Salad, anyone? :)

Salad Basics

Eating salads is a challenge. It's an art, craft and science. A salad can be supremely satisfying; cleansing; tonifying and building; a snack, addition or main meal. There is an infinite variety, room for endless experimentation. Salads can be adapted to any stage of healing (cleansing & detoxing, alkaline, addressing deficiencies, rebuilding), taste preferences, lifestyles, Dosha or even weather. In the winter, try the heavier salads of grain and starch and add savories such as onions, garlic and cumin. In summer, these grain and starch salads can replace animal protein so you get ballast but still feel the meal is light enough for those hot days.

As always, it goes without saying that ingredients should be organic or homegrown or purchased from local growers, but if that isn’t always an option don’t let it stop you. Even a non-organic salad is still better than a microwave meal and you can still pat yourself on the back for avoiding the standard American diet!

People who say they don't like salads are really saying they don't like the usual head lettuce, cherry tomato and crouton nonsense masquerading as a salad. It's not really a salad at all, it's a waste of time and energy. Not even all that nutritious. No, a real salad has real veggies in it!

Not all salads are raw; you can make a salad out of cooked grains and legumes, rice pilaf, adding veggies and spices. Cook them in a broth for richer flavor, or cook them plain if you plan on tossing them with a dressing. If you plan on eating a meal with both raw and cooked, then eat the raw first. That gives the enzymes a chance to release and help digest the cooked foods. If you’re eating a complex salad with both cooked and raw don’t worry about it.

A salad can be a bed for protein such as broiled fish, but it should still be somewhat exciting. Salads are great because they are so balanced for steady energy if you combine ingredients correctly. Adding in a bit of protein serves to make the salad more filling too. A salad of nothing but sprouts would be great for Kapha people, but the rest of us need a bit of weight to our meals. The weight can come from starches, grains, oils, creamy dressings, cheese, and protein. If it’s your main meal of the day, do go for the heavier salads. If it’s only part of your meal, consider fixing a lighter salad to balance the rest of the meal.

Salads can be easily adapted to your Dosha, even if you’re a combination Dosha. Kapha people should reduce the number of heavy things in a salad. Kapha and Vata should increase heat. Pitta and Vata need sour and salt and some sweet. Vata needs extra protein, oils and less raw, unless it’s summer.

Starches are fantastic carbs but best not to overdo, so only one or at most two of them in a salad. They are difficult to digest. It’s safest to not add fish or other meats to a salad with starch.

A lot of the fun, taste and texture of the salad depends on how you slice the vegetables. Pay attention to this, as it is important to the overall aesthetics. A shredded salad is very different than a chopped salad, for instance. Get out your food processor and julienne your carrots, jicima and zucchini – it’s a totally different meal now. If your digestion is still on the weak side, the smaller the chop the better.

Below is a list of salad ingredients with notes as to how to combine them.

Objectives when creating a salad:

-a wonderful blend of flavors

-a good blend of light with heavy, so you feel satisfied, full

-a nod to proper food combining is a good idea

-variety is always nice, both taste-wise and even nutritionally.

-the cut has a lot to do with the taste and texture of the meal.

Starches (must be cooked)

Use only one or two of these in a salad (food combining), or make a salad with nothing but these and grains and the basic vegetables.
They add weight to the meal and make the salad more substantial.
Potato
Sweet potatoes
Yams
Turnips
Corn (can be raw)
Black beans
Fava beans
Lentils
Canneli beans
Kidney beans
Swedish beans
Garbanzo beans

The Basics

Good with anything food combination wise; tri-doshic for the most part; more light than heavy. If you eat a salad of nothing but these ingredients you’ll be hungry again fast, but that would be good for a Kapha person.
Cucumber
Red, yellow, green bell pepper
Celery
Zucchini
Yellow squash
Summer squash
Sugar snap peas
Peas
Green beans
Jicima
Carrots
Beets – cooked - incredibly sweet. Raw, still sweet but edgy.
Bean sprouts
Garlic
Red onion
White onion (slice onions thin, soak in water if too strong)
Green onions

Heavier, use as "ballasts"

Avocado
Broccoli
Poultry
Beef
Hard-boiled egg
Nuts
Cheese

Fun additons:

Mandarin oranges
Pear slices, plain or marinated
Marinated veggies (carrot, jicima, cucumbers & onions take marinades well)
Candied nuts
Lecithin
Sesame seeds
Sprouted lentils and beans
Alfalfa sprouts
Bacon bits (totally sinful - make sure it's real bacon)
Tomatoes (only if vine ripened)
Roma tomatoes
Roasted red bellpeppers
Olives Seaweed
Baked tortilla strips

Greens:

Salads actually do not have to have greens, but a bit of bitter in a meal makes sure you give all your taste buds pleasure. And now that they come in packages ready to be dumped in a bowl, who can resist?

Organic, spring bitter greens mix
Butter lettuce - a very mellow, rich lettuce
Romaine - mildly bitter
Arugula - peppery bitter
Spinach - somewhat bitter, very green, nice texture
Fennel - licorice flavored green
Cabbage - red (bitter and peppery), green, Napa (mild)
Beet tops
Mustard Greens
Parsley
Cilantro
Basil
Thai Basil
Mint

Grains (cook first)

Quinoa - very light, nutty flavor
Pasta
Brown Rice - heavy
Millet - light
Amaranth - light, nutty flavor
Wild Rice - light, nice crunch, nutty flavor
Basmati Rice - light to medium
Couscous - light

Heat (to aid digestion)

Radish
Ginger
Garlic
Cumin
Pepperocinis
Red pepper flakes
Roasted green peppers
Chili peppers
Jalepenos
Mustard seed
Coriander
Black pepper
Tobasco, chili sauces

Sweet-Sour Comfort Salad

Save this one for maintenance or rebuilding stage, not cleansing. Great for Vata & Pitta, Kapha should delete cheese and perhaps add radish. This salad is especially satisfying because it hits all of the taste buds. Everything should be chopped small to medium.
Avocado
Cucumbers – peeled and seeds removed
Jicima
Cooked beets
Red bell pepper
Yellow squash
Butter Lettuce
Celery
Feta cheese
Greek olives
Honey-Mustard Dressing

Cold Lentil Salad:

Good for every Dosha.

1 cup dried lentils
3/4 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
water - as needed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbls. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
sea salt to taste
black pepper to taste

In a saucepan combine lentils, carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Add water to cover by 1".
Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are tender but not mushy. They should keep their shape.
Drain lentils and vegetables and remove bay leaf (or leave it as a prize to find - whoever finds it doesn't have to do the dishes!).
Add olive oil, lemon juice, celery, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Toss and serve at room temperature.

Gourmet Salad:

Spring greens
Fresh Fennel or Basil
Pear slices
Candied pecans or plain walnuts
Blue cheese
Basic Vinaigrette

Salad Dressing Basics

One of the easiest changes you can make to better your diet is give up store-bought salad dressings. Okay, I'll always adore Ranch style dressing, it's a main cheat of mine and totally defensible as I always eat raw veggies with it, which makes it a great 80/20 snack. However, most salad dressings use cheap oils, which degrade and go rancid with too much exposure to sunlight. I have seen a good bottle of vinaigrette made with flax seed oil in a dark bottle, so when I’m pressed for time I use that.

The easiest salad dressing to make is vinaigrette, which means temporary oil and acid emulsion. At a 3 to 1 or 2 to 1 ratio of oil to vinegar/acid, briskly whisk the vinegar while slowly adding oil until the oil is broken up. Dress the salad immediately or add herbs, fruit juices, and let the flavors marry for awhile. Master this simple task and all its varieties and you'll have gourmet cooking in a flash.

Vinaigrettes can be used on any kind of salad, not only the simple greens salad but also cold veggie or cold rice and bean salads. And any region of the world can be represented in the taste.

Salad dressings are best kept for only 3 days or less if they have fruit juices in them.

Best choices for the vinegar/acid side of the equation are:

apple cider vinegar - tart
aged balsamic vinegar - tart and sweet, a lot of depth
rice wine vinegar - tart and sweet
Malt vinegar - mellow
lemon juice
lime juice
grapefruit juice
orange juice
pineapple juice

Best choices for the oil side are:

olive - mellow oil, light if extra virgin and high quality
coconut - mellow flavor if high quality
flax/borage/evening primrose - light, mild flavor
walnut - nutty, heavy
sesame - heavy - if toasted it has a unique flavor that easily identifies itself in Asian cooking such as Chinese Chicken Salad and best mixed with another oil or it's too strong.
almond - heavier oil, nutty
safflower - medium to light oil with no flavor to speak of
infused olive oil (rosemary, garlic, basil, red pepper flakes, etc.)

Some of the heavier oils change the ratio - use less. You can mix oils - sesame just for the flavor and scent mixed with coconut, and the acid and vinegar can be mixed, such as a wonderful aged balsamic given a fruity edge with orange juice. Just play with this, don't try to rocket Science it, it's all about taste, your preferences. If it's too sour, add more oil or a bit of sweetener. If it's too heavy, add more fruit.

You can also add spices, herbs, nuts and seeds. Salt and pepper is almost always used, plus parsley, cilantro, basil, marjoram, rosemary, mustard, oyster sauce, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, or a blend of dried spices. Mix them in and let it sit for half an hour so the flavors marry. It's also nice to use fresh herbs right in the salad as part of the greens.

You actually have a choice of several salts:
Sea salt
Soy sauce – Tamari, light
Fish sauce
And can add alcohol such as beer, wine or sake.

If you're craving a dairy treat that isn't too sinful, consider making your own mayonaise-based salad dressing. Russian Dressing and Thousand Island both start out with mayo, then add things like horseradish, chili sauce, ketchup, olives, hard-boiled egg, grated onion. Honey-mustard is my personal favorite, and if you use the right ingredients it's not even that sinful. Or add blue cheese or goat cheese, good decadence.

Basic Vinaigraitte:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin)
salt and pepper
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of Sugar or crystalized fructose if too tart
tspn dried parsley
tspn dried basil
tspn dried oregano or marjoram
wisk ingredients together and let refridgerate for 30 minutes. Keeps for 5 days if refrigerated.

Fruit variation:
Add the juice of 1/2 orange

Dressing for Japanese Cucumber Salad (sunomono)

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1-3 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp grated ginger (optional)
1 tablespoon Sugar or other sweetener to taste
mix sauce until everything dissolves, taste test, may need to add water.
Toss with:
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 cup peeled, cored and sliced cucumber
garnish with seaweed
add shrimp and/or red bell pepper for more of a meal

Honey Mustard Recipe

1 part honey (a tablespoon will get you enough for a single serving for 4 people)
1 part mustard (Grey Poupon is wonderful)
1 part mayo
2 parts sour cream or creme fraiche (creme fraiche is guilt-free because it has enzymes, but it's expensive) or organic, plain yoghurt.
Mix together in a small bowl, taste and adjust.

Flavanoid Salad

2 pears, preferably Bosc, peeled, cored and chopped or sliced
2 Fuji apples, peeled, cored and chopped or sliced
1/2 to 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Top with unsweetened coconut (optional)
Sprinkle with stevia or drizzle with raw honey, cinnamon or cardamom
Squeeze a bit of fresh ginger (use a garlic press) and/or lemon (optional)
Eat as-is or use as a topping for hot cereal or pancakes.