Raw Rainbow Salad Recipe

Last weekend I attended a Raw Food Potluck. Admittedly I was a bit skeptical of the idea and how many restrictions were put on the dishes we could make. I’m a big fan of cooking and baking and warm, oven made items but I also enjoy having a creative challenge in the kitchen.

The raw food diet is primarily unheated food, or food cooked to a temperature less than 40 °C (104 °F) to 46 °C (115 °F). This particular potluck was vegan, which is the most popular raw food diet.

Here are some of the reasons people choose to live a raw food diet

- Digestive enzymes in raw foods (such as amylases, proteases, and lipases) aid digestion. Heating food above 104-120 degrees Fahrenheit degrades or destroys these enzymes in food.
- Raw foods have higher nutrient values than foods which have been cooked.
- Wild foods followed by organic whole foods are more nutritious than conventionally domesticated foods or industrially produced foods.
- Raw foods such as fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants and raw-foodists believe they can help to stifle signs of aging.

When it came to deciding what to prepare for the potluck, something as simple as a salad dressing was a challenge. I didn’t have any ‘cold-pressed oils’ nor time to do the prep work involved in a lot of raw food dishes. I also didn’t want to show up with just a bag of raw fruits or veggies. I wanted to make some kind of impression.

Here’s what I made, they called it a ‘rainbow salad’

1 Local organic beet,
4 local organic carrots
1-cup organic spinach
2 stalks of green onion
1 tangerine

Dressing

5 basil leafs (this adds a bit of oil since I didn’t have any cold-pressed oils)
1 lemon
Naturally dried oregano (from my garden last year!)
1 teaspoon of raw agave nectar (I found out at the potluck that there is a bit of controversy whether this was allowed in the raw food diet)
5 raw almonds (soaked for 2 hours beforehand)
1 clove of garlic

Instructions

A food processor and blender are helpful items to have for raw food recipes. In a blender, I shredded, the beet and carrots and then added to bowl along with the baby spinach, chopped green onion.

For the dressing in the blender I first grounded the almonds, then added the rest of ingredients with the liquids ones last and blended to a liquid.

I poured the dressing just before serving, and then added the chopped tangerine.

The food at this potluck blew my mind. It was beautifully presented, flavourful and after trying every single main and dessert, I found myself full but not stuffed. I felt energized and my stomach felt good. The smooth skin that most of the people at the potluck had, plus everyone looked about 10 years younger than they were also impressed me. I’m definitely going to another potluck and preparing for an even more extravagant recipe. Keep updated for the next posting of a raw food recipe!