By: Lisa Paris

Here is a trunk full of gear free Raw Recipes to get you started. The ideas for these tasty plates came from Jennifer Cornbleet's book Raw Food Made Easy. I am a huge advocate of this book. Raw Food Made Easy breaks it down with basic recipes for one to two people. You go Jennifer Cornbleet.

Pop a Cap-rese Salad

Yield: 1 serving

2 ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced

Dash salt

1 tablespoon minced fresh basil & oregano

2 teaspoons cold pressed olive oil

Arrange your toms on a serving plate. Sprinkle with salt and minced basil. Drizzle the olive oil and serve it up proper.

Grapefruit & Avocado Salad A Go Go

Yield: 1 serving

1 grapefruit

2 cups torn red leaf lettuce

1 cup arugula (optional)

2 tablespoons Lush Lemon Herb Dressing (see below) plus extra to drizzle

½ ripe avocado, thinly sliced

Peel and separate your grape of a fruit into segments. In a mixing bowl, toss lettuce and arugula with dressing. Move to a serving plate, adding the avocado and your grapefruity pieces. Top off with extra dressing, put your water wings on and dive in.

Lush Lemon Herb Dressing

Yield: ¾ cup, also known as 4 servings

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs (i.e. parsley, basil, dill, mint, tarragon, or oregano)

½ teaspoon crushed garlic (1 clove)

¼ teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt

Dash black pepper

½ cup cold pressed olive oil

We begin this tale by whisking the lemon juice, herbs, garlic, salt, mustard and pepper in small bowl. The saga continues as we add the olive oil. Whisking ensues. Store in glass jar, refrigerate and enjoy lemon/herby goodness for the next five days. The End.

Ta Ta Tahini Lemon Dressing

(Warning: This recipe calls for a blender but I believe this piece of gear can be substituted with a buff dude/quasi-ripped chick and a whisk...)

Yield: 1 cup, also known as 4 servings

½ cup raw tahini

¼ cup water

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon crushed garlic (1 clove)

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon salt

Dash cayenne

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Start the party off right by mixing all ingredients, minus the parsley, until smooth. This can be done in a blender or via the bowl/whisk method (which also doubles as prep for your next arm wrestling match). Add a touch more water to reach desired consistency. Fold in parsley and store in a sealed container. When refrigerated, this dressing will rock it for five days.

Grade A Garden Salad

Yield: 1 serving

Savvy Slacker (basics):

1 cup torn red leaf lettuce

1 cup torn romaine lettuce

½ ripe avocado, cubed

2 cherry tomatoes, halved

¼ cucumber, thinly sliced

¼ carrot, grated or thinly sliced

Honor Roll For Life (optional upgrades):

1 cup baby spinach

½ cup alfalfa or clover sprouts

¼ cup thinly sliced red or green onion

¼ zucchini, grated or thinly sliced

¼ celery stalk, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons soaked raw sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons sliced olives

2 tablespoons dulse flakes

Get out your coolest Trapper Keeper and combine all basic ingredients in a mixing bowl. Extra credit for any upgrades you decide to add. Toss with two tablespoons of your fave raw dressing, serve immediately and stay in school.

No Way Jose Guacamole

Yield: ½ cup, also know as 1-2 servings

1 ripe avocado, chopped

1½ teaspoon minced onion

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

½ teaspoon crushed garlic (1 clove)

Dash salt

Dash cayenne

Place all ingredients in a small bowl (sombrero shaped if available).  With the sweetest fork in your fork drawer mash everything up, leaving a slightly chunky consistency. Serve-o.

No Way Sandwich

Yield: 1 serving

2 large romaine lettuce leaves

½ cup guacamole (see No Way Jose above)

½ Roma tomato, sliced

Smear guac all over one of the romaine leaves. Arrange your toms over it, top with second romaine leaf and serve. Yes way Jose.

Sog-adelic Veggies

Yield: 1 serving

1 cup small broccoli florets

6 cremini mushrooms, quartered

½ carrot thinly sliced carrot

3 tablespoons Lush Lemon Herb Dressing

Let's get messy. Begin with all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Get your little paws in there, working the dressing into your veggies. Keep in fridge 4-12 hours for marinating prior to serving. These little babies will keep for three days when refrigerated and stored in a sealed container. Best served at room temp.

*** The majority of the original recipe verbiage has been altered from Jennifer Cornbleet's Raw Food Made Easy to adhere to the dialect of rawbeets.com...

Lisa Paris: lawsuit free since '83. ***

Disclaimer:

Though I may look ultra professional in a pair of prescription-less designer specs, I am not a doctor. The information on this site comes from personal research and inductive reasoning based on experimentation within my own life. Apply the ideas at your own risk. Possible side effects include higher energy levels, a general enhancement in disposition and an increase in utter sexiness.