Paleo Trail Foods Recipe: Carrots Alive Breakfast Salad

This is my go-to breakfast for a refreshing, bursting with juicy flavor way to start the day. For protein I also eat some Pemmican (see recipe) which is a lot like bacon or sausage. The fiber and chewing is great for toning the intestines and stimulating the digestive juices. This quick-and-easy meal will delight your sensitive early-morning taste buds with its rich variety of complimentary tastes, textures and colors. With a little imagination this can almost replicate pancakes by adding fruit, nuts and cream/butter on top.

Yes this actually works as a trail food too! Following the advice of world famous long distance trail hiker Ray Jardine, it is a good idea to carry fresh food on the trail. Carrots and beets are particularly self preserving vegetables which will keep several days in a backpack, depending on time of year and climate. I carry a flat, fine mesh grater for this purpose which weighs 3 ounces. I use powdered berries when on the trail.

The reasoning behind starting the day with this salad is because it helps balance the digestive flora and stimulate digestive juices and peristalsis. I am not seeing this recipe as something to so much get calories from but as something to sequester endotoxins in the gut and provid fiber which tones the intestines. This dish is easy to digest and quick to pass through the digestive system. I sometimes eat this and then wait an hour to eat the rest of my breakfast, practicing my morning sadanas in-between. It balances the blood sugar for about that long while I can practice my morning rituals without the feeling of food in my stomach. Also the act of grating and preparing this is itself a ritual and when done mindfully and with gratitude will embue the food with even more prana. Thanks to Dr. Ray Peat for the discovery of this healing food. He says:

“Endotoxin formed in the bowel can block respiration and cause hormone imbalances contributing to instability of the nerves, so it is helpful to optimize bowel flora, for example with a carrot salad; a dressing of vinegar, coconut oil and olive oil, carried into the intestine by the carrot fiber, suppresses bacterial growth while stimulating healing of the wall of the intestine. The carrot salad improves the ratio of progesterone to estrogen and cortisol, and so is as appropriate for epilepsy as for premenstrual syndrome, insomnia, or arthritis.” “Endotoxin or other material absorbed from intestinal bacteria contributes to a variety of autoimmune problems, including thyroiditis (Penhale and Young, 1988). Combining an indigestible fiber, such as raw carrot, with mild germicides, such as vinegar and coconut oil, can improve the hormonal environment, while reducing the immunological burden.”

The best grater for backpacking is a simple flat fine mesh grater. For home use I use a triangular shaped every day hand grater. Use the fine mesh side for the most delicious effects because you want to get into the juice and not get tired of endlessly chewing.The best grater is a simple triangular shaped every day hand grater you get from any kitchen supply. Use the fine mesh side for the most delicious effects.

One or two large carrots

One small beet or part of a large one

Handful of fresh Parsley

Handful of fresh Mint

Salt to taste

Raw Apple Cider Vinegar to taste

Juice of fresh squeezed lemon to taste