Papaya Peppercorn Salad Dressing

So I moved to paradise, but maintaining my raw diet hasn't been easy. Hawaii may be beautiful, and the fruit may be plentiful, but certain elements have presented themselves as a challenge.

Firstly, to move out here I got rid of most of my possessions. This included kitchen items. Even what we had saved may still be in the mail. I finally just received my dehydrator again. I have my Ninja Blender and mini-food processor, but I am missing my large food processor, my spice grinder, my spiralizer, and my juicer. I also forgot to mention, the move has taken its toll on my pocketbook.

Which leads in to my second challenge. While fruit is everywhere on the island, prepackaged foods are expensive. I know, you think, "That's fine I don't eat prepackaged foods," but anything you can't pick is prepackaged. Do you need coconut or hemp oil? Maybe apple cider vinegar or spices? Even salt... you are gonna pay about a third more in price for all of these things. Thank goodness Costco has a few organic items.

My third big challenge with my diet since moving to the Big Island is that all the local produce is (obviously) different. While there are benefits of now having greater access to pineapple, mango, avocado, lychee, lillikoi, and coconut (not young thai ones mind you, the ones with harder meat), there are certain foods which were part of my daily diet before which are now both more scarce and more expensive. Sometimes too they flat out don't taste as good. Apples, peaches, plums, broccoli, and cauliflower have been main ones to fit in this category.

Moving to a new place is about embracing new changes, however, and learning from the differences of others. One fruit that is plentiful out here and has become a staple in our new diet is papaya. At the farmer's market we can buy these for 3 for $1, which in Hawaii is about as affordable as you can get! Papaya fruit is sweet and the perfect texture for smoothies. Most people throw out the seeds, but what isn't commonly known is that the seeds are parasite killers and the healthiest part of the papaya to eat! The seeds taste exactly like peppercorns and I have been using them in recipes the same way I would use black pepper.

Here is a salad dressing I came up with. It is a bit unexpected, but mouth-watering non-the-less!

seeds from 1 papaya
1/3 cup of papaya meat
1 tablespoon stoneground mustard
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon hemp oil
1 tablespoon almond milk
1 teaspoon liquid sweetener of your choice (coconut nectar, raw honey, or agave)
dash of paprika
sea salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender or small food processor and mix to desired texture. Pour on top of your favorite salad and enjoy!