• 4 med roasted beets, roughly cubed
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 knob ginger (1 inch)
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 1 citrus fruit zest (orange, tangerine, Clementine, etc)
• s/p to taste
• 1 tbsp tahini or sesame oil to taste

Blend all ingredients, adding water to facilitate blending.

This dressing stands up to robust or peppery greens like arugula, dandelion, kale, collard greens, mizuna, watercress, etc. It’s great over spiralized carrots, zucchini and daikon. Add fresh torn basil and parsley and it makes great raw pasta. Last time I gave it to Natalia she ate it with a spoon before it even made it onto the salad!

I use it as a sauce for hand nori rolls that are rolled with slivers of raw beets, carrots, jicama or daikon, avocado, scallions and shredded red cabbage. I also pickle ginger in the roasted beet sauce overnight with more lemon. It turns the ginger pink and I put it in the nori rolls!

• 1 pt cherry tomatoes or 4 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 knob ginger (1 inch)
• ¼ jalapeno, seeded (take a nibble, use more or less)
• 1 lime, zest & juice
• s/p to taste

Blend all ingredients. 

This seemingly delicate sauce packs a punch. It’s best with light, mild salad greens like romaine hearts, bibb lettuce, green leaf, butter lettuce, etc… with radish, cucumbers, daikon or jicama. Add mint and/or cilantro and the salad becomes Southeast Asian in flavor.

I use this sauce for daikon rolls; mandolin thin sheets of daikon, julienne cucumber, carrots, yellow or orange bell pepper, add a sprig of cilantro and mint. Roll and serve with sauce on the side.

One of the biggest paradoxes I have come across in raw food circles is that dining in most Raw Food/ Vegan restaurants is not unlike mainstream dining. Eating a more raw-vegan diet is supposed to be about eating more simple, lighter fare. However, this is not what I see in the raw/vegan restaurants at all. I see the same concept of going overboard on quantities of dense foods in overfilling quantities. Raw nuts and seeds are great but in moderation (like a serving that fits in one child-sized hand — not two, cupped like Oliver Twist’s asking, “Please sir, can I have some more?”! That’s nuts gone nuts! Hey McD’s, here’s one for your menu, the “McSoy Quarter Pounder with Seeds!” 

Dense, poorly food combined is the hallmark of these raw and vegan restaurants because people seem to be missing the point. We eat too much and for the wrong reasons in our culture. Embracing the raw food lifestyle is not just about switching ingredients it’s about evolving our approach to food. What we have in the trend raw/vegan circles is raw/vegan food that simply mimics “real foods” but with raw/vegan ingredients so people will feel they are making meaningful change without changing anything at all. They think they are not eating the SAD diet but in many ways they still are. Sure, I can make you a Mock Bolognese Pasta that will have your Grandma going raw if you give me a brick of cashew nuts to work with. But it really is a mockery. 

The good news is that dining out in great restaurants at large is fun and easy, armed with what you’re learning here about how food should be consumed and the importance of ease of digestion. In the spirit of this, I would like to offer you a few of my favorite picks and what I enjoy eating when I go out for some fun in my favorite neighborhoods. I hope it inspires you as you consider your options which may be more extensive than you realize in light of this! Have a grand dining experience! 

Pylos, East Village, NYC 
Horiatiki: romaine, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, capers, kalamata olives, feta and a simple dressing of extra-virgin greek olive oil and red wine vinegar 
At home: nix the olive oil, add a pinch of dried oregano and substitute red wine vinegar for lemon 
Maroulosalata: tender lettuces, dill, scallions and feta served with extra-virgin olive oil and fresh lemon dressing 
At home: use baby bibb lettuce or finely chopped romaine hearts, use raw sheep or goat cheese (or do without), nix the olive oil, add juice of a whole lemon and add julienned radishes. I’ve been eating this salad all week! 

Gemma at the Bowery Hotel, East Village, NYC 
Mizuna Salad: beets, mizuna, goat cheese, pistachios (ask for no dressing, no pistachios, halved lemons on the side)
At home: substitute with arugula if you cannot find mizuna, opt for goat cheese or pistachios, not both 
Arugula Salad: arugula, fresh goat cheese, cherry tomatoes (ask for no dressing, halved lemons on the side) 
At home: add sun dried tomato slivers, thinly sliced red onions and fresh basil for a main course salad 
Mixed Olives Plate: (ask for the Cerignola olives without olive oil and the parmesan cubes) 

Joseph Leonard, West Village, NYC 
They have complimentary pickled cornichons in mason jars that are crunchy and delicious! 
Salad: baby lettuces, radishes, celery, fennel and red wine vinaigrette 
At home: use baby bibb lettuce or finely chopped romaine hearts, nix the olive oil, substitute vinaigrette for lemon, use the fronds from the fennel to garnish 

Café Mogador, East Village, NYC 
Avocado Salad: mesclun, cucumber, endive, tomato, beets & olives 
Mezze Appetizers: spicy carrots, marinated beets, tabouleh, olives & pickles 
At home: their appetizers were the inspiration for my earlier post on mezze platters! Follow my tweaked recipes! 

Lil’ Frankies, NYC (various locations) 
Lil’ Frankies Salad: arugula, roasted beets, tomatoes, green beans, new potatoes, broccoli, red onions, zucchini and fresh fennel 
At home: this salad is reminiscent of a Salad Nicoise without the tuna. Use any seasonal greens and vegetables, omit new potatoes but add more roasted vegetables like bell peppers, asparagus and of course, nicoise olives! 

Blue Ribbon Sushi, Soho, NYC 
Yasai Tanzaku: Vegetable sticks with miso dressing 
At home: this raw salad is great with my roasted beet dressing recipe for those who don’t use miso

Okay, this is a bit out there but the beet and cinnamon is a really awesome combination! I made this with goat milk but raw goat kefir is probably ideal. I like the goaty taste to it since beets and chevre is such a classic combo. The cinnamon just slams that beet taste home! This is a bit of a experiment so the measurements are to taste. Just remember as you\’re making it, it should taste a bit too sweet, almost cloying since it will be less so when cold. But I took 2 cups of roasted beets, pureed it with 3 cups of goat milk, tablespoon of cinnamon, ½ cup agave nectar and stevia for extra boost. I did run in through and ice cream maker this time….

Puree frozen ripe bananas in food processor, add chopped up 70 % dark chocolate of choice, and raw walnut pieces. Make chocolate sauce by mixing with unsweetened cocoa powder and agave nectar and drizzle on top.

Okay, another holiday idea that might be good for those willing to bend a bit… the crime this time is date sugar which is made out of just dates! It has the same coarse granular texture as brown sugar which made me think of crème brulee! But no hand held blow torch needed…. Just take sweet potatoes, split in half lengthwise, roast in a preheated 400 degree oven with some pumpkin spice till soft, then remove from oven, sprinkle date sugar on top and stick under a broiler for a minute or two…. But keep your eye on it! The smell is divine!

This recipe is decadent especially if you are following the Detox 4 Women diet since it uses maple syrup and coconut milk but here it goes anyway! (I did try a friendlier version but without it but tasted like really cold mashed sweet potatoes) 

• 1 lb roasted sweet potato, mashed
• 2 cups coconut milk
• ¼ maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1tbsp pumpkin spice

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can freeze your mashed sweet potato. Use an ice cube tray so its not one big frozen lug that you have to stab with a knife to break up (I learned my lesson, ouch!) Add all ingredients in a blender. I like to add chopped up pieces of the unsulphured ginger in cane sugar that they sell in the health food stores for an extra kick! Mix it in manually at the end. More liquid and it’s more of a pudding.

I like the Florida type which are the large smooth green avocados. They contain more water content and have a less”avocadoey” taste which is perfect for this dessert! The citrus zest also masks the taste. For each avocado, use 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, you can use almond milk or water to blend (just enough to get it going), the zest of one or two citrus fruits like clementines, tangerines, mandarins, blood oranges, etc. You want at least one tablespoon of zest. You can also add orange extract for more “pop”. Add stevia to taste. If agave nectar is part of your diet, go for it ! A swirl once or twice around while blending gives it a lustrous sheen and of course, that pure sugar taste!

• 3 lemons, juice and zest
• 3 limes, juice and zest
• 2 cups ice
• 2 cups water (approximately)
• Handful mint
• Handful basil
• Stevia to taste

Put all in high speed blender, scraping down sides and adding up to 2 cups water as needed. You can also substitute the limes for yuzu, a Japanese lime. (they sell it in Asian and/or speciality stores in bottles) It lends a more aromatic flavor. You can also add sparkling water to give it a fizz! Just add manually after blending (you have to reduce the amount of water used in facilitating the blending).

• 1 Large Jicama, sliced (like in potato salad)
• 1 C corn kernels
• 1 C celery, diced (reserve celery leaves)
• 1 C cucumber, diced
• ½ C red bell pepper, small dice
• 1 tbsp celery seeds
• 1 dill pickle, small dice
• 1/8 C parsley, chopped
• 1/8 C Dijon mustard (or wholegrain)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 zucchini, peeled and chopped
• 2 tbsp tarragon, chopped
• Handful radish sprouts

Combine all the vegetables in a bowls including parsley. In a blender, add mustard, garlic, lemon juice, tarragon and zucchini, adding water to facilitate blending. Toss dressing with vegetables and serve garnishes with reserved celery leaves and radish sprouts.

• 3 Acorn Squash, cut horizontally to form two bowls, leveling the bottoms
• 1 lb of kale, stems removed and chopped
• ½ C shallots, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbl sage, chopped
• 1 tsp crush red pepper
• 1 med citrus, orange, tangerine, rind only
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced

Dry roast the acorn squash, no cover, 400 degrees, 30 to 45 minutes depending on size of your squash till edges brown and middle is soft when pierced with a knife 

In a large pot, heat up coconut butter or butter, add garlic, shallots, citrus rind and sage and crushed red pepper till warm and fragrant, taking care not to burn the garlic. Add kale, handfuls at a time and toss well. When all the kale is in turn up the heat, add a splash of water and cover. You want the kale to steam up a bit and keep the rest of the ingredients from drying out. After 5 minutes or so when kale is a deep green, remove lid and continue cooking till the liquid evaporates. 

Stuff the roasted squash with the kale (removing the citrus rinds) garnish with diced red peppers and grate some fresh nutmeg on top.

Brussel sprouts are abundant this time of year, buy a pound or two and use a mandolin to shave it. Use the guard or a corn holder to hold it in place! Alternatively, slice thin with a knife. Slice some 1 to 2 red onions really thin and mix it up. Add ¾ cloves of minced garlic and roast it in (400 degree oven) with butter or coconut butter till charred. Add some fresh thyme and a squeeze of lemon.

• 8 cups of whole corn
• 2 tbl fresh oregano, chopped
• 2 fresh bay leaves, chopped (optional)

Remove husks, with a sharp knife, shave off the top 1/3 of the corn kernels into a large bowl. Using the back of the knife or with a dull dinner knife, scrape of the rest of the kernels, pressing on the cob to “milk the corn”. Add the chopped oregano and bay leaf.

If you want it extra creamy, throw half of it in a blender with almond milk.

• 6 C cauliflower florets only
• 1 tbl thyme, chopped
• 1 tble horseradish
• 3 tble chives, chopped
• 1 lemon, zest only

Blanch or steam cauliflower till soft, add thyme, horseradish and puree in food processor, adding almond milk or vegetable stock to help facilitate blending. Season with s/p, garnish with chopped chives and lemon zest.

• 8 C cauliflower, chopped including stems
• 4 C fennel, medium dice, fronds reserved
• 2 C parsnip or turnip, medium dice
• 2 C onion, chopped
• 2 lemons.sliced
• 1 tbl thyme, chopped
• 1 tbl fennel seeds, crushed or put though a spice blender
• 2 C vegetable stock, heated

Roast vegetables and lemon slices in a preheated 400 degree oven. Use butter or coconut butter or dry roast. Let it roast a bit, 30 to 40 min. 
Remove from oven, and put in oven proof dish, chop up the lemon slices, add thyme, fennel seeds, parsley and vegetable stock. Cover and put back in the oven 15 more min) Garnish with reserved fennel fronds. 

This makes a loose stuffing. You can add ½ cup of kamut, spelt, brown rice flour or choice to thicken up the vegetable stock to tighten up the stuffing. Just sift the flour over the broth when simmering and mix thoroughly so there are no lumps. Add a pat of butter to make it richer. 

You can add dried currants or cranberries and raw or toasted pine nuts if you are having a nut/dried fruit based dinner.