Curry Carrot Salad
I am not even going to try to pretend. I am a flavor junkie who is always in search of different taste combinations that delight the palate. I love experimenting with food and coming up with new raw food recipes. Or new healthy twists on old recipes.
It seems that the healthier I eat, the more I want to challenge myself. And my latest challenge is to seriously cut down on fat but still feel like I am eating a luxurious meal.
You see, I have passed the 50 mark. In fact, I passed it a couple of years ago. Things change and even the term “healthy fat” takes on a whole new meaning. Is it an oxymoron? Not in every case. But I believe that we are drawn to believe that since things like nuts and coconut oil are considered to have health benefits, we don’t need to worry how much we consume.
I always cringe when people think that just because it’s raw (ie the desserts we all love so much), I can have a raw cheesecake for breakfast and it’s still healthy. If you would normally sit down to a bowl of cashews, coconut oil and sweetener for breakfast, then by all means go for it. But I would highly suggest that a better breakfast would be one that served up a whole dose of nutrients including the wonderful phytonutrients we get from fruits, veggies and greens.
Don’t get me wrong. Raw desserts are fabulous. But they are desserts and should be treated as such. Too many desserts, dehydrated nut-based crackers and the like can tip the scales in an undesirable way. Both for your weight and for your health.
That said, there are healthy ways to use nuts to add that little hint of creamy decadence that we all love. This delightful curry carrot salad has only 4 grams of fat per serving. The carrots are spiked with pea pods, pineapple, raisins and scallions and topped off with a delicious spicy curry sauce. Great for lunch or dinner, this salad is another recipe that you could easily take as a dish to pass and share, or entertain with! I am planning on bringing it to a get-together on Monday night!
If you love playing with ingredients, you will love my favorite go to book, The Flavor Bible
Curry Carrot Salad
SERVES 6
Salad
- 4 cups grated carrots, (approximately 10 medium carrots, grated)
- 2 cups snow peas, sliced into 1/2-inch long pieces
- 2 cups diced fresh pineapple
- 1/2 to 1 cup raisins
- I bunch scallions, sliced thin
Curry Dressing
- 1/2 cup cashews, soaked for at least 6 hours and drained (I like these: Navitas Cashews
)
- 1/2 cup fresh almond milk (you can use water but it won’t be as flavorful)
- 2 teaspoons sweet yellow curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon nama shoyu (or low sodium tamari)
- 1 tablespoon liquid sweetener of choice (I used raw, organic agave)
- Himalayan salt to taste
- Toss carrots, snow peas, pineapple, raisins and scallions together in a large bowl.
- Place all dressing ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour dressing over salad and mix through to coat all pieces.
Rachel Vecchio wrote on July 10, 2014
This is probably one of the best raw salads I’ve ever made. I put it on a bed of swiss chard just because I like to get in as much leafy greens as I can. I substituted half of the almond milk for coconut milk, and it was a very nice flavour. I used maple syrup as a sweetener. Thanks for the recipe!
Deborah wrote on June 2, 2014
What a lovely salad! I used almond butter instead of cashews. Thank you for “saying out loud” our need to be honest about calories in healthy food. No free pass.
Alison wrote on May 8, 2014
OMG! This is deliciousness! Made it tonight!
Pat wrote on October 29, 2013
What splendid additions. Delish.
Genevieve wrote on September 5, 2013
Yeah, this is a winner! I added chia and pineapple. Very yummy salad, thank you!
Kelly wrote on August 17, 2013
This was amazing! Tasted like coronation chicken but better!
Alita wrote on August 12, 2013
I am on the same page as Chryl. Having mixed feelings about using Agave…what is your take?
Susan wrote on August 12, 2013
I have written quite a bit about that subject. Please see the FAQ page. Cheers!
kimmythevegan wrote on August 2, 2013
Mmm this sounds delicious! It is kind of annoying how people tend to automatically think if something is vegan that it is healthy. I would LOVE to eat raw desserts every day haha… but alas, it doesn’t quite work that way. This looks like a great salad with lots of flavour & nutrients and I doubt I would feel the need for a dessert after =)