Cooking my recipes using Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar!

If you have never heard of Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar, you truly are missing out! Not only is the rice vinegar simply amazing in taste, but can be used in so many various recipes, or a stand alone in salads and such! Best of all, Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegars are healthy! I know with watching my weight all the time, I need ingredients that will not add dimensions to my waist line. With Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegars, I can use them as a salad dressing substitute and know it will only have 20 calories and 0 grams of fat, versus the 75-90 calories and 7-9 grams of fat of traditional salad dressings. As I am writing this, I know you must be asking yourself, “This seems too low in calories or fat to be good?” Well, you would be wrong in that assumption, because all the flavors of the rice vinegars are AMAZING!!!

The Nakano is an all-natural rice vinegar that is unsweetened with no sodium, sugar, fat, or preservatives; and can be used in variety of recipes. If you have someone in your family with a gluten allergy, do not worry as they are gluten free.  They are lightly sweetened and lightly salted to be used in recipes or as a Splash On condiment. They are the healthy alternative to wine, cider, or distilled vinegar for an truly fantastic, and slightly tangy taste.

While I did know that about the Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar in the original flavor, I had no idea just how many flavors they  make for this vinegar. Nakano Rice Vinegar is available in the Original, Roasted Garlic, Basil and Oregano, Red Pepper, Balsamic Blend, Italian Herb, and Natural Rice Vinegar flavors. Can you say YUM!!! These rice vinegars are light and delicious! I honestly have no need for salad dressings anymore; I just use Nakano! Don’t worry though if you are not a salad person, because you can use these rice vinegars in so many recipes, as well as healthy alternatives to add to your baked potato, cole slaw, rice, vegetables, and more. No need to slaw on tons of sour cream and butter to your baked potato – simply use a splash of Nakano Rice Vinegar and you are all set!! Trust me when I tell you that you will be so happy when you purchase the Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegars-they are truly so versatile.

Now, since I am talking how I use the Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar in so many recipes, I figured why not show you an actual recipe that I made just the other day to bring to a party. This recipe is called California Caviar and is the perfect appetizer to bring to any party! This recipe, as well as many others, incorporating Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar can be found here: http://mizkan.com/recipes/

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar- you can use the Roasted Garlic, Red Pepper, or Original flavors

-1 TLBS olive oil

-1/4 cup salt

-1-2 TBLS jalapeños seeded and minced

-1 garlic clove minced

-1 can (16 oz) black bean rinsed and drained

-1 large tomato

-1 yellow bell pepper

1/3 cup chopped cilantro and parsley

1/4 cup sliced green onion

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl combine rice vinegar, oil, salt, jalapeños and garlic. Mix well

Stir in remaining ingredients

Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to use

Serve with crackers or chips

I have to admit that this recipe is FANTASTIC!! Best of all, it is healthy at only 33 calories and 1 gram of fat for 1/4 cup! It is a WIN-WIN!!

In addition to the fabulous products Nakano makes, they are now gearing up for an awesome 60 day Splash It On, Step It up challenge.  This challenge is awesome! Simply visit the Nakano Facebook Page and you will learn about healthy eating tips and fun fitness tips. They even have a step tracker that wraps around a globe that will show you the number of steps walked thus far! Nakano is all about helping people to make better healthier lifestyle choices. The challenge is to encourage people to eat more vegetables and become more active. Guess what if you participate there is even some awesome prizes:

• First prize of a one-year free gym membership. If over 1 million steps are reached over the course of the 60 days, a second 1st prize will be awarded.
• Second prize winner receives six personal training sessions.
• Third prize winner will receive a Nakano workout bag.

You can also participate in the Nakano Splash for Cash promotion which entails you for your chance to win $150 in cash each month and to readily access recipes and blog features.

Go out today and buy some Nakano Rice Vinegar! You will be so happy you did. Go ahead and also like Nakano on their Facebook page and Twitter Page.

 

 

*I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Nakano and received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.