Kale Summer Salad Recipe & Raw Food Detox

Raw food. It's full of nutrients and has enzymes and has some pretty powerful effects on the body. I think you will love this quick youtube video from David Wolfe, who explains the power of raw food and of enzymes on the body. It will make you want to eat this kale salad. I promise. ;)

Speaking of this kale salad, it's delish. Here's how you make it. 


To make the salad...  

Choose a big bunch of organic kale. I used purple kale. Rinse it and allow to dry (or pat dry).

Remove the stems and chop it into bite size pieces. Place into a big bowl. Sprinkle with a little salt. Use your hands and massage the kale. This helps to improve the taste and break it down.

Add

• Chopped Mango
• Sliced Avocado
• Raw Pumpkin Seeds

To make the dressing: 

In a small bowl, combine equal parts cold pressed olive oil and lemon juice. Depending on how much kale you have, you may need to add some, but I used 2 Tbsp. each. Add 1/2 tsp. raw honey, salt and pepper. Whisk until it becomes creamy and thick. Pour on top of salad and mix. Let the dressing sit on the kale for 5-10 min. 

It's a really good summer salad. Kale is so good for you, but I know some people have trouble with the flavor. Add a little more honey to the dressing at first if that helps you eat it. It's so good for you, it's worth it!  Check out the benefits of kale here at One Green Planet.

Raw Food Detox ~ Clean out that body!

One really cool way to clean up your health is through a raw food detox. My sister and brother in law recently did a 3 day raw food only cleanse. I asked her to summarize how it went for anyone who was interested in trying this. She had some pretty cool things happen. (And some not so cool, as you will usually feel worse before you feel better as your body is cleansing itself of its toxins).

It's always a good idea to check with your doc if you have any major health conditions before doing a cleanse. And, it's also a good idea to be guided. But, a raw food cleanse is a good option because you can still eat - no maple syrup & pepper diets : ) If you are interested in this, and want to ease your way into it (a gentler approach - less intense symptoms), add lots of raw food to your diet first. Gradually switch to all raw for a few days. Drink LOTS of water.
Here's some more info...

Just a quick note to you mamas or mamas to be: Jennifer (a really awesome, positive raw foodie who lives is Thailand)  from healthybliss.net, says that for those of child bearing age (and desire:), the best time to cleanse is right before you get preggo. You don't want to cleanse during or while nursing, as to prevent your baby from getting extra toxins that are released through your bloodstream.

Anyway, here's my fab sister in law's account of her raw food cleanse. She's a mom of 2 and amazing writer, too.

A Detox has been on my to-do list for years. So when my inspiring sister-in-law suggested a raw foods fast as a great starting detox, I was game. I even convinced my husband to join me! Honestly, I went into the fast with a bit of a cocky attitude; after all I’ve been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 20 years – how hard could this be?

Turns out, pretty hard. However, those three days of eating nothing but raw foods revealed several important things to me. First, eating raw takes time and planning. My husband and I were both surprised when we were still munching away on our lunch of apples and peanut butter, carrots, cucumber spears and homemade salsa, blueberries, and raw almonds 20 minutes after we sat down. You can’t down a raw foods meal in under 10 bites in 3 and half minutes, which I am often guilty of even with healthy, vegetarian lunches. The raw meal itself forced us to slow down, and it was nice.

We also learned that you certainly can’t wing it when eating raw. My husband left the fast after meal four at an office luncheon where it would have been weird to bring a bag lunch, and there were zero raw options. His “vegetarian” lunch of chips and a cookie left him starving and uninterested in continuing the fast.

I have to be honest, the experience of ridding the body of toxins isn’t particularly pleasant. I was starving half-way through the first day and developed an all-day headache the second. By the third day I felt slightly nauseated, and my eliminations were, uh, different. My husband lost six pounds with just a day and a half of eating raw. Now, we had also just returned from a week vacation, but the fast certainly put him back on a healthy track with the exception of that fateful luncheon. He did experience a little bit of nausea and some elimination differences even with just four meals. If it feels unpleasant coming out, I can only assume that the toxins are much worse staying in.

Its funny, all these years I’ve resisted a vegan diet because life without cheese didn’t seem worth living. So, I assumed that I would miss cheese the most during the three-day fast. Surprisingly, cheese didn’t even cross my mind; I craved brown rice and oatmeal. I think I might have even dreamed about bowls of dense whole grains. The cravings were particularly intense on the first day, and I spent a lot of time fixated on what I couldn’t eat. But, I had a revelation over a bowl of beautiful organic strawberries and mangoes on the second day. Eating raw organic fruits and vegetables full of vitamins and nutrients with the ability to fuel my body isn’t a sacrifice, it’s a privilege. It’s a privilege that many, many people on this planet do not have access to or means to enjoy. So, I left my raw foods fast feeling grateful, and then I ate a very large bowl of the most delicious oatmeal I’ve ever eaten.