BASIC RAW LUNCH

  I like to think that raw equals fresh. Who wouldn´t prefer fresh? It is always the best. And fresh this lunch is!

Inspired by Erica Palmcranz Aziz, I eat a big salad for lunch every day. The base is always a pile of green leaves, which I like to strip thinly. Another staple of mine is fermented cucumbers, which is a newcomer in my diet. Up until now the only fermented product I ever tried was sauerkraut, many different kinds, and for some reason it is so repulsive to me that I gag. But these cucumbers are from another planet. I´ve grown a little addiction to them actually. Having a varied salad for lunch every day is totally handy. I can throw in any veggies, or even some fruit, I have in the house, and therefore hardly anything is wasted! Like today I baked scones to my kids and their friends. I added peeled and grated zucchini into the dough to make the scones more juicy, and was left with a pile of zucchini peels. Well, into my salad they all went without trouble!  How cool is that?

Today´s salad was made of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, zucchini peels, papaya, fermented cucumber, and arame seaweed. On top I always add a rich dressing to combine the flavours. The dressings vary from day to day.

  The recipe for the salad dressing:

3/4 dl sunflower seeds
1-2 dl water
1/2 - 1 dl fresh herb(s)
a pinch of salt
1/2 avocado

+ Run the sunflower seeds in a food processor until finely ground. Add water, herbs, and salt. Process until smooth and the consistency as thick or runny as you like. Add the avocado. Process one last time.
  Pour over the salad, give it a mix, and eat it all!

The original recipe for this dressing (called the coriander dressing) is from Erica´s book. It called for lemon juice and coriander, neither of which I used. I did not have coriander ( I used basil ), and I´ve decided to omit lemon and lime juice. They make my teeth erode more, which according to my dentist, they have done quite a bit already. (Maybe I´ve eaten too much in my life  =).

  So far this dive into raw foods has been a pleasant experience. Non-cooking is easy and quick, and very little dirty dishes producing. I feel lighter, and even after a meal (when I still stuff myself!) I can run the stairs up without trouble. Although avocado and nuts/seeds are eaten a lot in raw foodism, I have not yet gained any weight. Even my stomach has stayed happy. So far so good!