Hi, Im new here and also to raw food. I have tried several times but just couldnt seem to stick with it. I believe it is time b/c I am not struggling near as much this time but have a question....... I have a raw food cookbook (Rawsome) that I tried a salad recipe of either kale or collard greens, store didnt have any kale so I got the collard greens, but the dressing was just olive oil and some chili pepper, lemon juice, a tad of celtic/sea salt. It was awful! The greens were rubbery, tough (are they always like that?), and I just dont like the taste of olive oil all that much, mixed in with things that is fine but not just mostly that and some other stuff. I forced myself to eat it but threw the rest of the salad away. Ill throw the greens in the vitamix and make a smoothie out of it so not to waste it but what other kinds of oils are good to use b/c LOTS of the dressings say olive oil. Ewwwww. I love sesame oil, I have heard canola oil isnt that good for you, how about sunflower oil? Is its really just a matter of taste? I know olive oil is good for us but I cant stomoach the taste. Thanks, Jill

It's hard to sy which oil is best. Canola and Olive are at the top depending on who you listen to.

[www.canolainfo.org]

Be careful with coconut oil. Some are saying the saturated fat content doesn't affect the lifespan of the natives who survived off it, but we're not yet sure if that applies to westerners

How about making your own dressing? Use avocados or tahini as the oil.

I use olive oil, balsamic vinegar, grapefruit juice, (or lime) and some mustard seed, and I blend it all together... I dont much care for the taste of just EVOO on salad by itself, but in a nice vinaigrette I find it quite delicious...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

If you're going to try other oils, make sure they are cold pressed. The sunflower and sesame you asked about can be found cold pressed. Coconut is a popular alternative, but it tastes heavily of coconut.

Alternatively, you could skip the oil entirely and try avocado or tahini as Sunberry suggested or also soaking some nuts and creating a creamy dressing (something like blending soaked cashews, water, lemon juice, and garlic for a base).

There are also many dressings that people make without any oily components like mango/tomato or miso/ginger/vinegar or just a squeeze of citrus over their greens.

mango seems to work great for me veghunter, mostly cause of its consistency... just tried making a dressing with it, and it turned out great

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?