Making Raw Kale Salad

I have been enjoying "The Daily Raw Inspiration from Jinjee" at The Garden Diet. Today's inspiration was very good, this is what she said:

"Every body is different and I think the most important thing to do is honor what feels right to you. If the raw diet is not working for you, perhaps it is a matter of belief system. Not everybody is ready to believe that you can get all your nourishment from raw plant foods. One way to shift your beliefs is to actually experience the benefits of the raw diet. However if you don't feel good eating 100% raw, and feel better when you eat a little dairy, meat, steamed veggies, soup, whatever it is, then I think one should honor this; honor your process, your path. We are taught to follow others; we are seldom taught to listen within. Health is really a good starting place to learn to trust ourselves. If we can learn to listen to our body, perhaps it will help guide us to the even more mysterious art of listening to our heart! "



- From our Go-Raw Programs materials...Jinjee @ thegardendiet.com

I personally do know that we can get all of our nourishment from raw living foods, with the exception of perhaps B-12, which I take as my only supplement. And I personally feel the best consuming a raw living foods diet. I can feel the negative effects almost instantly when I consume cooked foods. I have really mastered the art of listening to my body but it didn't happen until I cleared my mind of the brain fog that I had for several years. The mental clarity came after being on the raw living foods diet for several months. It is just amazing how drastically it changed my perception of things. I have said before that you never really know just how awful you feel until you start feeling good! I am so grateful for all of the benefits received from living this lifestyle. I don't miss the chronic hives, migraine headaches, sinus congestion with sinus headaches, acid reflux, restless sleep, stomach pain after eating certain cooked foods, lack of energy, and the BRAIN FOG. They are all gone and I couldn't be happier. I continue to see improvements as the months go by and as I add in even more green juices and of course my beloved sprouts. I am sprouting new things and will post about that soon.
On to the next subject.....
I was talking to some very special ladies today at our homeschool 4-H Archery group about making raw kale salad.
Here are some pics of our oldest two chidren at their 4-H Archery Club: 

So after trying to explain how I make my salad, I decided to go ahead and post a step-by-step recipe.

Step 1: Remove the center rib from each kale leaf by ripping it off or cutting. I just grab hold of a leaf upside down, hold on to the end of the stem with one hand and pull down with the other, stripping the kale right off of the stem. Finely chop up the kale leaves and place into a large mixing bowl.

Step 2: Drizzle the kale with some First Cold Pressed Olive Oil and massage the kale with your hands. I use both hands alternating between left hand, right hand, squeezing the kale quite hard until it softens and wilts. Your hands will get tired as it takes several minutes to properly wilt the kale. It will release some of the deep green chlorophyll and the cell walls will begin to break down. The kale will almost shrink down half in size.

Step 3 : Sprinkle on some raw white sesame seeds, about 2 teaspoons of wheat free Tamari and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Mix well until kale is coated with the lemon juice and Tamari.

Step 4: Slice some tomatoes and add them to the kale along with some onion powder. If you have fresh onion you can use that instead. When I have vadalia in the house I chose that over the onion powder. If you don't have fresh tomatoes sun dried are excellent in this recipe.
 Toss and serve.

This salad keeps well in the refrigerator for three days, if it lasts that long--my kiddos gobble it up in one, two days tops.

Raw Kale Salad

1 bunch of organic kale

1-2 Roma tomatoes or 6-8 sun dried

onion powder to taste or sweet onion

juice from a fresh lemon

1 T wheat free Tamari

raw white sesame seeds

First Cold Pressed Olive Oil

+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for good smells that bring back memories.