Avocado Salad

So the raw food diet wasn’t so friendly to me after all and I had to incorporate some normal food. However, I do try to switch and eat something unprocessed, such as this salad. Although I should mention that I add cheese and salami strips to it, which can be omitted but make the salad so much more tasty. The recipe is very simple and you have a delicious lunch in less than five minutes. I don’t give exact measurements because it’s really up to you. Sometimes I make a small salad, othertimes a large one. If you only have two cherry tomatoes, add them, if you have more, add more. There is no exact science here.

Ingredients

Lettuce

Cherry tomatoes, diced
Couple of salami slices cut into strips
Shredded cheese
1 avocado – serves two people; reserve one teaspoon for dressing and cut up rest into strips
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of lime juice
¼ teaspoon Salt

Reserve one teaspoon of avocado and mash it up in a bowl. Put the lettuce on a plate, top with tomatoes, salami and remaining avocado slices. Mix the oil, lime juice, salt and teaspoon of mashed avocado into a dressing. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and top with shredded cheese.

Cheese optional

Raw Food Diet

During the last month, I was so busy, I don’t remember much other than working, writing and not leaving the house for days at a time. This meant that cooking was put on the back burner and I indulged in things such as hot pockets and frozen Salisbury steak meals. Not the most extravagant thing out there and come to find out, veerrry bad for you. My stomach indicated so when I thought I was going to lose my midsection. I checked the sodium content of the said items and was shocked. Guess I should have done so before buying them. On top of that, I neglected my watering duties (watering myself that is) and my system was all messed up. I had to do damage control quickly. Like every person who vows to get healthy, I decided to eat nothing but fruits and veggies for a while, and by day two, I gave up. I was starving and craving melted cheese with more melted cheese. I did research as much as possible the raw food diet and learned some things. Animal products are generally not that good for you, but sometimes you do need them. Of course, it’s a give and take. You make the choices you feel are right for you when the time comes. I educated myself sufficiently to know what I should be eating in order for me not to turn into Mr. Hyde or was it Jekyll?
Anyways, I am snacking on carrots which are sweet and curb my sugar cravings, although I also eat berries and add honey to the oatmeal I started preparing. I make quinoa almost daily and mix it with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, celery and carrots, or omit the last two. Either way is fine. In fact, I mix pretty much everything with quinoa, it’s great.
I make veggie soups when I want something warm and drink lots of water throughout the day.
Having said that, this only happened over the last week. I’m sure I can’t keep it up forever and neither would I want to. It’s boring to say the least, when I love snacking on prosciutto and fancy cheese. But, for the time being, my stomach is feeling better and I am thankful for it.
In the future, I will try to incorporate more raw fruits and veggies into my diet and watch the sodium that apparently is hidden everywhere. If you don’t worry about those things, dig in and enjoy everything.