There are diet fads, trends, hypes, myths and truths all over about how to eat and what to eat… it’s challenging to keep up! One thing I’ve always been curious about is when someone mentions a healthy diet, there’s often the mention of vegetables losing some of their nutritional value after being cooked. I always wondered the truth to this, because some vegetables seem to need to be cooked to be consumed. It appears there are some pros and cons to cooking and there are vegetables that are better eaten raw. A great infographic from www.livelovefruit.com showing the positive effects of a raw food diet!
This infographic below found on Pinterest shows that some foods should be cooked to get some of the nutritional benefits the vegetables hold, while others are better raw, and some can be consumed cooked or raw…
So by choosing vegetables that have great benefits eaten raw, you are getting a great serving of nutrients, vitamins and enzymes filling in your bowl! I created some raw Zucchini Noodles, one of the best way to make it a pasta meal! From draxe.com (He calls Zucchini Noodles Zoodles. Clever.)
Throughout much of the summer, as everything else was flourishing in our garden, we weren’t producing squash or zucchini. Just the blossoms. I wrote a bit about this and our garden in my Look How Our Garden Has Grown
It wasn’t until early September when the fruit finally start to really sprout! And it took off!
Using a vegetable spiralizer I was able to make some fresh, raw Zucchini noodles! Combining the noodles together with a hand-full of power greens such as arugula, spinach and baby kale, then a fresh avocado, oregano and diced garlic, it is the perfect raw dish packed with nutrients!! A dash of olive oil and/or lemon juice to make for more raw goodness and allow for a smoother “pesto sauce” and you’re on your way to a healthy raw lunch!
The raw garlic is a bonus! Treat colds or infections among other benefits!
I picked up this herb magazine at a book stand and it is my favorite! So many pesto-like sauces to try and to add to meals.
I have my herbs growing in the garden and keep snipping off bunches at a time to hang and allow dry, so not only is the zucchini fresh from the garden, so is the oregano!
The greens add flavor and a bit of a crunch, not to mention a great pack of nutrients! Arugula for an added nutty bite, baby spinach and baby kale for power! I also added a bit of fresh watercress I picked up at the farmer’s market, as it is packed with antioxidants!
Step by step, I combined the power greens, the avocado, garlic and oregano, smashing it all up together and then adding just a zest of lemon juice and/or olive oil for smoothness.
I then added the avocado mix to the noodles and added a bit more lemon accordingly for taste.
We finally had some yellow tomatoes ripen from the garden so I pulled what we had (which was about… 5) and added them! I think you could throw in anything you like, peppers for a hot bite, if you want to mix your rawness up with something cooked, grilled chicken for some protein, eggs maybe some cooked shrimp! Enjoy your raw well-fed meal and continue to contribute to your healthy, happy, nutritious Whole Well-Being!
Kali enjoys it too! Always up for good flavor!
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- 1-2 cups spiralized zucchini
- 1 avocado smashed
- 1/2 - 1 cup power greens of baby spinach and kale arugula and watercress so good here too!
- 1/2 lemon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1-2 cloves fresh garlic smashed 1 clove is enough, 2 will give it more zing!
Ingredients
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- combine avocado and power greens in bowl and smash together
- add lemon juice, olive oil and oregano and garlic and continue to blend and smash together
- pour/plop over zucchini noodles and mix and enjoy! You can add additional items to make it your own! Tomatoes, grilled chicken or shrimp! Broccoli and or cucumber!