The Two Secrets to Making Delectable Salads
The first one is to make it look good. The way you make a salad look good is by adding as many colorful vegetables and fruits as you can. The more color the better the salad looks. Chop everything finely. If you chop vegetables finely, you can eat anything. The rawer you eat the healthier you will be. Make sure not to put any ingredients (like tomatoes and cucumber) until you are ready to serve and eat. These ingredients can make the salad soggy. Another way to make a salad look good is to add sprouts — as many different kinds as you can get your hands on. Also adding olive oil (extra virgin, of course) will make it glisten and adds to the beauty of a great salad. Also, make sure you follow the Japanese tradition of presenting it on a nice plate with different cuts of select vegetables on the side.
The second secret is to make the salad emanate a great aroma. Make sure everything is crisp and fresh. I use only organically grown vegetables. Add some lemon juice before serving. Some orange rind is also a good way to add spice to the aroma and add some hint of spices like cilantro, sage and basil. Adding black pepper with all the other ingredients will make your juices flow and now you are ready to titillate your palate and tongue.
The final test is — as they say in the eating. You be the judge!
An example of items I put in my salads are,
- Chard
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Collard Greens
- Beans
- Squash (Yellow and Green)
- Radishes
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Red Cabbage
- Green Cabbage
- Spinach
- Leeks
- Spring Onions
- Turnips
- Carrots
- Clelery
- Tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Cilantro
- Sage
- Mushrooms (100s of different kinds)
- Green Pepper
- Yellow Pepper
- Red Pepper
- Orange Pepper
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Currants
- Orange Rind
- Lemon Juice
- Sea Salt
- All kinds of Sprouts (Naturally Grown)
The above list is definitely not exhaustive. It is my favorite items and I add to them as I discover new ones.
Adding something crunchy like flax seed chips or soy nuts (again, make sure it is nothing unhealthy) adds an extra bite to the salad.
I do not add a lot of fruits just a sprinkling to avoid the sugar. But fruits are great!
Just to make sure you do not think salads are boring. I have been eating salads everyday for 6 weeks sometimes twice a day and that is my meal. Every day a salad is my lunch and some evenings dinner too. I mix and match different vegetables. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
If you do the permutations and calculate the number of salads you can make with 7 or 8 different ingredients — it is a large number (maybe some time later I will calculate the exact number in another blog segment).
I feel great, not only because I eat vegetarian, but also, I eat only organic and eat most of my stuff raw. The interesting thing is — you cannot overeat raw vegetables and fruits.
Good eating everyone.
Mustafa
