Day 4 - Nathan (SALAD DRESSING)

So, I've sort of settled into my groove, and at the deep center of that groove is a comfortable bed of lettuce and a heavy downpour of dressing. After eating complete garbage for years, I'm picking up on the fact that some of these healthy habits might be worth sticking with over the long haul.

The *smoothies are a definite keeper, because I'm inexplicably able to function without caffeine in the morning now, and I get this odd rush of energy that lasts till 11ish. The salads are also probably a keeper, because I'm liking these homemade dressings, and I appreciate that they actually make it enjoyable to eat raw vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower.

*

I'm completely headache-free now. So I've got that going for me, which is nice.

Here's a quick rundown of what I ate today:

Breakfast: A smoothie with an entire gigantic orange, a banana, water and ice.

Snacking: Carrots and raw hummus. I ate the last of it. I'm tempted to turn some classical music on in my fridge to get the new batch of adagio beans sprouting with more accelerando.

Lunch: A salad with this unbelievable Caesarish avocado dressing.

Dinner: Kelly's bringing me back some good tomatoes from the co-op tonight, so I'll throw something together along those lines. The last tomatoes I bought from the grocery store were an almost pale orange. Lesson learned: stick to the co-op. I'm thinking about making some zucchini "pasta" with our spiralizer to dump the new tomatoes on.

And check this out: I bought a huge pot** to plant rolling fields of cilantro in. I'm a little worried we don't get enough sun in here to grow them, though. We're in Minnesota, so putting the pot outside isn't an option for a few months. We just got pummeled with 8 inches of icy, side-blowing snow today. I'll also note that Kelly hates the obnoxious razzamatazz (an actual color) hue of the gigantic pot. It's the thought that counts.

**

SALADS: For me, salads are great because I can toss in all the things I like (raw nuts, veggies) and cover them with something flavorful. Here are two pretty thick dressings that were winners this week.

CAESAR DRESSING (modified from source)

Ingredients:
2 medium avocadoes
1/2 cup cashews
1 cup water (original called for a half cup)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 and 1/2 TBS apple cider vinegar
1/2 TSP sea salt
1/2 TSP black pepper
2 medium cloves of garlic
1 large date
(We would have added 2 TBS of nutritional yeast, but didn't have any. The rumor is that this stuff brings with it hints of parmesan cheese)

Procedure:
Just blend it all together until smooth.

TOMATO DRESSING (source forgotten)

Ingredients:
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 TSP sea salt
1 TSP pepper
1 TSP paprika

Procedure:
Blend everything but the oil. When you're ready for the oil, keep the blender running at a slow speed and pour it in gradually. These dressings turn out crazy-thick.

-Nathan