March 16, 2012
I’m a huge proponent of the 85/15 rule, which simply means that what you do 85% of the time is what counts. The 15% should be left for treats, slips, variations, not raw, etc. I aim for 85% raw and vegan every day.
Dr. Mercola recommends the 85/15% format as well, with an emphasis on consuming high quality animal protein every day. Hallelujah Acres advocates 85% raw and
15% cooked, with everything being vegan.
You have to experiment and see what feels right for you.
I want to talk a little bit about salads this week.
First of all, I would be the FIRST person to bolt if a plate of“traditional” lettuce was plunked down in front of me.
I’m NOT a huge fan of salads. Here are some different
ideas:
1.
Again… work across the color spectrum with your
food.
2.
Combine fruits and veggies.
My favorite combination is sweet juicy red grapefruit combined with red peppers. Here are other
delicious combos: cantaloupe + fennel or cucumber/ green grapes, apples and baby spinach/ any citrus fruit +
peppers
3.
Add some protein – hard boiled eggs, nuts, seeds, animal
protein
4.
Go for taste and texture variations.
Try for salty, sweet, sour, crunchy, creamy, spicy… all in one salad.
This is what a multi-dimensional salad with the above guidelines might include: sprinkle a little
coarse size sea salt over the whole salad, sweet from grapes or raisins or craisins or dried pineapple, sour is the acid in your dressing, smooth might be a nut pate dolloped on the salad, spicy might be chili dehydrated croutons or flatbread, chili roasted nuts, crunchy can be any of these ingredients… you get the idea!
5.
Learn some awesome dressing recipes.
They’re usually the difference between “ho hum” and “this is delicious!”
Here are a few beautiful and tasty salad combinations to
try: Shredded red cabbage, craisins, red grapes, herbs (dill is what I would chose) topped with raspberry
vinaigrette.
Pink grapefruit, red pepper, scallions, cilantro, cashews tossed with citrus chili vinaigrette and set atop baby spinach.
ANY finely shredded or minced veggie combination topped with a delicious Asian dressing, shredded basil and unsweetened coconut.
ANY finely shredded or minced veggie combination topped with a creamy Tahini dressing.
Finely shredded kale, craisins or raisins, cashews, diced red or orange pepper, orange sections with honey citrus
dressing
Here are recipes for the dressings:
Raspberry Vinaigrette: Blend by hand 4 T olive oil, 3 T
raspberry vinegar, 1 T honeyHoney
Citrus Vinaigrette: Blend by hand 4 T olive oil, 2 T apple
cider vinegar, 2 T citrus juice (frozen orange juice concentrate works great here), 1 T honey, maybe grate some citrus rind into the dressing.
If you want a Mexican flavor, add some chili powder and
cumin.
Asian Dressing: Blend by hand 2 T olive oil, 1 T sesame
oil, 1 T apple cider vinegar, 1 t soy sauce, 1 T raw tahini (or almond butter), 2 t honey or sweetener of choice, few grates of fresh ginger, salt if desired. Sometimes I add a few tablespoons water to thin this down.
Your choice.
Creamy Tahini Dressing: Into the blender: one-half c each of olive oil and tahini, 3 sprigs parsley, 4 T apple cider vinegar, 1/3 c cashews, 2 cloves garlic, 2 T soy sauce or tamari, 3 T sweetener of choice, one half to three quarter cup water. Blend all in the blender, adding water slowly to desired consistency.
Making great salad dressings is NOT an exact science. The above ingredients are what I use,
but you might want to tinker with the ingredients until you love the taste and consistency! Recipes should be viewed as “suggestions” only.
A few thoughts about ingredients:
Honey –buy it raw, unfiltered, unprocessed
Olive Oil – invest in a good one!
The Natural Food and Garden Store on Rt. 45, has two excellent brands. These are not inexpensive,
but in my opinion, very necessary.
Sesame Oil – small bottle, ethnic food section at
Weis
Raspberry vinegar – any grocery store
Tahini (ground sesame seeds) – health food store
Apple Cider Vinegar – buy the Bragg’s brand, maybe Weis has it, definitely health food store definitely has it and refrigerate after opening.
