BUILDING A SALAD

This is in continuation of my earlier document on HEALTY VEGANISM- OPTIMAL

ANGLE. I have focused on combining following TWO categories to bring forth
basic trick to build a salad.

1. The First category of foods

 Fresh fruits;
 Succulent (Juicy, moist) fruit-like vegetables
 Leafy greens
 Non-starchy vegetables
 Nuts (Dry Fruits- Almonds, cashew) and seeds (Flax, Sesame).
2. The Second category of foods
 Starchy vegetables;
 Grains (Soaked 5-6 hours) and Millets (Sprouted best)
 Lentils & Legumes (Sprouted best, Else Soaked in water 4-5 hours)

While building a salad make proper combinations of categories, viz

starchy, non-starchy vegetables, leafy greens n fruits, lentil and legumes,
fat, sweetness, sourness, flavours etc

TIPS TO BUILD A SALAD

1 JUICY VEGETABLES Cucumber, Tomato, Capsicum, Gourds

etc

2 ROOT VEGETABLES Carrot, Radish, Turnip, Onion, etc

3 LEAFY GREENS Spinach, Amaranth, etc

4 SWEETNESS Raisins, Dates, Dried Apricot, Dried

Prunes, Dried Figs etc

5 SOURNESS Amla, Lemon, Tamarind, Starfruit,

Orange etc

6 FATS Peanuts, Almond, Cashew, Flax Seed,

Sesame Seed, Sunflower Seed, Coconut
meat, Indian Avocado etc

7 FLAVOURS Garlic, Ginger, Cumin , Chillies, coriander

, mint etc.

8 STARCH ( OPTIONAL) Sweet potato, Potato, Kidney Beans,

Chickpea etc

9 SALT NOT RECOMMENDED

Some basic Suggestions for BUILDING A SALAD with dressings/ dips (as
MEAL REPLACEMENT ideally)

 Not all the vegetables should be eaten raw and not all should be cooked. Body
absorbs a greater amount of some of the nutrients like vitamin A, calcium, iron
and lycopene etc if you COOK (Steam, Grill, Boil, Sauté). So process
 different vegetables accordingly. I have listed below how to process each of
them to retain maximum and required nutrients to best of my knowledge.
 Wash your salad vegetables properly otherwise it can lead to foodborne
illness. Especially leafy greens. Wash vegetables with peels (even if you
are removing peels afterwards) before cutting.
 No fruits are to be cooked even if you are making salad dressing. Also NO FAT
of any kind in FRUIT SALAD DRESSING (e.g. mango, orange)
 By STEAMING I mean steaming in STEAMER not boiling in container / pressure
cooking in pressure cooker. Also Steaming should be done with skin on
vegetables, remove afterwards if needed. Bring the water in steamer to boil
then load the vegetables to be steamed (I have given time of steaming time
with each vegetables below)
 Do not pressure cook any vegetables also do not Blanch; vegetables lose large
amount of nutrients while pressure cooking and blanching, nutrients are
leached in the water used.
 GRILLING I mean in OVEN OR GAS STOVE (ON Grill Plate or Skillet) with
minimal or zero oil, not convection microwave.
 SAUTÉ I prefer without oil, sprinkle water while sautéing in pan, minimal free
oil (will recommend oil with high smoking point) can be used.

NON STARCHY
VEGETABLES, LEAFY GREENS, FLAVOURING VEGETABLES, SOUR
VEGETABLES, SOUR (CITRUS) FRUITS - All are mostly by default are Non
Starchy. (Take as per Season)-

Vegetables How to process?

Cabbage ( green) Raw OR steamed (3 min)

Cabbage ( Purple) Raw OR steamed (3 min)

Broccoli Raw OR steamed (3 min)

Radish, Raw

Red Carrot Raw OR steamed (3 min)

Carrot (Orange) Raw OR steamed (3 min)

Plantain ( kachcha kela) Grilled OR Steamed (3 min)

Onion Raw

Garlic Raw

Turmeric Raw Raw

Tomato Raw

Ginger Raw

Capsicum Raw
Bell Pepper ( Yellow & Red) Raw

Scallions (Green/Spring Onions) Raw

Chillies ( Green & Red) Raw

Raw, Chopped /Spiralled with spiralizer

Cucumber ( Noodles)

Raw, Chopped /Spiralled with spiralizer

Zucchini ( Green , Yellow) ( Noodles)

Raw, Chopped /Spiralled with spiralizer

Bottle Guard-(Lauki,Ghiya, Dudhi) ( Noodles)

Raw, Chopped /Spiralled with spiralizer

Sponge Guard (Tori) ( Noodles)

Green Papaya ( Raw) Raw

Turnips (शलजम) Raw

Mushroom Sauté/Grill (in Oven)

French Bean (Fansi) Raw OR steamed (1 min)

field beans, broad beans -Papdi Raw OR steamed (1 min)

Cluster Bean Gavar Raw OR steamed (1 min)

Beans Cowpea (Chowli , लोबिया) Raw OR steamed (1 min)

LEAFY GREENS

( Add more to the list available locally and seasonally)

Spinach (Winter) Raw

Malabar Summer Spinach (

Mayalu,Pui Saag) Raw

Safflower leaves- करडी / करडई Raw

Dill Leaves ( Shepu) Raw

Moringa Leaves - Sahjan Raw

Amaranth greens (chaulai) Raw

Amaranth Red- (Lalmaath) Raw

Beetroot Greens Raw

Turmeric Leaves- Haldi Patta Raw

Coriander Raw

Mint (Pudina) Raw

SOURNESS
SOUR VEGETABLES

Lemon Raw

Gooseberry - Amla Raw

Tamarind ( Raw or Pulp) Raw

SOUR FRUITS ( NO FAT WITH FRUIT DRESSINGS)

Orange Raw

Tangerines (कीनू ) Raw

Sweet Melon (Mausambi) Raw

Grapefruit/ Pomelo (चकोतरा) Raw

Star Fruit ( कमरख) Raw

SWEETNESS
SWEETNESS How to process?

Apricots (खु िानी/जर्ाा ळू) Dry RAW-Wash ,Soak in water 2-3 hour
RAW-Wash ,Soak in water 2-3 hour
Dates- Dried
RAW-Wash ,Soak in water 2-3 hour
Figs (अंजीर)
RAW-Wash ,Soak in water 2-3 hour
Prunes(सूखा आलू िुखारा)
RAW-Wash ,Soak in water 2-3 hour
Raisins-बकशबमश/Sultana

FAT
DRY FRUITS How to process?

Almond RAW (Wash, Soak 3-4 Hr in water)

Cashew RAW (Wash, Soak 3-4 Hr in water)

Walnut RAW (Wash, Soak 3-4 Hr in water)

SEEDS How to process?

Black Sesame - बतल RAW (Wash, Soak 2-3 Hr in water)

White Sesame - बतल RAW (Wash, Soak 2-3 Hr in water)

Flax seed- अलसी ( Vegan Omega 3 RAW (Wash, Soak 2-3 Hr in water)
source)

Sunflower Seeds RAW (Wash, Soak 2-3 Hr in water)

Melon Seeds ( Kharbuja) RAW (Wash, Soak 2-3 Hr in water)

Pumpkin Seeds RAW (Wash, Soak 2-3 Hr in water)

FRUITS ( both are technically

fruits) How to process?

Coconut Meat (Malai)-30% less fat

than avocado.

Coconut slices (Raw) RAW

Indian Avocado RAW

STARCH (OPTIONAL)
Most ROOT VEGETABLES, GRAINS AND MILLETS and some LENTILS &
LEGUMES listed below are STARCHY FOODS-

Starchy Vegetables: How to process?

Beetroot Steam (5 min)

Potato Steam (5 min)

Sweet potatoes (शकरकंर्) steam (5 min)

Yam ( Purple & White) steam (5 min)

Taro (कचालू) steam (5 min)

Pumpkin ( Green) Raw/steam (5 min)

Pumpkin ( Orange) Raw/steam (5 min)

Corn/Maize (Makai)- Pearls & baby

Corn Raw/steam (3 min)

Tapioca ( Raw) Steam (5 min)

Tapioca ( Dry Pearls)- Sabudana Soak 2 hours- Sauté

Red Carrot Raw/steam (5 min)

Peas Raw/steam (3 min)

Starchy- Lentils & Legumes How to process?

Peas DRY ( green n white) Soak 4-5 hr in water & Pressure cook
 Peanut Sauté /Grind/Chop do not COOK

Chick pea ( Chole) Soak 4-5 hr in water & Pressure cook

Kidney Beans-Rajma Soak 4-5 hr in water & Pressure cook

Black Chana Soak 4-5 hr in water & Pressure cook

Chana daal (Bengal Gram) Soak 4-5 hr in water & Pressure cook

Starchy Grains & Millets- I recommend to use IN ONLY SOME SALAD

recipes in very small quality (1-2 Tablespoon per serving plate)

Wash , Soak for 7-8 hrs in water &

Mildly steam till cooked in a bowl in
Finger millet- Raagi steamer.

Wash , Soak for 7-8 hrs in water &

Mildly steam till cooked in a bowl in
Foxtail- कंगनी' (+) steamer.

Wash , Soak for 7-8 hrs in water &

Mildly steam till cooked in a bowl in
Kodo कोर्ो चावल या कोर्रा (+) steamer.

Wash , Soak for 7-8 hrs in water &

Mildly steam till cooked in a bowl in
Porso- (broomcorn millet), Chena. steamer.

Wash , Soak for 7-8 hrs in water &

Mildly steam till cooked in a bowl in
Barnyard-संवत के चावल/सावा चावल(+) steamer.

Wash , Soak for 7-8 hrs in water &

Little millet -कुटकी िाजरा, मोरै यो Mildly steam till cooked in a bowl in
िाजरा(+) steamer.

Wash , Soak for 7-8 hrs in water &

Mildly steam till cooked in a bowl in
Brown Top-Hari Kangni (+) steamer.

Kurmura (Puffed Rice) Not Processed

+ sign is for millets prescribed by millet man of India Dr. Khadar Valli

PRE REQUSITES

 Do not use aluminium, plastic vessel or container or anything with wet

ingredients (Food grade plastic measuring spoons & Cups will work)
 INVEST in good knife set, chopping board, Peeler, Spiralizer, Grater, Steamer,
Oven, High power electric grinder, measuring spoons & Cups, if already do not
own all OR any.
SPECIAL REQUEST-

 COMPOST your salad peel waste & make BIO-ENZYME from your Peels/ outer
skin of - Lemon, Orange, Tangerines (कीनू ), Sweet Melon (Mausambi),
Grapefruit/ Pomelo (चकोतरा). Maintaining a SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP with
nature and vegetation and other cohabitant species is utmost important for our
survival.
 DO SPROUTING of Lentils and Legumes to begin with, till all the way to some
grains and millets (little difficult).
 GROW your own flavouring herbs coriander, mint, ginger root etc in soil,
water and coco-pit any medium which you are accustomed to.

SHALINI PRAKASH

Disclaimer- The above information is to the best of my research driven

understanding, knowledge and experience; which has been working out practically
well for me. I do not claim the 100% perfection of the information parted in this
document.

Orange

Sweet Melon (Mausambi)