Wilted Kale Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing By Josh

(Adapted from Russell James)

Salad:

1 head of dino (black) kale

¼ tsp sea salt

½ cup cherry tomatoes

¼ raw sunflower (or hemp) seeds

A few grinds of black pepper

Dressing:

1 small avocado or ½ a medium avocado

¼ tsp chili powder

¼ onion powder

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp cumin

½ Tbsp Bragg’s Aminos (or tamari, or low-sodium soy sauce)

½ Tbsp balsamic vinegar

½ Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp tahini

1-2 tsp coconut nectar (or raw agave, or raw honey)

Last night I developed a craving for raw kale salad, but I wanted something different and more interesting than the typical tahini-lemon-soy dressing that I usually default to.  I took raw chef Russell James’ recipe as inspiration and changed up the dressing.

First, wash the kale.  De-stem it, and chop into smaller strips.  Place in a bowl, and add the sea salt.  Massage kale thoroughly until it wilts, and looks tender.  Add in tomatoes and seeds.

Place all dressing ingredients into a blender (or use a whisk), and mix well.

Spoon dressing into salad, grinds in pepper, and mix everything together thoroughly.  Allow it to sit for 10 minutes or so before eating.

A Good Reason to Can the Can

Eating out of a can has never appealed to me. Besides the fact that the food inside is dead, it has always seemed just not quite right on some level. Perhaps great if youre stranded in the desert (hopefully with a can opener in your pocket), but for every day living I just dont do it.

I know there has been some talk over the years of aluminium leaching into the foods inside the cans. Whether thats true, I cant say. However, new research is suggesting its the plastic that lines cans these days thats doing the harm.

Dr Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, who is an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri, specialises in studying the effects of bisphenol-A (BPA), the toxic chemical that comes from plastics that wrap just about everything we buy in supermarkets. He says the number one canned food to steer clear of is tomatoes. The following info may well make you re-think your mothers famous spaghetti sauce.

Dr vom Saal says bisphenol-A is a synthetic estrogen that is linked to all sorts of dis-eases from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Its the acidity in the tomatoes that reacts with the BPA that causes the chemical to leach into the food. Appetising huh?

Whats the solution? Learning to live like your great grandmother perhaps, and only eating organic food that looks how its supposed to. Freshly picked. Oh and speak to your local grocer about supplying more organic, non-packaged foods. The greater demand, the more supply.

While Im on the subject of stuff to avoid, here are some other foods, as published in a story on Shine.com, that you may want to re-think.

Microwave popcorn ~ Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to infertility in humans. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize – and migrate into your popcorn.

Non-organic potatoes ~ Root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. In the case of potatoes theyre treated with fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After theyre dug up, the potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting.

Conventional apples ~ If fruits held a “most doused in pesticides contest,” apples would win. An increasing number of studies are starting to link a higher body burden of pesticides with Parkinsons disease.

A Good Reason to Can the Can by Vegan Girl at www.diaryofavegan.com

Top 5 Eating Habits to Keep the Planet (And Your Body) Healthy

By Adria Vasil

Maybe it’s the half-Greek in me, but there’s nothing that makes me giddier then the sight of a table full of food (well, other than actually eating the food). Trouble is most of what we stack onto our plates isn’t just weighing on our hips, hearts and cells, it’s also bloating the planet with packaging, pesticides and climate-changing gases. How can you get your fill without, er, tipping the ecological scales?