🥄 Sauces That Make Simple Food Delicious
One good sauce turns beans, rice, and potatoes into many different meals. No salt, oil, or sugar needed. 🎉
⚖️ Sauces are not interchangeable. A nut-based sauce brings more energy and richness; a bean-based sauce brings more fiber and fewer calories. Both are good. Pick the one that fits your meal and your appetite.
| Per serving | 🍅 Creamy Tomato (nut-based) | 🫘 White Bean Lemon-Garlic (bean-based) | 🍯 Barhi Date Caramel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serving | About 2½ tbsp (¼ recipe) | ¼ cup (¼ recipe) | 1 tbsp |
| ⚡ Energy | about 55 kcal | about 40 kcal | about 26 kcal |
| 💪 Protein | about 2.4 g | about 2.8 g | under 1 g |
| 🌾 Fiber | about 0.9 g | about 2.3 g 🎉 | about 0.6 g |
| 🧂 Sodium | about 5 mg | under 5 mg | under 5 mg |
| ⚠️ Allergens | Peanut (or tree nut, if you use almond butter) | None of the major allergens | None of the major allergens |
| ⏱ Time | 5 minutes | 5 minutes | 5 minutes |
| 🧑🍳 Tested? | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet |
🍅 Creamy Tomato Sauce (nut-based)
- ½ cup no-salt-added tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp peanut butter that’s just peanuts (no added salt, oil, or sugar)
- 1 tbsp vinegar (apple cider or plain), plus 1–2 tbsp water to thin
Steps: Whisk or blend until smooth. Makes about ⅔ cup (4 servings). 👉 Great on: the Black Bean Bowl, a Rescue Potato, or as a dip for vegetables. 🧊 Refrigerate up to 4 days.
🫘 White Bean Lemon-Garlic Sauce (bean-based)
- ¾ cup no-salt-added white beans (great northern or cannellini), rinsed
- 2 tbsp lemon juice and ½ tsp garlic powder
- About ¼ cup water, plus dill or parsley if you like
Steps: Blend until silky, adding water a spoonful at a time. Makes about 1 cup (4 servings). No blender? Mash well with a fork for a thicker spread. 👉 Great on: the Edamame Bowl, a microwaved potato, or lettuce wraps. 🧊 Refrigerate up to 4 days; it thickens, so stir in a little water.
🌿 More sauces and dressings
🍯 Barhi Date Caramel · 🥗 Golden lemongrass, plant power cabbage, and any-flavor balsamic dressings, plus date-sweetened ketchup, now measured below 🎉
Original Kitchen Monk recipes. Bean values use home-cooked no-salt beans; no-salt-added canned beans can differ slightly. Calculated October 3, 2026, with AI assistance; culinary testing, a second-person check, and registered dietitian review are still to come. Educational, not medical care. Corrections: rfjeep@gmail.com.
🥗 Kitchen Monk dressings, now measured 🎉
Nathanael’s four signature dressings now have exact amounts, so you can make them the same way every time. Blend everything until smooth, taste, and thin with water if you like.
| Dressing | Ingredients | Per 2 tbsp (about) |
|---|---|---|
| 🌿 Golden Lemongrass Makes about ¾ cup | 1 tbsp minced lemongrass (tender inner stalk), 3 tbsp hulled hemp seeds, ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp cumin, 1 Medjool date (pitted), ½ cup water | 40 kcal · 1.6 g protein · 0.5 g fiber · 2.4 g fat (0.2 g sat.) · no major allergens |
| 🥬 Plant Power Cabbage Makes about 1 cup | 1 cup chopped raw cabbage, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp fresh ginger, ¼ tsp turmeric, a pinch of cayenne, 2 Deglet Noor dates (pitted), 2 tbsp just-peanuts peanut butter, ¼ cup water | 31 kcal · 1.1 g protein · 0.7 g fiber · 2 g fat (0.4 g sat.) · ⚠️ peanut |
| 🍇 Any-Flavor Balsamic Makes about ⅓ cup | 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar with no added sugar, 1 tbsp just-nuts nut butter, 1 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes, 2 tbsp water | 56 kcal · 1.4 g protein · 0.6 g fiber · 3.7 g fat (1.5 g sat., from coconut) · ⚠️ tree nut or peanut |
| 🍅 Date-Sweetened Ketchup Makes about 1¼ cups | 1 cup no-salt-added tomato sauce, 4 Deglet Noor dates (pitted), 1 tbsp vinegar, ½ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp garlic powder, a tiny pinch of ground clove | Per 1 tbsp: 7 kcal · 1.7 g carb · 0.3 g fiber · about 1 mg sodium · no major allergens |
Original Kitchen Monk recipes by Nathanael Elijah Smith, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, DipACLM; amounts approved October 4, 2026. Nutrition estimated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy); energy is the standard USDA total; vinegar, spices, and herbs not counted; balsamic counted for its natural sugars. Not yet kitchen-tested; a second-person check and registered dietitian review are still to come. Corrections: rfjeep@gmail.com.
