Happy Eats!

A recipe for those of you who don’t like raisins or mayo… when you’re not in the mood for goopy, sweet carrot salad… and for the minimalist in all of us. This painless method of beta carotene consumption will surprise you. It’s quite delicious as well as simple! Excellent when made with organic carrots, which are sweeter, but also a great way to liven up ordinary, cheap, mass market carrots.

This salad is one of my favorite side dishes if you’ve decided to barbecue on a really hot day. It’s crunchy and refreshing, and goes very well with smoky flavors. So the next time you grill chicken or fish outdoors, make a triple batch of this instead of cole slaw. It’s really easy with the help of a good food processor. Then watch this carrot salad disappear!

• 1/2 pound carrots
• Juice of half a small lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1/4 teaspoon raw sugar (or more to taste)
• Pinch of sea salt
• A couple of grindings of pepper

Grate the carrots nice and fine. Toss with the lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper. Marinate in the fridge for at least an hour. Stir it once or twice while marinating. Serve as a side dish with just about anything. Or use it to give crunch and sweetness to wraps, stuffed pitas, or sandwiches.

Serves 2-4.

Vegenaise is a mayonnaise that contains no eggs. In fact, there are no animal products in it at all. And unlike the soy mayonnaise products you’ll find in the health food aisle, this looks, tastes, and behaves just like REAL mayonnaise.

In my opinion Vegenaise is the best-tasting commercial mayonnaise available. In spite of the fact that it contains no eggs, it has the same rich yet subtle flavor of homemade mayonnaise, probably because it uses a much higher quality oil. It’s much less cloying than most mayonnaise in a jar. And it’s also not quite as sweet as Hellman’s/Best Foods mayonnaise, which is the best of the traditional brands.

Vegenaise also spreads nicely and makes incredibly good dips (try it in old fashioned spinach dip). It’s a tiny bit looser than commercial mayonnaise, but that’s because it’s a fresh product and contains fewer thickeners. Just remember that Vegenaise is NOT a low cal food. It’s got tons of fat and calories, just like regular mayonnaise.