There is an every growing movement in the food world that has a lot of people on edge; maybe in a good way, and maybe in a bad way. There is only 1 movement that has more emotional attachment then the vegan movement, and it is the Raw Movement. A movement that includes eating nothing cooked at all, and that means no meat in this one as well! It might be a lot to grasp for many, but there is an easy way to incorporate this into your existing diet, an introduction if you will. We already have them, and they are mostly raw as it is; but making some super tasty raw salads can get your palette wet an let you see if this is for your. Today I am going to show you 5 great raw salad recipes that can be put together in literally minutes.
Kale and Avadcado Salad: A wonderful little salad that is electricity free!
3 cups Kale, destemmed and chopped
1 Avocado
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp Sea Salt
8 Grape Tomatoes, cut as desired
2 Green Onions, white and green parts
1 Tbs Lemon Juice (1/2 Lemon)
Put chopped kale in bowl and drizzle over salt and olive oil. Massage this around in the bowl to soften the kale a little. Crush the avocado into the boil with the kale, using a knife. Add the rest of the ingredients (except lemon juice) and stir to coat. Then drizzle lemon juice over top just before serving.
One of the beautiful things about raw salads, is many of them just require finding the right ingredients and tossing together!
Arugula Salad
2 cups Arugula
1/2 Cucumber, Chopped
10 Olives, Pitted and Chopped
1 tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp Coconut Vinegar
Ground black pepper (to taste)
1/2 pear, chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 celery stalk, chopped
Make sure you crush the pine nuts (using a coffee grinder, food processor, mortar and pestle, whatever really), then add everything else and toss.
Raw Okra Salad
15 Okra pieces, sliced
1 Onion, chopped fine
1 Roma Tomato, chopped
1 garlic clove, Crushed
1/4 Yellow Bell Pepper, chopped
dash Soy Sauce
3 Tbs Olive Oil
Cut okra very thinly and toss with the rest of the ingredients.
Marinated Fennel and Fruit: while this may not seem very appetizing at first, it is a staple salad all throughout Northern Italy.
1/2 Orange
2 Small Fennels, Trim stems and outer woody part
1/2 apple (or pear), cubed
Handful of Berries of choice
Handful of Gogi Berries
Juice from other 1/2 orange
Squeeze of Lemon
Dash of olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Slice Fennel using mandolin (or just very finely with knife if no mandolin is available), toss with other ingredients.
Spinach and Sprout Salad: we can’t have an article about raw salads without including some sprouts!
1 Red Onion, Thinly sliced
3 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
1 1/2 tsp Agave Nectar
1 tsp Mustard Seed, Ground
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes
4 cups lentil sprouts
3/4 pound baby spinach
Take onions and place in a boil, cover with water and chill for 30 minutes. Whisk together vinegar, mustard, agave, and salt and pepper. Drizzle in olive oil while whisking to emulsify. Dry onion and toss with tomatoes, onions, sprouts, spinach then toss with dressing.
I have no inclinations that this article will make you run out and become a raw vegan, but hopefully it will make you diversify your diet just a little bit and spice things up: raw style!
