Product Review: RawFoodz Salad Dressing

I am no stranger to people's "strange looks" when it comes to food.  Whether  I'm sipping on a green smoothie, munching on a plate full of spouts, or preparing a "raw"burger,  I'm always ready for the inevitable, "You're eating what?!".  I must say, however that I'm still always caught off guard whenever I'm enjoying a fresh salad and someone sitting beside me leans over, staring in shock at my plate once they've discovered my dark secret: I don't eat my salads with any dressing!  People are literally sad for me that I have to eat a plate of vegetables without any "flavour", offering me condolences and pity for whatever strange diet I might be on. The truth is that I just prefer my veg naked. If you ask me, there is nothing appealing about bottled salad dressings and I think people tend to use their salad purely as a vessel for a helping of dressing! 


That's why when a few of my local health food stores (Bamboo and Health Wise) started carrying the Rawfoodz salad dressing line, I thought I'd give them a try. 

Rawfoodz is a Toronto based company specializing in spreads and salad dressings. Their products are: 

• Nut-free 
• Gluten-free
• Dairy-free
• Soy-free
• 100% raw
• GMO free
• Organic
• Vegan

And contain no:

• Fillers
• Refined oils
• Anything artificial

Their website states that their goal is "To infuse health with superior taste"and that their priority is "to give each salad a boost of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, finer and protein." Don't you just LOVE that?  I sure do! 

Choosing which flavour posed a problem for me, so I let Madison pick.  She chose a sea-zar serenity.

The ingredient list was impressive and didn't include anything I wasn't familiar with, or couldn't pronounce.

Extra virgin olive oil, Apple cider vinegar, 

Filtered water, Coconut sugar, Dulse, 

Unhulled sesame seeds, Hemp seeds, Garlic Powder, 

Chai Seeds, Nutritional yeast, 

Onion powder, Sea salt, Black pepper

We debated what kind of veg we wanted to add to our "test" salad, and then after careful consideration and numerous proposed combinations, we settled on only two components. Spinach (Madison's favourite leafy green) and arugula (my current go-to green).  Seeing as it was our first encounter with the product, the idea was to strip down the salad and let the dressing be the star.

Verdict: 

This dressing was fabulous!  It was light, perfectly seasoned, tart, with just a hint of sweetness. It's a vinaigrette (reminiscent of a "golden caesar") which I appreciated because I loath a goopy salad. It was 100% kid friendly and all around approved by the household!

Of Note:

The label recommends letting it sit on the counter for a couple of minutes to allow the oil to return to its natural state, and I would not recommend skipping this step. Madison dressed her salad before the dressing had a chance to reach room temperature and as it became a liquid, she found she had inadvertently used too much dressing.  

So as I'm sure you can gather, I will absolutely be buying Rawfoodz products again!  Choosing which flavour to try next might seriously be a problem though ;)

Check out Rawfoodz on their website  or Facebook page.

As a side note, over the next couple of weeks I'm going to be working on adding all my recipes from Facebook into the recipe tab at the top of the page. Stay tuned for some yummy dishes :)

Peace and Love,

JorDanna 

Stormy Monday Sundae

I never buy the container of Coconut Bliss that I lovingly hold at the store, despite my best efforts to convince myself that there will be a time when I "need" a pint of happiness. Upon putting it back on the shelf I always tell myself that I'll "thank" myself later.


Well today I did the complete opposite! I cursed and screamed, while jumping up and down like a two year old, as I looked into my freezer this evening.  I had a wicked day at the office, which was about to be compounded by another stack of work at home, and all I wanted was a nice mug of frozen joy to help me feel sorry for myself. Too bad I killed that dream on the weekend while strolling the aisles of Bamboo Natural Food Market and once again after a great inner struggle, I left the pint waiting to tease the next unsuspecting saturday shopper.   Enter the "Stormy Monday" Sundae. I feel it did a fantastic job of doing the trick and saved me a mountain of calories in the process.

"Stormy Monday" Sundae

A quick and easy dessert, breakfast, or snack, that is packed 

with yummy superfoods.

Guaranteed to help beat any bad day!

1 personal sized serving of peach Amande Yogurt

1 handful raw sunflower seeds

1 handful of raw almonds

1 handful of goji berries

1 handful of dried mulberries

Mix.

Enjoy! 

The Allman Brothers included a live version of T-Bone Walker's "Call It Stormy Monday" on their 1971 album , entitled "Stormy Monday".  I use to swear up and down that I wasn't an Allman Brothers fan - that was until I heard this record.  And actually, as I sit cross legged on my bed, with a solid warm spring breeze blowing through my window, this sundae in my belly, and this song playing in my ear, I'm starting to feel my day melt away.  The blues always have a way of making me feel better.  I suppose I relate to all that passion.

I hope your Monday was better than mine, and that your Tuesday isn't bad either ;)


Peace and Love,


JorDanna