Recipe: Basil Chia Seed Dressing

I made this awesome raw dressing recipe from Carol Alt's Easy Sexy Raw book! Carol Alt was one of the most popular models in the 80s and she's in her 50s now and looks absolutely amazing, maybe because of her raw diet? One of the most interesting things that I found in her book is that she eats raw eggs! Apparently you should buy organic fertilized eggs directly from a small farm to minimize the risk of salmonella. Breakouts of the disease usually happen at large factory farms. Anyway, here's the recipe:

Ingredients (makes 1.5 cups)

2 Tbs. chia seeds
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. honey or agave
1/2 tsp. sea salt
pinch of ground pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup fresh basil

While the dressing is easy to make, you must plan ahead a bit so that you can soak the chia seeds in the water for at least 6 hours. I just put the chia seed in the water in a small container in the fridge overnight. Chia absorbs the water and then turns into a gel that can be used as the base for many things like dressing or pudding. Once you have the chia gel, combine it in a blender with the lemon juice, vinegar, honey/agave, salt, and pepper. With the blender running, slowly add the olive oil through the opening in the top. This makes the dressing really creamy. Finally, add the fresh basil and blend until it is a smooth consistency. You must use fresh basil for the taste to be there.

This recipe makes over a cup of dressing, which is quite a bit to try to use up in a week before it goes bad. I'll cut this recipe in half next time I make it. This dressing is very fresh tasting so it will go good with any summer salad. I put it on a salad with baby spinach, strawberries, and chopped raw almonds, and it was delicious!