If you had five sauces to make that were simple, nutritious, and delicious, would you feel more confident in your kitchen? These are yummy, versatile, and kind to your waistline. 

I do not like to cook. I love to cook. If you ask my husband, he will tell you that I speak about cooking for friends and family like it is one of my favorite things to do – which it is. Mark and I have a great arrangement. He loves to eat, and I love to cook. Each time he thanks me profusely for another thrilling meal, I say, “I get to eat it too!” Enter five delicious sauces!

There are a whole bunch of reasons why I am sharing the instructions for these five delicious sauces. In no particular order:

• Because I love that you are going to do this for yourself and perhaps those with whom you live and share meals, I selected sauces that require a minimum of prep. Each of these can be made by putting all the ingredients in the blender or food processor. Does that just make your day? (It does make my day.)
  
• I want to help you overcome any concerns you have that cooking is too hard or takes up too much time. Making these oh-so-easy sauces will add a lot of flavor to the food you prepare. Eating is sacred so it might as well be delicious.
• Oils was used in the original version of a couple of these recipes. I have adapted them for you using water. No oil means less fat, but you won't miss it because of the flavor from the herbs.
• Speaking of flavor, here’s the reason why the food I make tastes so delicious. I use herbs and spices liberally. If you love a specific spice, like cumin or dill for example, experiment adding it to dishes you make. (You can take out just a quarter of a cup, add a dash of your favorite spice, and sample it for yourself.) You are not limited by the recipes so have at it experimenting with herbs and spices.
• Having these easy sauces at your fingertips is like having a great pair of black slacks in your closet. They go with everything. You can dress them up or keep it simple.
• The ingredients are nutrient-dense. That means that they are good for you. Consumer beware of many of these items sold commercially. Many of these types of products contain a crazy amount of salt, sugar, and commercial oil. You do not need these additives to have food that tastes amazing.
• Cooking at home is a wonderful way to bring people together. Sharing meals is a bonding experience. If you want to socialize over food, nothing says love like a dish that you made from scratch. And in this case, you can please people with a minimum of effort on your part.
• These sauces will last up to a week in your fridge. I always make twice or three times the recipes to have them on hand. I often have even three of them made fresh in my fridge so I can enjoy the variety in the meals that I make.
• My job is to inspire you to connect delicious-plus-nutritious. Compared to sauces that are heavy in cream, colorings, artificial flavorings, excess sugar (in a variety of forms) mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, butter, cheese, and oils, these are just as delicious, but they don’t cause your arteries to spasm, or your gut to feel explosive after you eat them.

​Ways to Serve Five Delicious Sauces

Each of these sauces can be used in a very wide variety of ways. You are only limited by your imagination. Here are a few ideas:

• Slathered over veggies and cubed tofu and baked for about 380 degrees for about 35 minutes or until done.
• Over pasta, especially the wholesome variety, like Explore cuisine black bean, or Ezekiel sprouted whole grain penne. (Maybe the real reason why you found this post is to let me encourage you to switch over the nutrient dense version of pasta because it is better for you and tastes incredible compared to the ordinary white version.)
• Stirred with cooked wild brown rice with cubed veggies and Italian vegan sausage.
• Over your favorite spiralized veggies. (Zucchini and sweet potatoes are our faves.)
• Over raw veggies in a salad. (Where you might want to add some water so they are spreadable.)
• In a wrap with grilled veggies and cubed Sriracha tofu plus home grown or store bought sprouts.
• Baked over any color potatoes. Purple or sweet potato for even more flavor and nutrients.
• Spread or baked with spaghetti squash, delicata squash, butternut squash, or acorn squash
  

​Marinara

​Spicy Almond or Peanut

​S​esame tahini

• ½ cup tahini
• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 cloves peeled garlic
• 6 dates if small, 4 if huge, pitted and simmered in water for 10 minutes, then drained
• ½ tsp Braggs Amino Acids (or tamari)
• ¾ cup water, depending on consistency desired

​Cashew cream/sweet or spicy

​Have a ton of fun being a ​master creator in your kitchen. It's heavenly to feed your body delicious food. And easier than you thought.