Goodness Gracious Salad
THE GOODNESS GRACIOUS SALAD
This salad has totally revolutionized my relationship to food over the past 5 years. After my morning exercise, I love to nourish my mind body and soul with this magnificent medley of yumminess. I’ve eaten some rendition of the Goodness Gracious salad essentially every day ( except when I’m fasting ) since April of 2014, and it still fills me with bliss, gratitude, vitality, and Holistic Pleasure! The key elements of the Goodness Gracious Salad are :
It’s composed of mostly raw, whole food ingredients. I prefer most items to be labeled USDA Organic if possible. The main 3 items that are usually non-organic are avocados, nuts, and hemp seeds.
This salad must be delicious enough to make you say “Goodness Gracious.” This sets it apart from all other salads, because it will fill you with Nourishment and Pleasure. The salad combines an assortment of colors, textures, shapes, and flavors and results in a stupendous synergy of deliciousness!
Here are the steps to crafting one for yourself and/or a friend :
Acquire a large, deep bowl to mix everything together without spilling. I use a big, plastic Rubbermaid travel container that is 6.2 cups. Grab a fork, spoon, sharp knife, cutting board, measuring cup, teaspoon and tablespoon.
Add dressing ingredients into bowl and stir thoroughly. The goal is to create a nice, creamy texture :)
Chop all the veggies how you like them. I highly recommend using a Kyocera Ceramic Knife.
Add to bowl, mix thoroughly for 1-2 min. so all the veggies are smothered in dressing. Next you can add toppings.
Enjoy this flavorful and nourishing blend - goodness gracious!
Dressing :
3oz Chia Seeds and 6oz Water (stir together and let sit for 5 min.)
1.5 TBSP White Wine Vinegar ( I prefer Napa Valley Naturals )
1/8 TSP Himalayan salt + 1/8 TSP Pepper
2.5 TBSP Tahini
1/2 TSP Turmeric and 1/8 TSP Cayenne Powder
Optional Extras :
1/2 TSP Lion’s Mane Mushroom Powder
1/4 TBSP Coconut Oil
Veggies :
1 Handful of Spinach
1 Handful of Arugula
1 Chopped Green Onion (if you like raw onion)
1 Avocado (I recommend refrigerated)
1 Celery Stalk chopped
5-10 stalks of Cilantro
Toppings :
3 TBSP of Hemp Seeds
2 TBSP shelled Pistachios
2 TBSP soaked Sunflower Seeds (soak raw seeds in water for 8hrs and rinse)
--- Feel free to shift the portions of ingredients as you experiment and find your unique version of the Goodness Gracious Salad. The key is to make it extremely delicious and nutritious, so keep experimenting until you find your favorite style!
---- Salad Remix Options
I invite you to experiment and explore adding or subtracting various ingredients to find your personal favorites :
Add on’s / Substitutes for Dressing :
1 TSP Oregano
2 TBSP Almond Butter
2 TBSP Sunflower Butter
1 TBSP Coconut Manna
1 TSP of Organic, Vegan Pesto
Add on’s / Substitutes to Veggies :
1/2 an Onion ( sautéed in Coconut Oil )
1/2 Crown of Steamed Broccoli
3 Leaves of Kale ( steamed )
1/2 Beet ( steamed )
1/2 Tomato … (Basically you can experiment with any veggies you enjoy)
Add-on’s to Toppings
2 TBSP Flax Oil
Handful of mixed nuts / seeds
Kale Chips
Whatever inspires you, and fills you with Holistic Pleasure :)
Goodness Gracious Salad Remixes
Since publishing “Unlocking Our Superpowers” 2 years ago, my friends and fellow Team Pachamama Storyweavers have been sharing the Goodness Gracious Salad at gatherings all over the place. Usually it is devoured before all the other dishes at potlucks. We have co-created many ways of “remixing” the original recipe (on pg. 159 of U.O.S.).
Dressing Remixes : Since writing U.O.S. in 2016, my preferences have shifted, and so I rarely include the Green Powder anymore, because I find it overstimulating. Also, I often alternate between using Red Wine Vinegar as a base and pure lemon juice. I encourage you to experiment as to which you prefer and how much to include. I also love to add in a sprinkle of Turkey Tail and/or Lion’s Mane Mushroom Powders from https://www.mushroomharvest.com
Veggie Remixes : Honestly, you can go crazy when it comes to switching it up with veggies. My homie Parker adds in whatever magical things he’s got bouncing around the kitchen, and it always tastes amazing. I will say that I don’t advocate always using sauerkraut (as written in U.O.S.) because it can cause imbalances in your digestive system if you eat it too often.
Other Toppings : Recently, I’ve really been enjoying adding shelled pistachios to my salads. They add such a unique, delicious flavor and a powerful crunch. I also love adding soaked almonds, soaked sunflower seeds. ( For the most part I aim to soak or sprout the nuts / seeds I use. ) I also loooooovvvve to add Wakame Seaweed (as I explain in the Chia Seed chap. Of this book). Again, it’s really up to you to experiment and discover what gives you Holistic Pleasure (as explained on pg. 148 of U.O.S.)
I’d love to hear any feedback from your experiments with the Goodness Gracious Salad! Please email me - Philopgh@gmail.com .
