|
The Living Foods Letter of SF LiFE A living foods support group for the 21st century |
… from the editor:
Welcome to a new
millennium, a new newsletter, and a new editor. This is a great time to be a
part of this community; a great time to partake of the best food on earth, and
a great time to rejoice in the knowledge that what you are doing for yourself
is the most profound nutritional philosophy you can practice: following
nature’s plan for rejuvenation and health.
For those who are new
to the Living Foods Lifestyle – welcome. You are in good company. You are among
friends who have been where you are coming from: a place of concern for a
nutritional breakthrough for your body, a place where advancing to the “next
stage” is the most logical decision you can make for yourself, a place where
unburdening the “inner gunk” releases and clears the mind for a freer more
tranquil life; eating clean makes for clean thinking.
For those of you
returning to this lifestyle – welcome back.
We have missed you. We miss your knowledge, your experience, and your
courage to continue this important work. Yes, it is work. It is a continuing
challenge to remain conscious of how differently we eat, especially in a world
that rarely celebrates diversity in eating. Just being vegetarian connotes
difference. If we advance that label to vegan, vegan/raw, raw/sproutarian et
al, we separate ourselves from a society of eaters that are confused about just
what we eat.
Because we are a
group that continually experiments with finding new ways to eat, we are
perceived as “out there”, but rest assured. Even our diversity within the
“walls” of this community can create havoc. But we celebrate the exchange of
ideas on what to eat, how to eat, where to eat, and with whom we should eat:
our group is supportive. We started as
a small support group in the early ‘80s, and grew to an ever-changing one in
1986. Our evolution has made us stronger, more diverse in nature, but more
determined to help increase the understanding of what a Living Foods Lifestyle
is from our perspective: if it is a fruit, vegetable, nut, seed, grain,
seaweed, or sprout, eaten uncooked, raw-fermented, or otherwise not packaged,
or prepared by chemicalization, we consider you a Living Fooder.
There are many
different kinds of Living Foods Lifestyles that are practiced within our
community: Those who follow a Living Foods Lifestyle as taught by the late Ann
Wigmore; those who follow the dictates of the Natural Hygiene movement; those
who consider themselves Instinctives; those who define themselves as modern
Essene practioners. There are sproutarians, fruitarians, and a mix of those
listed in a previous description that do not label themselves. We learn and
share our experiences. Share yours with us.
Read this newsletter,
come to our monthly potlucks, and share your recipes, your ideas, and your ways
of being. Get involved. Become a member, and share in the benefits of the
group.
_
Robin Silberman
In This Issue
|
v
The Joy of Eating Naturally
v On Winter
Chills and Food Cravings v Don’t Forget
the Sprouts v Book
Review/Children of the Sun v
On the Loose at BuddahMoose |
What’s Coming UP
|
SF LiFE Potlucks |
South Bay Living Foods Community |
|
Sundays at
the Mission District Police Station 17th
Street at Valencia, San Francisco Parking in the
rear of the station, on 17th Street v
March 5 – Victoria Bontenko – Getting Off of
Cooked Foods v
April 2 – Lucy Morales – Quick and Easy
Smoothies v
May 7 – Dorleen Tong – Travelling With
Living Foods v
June 4 – Arthur Andrews – Fasting and
Herbert Shelton v
July 9 – Rose Lee Calabro – Seven Steps to
Healing the Body v August 6 – Tom Billings – Troubleshooting the Living Foods Diet Time: 1:00 pm Cost: $2.
Members/$4. Non-members Coming without
food: $5. Extra for everyone Coming with food: Bring raw vegetable salads, bowls of
mixed sprouts, nut patés, raw desserts, dehydrated crackers, enough for 10-15
people. All preferably organic. For more information, call the Sproutline Number: 415-751-2806. SF LiFE Membership$20.00 annual membership includes the following: v Discounts to potlucks v Quarterly newsletter v Library check-out: books, audio tapes v Video tapes with deposit v Equipment rentals with deposit Send the
following information: v Name v Address v City, State, ZIP v Phone Number v Email Address v $20.00 check SF LiFE, 662
– 29th Avenue, San Francisco, CA, 94121 Renew your
memberships! Most expire with this issue.
For
newsletter submissions, email birdwing@gateway.net |
Contact
www.VibrantLiving.com
for more information on this group. Santa Cruz Living Foods
Community Contact
Tricia and Steve Zenone at www.rawfoodists.com for more
information on their group. The Santa Cruz County RawFoodists host a FREE
monthly RawFood potluck the 3rd Saturday of each month. Next Potluck:
Saturday, 18 March 2000 @ 12 Noon. We're a group within Santa Cruz County who
sponsor a FREE Potluck to introduce people to the DELIGHTS & BENEFITS of
the Living/Raw Food Diet. Our Living/Raw Feast is held on the 3rd Saturday of
each month, at noon. We meet at the Felton Covered Bridge Park in Felton -
just up the hill from Santa Cruz. Keep an eye out for our purple banner!
Please bring some Raw Food to the potluck; whether a simple salad, a bowl of
fruit, or a Gourmet Raw Food dish. Whatever you bring must be 100% Raw Vegan.
If you can't, at least bring yourself and a positive attitude! There is no
cost to attend the Potlucks. However, donations are very welcome and
graciously accepted since all expenses come from out-of- pocket
(RawFoodists.com Website hosting and maintenance, Felton Community Hall
monthly rental for potlucks/events, etc.) |
Are You Online? |
Rivera Wheatgrass Growers
|
|
We need your
email address! Welcome to the 21st century of communication. No
paper. No postage. Save us time, money, and labor-intensive acts of
craziness. Receive your newsletter from the comfort of your computer. Members.
Members. Members. Email to birdwing@gateway.net |
Wheatgrass and Sprouts
Monday
through Saturday 9am – 6pm Sunday
closed Happy Hour
Friday 4pm – 6pm ½ price 1785-15th Street between
Guerrero and Valencia 415-864-3001 volunteers and donations welcome |
|
THE JOY OF EATING NATURALLY -
Robert
Jacobs |
|
|
Do
you enjoy the food you eat? Do you
eat the food you enjoy? Are you
rushed during your busy day eating food without even thinking about what you are eating? The nutritive value of food is decreased
through the lack of attention paid to the food you eat. If you are feeling anger, fear, anxiety
and depression, nutritive food values are decreased even more. Bringing joy to your meals brings you the
best returns on the food you eat.
Special occasions can bring extra stress to meal times. This is especially true when you are going
through a dietary transition. In
social situations, family members may perceive your anger and rejection in
dealing with food if you are not comfortable with the dietary changes you are
making. You also may be fearful that
they will be angry with you because you are not eating the food they serve
you. These feelings can lead to your caving into and making yourself angry
because you have failed in continuing your dietary transitions. Their wants and desires for you are
different than your wants and desires for yourself. The same social situation
can occur at work. You may think that coworkers perceive you as unbalanced
because of your food choices. Social and psychological challenges occur with
dietary change. If you were going off
by yourself to a health retreat, you would deal with your reluctance to
change, but you would have to return to your day-to-day routine and the
stress of maintaining these changes in social settings. |
There
are many things you can do to minimize various stresses within these
situations: a support system should be created with like-minded individuals
you trust, or with a nutritional coach who understands the process of change.
To keep on track, start a food diary, check in with someone you trust,
substitute good food choices for bad, prepare for stressful social occasions
by continually being present. If you have a craving for sugar, there are many
foods from which to choose: dates, watermelons, figs, mangoes, oranges, and
any other well-ripened fruit. If you have a craving for fat, you can eat
nuts; you can also eat avocados. The
secret to making good nutritional food choices is to buy high quality organic
food that is full of nutrition. Don’t
buy unripe fruit; it will not deliver the sugar your body craves. Don’t
deprive yourself of food you enjoy, just substitute the good food for the
bad. Stressful occasions demand your
undivided attention. Face the reality of the moment and let go of your negative
attitudes. Be aware of your body’s
reaction to being pulled down by gravity, of the air coming in and going out
as you breathe, of the sun shining on you, of things animate and inanimate
around you. Let all thoughts go. This centering enables you to make changes
with very little stress. If you
remain in the moment, you can describe the feelings to others: the
discomforts you might have or the changes your body is feeling. You can be honest with them about where
your body is in the moment. You will
be able to enjoy the food you eat and eat the food you enjoy. For further info please contact: Robert
Jacobs (510)-786-1947 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
On
Winter Chills and Food Cravings
-Nomi Shannon, The Raw Gourmet |
|
|
Well, winter is fully here, and when
the weather cools some people feel that a diet of all cold food makes them
feel cold, or less able to deal with the cold. There are two main ways to
combat this. One is by gently warming some foods, keeping them below 118º
Fahrenheit to preserve the enzymes, but still having them warm enough to gain
some comfort from them. A perfect recipe to do this with is mushroom soup,
which also makes excellent gravy. In a blender mix 1/2 cup of water with 1/4
cup almond butter (equal to 4 Tablespoons). Add 1.5 -2 cups cut up mushrooms,
and some Bragg’s or tamari or sea salt to taste. Blend until smooth. Pour
into the top of a double boiler and heat gently, being very careful to keep
the temperature below 118º. Eat immediately. (See recipe for mushroom soup on
page 94 of The Raw Gourmet ©1999 by Nomi Shannon (Alive Books). As
gravy, this is particularly delicious over dehydrated burgers or “Neat”
balls. For a warm breakfast, raw oatmeal can be gently heated the same way. Another
wonderful way to have food warm but raw is to use a dehydrator. Be sure that
you use a dehydrator with a good thermostat and temperature control. Burgers,
loaves, soups, sauces, pies, sliced sweet potato, red peppers, onions can all
be dehydrated and eaten while still warm. Another approach is ‘warming’
without heat with the warming herbs and spices. Ginger and cinnamon will give
you a warm feeling, even to the point of perspiration on your upper lip!
Adding them to your morning smoothie can make a difference in how you are
affected by the cold weather. Cayenne used as a spice or taken in capsule
form is warming. Certain Indian masalas are also very warming. Dr. Gabriel
Cousens, in his book Conscious Eating (Vision Books International)
discusses the warming aspects of certain foods. He uses ayervedic principles
but applies them to raw food eating. Letha Hadady in her book Asian Health
Secrets (Three Rivers Press New York) uses the Chinese herbal approach.
Along with the aforementioned spices, her list of warming culinary spices
includes anise, cardamom, garlic, paprika, orange peel, caraway, cloves,
fenugreek, juniper berries, parsley, rosemary, thyme and sage. |
Don’t
forget hot herbal teas, on a cold winter day I enjoy my favorite first thing
in the morning, relaxing and inhaling the steam before I start my day. You
can make a lovely ginger tea by grating fresh or frozen whole ginger into a
cup, add boiling water and allow it to steep for a few minutes. Regarding
food cravings - when you first transition to raw food, cravings for all the
old things that you used to eat can be very distracting. I wish I could say
that in time everyone gets over their cravings, but a certain percentage of
people seem never to be able to get past cravings for food they know is not
good for them. However with a bit of perseverance these urges will become
less frequent and bothersome, if not entirely eliminated. The first day you
notice that you are craving a large green salad or a great juicy apple or a
bowl of sprouted paté with sprouts on top will be a great day indeed. Then
you will know that you have rounded a corner in your health regime, and you
now have a body that you can begin to listen to. Being able to “listen to
your body” usually has to be preceded by a period of cleansing. If you have
been subsisting on a diet of MacDonalds, soda and sweets, The Quick Fix is
what your body will crave. If you are addicted to sugar, it is not just a
mental addiction. Your pancreas is screaming for you to feed it the sugar
that it has become used to having. What should you do? The best thing may be
to eat the highest and best food that will respond to that craving. Far
better than a candy bar or an ice cream would be a piece of fruit or two. If
you do the best that you can in each instance, including forgiving yourself
if you step back to your old ways for a moment, then move on again in the
right direction, you will gradually reduce or eliminate unwanted cravings.
The amount of time this takes depends on many things: how long you have been
eating a poor diet, have you transitioned to raw slowly or quickly, did you
begin with a water or juice fast or other type of fast to get a head start,
etc. |
|
Another
important way to quell cravings is to eat a good healthy meal as soon as you
begin to lust for pizza or Aunt Tillies petit fours. At the early stages of
being a raw foodist, hunger often brings on cravings. Often, once you have
eaten and are satisfied, the craving itself will just go away, or at least
you will find it easier to resist. This means that it is important to always
have some good healthy food on hand. You get into trouble if there are no
fresh fruits and veggies in the house or office and you are hearing a litany
of cheesecake, cheesecake in your head. It is too easy to give in to cravings
when you have no way to fill up with healthy food when you are feeling like
this. Plan ahead- bring a bag with a variety of fruits and veggies to work
with you each day- red peppers, apples, baby carrots, celery, fennel,
zucchini, orange, pear. Be imaginative. Try new things. After all, variety is
the spice of life. Continuing to meet regularly with other raw fooders and
encouraging restaurants in your area to provide wonderful salads and other
food raw foods also helps you to stay centered in your food choices. |
When
a person has feelings of alienation or loneliness it is difficult to combat
unhealthy cravings. We all know that this is not just about food. Creating an
environment for yourself that includes other raw fooders without excluding
the other people in your life, often the ones that you love the most, is a
delicate balance of strength and tolerance. Cleansing,
whether with a water or juice fast or gradually through eating more and more
raw food, is what will change the very tissues and cells of your body to be
tuned into seeking the foods that are good for you. Expect setbacks. As time
goes on you will learn to trust your body more and more. The day will come
when you will far more often crave for the healthy foods than for the foods
you wish to avoid. You are on a journey and are working towards the freedom
of wonderful health: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual: we all are. |
|
Recipes From
the February Potluck |
|
|
Flaxseed Nori Crackers – from
Steven Terada 2 cups flaxseed juice
of 1 lemon ¼
cup Braggs or a little less Nama-shoyu 3
cups water approximately
6 nori sheets Soak
flaxseeds in water for 6 hours. Add Braggs and lemon juice. Place flaxseed
mixture on the nori sheets, a very thin layer to ensure crisp and dry
crackers, at a quicker drying time.
Place in a dehydrator with the nori sheets face down. Note: no teflex
sheets are needed. After
about 6 hours, cut the nori sheets mixture into the desired cracker size
pieces. Continue to dehydrate for approximately 12 hours or until crackers
are completely dehydrated. |
Almond-Lentil Pate – from Barbara 1
cup soaked raw almonds 1
cup sprouted lentils fresh
lemon juice (1/2 to 1 lemon) to taste Braggs
liquid aminos, to taste Garlic
clove Olive
oil Celery,
3-4 stalks ½
red onion sliced
tomatoes In
a food processor, mix/blend the almonds, lentils, garlic, lemon juice. Add a
little olive oil to get a creamy consistency. Chop
the celery and the onion. Add to the pate. Garnish
with ripe tomatoes, and/or jalapeno peppers. |
DON’T
FORGET THE SPROUTS
-Steve Meyerowitz, the “Sproutman” |
|
|
The National Cancer
institute and the National Institute of Health both recommend eating 5 fresh
fruits and vegetables every day. A great way to help reach that goal is to
include sprouts. Sprouts are the
only forms of agriculture that can be locally grown and available in all four
seasons. These “baby” vegetables are grown from seed to salad in only a week.
That makes them great Y2K food. In fact, one pound of alfalfa seed will yield
10-14 pounds of fresh mini-salad greens. Whether you are on top of a mountain
or in a bunker with artificial light, you can still grow this fast, organic
food. Yes, it is fast
food, but you won't be sacrificing any nutrition. Alfalfa sprouts have more
chlorophyll than spinach, kale, cabbage or parsley. Alfalfa, sunflower,
clover and radish sprouts are all 4% Protein. Compare that to spinach - 3%,
Romaine lettuce -1.5% and Iceberg lettuce- 0.8%, and milk -3.3%. These foods
all have about 90% water. But meat and eggs are the protein foods for
Americans. Meat is 19% and eggs are 13% protein (and 11% fat). But Soybean
sprouts have 28% protein, and lentil and pea sprouts are 26%. Soybeans
sprouts have twice the protein of eggs and only 1/10 the fat. Grain and nut
sprouts - such as wheat and sunflower - are rich in fats. While fats in flour
and wheat germ have a reputation for going rancid quickly (stores should
refrigerate them), fats in sprouts last for weeks. The valuable wheat germ
oil in wheat sprouts is broken down into its essential fatty acid fractions
over 50% of which is the valuable Omega 6. While sunflower oil is our finest
source of Omega 6, germination of the sunflower sprout micellizes the fatty
acids into an easily digestible, water soluble form, saving our body the
trouble of breaking it down and simultaneously protecting us against the
perils of rancidity. This is a great bonus for a sprout that is already
popular for its crispness and nutty flavor. Radish sprouts have
29 times more Vitamin C than milk (29mg vs 1mg) and 4 times the Vitamin A
(391 IU vs 126). These spicy sprouts have 10 times more calcium than a potato
(51mg vs 5mg) and contain more vitamin C than pineapple. If you examine what
is happening during germination, it looks like a vitamin factory. While
mature radishes contain 10 IU/100g of pro-vitamin, the radish sprouts contain
391 IU – 39 times more! No wonder, sprout lovers say you can feel the
vitamins! |
Phytochemical Factory Alfalfa, radish,
broccoli, clover and soybean contain concentrated amounts of
phytochemicals (plant compounds) that
can protect us against disease. Canavanine, an amino acid analog present in
alfalfa, demonstrates resistence to pancreatic, colon and leukemia cancers.
Plant estrogens in these sprouts function similarly to human estrogen but
without the side effects. They increase bone formation and density and prevent
bone breakdown (osteoporosis). They are helpful in controlling hot flashes in
menopause, PMS, and fibrocystic breast tumors. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine researchers found substantial amounts of glucosinolates and isothiocyanates in broccoli sprouts, which are very potent inducers of phase-2 enzymes that protect cells from turning malignant. The sprouts contain 10-100 times higher levels of these enzymes than do the corresponding mature plants. Alfalfa sprouts are one of our finest food sources of
saponins. Saponins lower the bad cholesterol and fat but not the good HDL
fats. Animal studies prove their benefit in arteriosclerosis and
cardiovascular disease. Saponins also stimulate the immune system by
increasing the activity of natural killer cells such as T- lymphocytes and
interferon. The saponin content of alfalfa sprouts multiplies 450% over that
of the unsprouted seed. Sprouts also contain an abundance of highly active
antioxidants that prevent DNA destruction and protect us from the ongoing
effects of aging. It wouldn't be inconceivable to find a fountain of youth
here after all, sprouts represent the miracle of birth. Are Alfalfa Sprouts Safe? Recently, stories
about alfalfa sprouts contaminated with salmonella bacteria have made the
news. Salmonella is bad news, but no food is immune to it. All foods eaten
raw carry that risk, including fresh fruit and vegetables, which have more
pathogen outbreaks than sprouts. Does this mean you should go on a 100%
cooked food diet? According to the
Center for Disease Control (CDC), 4 million people contract salmonellosis
from foods every year and 93% of these cases are caused by meat, poultry,
milk and eggs. The remaining 7% of cases are from shellfish, fresh fruits and
vegetables. While fruits and veggies are safer than meat, a single outbreak
from Mexican cantaloupes in1989 caused 25,000 cases of salmonella. Compare
this to sprouts: for all outbreaks over their entire 40 year history, the
U.S. sprout industry has had a total of 2,000 cases. |
|
What are
sprout-companies doing about it? Conscientious growers are testing sprouts
for e-coli and salmonella before they ship to the stores. The FDA has
recommended the chlorination of sprouts, similar to the chlorination of our
municipal waters. This achieves a 99.8% reduction of potential salmonella and
E. Coli contamination. Put another way, if there was contaminated seed, there
would be only a 0.02% probability that the bacteria could survive.
Unfortunately, unlike meat and poultry, the tiny sprout industry is not
regulated and not every sprout grower is willing to chlorinate. Sprout
growers want to keep sprouts raw and organic. Alternative pasteurization
methods are currently being tested. They include, among others, heat
treatment of raw seeds before sprouting or soaking seeds in acetic acid
(vinegar). Look for a safety seal of approval on your sprouts. It indicates
your grower has been inspected by an independent certification agency. No one
can guarantee the absence of germs on any food. Food safety is an
international problem and one that is partially a creation of our
overburdened, complex, global food distribution network. Sprouts are nothing
but a blip on the radar screen. Let’s put things in perspective. The CDC declares that E. coli
contamination from all foods afflicts 1.10 people per million each year. It
is a good bet that the benefits of eating these super-nutritious baby
vegetables far outweighs the risks. Steve
Meyerowitz, the “Sproutman” is the
author of several books on health, diet, and nutrition and the inventor of
the Kitchen Garden Salad Grower and
the Flax Sprout Bag. You can visit
him at www.Sproutman.com |
Books by
Steve Meyerowitz are available wherever health books are sold. SPROUTS THE MIRACLE
FOOD The Complete Guide
to Sprouting $12.95, 1999
edition. 216pg, ppbk. SPROUTMAN'S KITCHEN
GARDEN COOKBOOK Sprout Breads,
Cookies, Soups, Salads & 250 other Low Fat, Dairy Free Vegetarian Recipes $14.95, July
1999. 336pgs, ppbk. SPROUTMAN'S
"TURN THE DIAL" SPROUT CHART A Field Guide to
Growing and Eating Sprouts $ 7.95 1998. A
wheel chart. Size 7x9" WHEATGRASS NATURE'S
FINEST MEDICINE The Complete Guide
to Using Grass Foods & Juices to Revitalize Your Health. $12.95, 1999
216pgs, ppbk. POWER JUICES SUPER
DRINKS Quick, Delicious
Recipes to Reverse and Prevent Disease 424 pages.
March 2000. JUICE FASTING &
DETOXIFICATION Use the Healing
Power of Fresh Juice to Feel Young and Look Great $10.95 New 1999
Edition. 168pg, ppbk. FOOD COMBINING AND
DIGESTION A Rational Approach
to Combining What You Eat to Maximize Digestion and Health $7.95 1996. ppbk.
120pg. CLINICIAN'S
COMPLETE REFERENCE TO COMPLEMENTARY/ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE. by Donald W. Novey,
M.D. ;Steve Meyerowitz, Contributing editor. March, 2000. |
|
… from the
heart |
|
|
Food controversies – let’s address
them Within the Living
Foods community, we can agree that we follow to a greater or lesser extent,
certain eating principles: we don’t cook our food; we combine fairly well the
food that we do eat; and we promote the nutritional values of fruits,
vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sprouts – the basis of our diet. But over the
last few years, the buzz in the mainstream community about diet and weight
has landed on a new, or not so new concept – carbohydrates, and how bad they
are for people who have weight problems, especially if those people tend to
crave them. Carbohydrates in the Living Foods community are a primary food
source. Consider that we eat fruit for breakfast, or bowls of sprouted
grains, snack on raisins, figs, dates, and more fresh fruit, and eat
dehydrated sprout crackers by the handfuls, thinking they are healthier than
conventional foods. Consider also, those friends among us who treasure those
sweets. Even in the Living Foods community we have carbo-addicts. This is not
a lecture on abstinence. It is an acknowledgement that what is good for one
person in the community might not be the best for everyone. We have all
gotten to this Living Foods Lifestyle from many different roads, and the
journey is not over. We all need to experiment with our body’s own reaction
to food, whether or not someone else deems it bad or good in general. |
Living Foods,
weight control, and carbo-addiction is controversial. Are we snacking too
generously on fruits, when we should be eating more veggies? Are we burning
more than we are eating? There are several
eating programs that can be modified to fit a Living Foods Lifestyle,
especially if we are concerned with an overwhelming desire to eat carbs. The
Drs. Heller have written many books addressing carbohydrate addiction and
solutions to weight control. Dr. Schwartzbein has more recently written the
Schwartzbein Principle (Health Communications, Inc. 1999), which describes a
low carbo-eating program for those who are underweight, normal, slightly
overweight, and overweight. All foods in this book are divided into proteins,
fats, veggies, and carbos – the basic square meal – and allotments for carbs
are based on how active or inactive the person. If you can recognize yourself
as a carbo-addict (the first point on the road to healing) even in the Living
Foods community, you will be better able to heal if you can juggle other
foods into your daily eating plan. No one needs to
suffer as a carbo-addict, and as a Living Food practitioner, we are better
able to balance our diets in a healthier way using information that will help
satisfy our body’s need for nutrition. Note:
A very brief overview of the Schwartzbein Principle can be found in
the “First for Women” magazine – issue 10/25/99. A copy of the Heller’s book
can be found in our library. |
Discovering
the Living Foods Lifestyle
from
an Ann Wigmore perspective |
In
previous columns, we have discussed the “nuts and bolts” of the Living Foods
Lifestyle, explaining the basics of food combining, indoor gardening,
sprouting, and fermenting. But there is one food subject we have yet to
discuss: the fun, joy, and the sweetness of nature when used as dessert.
Desserts can be found in Ann Wigmore’s books, as well as Sweet Temptations by Frances Kendall, and Raw by Juliano.
Creating Desserts |
|
Desserts can be as
simple as fruit, or as complex as cakes, pies, and puddings. A common mistake
that is made when making desserts is thinking that anything raw, uncooked, or
unprocessed can be combined to create an edible, healthy treat. You need to
remember that food combining can make or break any healthy treat, because
improper mixing can create digestive havoc.
Desserts
are usually made from the following: ·
Fruits ·
Nuts ·
Grains ·
Some vegetables (carrots or yams) ·
Seasonings and flavorings Fresh fruits for puddings, smoothies, and sauces ·
Apples Bananas ·
Mangos Pineapples ·
Papayas Strawberries ·
Cherries Grapes ·
Peaches Melons Dried fruits for fillings, crusts, and sweetness ·
Apricots Dates ·
Raisins Figs Nuts for crusts·
Almonds Coconut ·
Walnuts Pine nuts Grains for
crusts ·
Soaked soft wheat
Soaked oats ·
Soaked barley
Soaked buckwheat |
Seasonings
and Flavorings ·
Vanilla Carob ·
Cinnamon
Ginger ·
Clove Nutmeg Healthy
food combining dictates that fruit be eaten separately, and that nuts and
grains not be mixed. Because
dessert is dessert, the following issues should be considered before making
and eating dessert: ·
Limit complex desserts to once a week ·
Consume dessert at least 1-2 hours after a main meal ·
Follow food combining principles as thoroughly as the
recipe allows ·
Keep concentrated sweeteners (honey, molasses, date sugar)
to a minimum ·
When using dried fruits, soak them overnight ·
When using nuts, soak them overnight ·
When using grains, soak and/or sprout them when possible ·
When using flavorings such as coconut and carob, or
vanilla, keep amounts to a minimum ·
Coconut and carob are high in fat ·
Vanilla is usually refined in an alcohol base ·
Remember that desserts are special treats, and should be
reserved for special occasions |
Recipes |
|
Dr. Ann’s Famous “Ice Cream”
1
frozen banana for each person Champion
juicer Peel
bananas and freeze at least 12 hours. With Champion juicer and blank in
place, run the bananas through the juicer. They will come out smooth and
creamy. Serve with carob sauce. Peach Ice Cream5
bananas 2
large peaches, chopped Blend
bananas. When smooth, add peach chunks. Freeze until served (at least 4
hours). For variety, use any kind of fresh fruit. Blueberries are especially
good in this recipe. For an alternative way to make this recipe, put the
frozen fruit mixture through the Champion juicer before serving. Serve with
pureed berries or another kind of sauce. This ice cream can also be made with
mangos and/or papayas. Carob Sauce (recipe from Sweet
Temptations)
¼
cup black mission figs, soaked 1 hour in 1/8 cup water 1
Tablespoon pine nuts 1
Tablespoon carob powder Blend
all ingredients together until smooth. Serve over ice cream. Note: you can use dates as a substitute for the
figs in this recipe, or use a combination of both. Dr. Ann’s Sprouted Sunflower Cookies2
cups sprouted sunflower seeds 2
Tablespoons nut butter 1
Tablespoon vanilla extract 1
cup raisins, soaked Place
seeds, dates and raisins on a wooden board and chop well. Add nut butter and
extract. Form into balls and/or creative shapes. This recipe will make 1- 1½
dozen small cookies. To keep these cookies longer, dehydrate them. For
variations, put sprouted seeds, dates, and raisins through a food grinder for
a smoother consistency. |
Dr. Ann’s Carob Banana Cream Pie ¼
lb. Dates or raisins or figs ½
lb. Almonds or walnuts, soaked and ground ¼
lb. Shredded coconut Soaked
dried fruit for at least an hour. Save the soak water. Blend the fruit into a
puree, using some soak water. Set aside a part of the puree. Mix the
remainder of the puree with the ground nuts and coconut until you get a dough
consistency. Reserve some nuts and coconuts for decoration. Press the crust
mixture into a pie plate. Filling7
bananas ½
cup carob powder Blend
the bananas using the remainder of the soak water (from above). Spread ½ of
the banana cream into the crust. Spread 1 cup of the fruit puree over the
banana layer. Mix the remaining ½ of the banana cream with the carob powder.
Mix thoroughly. Spread this layer on top. Decorate with banana slices, ground
nut and coconut. Place pie in freezer until 15 minutes before serving. Robin’s Raw
Carrot Cake 3
lbs. Carrots 1
pineapple ½
lbs. Dried apricots, soaked overnight ½
lbs. Almonds, soaked and blanched ½
lbs. Shredded coconut, dried 1
cup dried dates, soaked overnight 1
cup dried figs or raisins, soaked ½
- 1 cup rejuvelac Juice
carrots, keeping pulp and juice separate. Cut and juice pineapple. Mix juiced
pineapple with carrot pulp. Run almonds through the Champion juicer. They
will be doughy. Mix with the carrot mixture. Run the dried apricots through
the Champion juicer. Blend with carrot mixture. Blend in the coconut. Run
dried figs through the Champion. Blend with carrot mixture. Blend some or all
of the carrot juice with the blended mixture until you have a solid wet
pliable mixture. Turn onto large plate, and mound, or make into sheet cake.
Blend dates with enough rejuvelac to pour over carrot cake. Let sit for several
hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Serves 16.Enjoy – Robin Silberman |
Note: The following article was taken from the website www.ontheloose@buddahmoose.com.
It has been rigorously edited (with permission). For more on Living Foods from
the BuddahMoose perspective, visit the site. – The editor
THE
ANN WIGMORE FOUNDATION
|
|
|
Offering 2-week
programs on the Living Food Diet, the Ann Wigmore Foundation in San Fidel,
New Mexico is at the center of the Ann Wigmore |
you should try it
ALL and decide for yourself. Classes are very relaxed and informal but you
learn about the body's different systems of digestion, assimilation,
elimination etc. including food combining and the whys and how-tos. There are
sprouting classes, wheatgrass and indoor gardening classes. A good
indoor/outdoor composting class is taught by Robert who is the master
gardener there. Robert also worked directly with Ann in Boston before her
passing. Evening classes are more geared toward things like massage,
reflexology, chi gung, meditation and that sort of thing. As I said, the
second week classes are focused on live-food preparation. We learned seed
loaves, seed cheeses, dressings, dehydrated foods, fermented foods, and many
other delicious recipes. I'd love to share a few here but I don't want to
steal any of Ann's recipes to do so. There are many good raw recipe books out
there. Look into it!! The friends I make at each of these retreats are always
inspirational. One woman who was there had been there for 6 weeks and looked
great although I was told she showed up with cancer, gray skin and zero
energy for tasks as simple as climbing the stairs. By the time I got there
she had switched to an upstairs room, her skin was a lovely tone of copper
and her enthusiasm was thru the roof! She told me she had spent literally
tens of thousands of dollars at other spas and nothing worked like the simple
inexpensive program here at the Foundation. But, of course, where would we be
if I neglected to mention another key element to the program. The ever
controversial stop 'em in their tracks enema debate! Well, I'm not taking you
there this issue. It's a story for another day folks and what a wacky story
it is! Anyway, the enemas and wheatgrass implants will be explained to you in
full at any institute following the Wigmore program. Not surprisingly, the
environment here is very close and intimate and everyone gets to know each
other quite well.[ don't get me wrong, enemas are done in private, you silly]
The loving compassionate tone makes for a wonderful supportive atmosphere and
by the end of the week we were one small happy family!! Amidst tears of joy
and laughter of love we celebrated our "graduation" with a
veritable live food feast. The idea is to show how to create a plethora of
dishes that will be enjoyed by anyone, live foodists or otherwise. Dishes
include live pasta, seed and nut loaves, nut butterballs for dessert, and
believe it or not a tasty rejuvelac 'pink champagne' that gives you a slight
buzz! Ah, c'est la vie.... THE ANN WIGMORE FOUNDATION |
BOOK
REVIEW
–Tom Billings |
|
|
Children of
the Sun, Available
online at http://www.nelsonsbooks.com |
Particularly: The
above issues are central to parts of the modern raw-foods movement, as well as the hippie movement of the
1960s and 1970s. For example, the classic modern rawist book, "Survival
into the 21st Century" by Viktoras Kulvinskas, discusses many of the
above topics. Note that German |
|
SF LiFE C/o 662 29-the Avenue San Francisco, CA 94121 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED |
Thank
You Thank You Thank You Thank You
|
|
|
There are
several people in our Living Foods community who should be acknowledged for
their service and dedication to this group. |
|
|
Ann Feinstein For all of the
years you have kept this newsletter functioning as a viable communication arm
of our group. When no one else volunteered, you took it upon yourself to
consistently produce a newsletter, which incorporated coordinating
submissions from various people, producing the newsletter without help from a
technical environment, and sending the finished product to all of our
members. An important, albeit thankless job, we salute you for your time,
effort and inclination to continue to bring this community a newsletter we
have all loved and cherished. We thank you. |
Eva Moen For all the years
you have grown our wheatgrass and sprouts, and produced our rejuvelac. You
have brought joy and excitement to this community. You have renewed our
commitment to the Ann Wigmore philosophy, and have provided our community
with a consistent way of continuing her message. For all of the Happy Hours,
Valentine’s Day events, parties, classes, and meetings, we salute you for
your efforts that continually made us feel present in a world that sometimes
forgets the individual. For your energy, vitality, and commitment to the
world of Living Foods. We thank you. |