In honor of Nation Brain Awareness Month, I’ve put together a concise list of nutrient rich foods that help boost brain power. These foods contribute to helping us ward off free radicals, think faster, improve memory, solve problems, concentrate, think clearly, comprehend information better, and improve your life overall. A diet rich in essential fatty acids, fruits and vegetables helps unleash your brain’s full potential.

Leafy Green Vegetables and Cruciferous

Asparagus, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, radishes, red peppers, spinach, sprouts, turnips, and water cress are helpful for memory retention and good in boosting brain power.

Berries

Berries are rich in antioxidants which protect your brain cells from oxidation and free radical damage and have been shown to have the ability to improve memory. Antioxidants may slow down brain aging and prevent disease, while promoting the growth of healthy brain cells and keeping your brain youthful. Each of these berries are loaded with antioxidant power and brain power boosting benefits:

Blackberries [improving motor skills and learning capacity], Blueberries, Boysenberries, Cranberries, Elderberries, Goji Berries, Mulberries, Raspberries, Red Grapes, Strawberries [improves memory recall].

Avocados

Buttery, fatty avocado fruit is just plain delicious and contributes to healthy blood flow [helps lower blood pressure], which contributes to a healthy brain. It is rich in good fat and vitamin E.

Tea
Tea has potent antioxidants which promotes healthy blood flow, and can enhance memory, focus, and mood.
Freshly brewed high quality loose tea leaves is ideal, like sencha green tea, but a high quality tea bags is fine too. Matcha, a stone-ground Gyokuru green tea powder, contains exponentially higher amounts of EGCG [Epigallocatechin Gallate, a compound found uniquely in green teas with powerful anti-cancer, anti-aging and overall health benefits] than regular brewed green tea.

Another tea like Tulsi tea [made of an Indian herb called holy basil], ginseng tea help keep you alert, reduce stress hormone cortisol, and aids memory. Also a cup of two of gotu kola tea daily, regulates dopamine. That’s the brain chemical that helps protect brain cells from harmful free radicals, boosts pleasurable feelings, and improves focus and memory.

Try this drink recipe: Matcha Latte

Source:
Tulsi Tea

A cup of two of Gotu Kola tea, an ayurvedic herb, regulates dopamine helping to protect brain cells from harmful free radicals. It also boosts pleasurable feelings, and improves focus and memory.

Source:
Mountain Rose Herbs

Dark Chocolate aka Cacao

Rich, dark luscious chocolate has powerful antioxidant properties, contains several natural stimulants, including caffeine, which enhance focus and concentration, and stimulates the production of endorphins, which helps improve mood. It is rich in flavanols that boost blood supply to the brain and help improve cognitive skills. Though dark chocolate is a beneficial superfood, it is wise to eat it in moderation.

Source and information:
Moutain Rose Herbs
Read more information about cacao
Excellent reference book Superfoods by David Wolfe

Red Wine
A few glasses of red wine weekly delivers the powerful antioxidant resveratrol, which may prevent free radicals from damaging brain cells.

Organic Vegan Wine Sources:
Frey Wine
Our Daily Red

thiamine, a brain-boosting nutrient.

Plant Oil
Essential Fatty Acids EFA found in coconut, olive, flaxseed, hempseed, avocado, and walnut oil keeps oxygen-rich blood flowing to your brain offering more memory-boosting power.

Sources:
Nutiva
Manitoba Harvest
Natural Zing

Turmeric

It’s the key ingredient in curry, which contains the chemical curcumin and the powerful antioxidant resveratrol. Turmeric is said to protect brain cells from harmful free radicals and help remove plaque from the brain.

Source:
Mountain Rose Herbs

Cinnamon

Add some cinnamon to your recipe, it contains a chemical good for keeping your blood sugar in check and can improve neurotransmission.

Gingko biloba

Gingko is a well-known brain tonics that improves mental clarity, alertness and memory.

Source:
Gingko biloba

Rosemary
Rosemary has long been known to improving your smarts. For example, the Pents’ao, an ancient Chinese compendium of herbal lore, recommended ginseng for “benefiting the understanding,” and in India, the herb gotu kola is a traditional brain tonic so highly regarded that it’s called brahmi, or “of the highest order.”

Sage

Helps the brain to function properly and has been known to help transmit message to and from the brain. No wonder sage is the herb of wisdom.

Sea Vegetables and Marine Plants

Sea veggies are a rare source of iodine, which helps promote brain function. Marine phytoplankton, microscopic plants & organism that live in the ocean, helps produce healthy new cells and nero-chemicals for the body and the brain. Blue-green algae is a good source of omega fatty acids.

Source:
Maine Coast Sea Vegetables

Lentinula edodes

I adore mushrooms. I like the texture of mushrooms and they taste delicious. Even as a child I eat them without complaint. The mushrooms I grew up with were the white button mushrooms. Later, through the pages of Bon Appetite and Gourmet magazines, I discovered brown mushrooms and from there a whole world of mushrooms.

Have you ever foraged for mushrooms? It’s great fun. It is a popular pastime in Europe, in fact, the countryside of France is where I first foraged for mushrooms, with friend who knew which ones to pick. Now when I forage for mushrooms, it’s either at an open market or the produce section of a grocery store.

Most mushrooms I enjoy, but one inparticular is my favorite. It is revered both as a food and medicinal herb, it’s the valuable Shiitake, pronounced – she-TAH-kay. This member of the fungi family of edible mushrooms also goes by the names black forest mushroom, Chinese black mushroom and fragrant mushroom.

Nutritional Profile

Raw foodists, vegans, and vegetarian benefit greatly from shiitake, as it is one of the few non-animal sources of vitamin B12, and is one of a few known natural sources of vegan and kosher vitamin D (vitamin D2). Other bonuses, shiitake is low in calories, high in vegetable proteins, fat free, very low in sodium, contain both essential and non-essential amino acids, vitamins & minerals.

Shiitake mushrooms contain:

Calcium | Copper | Ergothioneine | Fiber | Flavonoids| Iron | Magnesium | Manganese | Phosphorus | Polysaccharides | Potassium | Protein | Selenium | Trypotophan | Vitamin B1 [Thiamin] | Vitamin B2 [Riboflavin] | Vitamin B3 [Niacin] | Vitamin B5 [Pantothenic Acid | Vitamin B6 [Pyridoxine] | Vitamin B9 [Folate – Folic Acid] | Vitamin B12 [Cobalamins] | Vitamin C | Vitamin D | Water | Zinc

Selecting

Shiitake are available year-round and are sold fresh and dried at farmer’s markets, Whole Foods stores, and in Asian markets. They range in color from tan to dark brown and the shiitake caps have a soft, spongy meaty texture.

Fresh shiitake ~ look for firm, spongy caps that are dry. Avoid mushrooms that are withered, with bruises, pits, or feel or look slimy. If possible, give them a sniff test. They should smell pleasant and earthy.

Dried shiitake ~ commonly sold in preserved packages. You may also consider drying your own mushrooms with a dehydrator.

Store

Fresh shiitake mushrooms can keep for up to 14 days when stored in the refrigerator in its container or in a paper bag.

Store unopened packages of dried shiitakes [or any type of dried mushrooms] or store in an airtight container in a cool, dry area away from light exposure.

Prepare

Consider investing in a soft mushroom brush to brush away any clinging growing medium from fresh mushrooms, otherwise simply wipe them with a damp paper towel.

To reconstitute dried mushrooms, soak them in water for 20 – 30 minutes.

Culinary Tips

* After reconstituting dried mushrooms, don’t throw out the water! Reserve it to use in soups, to enhance sauces, or use other ways in other recipes.
* Equivalents: 1 pound fresh mushrooms = 3 ounces dried.
* Dried shiitakes have more of an intense flavor than fresh shiitakes.
* Do not soak fresh mushrooms, they are extremely porous and soak up water like a sponge.
* Salt release the water in mushrooms.
* Avoid using a lot of salt or soy sauce when using shiitake mushrooms. Shiitake is rich in glutamates so they are naturally enhanced with sodium.
* To preserves any dried mushrooms, use several not too old bay leaves to retard and/or eliminate spore development.
* Substitutes for Shiitake in recipes: crimini mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, straw mushrooms, chanterelles, porcini mushrooms, white mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, baby bella, or a combination.

Repost from my raw food archive. I can’t wait to make this pate again.

A trip to the farmer’s market in L.A. was planned with the hope that I would find different varieties of artichokes but circumstance wouldn’t allow me to get there before they closed so my sister came to the rescue.

Normally she doesn’t shop for fresh artichokes so I gave her instructions [from what I’ve learned] on how to choose a fresh young artichoke. A girl on a mission, she visited two farmer’s markets and even stopped by Whole Foods and when the search was over she ended up with a bag of standard green globe artichokes – two large, four medium, and eight babies [baby artichokes that is].

She warned me that some of the artichokes were prickly. Some varities do have thorns on the tip of their petals and others don’t. There was one particularly devious artichoke that got me a couple times. If you take a close look at the above photo, on either artichoke, you will see on the tip of the petals a brown thorn. That is what you should beware of so handle with care when an artichoke sports thorns.

Artichokes are not impossible to work with but, work is required to get at the prized heart, which is what I was after to make this recipe. My sense of adventure didn’t waver after trimming, peeling, and sometimes tugging the petal of ten artichokes. Let’s just say I needed the practice at getting to the heart of the matter.

I sampled a couple pieces of the fresh raw artichoke hearts. It has a mild taste with a faint nutty flavor [at least this is what my taste buds told me]. I had a few recipe options but preferred the simplest of them since all the work went into excavating all those artichoke hearts.

Artichoke Paté

Embellish on this paté by adding any one or a combination of these ingredients: capers, chopped celery, cucumbers or bell peppers, shredded carrots, or add a little heat with a sprinkle of cayenne or some jalapeno or other hot peppers.

Combine all the ingredients in a food process. Process and the scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to process. Repeat until the mixture is at the desired consistency for the paté. Chill at least 30 minutes before serving.

This recipe is best served fresh but can keep a coupe days in the refrigerator. Bring this paté to room temperature when ready to serve.

Serving Suggestions

* Spread on dehydrated crackers.
* Spread on leafy greens with your choice of toppings and fold to make a sandwich. I made a one using romaine hearts, spread the paté on the leaf and topped with sliced cherry tomatoes ~ fresh and delicious.
* Stuff into fresh mushroom caps, cherry tomatoes, or celery stalks.
* Try it as a dip with assorted veggies like carrots and cucumbers.
* Scoop on a bed of mixed salad greens for the first course of a meal.

Beautiful beets at the farmer’s market.

Making raw soups is so easy. Generally all the ingredients go into a blender and in a short time, less than a minute in most cases [not including prep time], you have a fresh tasty soup.

I had a craving for Beet Soup with an Orange Twist; made it today and shared some with my hubby. We ate outside relaxing in the sunny, warm, almost hot weather. It felt like a lazy summer day. I love the mingle of flavors in this soup. Earthy, sweet, a subtle kick from the fresh garlic, a hint of thyme, every spoon full is so delicious.

Beet Soup with an Orange Twist

This soup is a raw version with a citrus twist of an Eastern European favorite. The flavor of fresh beetroot is delicious, refreshing and pairs well with orange.

Wash separately and well beetroots and oranges. Cut off tops of beetroots, and then peel outer skin of with a vegetable peeler. Process in food processor or grate beetroots into a large bowl and when finished put grated beetroot in blender. Add orange peel then cut oranges in half and juice. Add juice of orange and remaining ingredients to the blender or food processor and blend well.

To serve, pour into serving bowls.

Make about 3 cups; serves 2

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On the heels of my last post Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit, I’ve learned a little more about this desert fruit. Its outer skin range in color from light green to purple-red, and its flesh ranges from a light yellow-green, to deep golden, to red.

A few days ago I posted a link Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit on Raw Epicurean’s Facebook page. Between then and now, I updated the site. Unfortunately there were a few glitches and I lost that post along with comments [apologies]. I’ve re-posted Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit. On the initial posted link on Facebook, some of our reader’s share their experience, tips, suggestions, and a recipe, which I would like to share with you here:

I was surprised to learn from Agatha that prickly pear grow abundant in the Southern region of Italy! I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for this cactus fruit next time I travel to The Boot area.

Prickly pear grows in South Africa too, as Laura shared with us that she ate her fill of it as a kid growing up there.

Katie tempted my curiousity with the thought of a Prickly Pear Margarita! I know, I know that wouldn’t fall under the category of raw, but …. and Marcie had one in Sedona and raves it was the best margarita she’s ever had! [Now I must try it, just once. ;-)]

Viviana reminds us the prickly pear is also known as “tunas”.

Lori’s aunt made a wonderful jelly from it.

Pat and Sam share with us that it controls blood sugar levels. Good to know.

I wish I could visit Justina’s Tiki Farm where she grows them.

I agree with Delicia, using gloves is another option to avoid getting pricked by the pear and when handling it.

John suggests “burning the prickers off as an the easiest way using a lighter, they burn quickly, and it doesn’t damage the fruit.” Ok, that sound fisible. Don’t try this a home, alone, if you are a minor!

Also, I’d like to share a tip from Naomi, a Raw Epicurean readers, whom suggests an ease way peel prickly cactus pear safely. Thanks for the tip!

Cut off ends a little less than a centimeter in. Then make a slice from one end to the other only going through the top layer/peel as if you were going through the skin of an orange. Now dig your fingers between the slice and peel down around the fruit. The fruit will separate pretty easily from the peel. Once you get the hang of this it’s pretty easy to avoid the clusters of globins (we call em “picas” cause it picas your hands like spicy jalapenos).

Prickly Pear Cactus Cooler

Just look at that gorgeous color. The recipe is simple to make, has an absolutely beautiful color, is subtle in taste, and refreshing. The inside of a prickly pear is scattered with black seeds. When making this drink, I peeled the pear cactus and roughly cut it into big chunks, then added the chunks, seeds included, to the blender. However, you could de-seed it first, otherwise blend and strain the juice through a strainer to catch all the seeds and seed particles.

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Pour the juice through a strainer to remove any seeds.

Serve at room temperature or chilled. Garnish with a wedge of lime.

Serves 2

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Prickly pear might be considered an “exotic” fruit to some folks, but where I live, it is commonly available. This plant, Opuntia ficus-indica grows wild throughout the American southwest and I live close enough to Mexico [several hours drive or a quick plane ride], where this fruit has been a staple of their diet for thousands of years. I find prickly pear readily available practically year round at farmer’s markets, farmer’s who grow them, grocery and health food stores. Also, in the dessert area, you can find prickly pear growing wild or right in your own backyard. My first time trying this noteworthy fruit was in 2008, and last year when my husband and I visited one of his collegues, there were several cactus plants with loads of prickly pear fruit just waiting to be picked. She never eats them but when she saw how exited I was she got out the prongs and we picked and picked until I have a whole bag full.

Handling this cactus fruit can be a prickly experience. During one of my shopping excursions, I picked through a pile of this cacti, examining and holding them in my hands, all the while asking questions and chatting about them with the produce guys. One of the guys offered to give us [me and hubby] a sample and wandered off to get a knife. Meantime Peter was concerned that I was handling these cacti so freely and warned me to be careful. I didn’t feel anything sticking me, the skin looked smooth and free of any dreadful thorns or what-not, so I didn’t think much of it and said it was okay. Well, I paid for it later.

The produce guy returned with a knife and cut open a prickly pear. The insides revealed a beautiful vibrant red color flesh. He handed us each a slice – me, Peter, the other produce guy, and a random curious shopper – we all had a taste. I couldn’t quite put a label on the flavor at first, but after really tasting it, the closest comparative flavor would be to a watermelon, but more subtle, almost bland, yet sweet. My trusted produce informants explained that the flavor depends on the variety of prickly pear cactus, and that the range of flavors can be similar to strawberries, watermelons, citrus, figs, bananas, honeydew melons, and kiwifruit, with much less acidity. Prickly pear is full of seeds, and I’m told these seeds have use, more on that later. I was smitten and a few of these prickly fruits ended up in my shopping cart.

On the way home, I felt the first couple of prickly stickers poking from my hand. I didn’t know what those nearly invisible pokey things were called until I did a Google search and found they are called “globins”. Throughout the day, I would feel the prick of yet another globin in another area of my hand. Tweezer surgery was very necessary to rid myself of those annoying globins. On that note, be careful when handling these pretty, yet very prickly fruits. Next time I shop for them, I’ll try using one of those plastic bags to handle the fruit. They don’t call them prickly for nothing.

photography by Kretyen.

Prickly pear cactus is like a fruit and vegetable rolled up into one plant. It has two different edible sections, the pad and the pear. The pad of the cactus, or nopal, is considered the vegetable part, and the prickly pear, also known as tuna, Indian fig, or cactus pear, is like a fruit. The prickly pear grows from the cactus pad, it is first a flower blossom that protrudes from the pad (nopal), and when the blossom fades, it produces the edible fruit.

Depending on the variety, this fruit is available from early spring through late fall, but September through November is the best harvest time for eating fresh ripen cactus pears.

Nutritional Profile and Benefits of Prickly Pear Cactus

Even since the time of the Aztecs, before the Spanish people came to conquer Mexico, they said prickly pear was good for any kind of disease. – Dr. Maria L. Fernandez

The fruit, like other cacti, is a succulent and is mostly composed of water. Prickly pear provides essential nutrients. It is a source of carbohydrates and is an excellent source of antioxidants, having substantial amounts of vitamin C. Also, I found in comparison that prickly pear and aloe vera have a lot in common.

Some of the health benefits associated with prickly pear:

• Immune support
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Helps manage cholesterol

Some of the nutrients found in prickly pear cactus:

Flavonoids | Pectin | Vitamin A | Vitamin B | Vitamin C

Selecting and Storing Prickly Pear Cactus

If you plan to harvest any part of the cacti, the fruit or the pad, please wear heavy-duty protective gloves.

Choose prickly pear cactus that is firm with a bright red skin. When the fruit is ripe, it is best to store it in a refrigerator.

How to Handle and Peel Prickly Pear Cactus

Have a bowl of cold water, tongs, paper towels, and a vegetable peeler handy.

1. Place the prickly pear cactus in a bowl of water to clean, and this also help remove some of the spines.
2. Remove the fruit with tongs.
3. Use the towels to hold the fruit while peeling it with a vegetable peeler.

Serving Suggestions

• Prickly pear pulp can be pushed or mashed through a strainer to make a fresh sauce, a puree, or vinaigrette.
• Use to make a drink or in smoothies by placing the peeled fruit in a food processor or blender with filtered water, process/blend and pour through a strainer to remove any seeds.
• Make a prickly pear sorbet or popsicles.

How To Use The Seeds From Prickly Pear Cactus

I mentioned that prickly pear is full of seeds, and that I’m told these seeds have use, well, the seeds can be dried and ground into flour. I love the versatility of natural foods and thought I haven’t yet tried to ground prickly pear seeds to flour, I think I’ll give it a try and experiment with it in a recipe and learn how it tastes. Save the seeds, dehydrate them [sun-dry or use a dehydrator], grind them up and see what happens. I’ll keep you posted and if you try this, I’d be interested to know how it turned out.

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ROSE [Rosa]

One of the world’s most beautiful and fragrant flowers, the rose, symbolizes beauty, love, passion, warmth of personality, and compassion. It is a flower one give as a token of their sentiment but you can also use a light kiss of rose to infuse its floral flavor in recipes.

Rose has been used extensively in Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines and its use in cooking dates back centuries, and it has been adopted by fine pastry chefs and chocolatiers as well for quite some time used to enhance the taste of foods and beverages. I always have culinary rose on hand, especially rose water, to flavor and adorn foods.

Edible Rose

It is a natural source of vitamin C, tannins, pectins, and carotene (carotenoids), that helps boost the immune system to prevent illness.

A cup of rose tea can offers a helpful and healthy does of natural medicine. Here’s a list of its benefits [Source :: Health Mad]

Because of the medicinal properties of rose, it is widely used in Ayurveda medicine. One cup of fresh rose hips has the equivalent amount of vitamin C in 60 oranges. Rose tea (tea made with rose petals and hips) is not a new idea. Here are 10 extraordinary health benefits of rose tea.

Why roses are considered an ideal gift to express love? There is an interesting reason for this. Roses soothe heart and emotions. They also balance the mind.

The reasons for the diuretic effects of the roses are they contain Vitamin C, pectin, malic and citric acids.

1. It clears toxins and heat from the body. As a result it has a cooling effect on the body.

2. It can relieve from sore throat, runny nose and blocked bronchial tubes

3. It is useful to people those prone to chest problems by fighting against infections

4. Rose tea helps to fight the infection in the digestive tract and re-establish the normal bacterial population of the intestines

5. It relieves fluid retention and hastens the elimination of wastes through kidneys

6. It is a wonderful remedy for dysentery, diarrhea and gastro enteritis

7. It is a laxative. It works as a remedy for all liver problems including sluggishness and constipation.

8. It cleanses the liver and gall bladder and promotes bile flow

9. Rose petal tea can be used to relieve uterine congestion causing pain and heavy periods. It is an excellent remedy for irregular periods and infertility.

10. It has an uplifting effect on the nervous system and can relieve insomnia, depression and fatigue.

Before using rose petals, be certain they are suitable to put in your recipes. There are many reputable sources that carry certified organic rose petal for culinary use. Where ever you purchase your edible rose products look for certified organic products that are grown, harvested and processed without the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, herbicides, GMO’s, synthetic chemicals, growth agents, and free from irradiation and chemical sterilization. That said you can readily find rose products a specialty shops, gourmet markets and online.

The petals look make a beautiful presentation when used to adorn a dish.

A fragrant water made from distilled water and rose petals used to add an exotic taste to drink, smoothie, and other recipes. Be sure to use a light hand otherwise it can overpower your recipe. Online you can purchase rose water at Dayna’s Market.

Rose is wonderful in sweet dishes. Here is one my recipes Raspberry Tarts.

Leaving a comment, or answering one or both of the questions below enters you in the drawing.

At the end of this month, one of your names will be drawn from the comment section of this post. Our sponsor Mountain Rose Herbs will send a gift of rose products to the winning participant. Also, I will draw from the comments and send a bottle of rose water to one participant.

Best of luck, Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

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Text and recipes by contributing writer Rita Grohowski

If you’ve been thinking about incorporating more raw food meals into your diet, now’s a great time to get busy with all the different varieties of dishes you can create. More and more people are starting to realize the benefits of a raw food diet and are making the complete switch over.

You don’t necessarily have to only adopt a raw food eating plan, but even if you can make two or three of your meals a week raw, you’ll notice benefits. Before long it’s very likely that you’ll find yourself wanting to add more and more of these types of meals to your day as you’ll note the difference in how you feel.

Here are some delicious ideas to get you started.

Pecan Pie Crust

Eating dessert doesn’t necessarily have to be unhealthy if you plan your ingredients properly. This raw food dessert treat will become a mainstay in your menu planning after you whip it up one afternoon.

Ingredients

Begin by soaking one cup of pecans in the filtered water and then set aside. Then, in a 9-inch glass pie pan arrange one layer of the sliced bananas using up about 3 of the bananas total. Next, lay these banana slices in a spiral pattern with one slice overlapping the other slightly until you have covered the entire pan. Be sure that you also line the edge of the pie pan as well so that it’s fully covered.

Once this has been done, cut the papaya into small sections and layer this over the banana so it’s completely covering the total surface. Finally, top with the remaining bananas you have left to finish off the ‘crust’ of the pie.

For the filling, you are to blend the cup of soaked pecans as well as the dates, water, and vanilla bean. This should form a fine cream that has a somewhat sweet taste to it. Proceed to pour this cream layer over the fruit crust and put the pan into your dehydrator for 3 hours at about 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

In another small bowl, blend up the honey with a tiny amount of water and then gently toss together with the unsoaked pecans to coat. Once the pan has come out of the dehydrator, place this layer of pecans over the pie and chill for about sixty minutes before serving.

Hearty Buckwheat Porridge

Ingredients

First soak the ¼ to ½ cup buckwheat in one cup of filtered water and then soak almonds and cranberries in another bowl separately. Let sit for at least six hours or overnight. Then strain the buckwheat until it begins to release a clear liquid. Also drain and rinse the almonds and then strain the raisins in a colander, reserving the water that comes out. Next you are to heat up ½ cup of the filtered water on the stone for a couple of minutes until it’s hot to the touch but not boiling. Pour this water into the blender and add the rest of the ingredients. Blend up until a creamy texture has formed and then stir some of the water in to thin if necessary.

Spinach Caesar Salad

Finally, if you’re a big salad fan, you’ll definitely love this treat. It’s simple to prepare and is a great accompaniment to any meal you’re looking for.

Ingredients

Begin by first rinsing the spinach under running water until all leaves have been thoroughly cleaned. Next, after making sure there is no sand near the bottom of the roots use a salad spinner to dry and then place in a large goal. Tear the leaves up into bite sized pieces and then begin to grind up the pumpkin seeds.

Add these ground seeds to the spinach and then begin to toss well. Next, in a small bowl combine the two cloves of pressed garlic, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour this over the spinach and then toss and serve.

So if you’re looking for some new recipes to try out, be sure to consider these. You’ll love the change of pace and be doing your health a very large favour in the process.

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