Raw Broccoli Apple Crunch Salad

Let’s reinvent the broccoli salad into a low-fat, raw vegan creation that keeps things flavorful while avoiding too many acidic ingredients.

Most classic broccoli crunch salad recipes contain large servings of fat, such as a whole cup! of mayonnaise, a fourth cup! of vinegar, and even up to three tablespoons of white sugar! Vinegar creates an acidic mess your body could be cleaning up for days, not counting the acidity and inflammation we get from processed sugars. Apple cider vinegar, what most people refer to as the "healthy" vinegar, typically contains about 5% acetic acid. The pH of dried cranberries generally ranges from 2.7 to 3.3, making them quite acidic. If anything, always be mindful of the fat. Eating too much of it can make you sluggish. This should apply to all our meals, including dried fruits and any sweeteners of our choice.

“Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, Lest you be filled with it and vomit.” ~Proverbs‬ ‭25‬:‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In this raw vegan recipe, we substituted cranberries for soaked raisons. Raisons have just enough tang to replace cranberries in the classic version. We used pumpkin seeds instead of sunflower seeds, which provide more of an antioxidant impact from carotenoids. Both seeds contain valuable nutrition but when your recipe calls for more than a tablespoon, I prefer to use the more alkaline forming pumpkin seeds.

🥦 Broccoli Apple Crunch Salad

Salad Ingredients

• 5 cups (425 grams) finely chopped broccoli

• 4 cups (445 grams) finely chopped apples

• 1 1/4 cups (200 grams) raisons

• 1 1/2 cups (330 grams) finely chopped fresh pineapple

• 1 cup (200 grams) chopped grape tomatoes

• 3 tablespoons (35 grams) raw pumpkins seeds, minced well

• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

• juice of 1 lime

Soak your raisons if their dried in just enough water to cover the raisons for about 30 minutes. As you chop and prepare each ingredient, add them into a large serving bowl. Fold the ingredients gently, cover, and then chill in the refrigerator until the dressing is made. If your a fully raw foodie and prefer to soak your seeds for maximum nutrition, make sure to dehydrate them before using them in this recipe. Otherwise we lose some of that classic texture.

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Apple Sesame Ginger Dressing Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup (165 grams) chopped apples

• 2 large (150 grams) celery sticks, chopped

• 3 dates (about 60 grams with pits)

• 1/2 cup (75 grams) raw cashews

• 3 tablespoons (30 grams) hulled sesame seeds

• 1 inch (about 6 grams) fresh ginger root, peeled

• 1 teaspoon pink salt

  
  

Soak the cashews in about 1/2 cup of water, the sesame seeds in about 1/3 cup water, and the dates in about 1/2 cup of water for at least 30 minutes. That's about 1 and 1/3 cup of water so you won't need to add anymore to this recipe. Simply pour it all in when your finished soaking these 3 ingredients.

Add the apples, celery, ginger root, and salt into your blender. The salt can be optional but it really does help to maximize the flavors in these ingredients.

More than 70% of the sodium Americans consume come from packaged and restaurant foods, not the saltshaker.

If you haven’t already, make sure to remove the pits from the dates before adding them into the blender. After the soaking time, add the cashews and sesame seeds. Begin blending on low speed until everything begins to move continuously. Using a tamper, keep ingredients pushed down and gradually increase the speed. If you have a Vitamix, use that turbo setting for up to 1 minute in the end.

The dressing recipe makes about 3 1/2 cups. The salad recipe makes about 13 one cup servings. I didn't have to adjust any ingredient. The flavors in the dressing and in the salad were simply amazing on the very first try!

🥗 Assembly

Pour half of the dressing or your desired amount into the broccoli salad and gently fold in the raw dressing. You can also just top your own individual dressing as you serve it. Serve chilled or at room temperature by letting it sit out at room temperature. Plate over a bed of crisp greens or as you wish.

Created by Lupita Ronquillo, founder of Vegan Health and Yoga