I need a delicious, parve,alternative to mayonnaise

Ahavas Chesed

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 9:36 am

[I am looking for an alternative to mayonnaise.
I have made pasta with pesto but my husband does not like the dryness, specifically in pasta with pesto. Wehave been told to watch our cholesterol and specifically to avoid mayonnaise. I have mae the pasta with pesto, how can I make it more moist without adding lots of olive oil. If I use a bit of mayonnaise and add water to the recipe would that spoil the recipe. I am trying to learn about the Mediterranean diet as that is what the doctor recommended for us but it is very difficult to find out information that is good for the kosher cook. None of the heimishe publishers have any information on the Meditteranean diet. My husband also wants his food to taste delicious as only mayonnaise adds that super taste. I also do not use vinegar in cooking due to the fact that it erodes the bones as I was told years ago by a health professional.
Does anyone have any ideas that I would find in a heimishe kosher grocery?
Thank you
Rochel

mha3484

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 9:39 am

I use plain unsweetened coconut yogurt or techina depending on the recipe.

ra_mom

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 9:44 am

If you add the pesto to the pasta as soon as it stops cooking, while hot, without rinsing the pasta first, and you thin the pesto with the cooking water for the pasta, if actually comes out creamy and delicious.

The Mediterranean diet actually emphasizes the use of vinegar and olive oil. http://www.livestrong.com/arti.....age=1

I make a delicious roasted vegetable pasta this way.

tichellady

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 9:56 am

Heimishe food is generally unhealthy. Look at vegan cookbooks or blogs to get ideas of healthy food and you can always add meat or chicken into recipes. I like ohsheglows.com. Maybe try Susie fishbein's healthier cookbook or look into levanas recipes. She has a website and cookbooks and cooks pretty healthy. Skinnytaste.com has many low fat recipes that work for a kosher eater. Pasta with pesto isn't particularly healthy (with or without the mayo) unless you are using a healthy whole grain pasta. Try pesto with farro or barley or quinoa

mummiedearest

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 10:19 am

try blending the pesto with avocado. I can't promise it'll taste good (I've never tried it), but avocado is definitely creamy and has a fairly mild flavor. it's worth trying once...

LadyDiva84

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 10:31 am

Mashed avocado. I add it to tuna. Makes it creamy

SRB

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 12:42 pm

Vegenaise is a good substitute but I'm not sure you will find it in the Hemisha store. I have seen it sold in Whole Foods and the vegetarian section of the larger chain grocery stores.

Amarante ↓

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 12:57 pm

The Mediterranean Diet is actually very "kosher friendly" because it doesn't use much dairy and relies on lots of fresh veggies and fruit - lean protein such as fish as well as limited amounts of olive oil and nuts. Legumes are also used in many of the recipes.

If you are looking for specific recipes etc. just google Mediterranean Diet and almost every recipe in a MD cookbook would be kosher - assuming using of kosher ingredients.

Pesto is not such a healthy food IMO when used as a sauce for pesto because it's inherently high fat and high calorie. I've never heard of pesto with mayo by the way since it's traditionally made with pine nuts, olive oil, basil and parmesan cheese - but that wouldn't be parve.

I have never heard that vinegar erodes the bones. That doesn't seem biologically possible since it stays in the digestive tract. Acidic foods might not be easily digested by people with certain digestive issues but that has nothing to do with bones.

Ruchel

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 1:04 pm

I was told the opposite! that, like Greek or Bulgarian or Italian cooking, Med diet includes dairy!

imasoftov

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 1:10 pm

Ahavas Chesed wrote:

I also do not use vinegar in cooking due to the fact that it erodes the bones as I was told years ago by a health professional.

Only if you take the bones out of yourself and soak them in vinegar.

↑ Amarante

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 2:47 pm

Ruchel wrote:

I was told the opposite! that, like Greek or Bulgarian or Italian cooking, Med diet includes dairy!

It might be what it is called in different places but in the USA what is generally described as the Mediterranean diet doesn't have "creamy" sauces or cook with a lot of butter - I.e. the classic French style of cooking which uses dairy as an important part of lots of the classic dishes.

While non fat or low fat dairy is supposed to be eaten as part of the Med Diet, it is in far lower quantities than a typical American diet.

So if you look at recipes in a MD book, most of them are easily done Kosher because there generally aren't dairy products cooked with the meat like a cream sauce.

yenny

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 3:13 pm

Pasta is more harmful than the olive oil you mentioned.put in ketchup if your worried about the cream

Happydance

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 3:18 pm

TECHINA- yum!
I put it in pasta, use it as a salad dressing, dip, etc. I love mayo, but know its not good for me and substitute it all the time. It definitely goes with Mediterranean diet, too.

spring13

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 3:39 pm

You can try making your own with silken tofu: http://40aprons.com/tofu-mayonnaise-vegan/

Also, I'd look into the "vinegar erodes the bones" thing. That pushes all my do-some-research buttons. If you're not drinking it straight or using it as mouthwash, I'm not sure it can have the kind of effect that your doctor implied.

Iymnok

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 3:53 pm

Balsamic vinegar is the best condiment! A salad dressing, as a spice, drizzled over veggie... Go do some research so as not to miss out on delicious healthy food.

EsaEinai

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 4:24 pm

Earth balance makes a mayo substitute that's yummy in dressings and dips. Sold in health food stores.

cbg

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 4:37 pm

Ahavas Chesed wrote:

***IMO***
IMO, to lower cholesterol you need to lower your carb and casein in take, and higher your veggie in take, especially raw veggies. Healthy fats are ok in moderation, so you can make your own mayo using light olive oil. If you are looking to be healthy you need to stay away from store bought convenience foods that contain unhealthy ingredients. READ LABELS. MSG, food starch, natural flavorings, sugar, corn syrup, white flour, are not healthy products.
If you are looking for menu planning I find that OA grey sheet to be a pretty healthy way to eat. It even allows you 1Tblsp of fat for lunch and 3 for dinner, this can be any fat of your choosing including mayonaise. Again a little mayo is ok in moderation, especially if you use healthy oils. READ LABELS.
Also, I read and researched, the worst combination of foods is carb and fat, I.e. Pasta and mayo.

If your DH is reluctant to eating veggies, hide them.
My meatloaf, burgers, meatballs are 1/2 ground veggies and 1/2 meat.
Always serve a fresh salad with dinner.
Even if he eats a small plate of salad, it's better than nothing, just don't add more than 3 TBLSP of fat to the entire dish.

When looking at cholesterol, keep in mind your HA1C numbers (factor for diabetes) also play a big role.

DrMom

Wed, Apr 15 2015, 8:24 am

I make pasta-tuna salad with olive-oil-packed tuna (Rio Mare, for example) and some simple herbs and fresh diced tomatoes and whole-what penne. It's delicious.