best salad for people who don't like salads?

[luna99]

hey boys and girls..

I'm starting 100% raw on January 1st... I know myself and I know that given the chance, I would mostly eat fruit and nut cheeses and heavier things and prefer to skip the salads... but I also know I really NEED to eat more salads and greens...

soooo...

could anyone suggest a great salad for someone who's not that enthusiastic about salads?


I tend to like nuts and fruit on my salads (surprise surprise!) and anything that will make it seem more "substantial" and not just like a big bowl of lettuce. thanks!

[JennaBoBenna]

Although it is not raw, I always eat my salads with balsamic vinegrette. It is the only way I can eat my salads! Oh, and cashews on top! Mmmm!
I hate eating salads! I really wish I liked eating them more because theyre so pretty, but nope! So I use a natural balsamic vinegrette from Whole Foods.
What I put in my salad is usually:
Romaine, or baby greens
red onions
cukes
shredded jicama
shredded beets
bell peppers

the onion is really good in the salad, it adds a nice little kick to it!
Oh, and I also put a little bit of tomato in there, but since I don't like tomato, I don't eat it. It just makes the salad so pretty that I really want to eat it!!


Hope I helped :)

[Pierre]

I have not made any salad with lettuce for several weeks here. My salad (which doesn't seem saladlike to me) is made with a few stalks of gai lan or leaves of cabbage, tempeh, green onions, carrots, and celery, and instead of vinegar I use soy sauce. So it tastes more like a stir-fry than a salad. So maybe you'd want to try that, except with nuts instead of tempeh. Raw soy sauce (Nama Shoyu) is a bit hard to find, but it is available.

In summer, though, I eat lots of lettuce and avocados, and less cabbage.

[Sheryl]

How about blended ones that look like soup?

[michigan roman]

not raw but green tea helped me when first going raw cuz it quells appetite , so you get filled up on less . i drank it all day when i started raw .

on salads i make mine very vegi rich in order to make more filling .
i use ALOT of broccoli and mushrooms in my salads .

i also use sesame seeds sometimes sprinkled all over the top of salad to make more filling .

and my ma was just telling me she had a guest over for holidays that brought a salad with orange bits and walnuts included that was great .

[Bobbie]

I hate traditional salads with lettuce, I never eat them.

If I make salads they're leafless.
I like avocado, chopped spring (green) onions, cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn, sometimes I add beansprouts.

To eat dark leafy greens, I eat them blended in smoothies, such as
200g kale blended with 4 bananas = 4 glasses
watercress,rocket, spinach with pineapple
nettle with mango

Or eat them plain or with a dressing, sometimes I add avocado or cherry tomatoes.

Kale massaged with oil and marinated in lemon juice and garlic is lovely.

I hate lettuce salads but I love lettuce wraps -
My favourite is a romaine leaf with avocado, spring onion, cherry tomato, cress or alfalfa sprouts, another leaf.
Sometimes I make wraps from other things - beansprouts, or beansprout hoummous, pate's, sweetcorn etc.

If you don't like salads, but just want the nutrition from them I suggest blending them to make soup - you could add flavourings to make it taste nice, or you can just gulp them down, in one go. You absorb far more of the nutrients if they're blended anyway.

Juicing is another way to get the nutrients - you could add fruit or fresh ginger to make them taste nice or hold your nose, and gulp them down, in 10 seconds. Pain-free! And healthier than eating the salads.

[Carmella]

Hi,
I used to not be a great fan of lettuce salads either...specially in the winter. But, low and behold, since being fully raw, this amazing change has happened (actually Don feels it too) where I just cant' get ENOUGH greens! I actually crave it! To me, it just shows how the raw diet works magic at all levels. My body/mind has started to crave what's good for me! Yay!

Having said all this, I realize that not everybody might be experiencing this so here's a few tips:

- As Bobbie was suggesting, marinated kale makes wonderful salads! There was a thread not long ago at all about kale salad with all kinds of great ideas...

- Variety of greens will make for a much interesting salad... Just plain lettuce can be booooooring for sure. Those pre-packaged spring green mixes are great for that! Give you a fancy salad in no time!

Since coming across the Boutenko's view on how important consuming enough greens are, we've been including them in our fruit smoothies. Eventhough this might seem weird, the fruit-green blend is actually super yummy! Try adding a few leaves of swiss chard, lettuce, kale, spinach, or whatever greens you have around... Blending greens in smoothies or soups also make them much more easily assimilated by the body.

[SmilingRawDancer]

The best salad I had was yesterday, and it was so simple I couldn't believe that I enjoyed it!

Just red leaf romaine, avocado chunks, tomato, carrots, and olive oil drizzled on top. It would have been better with some sliced muchrooms IMO, but it was really good! Usually I make too "busy" of salads. Too much crammed in a bowl, and the flavors don't blend and it's not enjoyable, but it was the most satisfying christmas meal I've had ever!
Yay for my first raw christmas!
<3

[Ariannah]

My favorite "salads" are fruit smoothies (my favorite blend being bananas and blueberries), and add a bit of greens (baby spinach, lettuce). Not enough to alter the taste at first if you aren't comfortable, but enough to say you've had some.

Each smoothie you make, increase the greens content, and eventually you'll love the smoothies at a ratio of 60 fruit 40 greens, or sometimes even 50/50

hope this helps.

I don't mind salads, but I do prefer smoothies.

[travelingtoes]

I'm glad you asked this questions today, because I was thinking the same thing as I was forcing a huge salad full of greens down my throat for lunch. I definitely prefer salads with fruits and nuts. It just goes down easier and it just tastes good. I do love smoothies too, and don't mind a bunch of greens in it as long as there is a banana in the mix. It just makes it better.

[luna99]

wow, thanks you guys for all the great suggestions! bobbie, everything you said makes a lot of sense and sounds like something I'd actually like to eat.

thank you!

[MarciRoundtheWorld]

Not a big salad fan here, either, but learning to like it better. I found, for me, I have to have nuts or sunflower seeds in it and most importantly an interesting dressing. Try Alissa's Ginger Vinegarette. I am currently in love with that one.

[Nenyath]

I love salads, but I find I love them a whole lot more with an avocado well smooched in it! Also the smoothies with greens are very good! I get my Kale that way without even knowing I'm having it ;) It is just great!

Fly forever free..

[juliebove]

You might try a chopped salad. I have some big salad scissors that chop everything up right in the bowl, but you can use a knife too. Just take whatever you're going to put in there and chop it into little dice sized pieces. A few olives chopped into this is really good and you can even add things like peas or corn. No need to chop those.

Another thing you can do is make cups out of cucumbers by cutting them in thick slices then hollowing them almost all the way out with a melon baller. Fill them with chopped salad, hummus, dip or whatever you like.

[sbaker]

I thought id eat too many nuts too..but i realalized i dont really like macadamia nuts in stuff, and i can only eat so many almonds/walnuts/pecans, without being turned off by them.

I eat a salad all the time that is made like gaucamole, i use avacado, tomato,sea salt, cilantro, lime, and whatever else i feel , such as carrots, cucumber.... if you use at least one avacado its a creamy base and not salad-like at all!

Also adding certin things make a huge differernce. I find that maine sea coast dulse adds chewy salty protien that really helps with the texture and overall taste of the salad. Aside from the salt content, i could eat that stuff all day!

[Sharon in Colorado]

I like Storm and Jinjee's tabouli, from www.thegardendiet.com but with a fraction of the oil and nuts, since there's already avocado in it. It's really good.

[Raw Jewelrylady]

I read a great salad trick-instead of spending a lot of time dicing up a ton of veggies for a salad-just pulse chop in a food processor.

I have done this many time for salads-I use romaine, carrots, celery, cauliflower, little red onion, & top with chopped avo...squirt with lime juice & a dash of sea salt...YUM!
Easy to do & having everything in smaller portions I find it more enjoyable to eat.

Hope this helps.. :)

Lana

[Sharon in Colorado]

That is a great idea Lana - I have one of those salad scissors I got as a gift. I don't use it as much as I should. Thing that is so awesome about it is everything gets so juicy after it is cut up that you really don't need dressing. But you need to make sure you eat it all up, because the leftovers get kind of wilted.

They are called Toss & Chop by Silvermark. The really cut up everything, tomatoes, cucumbers, greens, they don't miss a thing!

http://www.beststuff.com/images/articles/011502a3.jpg

http://www.kitchenemporium.com/kitchenemporium/images/sms02001b.jpg

[girlsmiley]

I read a great salad trick-instead of spending a lot of time dicing up a ton of veggies for a salad-just pulse chop in a food processor.
I love doing this ... and because all the ingredients are going into the salad there is no reason to wash the FP between items.

I like to shred my carrots, and parsnip or daikon ... and then pulse chop the tomato and other stuff ... saves time!

There are those that propose to chop everything and store in the fridge for later use ... yet using the FP makes it just as easy to chop everything just before you use it!

[Carmella]

Sort of along the same lines as Sharon's suggestion is the following which we just had again for supper and it was great!

Tabouli
From Raw Pleasure Australia ebook
www.raw-pleasure.com.au

1 sm. Cauliflower
Big handful parsley (I like it with LOTS of parsley. I also add some chopped cilantro too!)
Bunch green onion
1-2 sprigs fresh mint (I didn't have any)
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
1 small avocado, chopped
1 tbs oil
Salt
Juice ½ - 1 lemon
Juice of ½ orange

Process cauliflower in FP. Set aside in bowl.
Process together parsley, onion and mint.
Add to cauliflower, along with remaining ingredients.

[taylor]

i love lots of torn up loose leaf lettuce and onions and slices of fresh raw beets and grated carrots,tomatoes,avocado slices with sunflower seeds on top with fresh lemon juice squeezed on top.so good.allof this is making me hungry.

[mongomango]

I used to hate salads too..in fact, I hated ALL vegetables except potatoes and raw carrots before I was raw. In my family as I grew up, vegetables came out of a can or carrots were cooked to mush. It was all disgusting to me. And if I even THOUGHT there was onion in something, even a cooked onion, I wouldn't eat it. But when I started with the changing of my diet I forced myself to eat salads. After a REMARKABLY short time, I started liking them. If people will just perservere and eat the things that you don't care that much for, you will find that you begin to like them, even crave them in no time at all.

That said, when I have gotten people to change their habits regarding eating salad, I would make a salad with lettuce, carrots, small pieces of broccoli, celery, cucumber, avocado, red pepper, onion....and right in the middle of that salad I would put a good helping of a nut or seed pate. I'd let them have their choice of dressing...and of course it was always bottled, lol, and they could use as much as they wanted. And in the beginning they'd eat the salad with a little pate on the fork with the veggies for every bite with dressing dripping down..but within a short period of time their taste buds adjusted and they'd start using less dressing, eating less pate, and they'd go right through that salad with gusto.

Moral of the story, don't avoid the foods you don't like that you know are good for you. Find some way to be able to eat them and in no time at all you'll love them.

[Cinnamon]

My favorite "salads" are fruit smoothies (my favorite blend being bananas and blueberries), and add a bit of greens (baby spinach, lettuce). Not enough to alter the taste at first if you aren't comfortable, but enough to say you've had some.

Each smoothie you make, increase the greens content, and eventually you'll love the smoothies at a ratio of 60 fruit 40 greens, or sometimes even 50/50

hope this helps.

I don't mind salads, but I do prefer smoothies.

I also prefer my salads as smoothies, my answer would have been the same as rawandnatural so I will just quote her!

[**jessireebob**]

I made a terrific spinach and mushroom mouse. It was all blended smooth in the FP (spinach, mushrooms, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, psyllium husks) and then poured into a pie pan and chilled. I thought I'd get tired of it quickly, but I ate it every day until it was gone. I spread it on the onion bread recipe here or on crackers or dipped carrots into it. Was an easy way to get a hearty serving of greens without having to eat a salad.

I can post or email you the recipe if you like. It's from Nomi Shannon's newletter.

[luna99]

jessireebob,

I'd love the recipe. please email me?

[**jessireebob**]

Luna, I just tried to send it via the "send this user an email" link and it said you've specified not to receive emails. But since it was sent out in a free publication, I think it's probably ok to post it here as long as I credit the author...

Here it is. I added garlic and upped the sea salt a bit. When I first tasted it I though "Blech. There's no way I can eat this." And somehow I just kept wanting more! As I wrote in my previous post, I ate it every day until it was gone!

Oh, also, I made a yellow zuchinni quiche crust (posted here) but actually didn't like the combo and ended up only eating the mousse and tossing the crust whenever I had a serving...

"Spinach Mousse
Nomi Shannon
www.rawgourmet.com

This delicious green mousse is very simple. If you want to
keep it really light, dispense with the crust and serve it
in individual ramekins, or make it in a pie plate and cut it
into wedges. This recipe will fill a 9 inch (22.5 cm) pie
pan including a crust.


This recipe calls for a large amount of spinach. If you are
using the packaged, pre-washed variety, be sure you are using
an equivalent amount, by weight.


Spinach mousse looks beautiful decorated with paper-thin
slices of mushrooms covering the entire top in a spiral
pattern, topped in the center with a sprig of parsley or
basil. If you're preparing mousse for a party, you can make
it in advance and store it in the refrigerator for one day,
although it will lose some nutritional value. For a really
large crowd, double or triple the recipe and make it in a
large rectangular pan.



2 tablespoons pine nuts, soaked in water 20 minutes, drained
1 large bunch spinach (1 pound-500g), cleaned, dried, torn
in pieces
1/4 cup raw tahini
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
5 tablespoons water (a bit more is sometimes necessary
depending on the moisture in the spinach-you want the
mixture to be moist enough to process easily)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (see note)
1-2 tablespoons psyllium husks (finely ground)


In a food processor, combine the spinach, tahini, pine nuts,
lemon juice, mushrooms, salt and water; process thoroughly.
The mixture will become an even green color. While the processor
is still running, very gradually sprinkle in the nutmeg, then
the psyllium. Press the filling immediately into the pie plate
or ramekin. Decorate with mushrooms. Chill for at least 30 minutes
before eating.


Note: Instead of nutmeg, substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
or 1/2 teaspoon Pizza seasoning.


Note: It is extremely important that you very gradually
sprinkle the psyllium husks into the mixture as the
processor is running."

[luna99]

thank you! I can't wait to try it!

[RowanC]

I love salads, but the 'salads' in Alissa's book aren't always lettuce. No way! There are all kinds of really interesting combinations you'd never think of trying.

One of my favorite salads is to take a turnip and an apple of equal approximate size and grate them. Then add a handful of chopped parsley, the juice of one lemon, and one teaspoon of honey or agave. Add a little seasalt and mix it up. YUM! Crunchy sweetness! And you'll poop good tomorrow ::cracking up::: :D

[luna99]

And you'll poop good tomorrow ::cracking up::: :D

lol! you said poop :p