I have been reading a great book called SuperLife by Darin Olien.  I am learning a ton and one of the cool things I have taken out of it is the benefit of eating RAW FOOD.  I am not interested in trying this full time, but there are a lot of benefits to eating your food raw.  By the way, by raw I mean not cooked.

When you cook or heat  your food it breaks down the enzymes that the foods naturally have.  These enzymes are used by the body to break down the food and to be able to utilize all the nutrients the food has to offer us.  So, with out those enzymes your body is missing out on some of the vitamins and minerals that we need!

I am going to make sure I have a big salad full of raw fruits, veggies, seeds and nuts or a delicious green smoothy every day so I can take advantage of the amazing benefits of raw food.

One of my favorite salads has all of my favorite ingredients!

Power Avocado Salad:

1/2 cup of cooked quinoa
1 cup of chopped spinach
1 cup of chopped tomatoes
1/2 of small avocado- chopped
1-2 tbsp of red wine vinegar dressing

Cook quinoa according to directions. While quinoa is cooking chop your spinach and put it aside. Chop your tomatoes and avocado. Add 1/2 cup of quinoa to the spinach. The warmth of the quinoa will wilt the spinach a little bit. Now add the tomato and avocado and dressing- mix and ENJOY!

For the 21 Day Fixers- 2 green, 1 yellow, 1 blue and 1 orange (for dressing)

To make my favorite Red Wine Vinegar Dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey (raw and local is best)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a mason jar. Store in refrigerator.