traditional mayonnaise

dear mayonnaise,

i'm sorry your good name has been misrepresented, tarnished and dragged through the mud for decades. people have made you out to be a jerk, but i will do my best to lead others back to your awesomeness. 

with love,

eleni

yes, i was shocked when i found out too. but it's true, mayonnaise is a nourishing food! and once upon a time everyone knew that. because once upon a time people valued real food.

::sigh:: real food

so if mayo is nourishing, how does it have such bad PR surrounding it? 

well, let's start off with the concoctions we're used to seeing on the grocery store shelves. "light mayo," "real mayonnaise," "made with olive oil," "eggless mayo, " "low fat,"….. it doesn't matter what the label claims, they're all garbage. these imposters are made with factory engineered vegetable oils, loads of sugar, chemical thickeners, chemical colorings, and scary preservatives. store bought "fake" mayonnaise will never bring nourishment. on top of that, negative PR was originally gained in the 40s and 50s, when companies producing margarine and other highly processed vegetable oils, funded research on saturated fats. they made false claims that saturated fats found in mayonnaise (and other animal products), were causing heart disease and making people fat, so that the american consumer would be driven to purchase these new "healthy" alternatives of vegetable oils. the gimmicks worked so well, that 75 years later, the benefits of real mayo, and saturated fat are completely forgotten, and confusion abounds in the discussion of fat.

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how did these posers end up on grocery store shelves? 

in the 1930s as america stepped into industrialization, the idea of convenience foods, trumped the idea of nourishment…and unfortunately still does today. factories began producing this condiment in large amounts and needed to ensure that each batch tasted the same. because small artisanal batches of fermented foods are hard to do on the industrial scale, the traditional food techniques were left behind in favor of using vinegar and sugar to achieve the tang and processed hydrogenated oils for consistency in texture. 

what's nourishing about it?

real mayonnaise is a gift from god!! before food became adulterated by the industrial age, the goal of condiments was not only to add flavor, but to add nutrients and enhance digestion. organic extra virgin olive oil and organic egg yolks are a great source of enzymes. when consumed raw, all the enzymes are intact and ready to break down the food you are eating for easy assimilation of nutrients as well as containing the fat necessary to deliver nutrients into your cells. (note: it is crucial to use organic eggs. im sure you already know the cess pool of disease factory farm eggs are….and consuming them raw would be a pretty big risk.) 

<<a beautiful organic yolk, fresh from my farm trip>> when a chicken is fed the proper diet, her eggs are nutrient dense, with firm, deep yellow to orange yolks.

that's a load of fat…

oh you bet it is! and guess what... fat does not make you fat! it is hardwired into our DNA to seek out fat occurring in whole foods. indigenous cultures all over the world, in tune with their nutritional needs, ate liberal amounts of fat. but it is not wired anywhere in our DNA the process to break down fake fats like hydrogenated oils and extremely processed vegetable oils, which are found in high amounts in the standard american diet. a consumption of these highly processed oils is the real reason bad cholesterol rises, arteries are clogged, and fat stores accumulate. the human body literally has no idea what to do with these highly processed impostors.

i love getting my nutrient dense fats directly from a local farm! i pick up 2 dozen eggs and a gallon of raw goat milk every other week :) 

so rid yourself of the fake fat, and 

>>Nourish Yo Self<<

with a big dose of real fat! 

traditional mayonnaise

1 c extra virgin olive oil 

3 organic egg yolks

1/4 c raw apple cider vinegar

3 cloves garlic

2 tbs honey

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp ground mustard

1 tbs whey (from any cultured dairy product)

adding the oil drop by drop will ensure the right texture

* place all ingredients in blender except olive oil and whey. blend on high until smooth.

*turn blender to low and slowly pour oil in drop by drop for the first minute. then continue to stream oil in slowly. if the oil goes in too fast, the mayonnaise won't emulsify.

*at this point you can store your mayo in a glass jar in the fridge and it will keep for two weeks. or you can boost the nutrient content by allowing it to ferment. (i know i was scared the first time i fermented mayo too! but its worth it!) stir the whey into your jar of mayo and leave at room temp for eight hours. then store in your fridge. the fermented version of this condiment will keep for six months, adding tons of probiotics to the meals it accompanies!

ill eat this mayo with just about anything! one of our all time favorites is dipping roasted sweet potatoes in it!

if you try this recipe, post it on instagram and hashtag it #MyNourishedVibes. see you there! ...and while you're on instagram, click "follow" on my account @mynourishedvibes for daily real food inspo!