This delicious raw, vegan Caesar Salad recipe was inspired by my research into food sources of chromium, a trace mineral that is part of GTF (glucose tolerance factor), important for carbohydrate metabolism and blood sugar regulation and the resulting cravings which lead to weight gain!
I have been fooling around with salad dressing recipes for a long time and can't believe how easy they are to make. Why would anyone want to buy those expensive, horrible tasting, chemical infused bottled concoctions? Even just a squeeze of lemon and some flax or olive oil is way better than that.
It turns out that the very best source of dietary chromium is brewer's or nutritional yeast. Romaine lettuce is also a source of chromium, so this recipe is a great choice to increase chromium in your diet.
Raw Vegan Caesar Salad3/4 c.raw almonds, soaked (about 8 hours)
3/4 c. water
1 large clove garlic
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 T. hemp seeds
2 medjool or honey dates (remove pits)
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
juice from 2 lemons
1 tsp. tamari soy sauce
1 tsp. celtic sea salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper or to taste
*optional: 1/4 tsp. kelp granules (adds minerals & characteristic fishy flavor)
1 head romaine lettuce
Other vegetables to garnish: cherry tomatoes, grated carrot, chopped parsley, etc.
1. Boil some water in your kettle. Place soaked and drained almonds in a bowl. Pour the boiling water over the almonds and let sit for 30 seconds. Drain the almonds through a sieve and then put them back in the bowl and cover with cold water. The almond skins will slip off easily with a squeeze after this procedure. If you don't have time to soak/peel nuts, use blanched almonds or cashews instead!
3. If you don't feel like chopping garlic, just toss the clove in the blender with 3/4 c. water and pulse until finely minced in the water.
4. Add 2 stalks celery to blender. If you have a high powered blender you can throw in large chunks, otherwise, it would be a good idea to chop the celery first before you puree until smooth in the blender.
5. Add almonds, hemp seeds, dates, lemon juice, salt, kelp granules, tamari soy sauce and fresh ground pepper and blend until smooth.
Pour dressing over a big bowl of romaine lettuce, garnish with other vegetables you like and enjoy!
This recipe makes 2 1/2 cups, enough dressing for a couple of very large, party-size salads, so you will probably have some left over to save in the fridge for a few days! If you need a smaller amount, just cut all the ingredient amounts in half.
