Vegan day 51: Arugula salad with vegetables and chick peas
I think last night’s dinner set me into an Italian mode!
I came back from the gym ready to make a recipe from my Grampa but I was so hungry I opted for a salad instead. I do make killer salads– mostly because I add more than lettuce and tomatoes. This sounds easy doesn’t it? It is– that’s why I get mad when restaurants are so limited! NYC salad bars generally offer an amazing salad selection. I want one in my dining room!
What makes my salads great are the add-ons! I make use of whatever is in the frig! Generally though, it’s a simple fruit or nuts that kick a salad up a level.
That’s right- fruits, nuts & seeds- basics for any vegan or vegetarian! These were even basics in an ancestral diet referred to as the Paleolithic diet, so the best of the cavemen and meat eaters still ate raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes! For the record, we are not carnivores like the lions and tigers. We do not have razor sharp teeth, our intestinal tracts are much longer, our stomach acids are not as acidic and we do not have claws. The cavemen did however, slay their own food- having an outside company shoot an animal and re-package it into something without even a bone in nice wrapping is hardly the same thing! What was natural thousands of years ago is far from natural today. This is what we call industry, food packaging and processing. If you eat meat, be very conscious of where it comes from, how it is produced and what it is doing to the ecosystems and environment at large (not to mention your body and your overall health.) Buy organic! I believe we are herbivores and at most, perhaps omnivores. I am an herbivore and loving it- only since I eliminated the unhealthiness in my diet and did a complete overhaul. Now salads are my best friend!
This salad is back to basics with a little Italian flare! Where are the olives? ooops- I need to pick some up!
Arugula salad with vegetables and chick peas
Arugula
Cherry tomatoes
Cucumber
Red peppers
Endive
Sliced pear
Sliced almonds
Chick peas
Fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
I needed the same sun dried tomatoes and artichoke that I asked for last night! I would have picked it up but this wasn’t what I was going to have for dinner. Now I guess I will make Grampa’s recipe tomorrow!
