FRESH THAI SALAD

This is one of those simple delicious salads that I so enjoy. Full of fresh flavors including mango, cucumber, carrots, tomato, cilantro and topped with a simple dressing that is lightly sweet, salty & spicy...a bit of everything. It will leave you feeling fresh and energized. This recipe was inispired by this one from Trans-Planted. It's a Som Tam salad that is very popular in Thailand and uses unripe green papaya. This is my version using cucumber, carrots, ripe mango (instead of unripe) and tomatoes. Staying close to the Som Tam of Thailand is the spiciness, saltiness and sweetness of the dressing. It's all comes together beautifully and is so easy to eat. You may find it to be quite addicting!

You can add/subtract whatever you want. I think pineapple would be a nice sweet addition as well. The flavors of the simple dressing will go with many tropical fruits and a wide variety of vegetables. Have fun experimenting!

FRESH THAI SALAD

Ingredients

• 1 English cucumber, julienned
• 2 large carrots, julienned
• 1 mango, julienned or sliced
• 1 tomato, diced or handful cherry tomatoes, halved
• handful cashews or peanuts, optional
• cilantro, as much as you like, to serve
• 1 - 2 limes, to serve

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons tamari, soy sauce or Bragg's amino
• 1 tablespoon coconut, pure cane or raw sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
• juice of one lime

In a small bowl, mix together tamari, sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes and juice of lime. Set aside. Mix before adding to the salad, we want the sugar to be as dissolved as possible. 

Prepare your vegetables and fruit, place in medium sized bowl along with nuts, add dressing and mix well. Serve in individual bowls with an extra squeeze of lime.

Serves two.

Notes:

You can sub in 3 - 4 Persian cucumbers in place of the English. Both of these types of cucumbers have less seeds making them ideal for being julienned. 

My kind of easy...and so amazingly fresh & deliciuos!

Enjoy!

Asian Rainbow Salad + Spicy Mango Dressing

You may remember a few posts back that I mentioned buying loads of strawberries each week, I shared with you all a Strawberry Chocolate Milkshake.  Not only have I been buying strawberries each week, and freezing most of them, I've also been buying mangoes. We have a local farmer who comes around selling them and I scoop them up as much as I can. Some have been chopped and stored in the freezer along with the strawberries for smoothies, others eaten with a sprinkle of cayenne or as is. I love mangoes with their sweet yellow/orange flesh  and have been wanting to put them to different uses. I've always wanted to try a mango dressing but just never felt like using the food processor, one more thing to have to wash...I'm all about keeping things easy. But sometimes you just have to give and the little extra cleaning was all worth it. This spicy mango dressing with it's beautiful color is the perfect accompaniment to this colorful salad. And, it's a nice mix up to all the peanut dressings that I usually tend to use. Light, bright and refreshing, this colorful salad is another welcome addition to the recipe collection!

Start with your spicy mango dressing. Add ingredients to food processor/blender, process until smooth. Set aside so flavors can develop.

Chop and shred your lettuce and cabbages, add to large bowl.

Add bell peppers, scallions and cilantro, toss and serve! 

Asian Rainbow Salad + Spicy Mango Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 head romaine, sliced
• 1 small head cabbage, or 1/2 head large, sliced
• 1/4 head red cabbage, sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 avocado, sliced, to serve
• black sesame seeds, to serve
• slivered almonds, to serve

Spicy Mango Dressing

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and seed removed
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons water, or more vinegar if you like
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• pinch of pink salt

Start with the mango dressing by adding all ingredients to food processor/blender and blend until smooth. Set aside to let the flavors develop.

Add salad ingredients to a large bowl and toss. Serve in individual dishes, top with diced avocado and spicy mango dressing. Add a sprinkle of black sesame seeds & slivered almonds over top. If eating this as a monster salad, simply enjoy straight from the large bowl! 

Makes one very large salad or four smaller salads.

Notes:

Feel free to add cucumbers, carrots, broccoli....whatever you like.

Add some cubed plain, baked or crispy fried tofu for added protein if you like. 

Enjoy! 

Mango Pineapple Banana Smoothie

I've been in a mango mood lately eating them as is, using them to top pancakes and adding them to fruit tarts. This smoothie is an extension of my mango love...and need I say how delicious it is! I use one whole fresh mango, a frozen banana and a spear or so of pineapple with a little water. If you're like me you always have frozen bananas on hand for smoothies or raw ice creams like this Almond Chunky Monkey Ice Cream or this Chocolate Banana Ice Cream. I also buy one pineapple a week, slice it into spears taking one or two for to-go lunches as a snack, or just eating at my leisure at home. Fruit, nature's candy! So most of this is on hand for me, all that is needed is a mango or two, depending on how many servings you're planning. Hopefully this will inspire you to get in some good habits if you're not already doing it. Your reward will be the many wonderful and tasty options you have to using these ingredients. Clean and healthy foods to keep you feeling good and high on life!

Mango Pineapple Banana Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 mango, cut into chunks
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup pineapple chunks
• 1/2 cup water or almond milk
• chia seeds, for garnish

Peel and diced your mango. Combine mango, banana, pineapple and water/milk into blender and blend until smooth. Pour into serving cup and top with chia seeds. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

Enjoy!

Raw Fruit Tartlet

These were just something special. So colorful, simple and delicious! A classic fruit tart, the kind I remember enjoying with mixed fruit. We had this wonderful little grocery store in Claremont, Ca called Wolfe's Market that sold fruit tarts in their bakery and I would always pick one up when in the area. I love fruit, I love creams and the crust was just an added bonus. I must say that having had theirs, and now this one, I much rather prefer and love this raw version. After eating it I felt cool, refreshed and wanting another. Makes for a great breakfast or dessert that won't leave you feeling weighed down in the least. You can be sure that every ingredient is beneficial and I know you will love this raw fruit tart as much as I do. 

I happen to have little mini cake pans to use as a mold. They're about three inches in diameter and were inexpensive for a set of three, but I only used two for this recipe. If using the classic tartlet molds you should get about three with the crust amount, to get all six double the crust recipe. The fruit tarts held up great. The crust stayed in place and didn't become soggy, even after being in the refrigerator overnight. But if making these for parties, for best appearance I recommend serving within a couple hours of making. All in all, everything held up fantastic and it was quite delicious!

Raw Fruit Tart

Ingredients

• kiwi
• strawberries
• blueberries
• mango
• cashew sweet cream

Crust (makes 2 -3)

• 1 cup almonds or walnuts, or combo (I used almonds)
• 5 medjool dates
• dash or two of cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons water, divided

Make your cashew sweet cream and keep in the fridge for at least three hours. This can also be made a day or two ahead.

Make your crust by combining all the ingredients, except water, into a food processor/blender and blend until combined and somewhat chunky. Add one tablespoon of water, process until dough forms. Add the extra tablespoon of water if needed. I used it but you may find in your climate or altitude that you may not need it. We don't want the dough too wet, just enough so that it combines nicely. Cover and place in refrigerator for 20 min to stiffen a bit.

While dough is setting, prepare your fruits and set aside.

Using molds of choice, line each with a piece of saran wrap like the picture shown above. Fill each pan with a layer of dough, about 1/4 inch thick, by pressing firmly yet gently into place. Fill each tartlet with cashew sweet cream, almost to the rim, and level out, top with fruit. To remove tart from mold, gently lift the edges of saran wrap, place on flat surface and using a spatula carefully wedge under the tart and move to desired flat surface. You can prepare these a couple hours ahead, cover with saran wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Makes 2 three inch fruit tarts using the mini cake molds. Each fruit tart is about 2 serving.

Notes: If using classic tartlet mold, the cashew sweet cream will fill all six and the crust will cover three. If using mini cake pans like I did, the cream will fill three and the crust will cover two.

Enjoy!