Love Salad? Hate Salad? Try this!!

A while back my Dad had an issue with a nerve in his jaw and had trouble chewing without pain.  His solution - process the food first to make it easier to chew.  He even processed the salad.  The first time I tried it I was amazed.  It was awesome and I thought I'd share his method here with you.  It sounds unconventional but try it once or twice and I think any lover of vegetables and greens especially will love it.

You need a food processor.  Cut up whatever you are putting in your salad into managable chunks and process until desired size.   The great thing about this is, it works for any vegetable with structure.  It's not so good for watery stuff like cucumbers, lettuce and stuff like that, but great for carrots, broccoli, parsnips, kale, collard greens etc.   I have my own garden so I use a lot of fresh picked stuff.  Here's a sample of the salad I'm eating right now

Carrots

Celery

Parsnips

Collards

Kale

Brussel Sprounts

Red Pepper

Rhubarb (yes Rhubarb!)

Radish

Fresh Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Parsley

In about 15 minutes you can process enough salads for 10-15 breakfast bowl size servings - in other words many days worth.  It's so much more compact, fits in the fridge better, easier to transport, you use less dressing because it's so much more compact, and best of all, you get all kinds of vegetables in your salad you don't normally get, like brussel sprounts, rhubarb, or anything with structure.  And the fresh taste is just awesome.  I never make it the same twice and it's always good. 

I know it sounds wierd and people will talk about you but eating the above food raw is so incredibly healthy you will suffer the slings and arrows of your unhealthy critics with ease...lol.  If you want to up the protein content, sprinkle some chick peas or canned beans on top and it's a great, filling, healthy meal, or a delicious side at dinner.  

I have a 6 month old and I make her pureed baby foods. It's a similar concept. I would never attempt eating all my vegetables this way...I love the crisp texture of vegetables like cauliflower & broccoli...but I do use the purees for sauces to go over those vegetables. Try roasted bell peppers & cauliflower. It's fun to experiment with.

LOL...maybe I was a bit unclear...lol.  I wasn't talking about pureeing the stuff, just breaking into down into smaller chunks, say an 1/8th of an inch, or bigger or smaller depending on how you like it.  It's still salad, you can still see the individual chunks, they are just really small...lol. 

like a salsa I assume.

No not really.  There is no liquid when I do it, just the vegetables cut up small.  It's still a salad, just tiny pieces...

Sounds good! My parents have a garden and a food processor. My dad also hurt his jaw when he was in Vietnam and still has issues with it sometimes.  I am going to recommend this to them.

Thanks!

You mean you process them until they are the size of...kind of like grape nuts cereal, right?  If so, I do this with carrots, radishes and cabbage all the time.    Mostly to save the time in having to grate them, or chop them :)  They really do add a great crunch and texture to the salad, kind of like a salad topping.  Have you ever tried adding almonds, walnuts or pumpkin seeds when you're processing the veggies?  It really lends a delicious, almost smoky flavor to them. 

Would have never thought of using other non-salad veggies like brussel sprouts, though - I will definitely have to try it!!  

CC, no I've never tried nuts...I'm in a weight loss phase right now but I'll give it a shot sometime.  Part of the great thing about making salad this way is that you can add anything to it...anything you can chop.  Celery, radish, cauliflour, parsinps, etc.   I find it a great way to get lots of healthy greens like kale and collards into my diet without having to steam them.  I also usually add lots of herbs fresh from the garden, including mint, rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano, lemon balm, tarragon and anything else I can get my hands on.  I don't measure anything, I just keep grinding the stuff up until the bowl is as full as I want and it's always good.