Clean up my recipe?
ShalaraQ
Posts: 82 Member
One of my favorite go-tos to replace high fat/calorie dips is a blended salsa, kinda runny like you'd get at a Mexican restaurant with the chips. The only way that I've been able to achieve that is using canned tomatoes. The original recipe:
1- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1- 10 oz can orginal Rotel
1/2 small onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
1/2-1 jalapeno, seeded or not (depends on how spicy you like it)
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Small to medium size handful of cilantro, washed
Juice of 1 lime
Put all the ingredients in the base of a food processor or good blender and pulse to combine for 30 seconds or so until all the ingredients are finely chopped and salsa is desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste
So I've I'm thinking about using Eden Foods jarred tomatoes to replace the canned tomatoes and the rotel (and also adding in 1/2 poblano pepper with the jalapeno to keep that layer of flavor the rotel brought to it). The canned product has no added sodium, and the ingredient list is only organic tomatoes, organic onions, organic garlic. They are sadly expensive, but do you think those tomatoes are "clean enough"?
1- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1- 10 oz can orginal Rotel
1/2 small onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
1/2-1 jalapeno, seeded or not (depends on how spicy you like it)
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Small to medium size handful of cilantro, washed
Juice of 1 lime
Put all the ingredients in the base of a food processor or good blender and pulse to combine for 30 seconds or so until all the ingredients are finely chopped and salsa is desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste
So I've I'm thinking about using Eden Foods jarred tomatoes to replace the canned tomatoes and the rotel (and also adding in 1/2 poblano pepper with the jalapeno to keep that layer of flavor the rotel brought to it). The canned product has no added sodium, and the ingredient list is only organic tomatoes, organic onions, organic garlic. They are sadly expensive, but do you think those tomatoes are "clean enough"?
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Replies
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Of all the things I'm planning on cutting out? Canned tomatoes is not one of them. I buy the cheapest kind. It's 400g, 240g tomato and 160g tomato juice (most likely containing sugar). But you know what? The 1-2 canns of tomato I use a week is not the problem, and making it a problem would make eating clean into a compulsion and not something I'm doing for me.0
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I also buy canned tomatoes until they come into season locally, I usually get hunt's. I would personally take out the honey, but that's just my taste. I also would add more veggies, but I like my salsa chunky- corn, chopped bell peppers...0
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I use canned tomatoes all the time. Canned tomatoes ) are an excellent source of the antioxidant lycopene ( they say fresh does not have this by the way), shown to help lower the risk of heart disease, prostate cancer and macular degeneration (poor eyesight as you get older). Canned tomatoes still have vitamin C and fiber, just not as much as fresh. If you're worried about the sodium, when you have the salsa try chips that are lower in sodium and maybe try flushing your system out with extra water right afterwards.0
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I also buy canned tomatoes until they come into season locally, I usually get hunt's. I would personally take out the honey, but that's just my taste. I also would add more veggies, but I like my salsa chunky- corn, chopped bell peppers...
The honey is the secret ingredient that gives it the restaurant taste! It's such a tiny amount that it's negligible in calories and you don't taste honey, but it doesn't taste right without it! I do like chunky salsas and pico de gallos when I have good in season tomatoes (in fact I've got 8 thriving heirloom tomato plants).
I appreciate your thoughts on canned tomatoes. Because of their acidity, I've been slightly concerned with BPA contamination. I'm never sure how much I read are legitimate concerns, and what is media fear mongering
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Personally I think that recipe sounds pretty clean and dang tasty as-is… I’ve got a lot of those ingredients at home right now, I think I see some blender salsa coming up this weekend
You mentioned the cost of the jarred tomatoes in your post as being “sadly expensive”. That is something I struggle with daily. I want to provide the healthiest meals possible for my family but the cost of eating healthy can be staggering. If making a 100% clean blender salsa is going to cost so much I can’t afford to make it then maybe I use organic canned and call it a win.0 -
Personally I think that recipe sounds pretty clean and dang tasty as-is… I’ve got a lot of those ingredients at home right now, I think I see some blender salsa coming up this weekend
You mentioned the cost of the jarred tomatoes in your post as being “sadly expensive”. That is something I struggle with daily. I want to provide the healthiest meals possible for my family but the cost of eating healthy can be staggering. If making a 100% clean blender salsa is going to cost so much I can’t afford to make it then maybe I use organic canned and call it a win.
I feel the same way about cost. I checked the price on the jarred tomatoes at my local market yesterday. 6.79 a jar! Is rather stick to my 1$ a can organic (on sale) and spend the extra money in the meat department. 0 -
When I make salsa, I will take fresh tomatoes and roast them in the oven (300 degrees for 20ish mins) and that will give them the softness and a LOT of flavor. It might be worth a try to stand in for the canned items.0
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When I make salsa, I will take fresh tomatoes and roast them in the oven (300 degrees for 20ish mins) and that will give them the softness and a LOT of flavor. It might be worth a try to stand in for the canned items.
Do you roast them whole or chopped? I haven't been cooking for very long so I tend to ask a lot of dumb cooking questions -0 -
I roast the tomato's as well. Sometimes there's dextrose or food starch in the cans, which I can't have. I roast them whole and then dice them.0
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Yes exactly. Roast them whole on parchment paper to avoid sticking!0
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I love the recipe! I can my own tomatoes so for me this is easy, I am in control of what is in there, but this I would only use out of season to make the salsa. If tomatoes are in season I'm all for the roasted and I would even add a little fresh at the very end. I'm hungry just reading this.0
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I loved the roasting idea! That's what I did for my current batch. The flavor profile was just slightly different, probably because I left out the rotel and just tossed in an extra half poblano, but it was just as good. It's still a nice spicy, low calorie kick that I put on almost everything
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Made ShalaraQ's blender salsa tonight to go with fish tacos. Very tasty and pretty easy to make. I used canned tomatoes because that is what's on the shelf right now but I will be trying it with fresh tomatoes soon.0
