The Properly Combined Sandwich

I adore fresh salads and generally rely upon them as my midday meal of choice. But sometimes I get tired of eating salad every afternoon, simply because I want to take a break from using utensils! In such cases, I want my salad to be somehow contained in a neat tidy package, so I can pick it up and just bite in with freedom and abandon. What I really want is... a sandwich!

Of course, sandwiches are usually made with bread, a food item that rarely appears in my dietary repertoire. This is why I love the Veggie Wrap concept. Any salad combo can be rolled into a nori sheet or large green leaf (think cabbage, collard or romaine) to create a satisfying sandwich sub.

Typically when I don't want the salad in a bowl, I wrap it up this way. But there are days when I crave something more substantial to accompany my fresh raw greens, something chewy and grainy...hmmm. What could that be? Bread, perhaps?

We all know that a standard sandwich involves bread plus a protein filling, say peanut butter, cheese or meat. The problem here is that, as explained in an earlier post, eating bread with protein is a no-no. Starches don't combine well with proteins due to the conflicting types of digestive enzyme environments they require (alkaline for starches, acid for proteins). Eating them together overburdens the digestive system, saps your energy for hours to follow and can lead to gas, bloating and weight gain. The best thing to combine with starches (or proteins, for that matter) is vegetables alone. So what's a lunchtime sandwich craver to do?

Enter the Properly Combined Sandwich (PCS). Basically, this is simply a raw vegetable sandwich on whole grain bread with condiments and avocado, if desired. (The veggies are usually raw but you can use cooked veggies as well from time to time.) To my knowledge, the official PCS title was coined by Harvey Diamond, a natural hygiene proponent, in his bestselling 1985 book Fit for Life. You'll see it used by many others as well, because, well, the concept is here to stay!

So. To create a Properly Combined Sandwich, start with the highest quality 100% sprouted grain bread or 100% whole spelt bread (or wraps) available. Perhaps your local natural bakery can be of service here. If not, both the Alvarado Street Bakery and Food for Life companies make tasty sprouted grain breads, bagels and tortillas that may be found in the freezer section of many grocery stores across the country.

Next, consider fillings. While raw veggies like tomato, lettuce, sprouts are famous typical sandwich supporting players, in the Properly Combined Sandwich they earn starring roles. And top billing goes to that most creamy and delectable of starch-friendly vegetable-fruits, the avocado. (I eat avocados every day I can get my hands on them - they are one of my favorite foods...)

Condiments like stone ground or dijon mustard, organic salsa and miso can also be important features in the Properly Combined Sandwich. Spread a little mustard on your sprouted grain bread, add a layer of sliced avocado and pile high with veggies of your choice: spinach, lettuce, mushrooms, tomato, sprouts, grated carrot, chopped garlic, parsley, red onion, cilantro - the sky's the limit.

I recommend eating one or two open faced sandwiches rather than a single two-slice number to maximize your raw veggie intake. Place a flat leaf of lettuce on top if you need something to hold onto. Alternatively, toss a raw salad with your favorite dressing, add avocado and spoon into a sprouted grain tortilla lightly spread with mellow white miso. Roll, wrap and eat - incredible! Or fill a corn tortilla with chopped lettuce, avocado, green onion and salsa to create a soft taco style sandwich.

A Properly Combined Sandwich is fresh, colorful and delicious. Best of all, it digests beautifully, so it won't cause you to bloat up or gain excess weight. In fact, you may even lose weight eating this way. And with so many veggies to use for fillings, the Properly Combined Sandwich never gets boring! Just remember to save any dense protein items (hummus, raw goat cheese, almond butter) for your starch-free green leaf and nori wraps.

The Sweet Life

Dearest Friends,

I am thrilled to announce the publication of my new booklet Natural & Healthy Sweeteners! It's a compact, 42-pages of cutting edge information on some of the most delicious healthy sweeteners on the planet, including what I consider to be the Low Glycemic Superstars: Agave, Stevia and Yacon (natural sweeteners derived from plants native to Central and South America).

Part One of Natural & Healthy Sweeteners introduces you to sugar metabolism - in plain English! - helping you to understand why it's natural to like sweets and what's wrong with refined sugar and artificial sweeteners.

Part Two spotlights a selection of healthy and natural sweeteners. You'll find chapters on raw honey (my all-time favorite antioxidant-rich sweetener), xylitol and other polyols, stevia, agave and yacon. If any of these sound mysterious to you, the veil will be lifted when you read my booklet! I discuss history, features and benefits, calories, glycemic impact and uses for all of the sweeteners profiled in Natural & Healthy Sweeteners.

Whether you're still dipping into the sugar bowl or hooked on diet soda (or know someone who is), this booklet is for you! Published by Woodland Publishing as part of the Woodland Health Series, you can find Natural & Healthy Sweeteners on amazon.com (click on the title of this blog to go directly to the order page) or ask for it at your local health food store. If you'd like a signed copy, please send me an email at eat2evolve@gmail.com and we'll set that up! Price is just $4.95 + shipping.

In sweetness and light,
Diana :)

Almost Spring Salad with Crimini Mushrooms, Avocado and Cilantro

March is staying true to form this year, coming in like a proud lioness. I'd say this first week of consistently-below-freezing temperatures has succeeded in keeping most of us well-chilled! But despite the lack of heat outside, our bodies still crave freshness. As much as I don't want to put anything cold into my body, I can feel my cells crying out for raw and living food. After all, raw food is their natural, high vibration preferred fuel. Fortunately, not all raw food has to be cold, and that goes for salads, too. This simple winter salad provides the salty meatiness of shoyu-kissed crimini mushrooms, the creamy comfort of spiked avocado, the sweet zip of cilantro and the hearty scrub factor of strong-leafed lettuce. Prepare with room temperature ingredients to keep your fingers nimble.

Almost Spring Salad

Green Leaf Lettuce - several leaves
Cilantro - 1/4 bunch or to taste
Crimini Mushrooms - 1/2 package
Avocado - 1/2 to one whole
Nama Shoyu (or equivalent), Balsamic Vinegar (or equivalent), Olive Oil, Spike or Sea Salt

Wash and tear as many green lettuce leaves as you want to eat, and add them to your favorite salad bowl.
Roughly chop about half a package of crimini mushrooms, put them on top of the lettuce and sprinkle with nama shoyu, tamari or Bragg's liquid aminos.
Halve an avocado and slice one half into cubes (use the whole thing if you are really hungry or it is a small avo). Put avocado cubes on top of the mushrooms and sprinkle with Spike (surprisingly great on avocado!) or your favorite sea salt.
Mince a good sized handful of cilantro stalks (stem and leaves) and put on top.
Shake some balsamic vinegar over the whole thing (or if you prefer, use apple cider vinegar, lemon or lime juice) and drizzle with high quality olive oil. (I used an incredible Italian Novella oil that I just discovered. It's made from the first pressing of this season's coming harvest and is out of this world–so alive, it continues to decant and ripen in the bottle! Note: Local readers can find Novella olive oil at Cooks Shop Here in Northampton.)

Finally, toss, admire and EAT! Your body will love you for it. Promise.

In joyful anticipation of the Equinox,
Diana