTRO health benefits:

1. full of an array of antioxidants and healing phytonutrients.  The juice of the leaves are used for medicinal purposes.  It is an antiseptic, aphrodisiac, helps with digestion, and a natural stimulant.

2. high amounts of calcium, potassium, and vitamins such as A, K, C, and some Bs.

3. antibiotic tested and proven effective at killing food-borne bacteria, such as salmonella.

4. excellent source of omega 3 and 6.

5. helps control blood sugar, stimulating the secretion of insulin, lowering blood sugar.

6. lowers bad cholesterol.

7. used as a heavy metal detox, detoxifying mercury, lead, and aluminum among others.  Blend cilantro juice with chlorella powder and drink everyday for brain power.

8. provides calming effects to the nerves that enable sleep to come easier.