Mega-Salad Makes a Meal ? The Raw Difference Beauty Energy ...

Food is a constant subject of discussion among my friends. Most of us have a passion for great meals. We love to entertain, and we?re always up for trying new restaurants. We talk a lot about the food we make for our families, and when I?m asked what I had for breakfast, my response is often green juice or salad. Either one tends to bring the conversation to a halt.

I can see how it would be a stretch for most people to think of a jar of juice as a meal, but a salad for lunch or dinner is fairly common. Why should breakfast be any different?

The conversation runs into another roadblock when it comes out that the salad doesn?t include any meat, dairy, croutons, or conventional bread or crackers. It?s hard for some people to imagine a satisfying salad that doesn?t include any of those things.

Start with a huge amount of greens. If I?m having a salad with few toppings, I fill a mixing bowl about 2/3 full with greens. If I?ll have lots of toppings, I have 1/2 a large mixing bowl. With tougher greens, like kale, or sometimes spinach, I marinate them for a few minutes. That way I can consume a lot more of these nutrient-rich foods.

Make my own dressing. That way, I control how much sweetener, if any, I add. I also control the quality of the oil and avoid preservatives and excess salt. A nut or seed based dressing is even better. Nuts and seeds add a host of nutrients you can?t get from the extracted oils.

Add more healthy fats. Avocado, nuts, and seeds add more healthy fats to my diet. Nuts and seeds also bring in an additional texture to keep things interesting

Add some protein. Seeds are a good source. I keep soaked and dehydrated sunflower and pumpkin seeds in the fridge. They?re inexpensive and add other nutrients, along with some protein.

Add veggies I love. I don?t bother with foods I don?t like. Meals should be pleasurable. I might add some combination of marinated mushrooms, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, onion slices, marinated beets, or whatever I have on hand. Zucchini and yellow squash chips made in the dehydrator are also great salad toppings.

Crumble raw crackers or bread on top. This is a great place to add raw flax crackers or onion bread. They add flavor, texture, and heartiness. If you?re missing cooked food, this simple addition can make your salad feel more like a restaurant salad.

Add something sweet once in a while. I don?t eat a lot of dried fruit, but sometimes a spoonful tossed on a salad will give it an extra layer of complexity.

If the salad is your meal, you shouldn?t feel deprived or like you?re on a diet. It should be as tasty and satisfying as any other meal.

Tags: dried fruit, healthy fats, homemade salad dressing, nuts and seeds, raw food salad, salad meal

Source: http://therawdifference.com/blog/2011/05/23/mega-salad-makes-a-meal/

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