Healthy Slaws

by Wardeh Harmon

I want to give my husband credit for our newest healthy habit. We eat salad every day and have for many years. One day, he got to thinking about some of the healthiest vegetables to consume — the colorful ones, like dark leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots — and wondered how we could include them in a salad that was actually fun to eat. He mused that perhaps we could make a slaw out of them. It would be like a cole slaw, but loaded up with more than just cabbage and carrots.

His idea was to create a daily salad that is power-packed with nutrition. We prefer to consume our fruits and veggies raw to prevent nutrient loss. But let’s face it — it is hard to eat those raw, hearty vegetables as is. Creating a slaw out of them makes them tasty. The end result is quite a bit like cole slaw, but it is more interesting and it is much more healthy.

Why would this type of slaw be more healthy? The simple answer is that it has more variety in it than regular coleslaw or even a typical salad. But a more complex answer has to do with the ingredients. Each ingredient in a healthy slaw is a power food, especially the dark leafy greens.

Dark leafy greens are rich with nutrients such as calcium, fiber, and vitamins A, C & D. In particular, dark leafy greens provide a very easy to absorb non-dairy source of calcium. Some of them (kale, collard and mustard greens and broccoli) are rich in folic acid. It is a general rule with vegetables and fruits that the brighter the color, the more the nutrition. So if we load up a slaw with dark, colorful vegetables, we’d be getting more nutrition.

After a few days of doing my own musing about Jeff’s idea to create a slaw, I gave it a go. I made a slaw using some dark greens, cabbage, broccoli, peppers, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds and raisins. I tossed it all in our favorite olive oil & vinegar dressing. Wow, was it good! There’s no turning back now. We haven’t had a “normal” salad for a few weeks.

Here are the keys to our healthy slaws.

1) Dice everything up very finely. Otherwise, it is no fun to eat. Each spoonful will offer a variety of good veggies for your palate. The tastes will blend. The tougher veggies won’t be tough to eat this way. (See photo.)

2) Replace wimpy lettuces with hardy dark greens and the like — such as kale, collards, parsley, mustard greens, green cabbage, red cabbage, chard, etc. Slice them into thin strips, and then dice the strips up into little squares.

3) Load up the salad with lots of other good, colorful vegetables and fruits — broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, carrots, celery, bell peppers, mushrooms, green onions, red onions, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, cooked beans and herbs. Make sure all the veggies are diced and shredded up finely. Cherry tomatoes can be halved or left whole if they are small enough.

4) Toss the veggies in a healthy salad dressing, like vinaigrette or a healthy creamy dressing (see below for recipes).

Here’s an example of a slaw. It includes green cabbage, kale, bell peppers, onions, raisins, sunflower seeds, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, broccoli and parsley. The possibilities are endless. I wonder what will be in your first slaw?

A word of caution. Each bite is much more potent than a bite of a regular salad. Visually, you won’t need to eat the same amount. I’m telling you this because you probably won’t like me very much if you eat too much, especially if your system isn’t used to large quantities of hardy vegetables. You also might consider taking a supplemental digestive enzyme, as each member of our family does on a regular basis.

Deciding which veggies to add to your slaw is easy; the harder (but still not too hard) part is finding the dressing to jazz it all up. Perhaps your family has a favorite healthy dressing. That is the perfect dressing to use first, because your family will already know and love it. Here are our two favorite dressings to give you some more ideas.

Healthy Ranch Dressing (Non-Dairy)

A friend passed this recipe on to me. If I knew who had given it to her, I would certainly give them credit. I’ve made a few adjustments to it, but essentially, it is little changed and delicious.

1 cup Vegenaise*, preferably grapeseed oil version

5 tablespoons water

2 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon dried dill

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon xylitol

Whisk together all ingredients in dressing container. Add 1 add 1 tablespoon of water at a time, to desired consistency. Start with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Taste for tartness. Add more lemon juice if desired. Makes 2 cups. Keep refrigerated.

*Vegenaise is a delicious, heart-healthy, egg-free mayonnaise that is available at health food stores or in the health food section of a normal grocery store.

The Harmon’s Vinaigrette
by Wardeh Harmon

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar or raw apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon dill

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon raw honey or raw agave

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

dash sesame oil or toasted sesame oil

Blend vinegar, spices, sweetener and mustard together. Add oils. Whisk thoroughly. Keep refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using.

Until next time, healthy eating! I always welcome your comments, questions or suggestions. Comment below or write to me at wardeh@christianhomekeeper.org.