My (current) Food Manifesto and Go-To Green Salad with Actual Avocado Dressing

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(Recipe Below)

Recently someone asked me what my food blog slant was. My journey to a healthy relationship with food has been a winding road with many ups and downs. For now, these are my priorities in no particular order: Fast!, Healthy for our Bodies and Healthy for our Environment, Affordable, if it’s got to be fast – there’s also going to be an element of Ease – though I have learned a few tricks along the way to make fast food feel Special, of course Flavor, and Family Friendly. My kids are still in elementary school and though they have been through “taste bud boot camp,” I still like to be considerate of their preferences. We are mostly vegetarian here at home but the family eats meat on occasion, and….. with that being such a hot topic, I will save that conversation starter for another day.

Our relationship with food truly is the most intimate one we have. What we consume literally becomes a part of us and gives us the energy to thrive (or not.) I have a great respect for the power of food beyond it’s capacity to bring sensation to the tongue and belly. I would love to see food acknowledged more and more for what it truly is: a life force energy. In our Yoga practices we acknowledge that all energy including that which we consume through our mouths, eyes, ears, etc. is a form of prana – or life energy. A few years back I was inspired to add more Raw Foods to my warm* weather menus when I read Natalia Rose’s, Raw Food Life Force Energy. This recipe is likely very close to the original because it hits all the marks on my priority list.

Actual Avocado Dressing & Basic Green Salad
(With a high health factor and low energy use to prepare this meal, it’s a perfect recipe to share on this Earth Day – don’t forget to compost – or learn to compost your veggie peelings.)

Makes 2 Servings

In a medium bowl, add the following ingredients and mash them up

• 1 peeled ripe Avocado
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• Drizzle of Honey (no honey for vegans! Stevia is a good alternate)
• 2 – 4 Tb. of Water – the mixture should end up thin enough to dress your salad greens

Load your salad components on top of the dressing and toss well to coat the salad with this sumptuous sauce. I like to use a mixture of crisp Romaine and oxidant rich field greens with some cucumber for crunch and sunflower seeds to boost the amino acid complex which your body will use to make protein.

Enjoy! …..and feel good about and because of what you choose to eat.

*As I incorporate Ayurvedic principles in my personal diet, I save cold salads only for bright warm days to help keep my constitution in balance.