Raw Food and Cravings
I love eating a raw food diet. I especially love eating a raw food diet in the summer. Many of you know that I frequent our farmer’s markets. Not only do I get great prices on produce, but I get fresh, just picked veggies and fruit. I also get to support local growers and see produce that I normally don’t have access to year round.
Right now, lettuce is beautiful and plentiful. I have been buying a lot of romaine and eating a lot of salads, not to mention putting it in green drinks. I have to tell you, I have never been a big salad eater. I love my raw food diet but salads can seem like a lot of work, not only to prepare but to eat. With all of these beautiful greens around, I couldn’t resist and have been making quite a few.
Here’s where it get’s interesting. As I eat more salads, I find that my cravings (normally for potato chips) have shifted. Now I am craving salads! It is quite amazing how you can retrain your taste-buds. As you eat healthier, your cravings for not-so-healthy food will eventually be replaced by cravings for healthy food!
I love mixing fruit with my greens. Don’t worry food combiners, greens are different than veggies. They are considered a leaf and closer to fruit than vegetables. Still, listen to your body as we are all different.
This is my current favorite salad. Strawberry mango with jicama, and avocado, over romaine topped with a beautiful little blueberry vinaigrette and pumpkin seeds for that extra little boost. This is a hearty salad that works great for any meal.
Strawberry Mango Salad
SERVES 4
Salad
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 cup strawberries, sliced
- 1 cup mango, diced
- 1 cup jicama, diced
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- Tear romaine and place on plate.
- Mix together fruit and jicama. Place a handful on the lettuce bed.
- Top with blueberry vinaigrette and pumpkin seeds
Blueberry Vinaigrette
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar (or sweetener of your choice)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil, cold pressed
- Combine all ingredients in a blender.
- Pour over top of salad.
For more recipes like this see: Salads
Dot D. wrote on July 13, 2010
Oops, meant “taste buD”
Dot D. wrote on July 13, 2010
Yup, discovered the taste-but retraining myself a while back. Fascinating thing! Well, now that you’ve got my mouth drooling over this luscious lunch, I’m headed out to the kitchen to make it! Later……
Elizabeth wrote on July 13, 2010
That looks like something I would love. What a beautiful salad. Thank you for sharing. You are so right about re-training our taste buds!! My sister-in-law and I discuss that quite a bit. We both have had that happen. Even my children are reaping this benefit. How awesome raw and living foods are!!
Peace and Raw Health,
Elizabeth
Brooke wrote on July 13, 2010
Susan, you seem to use jicama frequently. Have you found an organic source for this? I read that jicamas are usually grown in Southeast Asia and they are dipped in formaldehyde to sanitize them for the trip to the US. I was just curious if you found a respectable source of jicama. I love jicama and I would love to grow my own some day!
Susan wrote on July 13, 2010
I can not find any information about jicama being dipped in formaldehyde. Most of the jicama here comes from Texas and Mexico, not Asia. You could check with your grocer. Young Thai Coconuts can be dipped but considering you have to go through an entire husk, then the shell, the chances of the formaldehyde contaminating the coconut is pretty nill. I always peel my jicama about 1/4 inch in. That should help.
crookedmoonmama wrote on July 13, 2010
OOOhhh! That dressing sounds lovely….
xoxo
Ann Brown wrote on July 12, 2010
Thank you for your elegant encouragement. I made this salad for dinner tonight and it was perfectly satisfying – taste, color, texture, and volume! Now if I can understand how to make more meals like this I will be on a good path =) Thank you again.
Christine (The Raw Project) wrote on July 12, 2010
This salad looks perfect for summer, thanks!
Lois wrote on July 12, 2010
This looks Wonderful!!! I always try to incorpate fruit with my salads..leave behind the hard boiled eggs and pasta salads & breads. etc..that makes it heavy
refreshing Susan!!
roxan wrote on July 12, 2010
This salad looks delicious, especially the blueberry vinaigrette! Thank you for sharing it.