Warm + Cold Garden Sandwiches

Today it's pretty cold out and I wanted to eat something that was at least partly warm. This is partially cooked, but the cooking is about as minimal as you can possibly get. There's obviously a trade-off with cooking your veg, in that you lose some vitamins and enzymes, but some studies also show the bioavailability of the remaining enzymes and vitamins is increased at the same time, with some only being available to us after cooking. So, for me, it's about balance. I don't think I will ever be fully raw, but eating a large amount of raw foods and rethinking how I cook my cooked foods definitely makes me feel better!

Also - you'll notice I use flax oil a lot...it's good for your omega intake, just don't actually cook with it!

What I picked: 

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What I made:

WARM + COLD GARDEN SANDWICHES

2 servings, or 1 for the starving

4 whole leaves of Romaine or other lettuce
handful of runner beans or other beans, chopped
1 medium piece of broccoli, chopped
1 small beet root, grated
greens and stem from 1 beet, chopped
1 small carrot, grated
1 handful cherry tomatoes or equivalent, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 avocado, diced
2 tsp flax oil
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
2-3 tbsp chopped walnuts
handful of fresh dill, chopped
salt and pepper

Boil the kettle, and pour boiling water over the chopped beans and broccoli to cover, let stand 1 minute, then add the beet greens and stems.

Meanwhile, mix together the carrot, grated beet, tomato, avocado, 1 tsp of the flax oil, walnuts, sesame seeds, dill, salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the warm veggies, and toss with salt and pepper, garlic and the other 1 tsp of flax oil, to taste.

Place the romaine leaves on a plate, and top each with 1/4 of the cold veg mixture, with 1/4 of the warm veg on top. Messy and good.

You could also steam your hot veg if you like, but boiling the water is easier!