Blood oranges are in season now, and the other day I whipped up this raw vegan delicious salad for dinner to end the day with, and I thought it would be just too cruel not to share the recipe with you!
I love oranges, and they were one of the first fruits we would start our days with at the beginning of our raw food journey, after seeing the documentary Breakthrough. They go well with spicy greens like arugula as well as crispy iceberg lettuce. If you’re like me who can’t eat just plain salad without a sauce of some sort, adding fruits like oranges makes the salad more enjoyable. But I’ve added a two dressing types that do go well with this type of salad.
Of course you can make it with any greens you’d like. Kale is in season, we just personally don’t eat it as much because we find it hard to digest. Just like exercise shouldn’t feel like a chore and something you do to keep fit, but be a part of your everyday and something you enjoy, the same goes with foods. I rather eat Iceberg lettuce and Cosmopolitan lettuce (that is a mix of romaine and iceberg!) which I’m able to eat more volumes of and enjoy much more then to try fine chew kale because it is supposed to be more nutritious.
Oh, and if you think iceberg lettuce is just water and maybe you’ve skipped it all together from all the propaganda against it, then I ask you to open your eyes and watch this informative video made by Andrew Perlot and check out his article on the Iceberg nutrition myth. So now you won’t see that cheap white looking lettuce as a lesser being ;)
To make it truly a winter salad, topping it off with pomegranate seeds would complete the look. But instead I give you the option to make juice out of them and use them as a salad dressing. From my experience, salads should be kept simple, preferably one fruit or two close related fruits at a time.
Not to mention, pomegranates are somewhat hard to digest, and for many causes gases. Therefore I’ve skipped them in this salad.
Mind that the recipe serves 2 portions, with an estimate of ~600kcal/portion.
Not a raw foodist? When is the best time to eat this salad?
My advice to those who don’t eat light during the day is to not eat this directly after a heavy meal, wait 4-5 hours. And wait at least 1 hour before eating anything else after, for good digestion. Fruit is advised to eat alone on an empty stomach unless you’ve been eating fruit all day, then it’s totally acceptable to have more fruit!
Works great for lunch if you’ve got the time to stand and chop oranges.
RAW VEGAN BLOOD ORANGE WINTER SALAD
SERVES 2 | PREP TIME: 20 MIN
Winter greens with blood orange and
INGREDIENTS
- 2kg/4.4lbs Blood Oranges
- 1 Small Head of Iceberg Lettuce
- 1 Bag of Mixed Winter Greens (Arugula, Spinach, Maché)
- 1 Chopped Yellow Bell Pepper
- 1/2 Diced Avocado
- 1 Hand full sliced Physalis
DRESSING OPTION #1
2 1/2 Tbs Organic Unfiltered
1 Tsp Sweet Dijon/Mustard (Add Coconut sugar/Stevia Drops if too sour)
1 Pinch of Himalayan Salt or Herbamare
1 Tsp Italian Seasoning/Herb Garden Mix
1/3 Cup Water
DRESSING OPTION #2
Juice of 1 Pomegranate
INSTRUCTIONS
- Slice the oranges in mouth size pieces.
- Shred the iceberg lettuce and blend with the mixed greens in a bowl or divide between two bowls.
- Add the oranges, chopped bell pepper, diced avocado and sliced physalis to the mix.
DRESSING #1
Mix all ingredients in a jar, shake hard and pour over salad.
DRESSING #2
Juice the seeds of one pomegranate in a slow juicer. Pour over salad. Enjoy!
ADDITIONAL
- Olives
- Dulse Flakes
- Mango
This sounds yummy and nutritious too :-)