Here are some ideas for transforming healthy foods into enjoyable meals
I
am not fond of using recipes. Most recipes seem to be designed to tickle our
palate by harming the nutrients in the food. The healthiest recipe for carrots,
for instance, is to pull one out of the ground, clean it and chew well. Any
additional step is less nutritious. Also I favor experimenting: mixing this and
that within the framework of the food combining rules and seeing how it turns
out. In this spirit I offer the following recipes as starting points for
finding ways to make healthy food tasty.
If
you are willing, you can gradually change your taste preferences, and come to
like the new diet with healthier meals. If your life is in no immediate danger
from an advanced disease, it will be best to change slowly, making a gradual
transition from the present diet to the high quality diet and possibly the
raw-food diet over a period of years.
ACID
FOOD
Food acids, such as
in cider vinegar, fermented liquids, citrus fruits, and other acid fruits, and
tomatoes are usually beneficial for individuals with an insensitive body and
raised blood pressure. However, fruit acids cause problems for those with a
sensitive body and low blood pressure. The main reason for this is an
inefficient metabolism that causes the body to become overacid and mineral
deficient. The main problem is not the ingesting of fruit acids but rather the
mineral deficiency caused by the overacidity. In the right way, in neutralised
form, fruit acids can be used to re-mineralize and alkalise the body and in
this way are highly recommended. Dolomite or bicarbonate may also be used by
sensitive individuals to neutralize acid ferments, or Kambucha
tea, or tomatoes.
When using dolomite
or eggshell powder it is best to let the powder react with the acid for some
time before drinking or pouring it off from the residue. Bicarbonate, on the
other hand, acts nearly instantly. You may keep adding a pinch of bicarbonate
and stir until it stops bubbling with the next lot. If it has become alkaline
it may not taste so good, and you may again add a small amount of acid liquid
to make it slightly acid. Individuals with an insensitive body or raised blood
pressure on the other hand do not need neutralizing fruit acids but may optionally
add magnesium oxide or magnesium carbonate.
BAKING
The best method for baking is one in which enzymes in
the food remain alive. This means heating to less than 500C/1200 F. Furthermore, it is preferable to
start from whole, soaked or sprouted seeds that are rich in enzymes rather than
from commercial flours.
Rice
Flat-Bread: After blending soaked or
sprouted rice, the dough continues to absorb water and so becomes firm almost
without any heat. This property seems to be unique for rice. Try different
varieties of brown rice to find one that sprouts.
Soak brown rice overnight. If it is viable, rinse for
two or three days until sprouts appear; otherwise use after soaking. Wash well
and blend with a minimum of water. If the blended rice does not have the
consistency of a paste, add rice or buckwheat flour, or strain off excess
water. Lightly cover a tray with some rice flour or baking paper and spread the
paste out flat. Preferably leave in the sun or otherwise a warm place, such as
a warm oven with the heat turned off, until the dough has solidified, usually
after a few hours.
Any other soaked or sprouted and blended seeds may be
used for making flat bread by baking
at 70º-80ºC/160º-180º F with or without adding some sourdough starter.
Again, it is advisable to spread the dough over a layer of flour to absorb
excess moisture. You may also add other flavoring ingredients, such as banana
or carrot pulp. Buckwheat flour helps to bind all other ingredients together. It
may take five hours or more of baking for the bread to solidify. At this
temperature the enzymes are destroyed and, unlike sun-baked rice, it is not a
raw food any more. However, the protein structures generally are not damaged
and there is no digestive leukocytosis when eating
this bread.
Sourdough baking with lactic acid fermentation is much healthier than yeast baking. It breaks
down gluten so that it tends to be less of a problem, and it makes minerals and
inositol available that otherwise remain locked up in
conventional cereals. Furthermore, you can use part of the ferment unheated as
a live food and source of probiotics.
Rye-Sourdough: Mix a cupful of acidophilus starter with rye flour,
water, flavorings (for example, caraway seeds) and a tablespoonful of honey or
molasses as food for the bacteria. Leave covered overnight in a warm place.
Before adding salt, reserve and refrigerate 1 cup of this as a starter for the
next baking. Add more flour, knead, shape and cover the loaves and let them
rise in a lightly warmed oven for several more hours. Then bake at moderate
heat for 90 minutes. Place a pan with hot water on the bottom rack to develop
steam.
Buckwheat-Rice
Dough: Mix the following:
·
2 cups of brown
rice flour
·
1 cup
of buckwheat flour
·
1 cup
of sourdough starter
·
1 cup
or more of warm water
·
1 or
2 tsp of honey or molasses
When doing this for the first time then use as sourdough starter a
cup of Kefir, or sauerkraut juice, or pollen ferment, or any other suitable
source of acidophilus (e.g. Grainfields liquid).
Honey or molasses are added as food for the bacteria to be converted to lactic
acid. Normally you save a cup of the sourdough for the next batch, and also adjust
the amount of water to obtain firm dough.
Buckwheat flour is recommended in all
non-gluten baking to make the bread stick together. You may replace part of the
rice flour with some other non-gluten flour.
Keep the mixture warm for several hours or
overnight, possibly in a yogurt maker. When it has become somewhat frothy and
risen by up to half in volume it is ready to bake. Take a cupful out and
refrigerate as starter for the next batch. If you want to add salt you can do
it at this stage. If it is too acid for your taste, mix some alkalizer (e.g. bicarbonate) into the dough.
There are now two possibilities. The
conventional one is to put it into a (lightly greased) baking tin, keep it warm for an hour or more to let it rise again, and then bake for
35 to 40 minutes at 180ºC. However, the healthier option, which you may explore
with some of the dough, is to spread it out flat on a tray and preferably let
it dry in the sun for a few hours, or otherwise just in a warm place. The aim
is not to get it dry like a baked product, but rather moist and crumbly.
This is now a live fermented food, similar
in health qualities to yogurt and it tastes somewhat sour just like yogurt. You
may use it with any good spreads and in addition to salads and other meals just
like you use bread. Start with a small amount and hopefully you come to like it
and use more.
BEEF JUICE
Beef juice was recommended by Edgar Cayce in cases of
serious muscle weakness. To make beef juice: dice about 500 grams or one pound
of lean beef. Put in a jar without water, cover well and stand the jar on a piece
of cloth in a pot filled with water. Boil for 3 hours. Press the accumulated juice
in the jar through a strainer and refrigerate or freeze. Sip a teaspoonful 5 to
10-times daily and keep in the mouth for some time. Make fresh weekly.
BLENDED GREEN
LEAVES
This is highly recommended as a daily drink, either on
its own or mixed with other ingredients. Blend a handful of dark-green leaves,
such as spinach, with water or juice at high speed, and drink without
straining; flavoring is optional.
BONE BROTH
This is beneficial with connective tissue problems,
including arthritis and ageing skin. Use the soft bones of fowl, or bones and
heads of fish. Add one or more tablespoons of vinegar, depending on the amount
of bones you have. Simmer with sufficient water in a covered non-metal container
for several hours until the bones become brittle and the liquid is nearly
neutral. With larger quantities and longer cooking time you may repeatedly add
more water and vinegar. Alternatively, use a pressure cooker for 30 minutes,
but without adding acid. When the bones have become soft, blend it all, strain
(optional) and freeze in ice cube trays. Use some of the broth frequently with
meals; especially add it to vegetable salads - it is an excellent source of
gelatin, calcium and other minerals.
BUTTER SPREAD
In order to cut down on butter consumption, lightly
warm some butter and mix it with an equal amount of extra virgin olive oil. Add
lecithin, chopped onion, kelp, herbs and spices to taste. Alternatively or in
addition to using oil, butter may be mixed with an equal amount of hot gelatin;
flavor to taste. Keep the butter spread refrigerated.
COTTAGE CHEESE or QUARK
‘Quark’ is the German name for fermented cottage
cheese, which has health benefits compared to conventional cottage cheese made
with rennet. While raw, organic milk is
best, you may use milk or milk powder of any type of animal. As starter culture
you may use kefir grains or acidophilus-bifido
culture from capsules, powders or from suitable commercial yogurt.
Keep in a warm place or in a yogurt maker until it has
curdled, or until curd and whey have separated, then strain, press lightly, and
refrigerate. Use part of the whey as starter for the next lot. Mucus problems,
such as colds, sinus congestion or running noses are mainly caused by lactose
(in combination with fungi or molds). The longer you ferment the milk and the
more you press out the curd the less lactose remains.
You may also improve commercial cottage cheese by
adding sufficient water, and a probiotic culture.
Keep warm overnight and then strain and refrigerate. This greatly reduces
unwanted ingredients and improves its healing potential.
If you can buy raw milk of any type of animal, you may
make quark the traditional way. Just keep the milk in a warm place in a covered
bowl until it has curdled and the whey separated from the curd. This may take
two days but less time if you add whey from a previous lot as a starter. Pour
into a large strainer, let drip overnight, and then refrigerate.
Oil-Protein Mix: This is recommended for overcoming cancer and
autoimmune diseases by restoring the oxidative energy production in the
mitochondria as in the Budwig Diet. Mix 3-4 heaped tablespoons of low-fat cottage
cheese with 3 tablespoons of flaxseed oil, a small amount of lecithin and additional
liquid as needed. Stir well until the oil is no longer visible. This basic mix
may be added to other food, such as a sprout or vegetable or fruit salad, or
cooked vegetables, or it may be flavored with berries or chopped pawpaw or
grated apple. Also 2 or 3 tablespoons of freshly ground or frozen linseed may
be added.
FERMENTS
Self-made ferments are more effective for sanitizing
the intestines than commercial capsules or powders. The commonly used yogurt
based on cows' milk has some problems in that many individuals are allergic or
sensitive to some ingredients of milk. While whey contains most of the
beneficial bacteria it also has most of the mucus-forming lactose and a factor
(IGF-1) that may stimulate tumor growth. The most commonly used milk from Friesian
cow’s (A1 milk) is also implicated in causing type 1 diabetes. Therefore for
most individuals it is better to use non-milk ferments for sanitizing the
intestines.
Better suitable are ferments made from vegetables,
fruits, grains, seeds and nuts, but even honey or molasses may be fermented,
also see the recipes for cottage cheese/quark, rejuvelac,
sauerkraut, seed cheese, seed yogurt, and sourdough.
The key component for fermenting is a good starter
culture. Commercial acidophilus cultures are commonly grown on milk with
lactose as the main energy source and are not very good at fermenting seeds and
vegetables where the main energy source are glucose and other sugars. You do
not need a starter for making sauerkraut but for other ferments it is preferably
to acquire a culture suitable for the intended medium. Two good suppliers who
deliver worldwide are http://www.agmfoods.com/
(also known as Grainfields) for grain and vegetable
ferments, and http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html
for kefir-based recipes and information. In addition to kefir
grains for fermenting milk you may obtain water kefir
grains, also called sugar kefir grains, which are
more suitable for fermenting non-milk products. Kefir
has the advantage that it works at room temperature.
Most lacto-bacteria work best at a temperature between
35-40°C. If you do not have a yogurt maker, keep the ferment inside a closed
(Styrofoam) box warmed by a small light bulb, or use a jar standing in warm or
hot water or keep it in a warm place. Refrigerate the ferment when it just
starts frothing. If it is too sour, use less of the whey as the next starter,
and partly neutralize the acid.
The water used for fermenting should be free of
chlorine and fluoride. Mineral-rich water works better than low-mineral water.
To improve soft water you may add a small amount of dolomite or eggshell
powder, magnesium chloride, colloidal minerals, molasses or bee pollen.
It is best to use a clean fermenting jar for each
batch rather than just adding more raw-material. In this way the formation of
undesirable bacteria and yeasts is minimized. Also a rather low or high
fermentation temperature may encourage the growth of yeasts. If you let a batch
ferment for more than a day occasionally shake or stir the content to prevent
molds forming on the surface.
Do not use any ferment that does not taste or smell
right. Sensitive individuals should partly neutralize any strong acidity by
letting it react with bicarbonate or dolomite powder before ingestion. If you
are sensitive and new to ferments start taking only a spoonful, and then keep
doubling the dose until you have reached a normal amount, such as a glassful.
Bee Pollen Ferment
is nutritious and easy to make. Add one
or several teaspoons of bee pollen and a teaspoon of honey or molasses to half
a liter of warm water, and as starter use sugar kefir grains, or half a
glassful of AGM ferment, or any other probiotic
culture. As with goats’ or rice milk, this does not curdle or set, and is used or
refrigerated when it starts frothing and tastes somewhat acid. When more
experienced with fermenting you may try adding other ingredients such as spirulina,
chlorella, wheat grass or barley grass powder or fresh ginger.
Subsequently use up to a cupful of strained liquid of the
previous batch as starter. The more of the starter you use and the warmer it
is, the sooner it will be ready. It may take from just a few hours up to two
days. Also with a new starter the bacteria are still dormant and need longer to
work, but after making several batches it takes much less time.
FISH, MARINATED
Dice the fish and cover with lemon juice or diluted
cider vinegar or a mixture of both. Refrigerate overnight; add onion, cooked or
raw, or herbs and spices, and possibly some juice or leaf or green skin of
papaw. Eat with vegetables or sprout salad. You may also marinate liver or
other soft cuts of meat.
FRUIT BALLS
These are for festive occasions. Mince any of following:
nuts, sesame or sunflower or pumpkin seeds, fresh coconut, dried fruits such as
apricots, dates, mixed peel, papaya, pineapple. Mix well, add lemon juice to
taste and also lecithin; bind with oil. Make into small balls and roll in
desiccated coconut. For different flavors add carob powder or spices to the
mixture.
HOMMOS
Soak chickpeas (garbanzo beans) overnight. If viable
sprout them, otherwise use soaked raw or soaked and cooked for a few minutes
only. Puree the prepared chickpeas in a blender and mix with any combination of
the following: olive oil, tahini, lecithin, cayenne,
herbs or spices. Keep refrigerated. This may be used as bread spread or as an
addition to meals.
HOT VEGETABLE JUICE
Normally you drink fresh vegetable juice cold.
However, in cold weather you may enjoy drinking it hot, flavored like a broth.
Use a handful of fresh green leaves, add cabbage, celery, tomato, cucumber -
whatever is available - and finally some sliced carrot, pumpkin or beetroot.
Mix this in an electric blender, together with a suitable warm to hot liquid,
for instance herb tea, bone broth, or just water. Drink without straining or
only coarsely strained. Try to keep the temperature of the broth below 500C/1200 F.
A juice extractor may be used instead of the blender.
You may also mix the hot liquid with some freshly pressed juice. Flavor the
drink to taste; you may use herbs, spices, miso, oil,
lecithin, egg yolk, food yeast or molasses in any combination you like. Drink
the juice immediately, taking sips. Another possibility is to simmer the
residue left over from juicing in water for ten minutes, strain; add some
flavoring and drink hot.
JELLIES
Dissolve 4 teaspoons of white, unflavored gelatin in half
a liter of hot water. Pour it over diced fruits or over sprouted seeds and
diced or grated vegetables (for example, cucumber, tomato, carrot or chopped
onion). You may add herbs, spices, and salt. Alternatively, the gelatin may be
dissolved in a smaller amount of hot water and mixed with an appropriate amount
of fruit juice or fresh vegetable juice. Refrigerate for setting. Instead of
commercial gelatin, a gelatinous bone or fish broth may be used. Gelatin aids
in the absorption of vitamins and minerals.
LIVER JUICE
Raw liver juice is the most nutrient-rich food. Use
only organic liver, lambs fry or liver of other free-range animals. Blend with
sufficient water, strain and freeze in ice cube containers. Drink one or more
cubes daily dissolved in fresh juice.
MINCED MEAT
Use only mince from lamb or
grass-fed or organic meat; do not use anything from a feedlot. Keep larger
amounts frozen in meal-size portions. You may flavor a portion with chopped or
grated onion, radish, ginger and tomato, use chili or cayenne, add some
magnesium chloride, and squeeze some lemon or limejuice over it. If possible
expose previously frozen or refrigerated food for several minutes to sunshine
before eating.
PAPAW
SMOOTHIE
This may be used as a special health food to aid the
digestion, cleanse the body of protein residues and dissolve tumors or other
unwanted growths. Mix in a blender mature green papaw (when it just starts
turning yellow and the seeds are already black) with skin, seeds and flesh,
also banana and any other fruit in season and sufficient of a suitable liquid,
such as a juice. Eat on its own or as part of a meal. You may also add protein
powders as described for the Protein Drink.
POTATOES - grated
In addition to baking or steaming potatoes with skin,
they may sometimes be prepared in the following way. Bring a cupful of water to
boil, keep the element on high, add coarsely grated potato and stir for 2-3
minutes. This leaves the potato semi-raw with a quite distinct flavor; add oil,
salt and other flavoring, and eat with vegetables or sprouts.
PROTEIN
DRINK
You may
use this as a basic snack or meal: Mix one teaspoon of spirulina, two of barley
or wheat grass powder and three each of pollen and ground linseed with a
suitable liquid. You may, of course, change the composition of the mix as it
suits you. As liquid you may use seed milk, seed yogurt or (goats’) milk
yogurt, kefir, fresh vegetable juice, apple juice or
grape juice, or smoothie made with raw egg, pawpaw,
banana or other fruit. You may add lecithin granules, coconut oil, linseed oil
or extra-virgin olive oil, any fermented liquid, and suitable supplement
powders or crushed tablets. You may make the consistency so that you can drink
it, or like porridge to eat with a spoon.
REJUVELAC (FERMENTED SEED DRINK)
Wash a cupful of whole grain (preferably organically
grown) and cover with 2 cups of warm water. Suitable are brown rice, millet,
rye and other grains. Keep in a glass or porcelain container in a warm place.
Pour off the liquid the next day or when it tastes slightly sour. Use possibly
refrigerated as a refreshing drink. The grains may then be cooked or sprouted.
Use the ferment only if it has a pleasant taste and smell otherwise discard it.
Rejuvelac may not be suitable for sensitive and
yeast-allergic individuals.
RICE DISHES
Cook the rice until almost soft and most of the water
has evaporated. Add a small quantity of apples, cover, cook until the apples
are soft and then mash them. Add cinnamon, oil and lecithin. Possibly eat cold
as dessert. As an alternative, add apple puree to the cooked rice. You may also
try rice with a sauce based on blended raw carrots and other sweet vegetables
or bananas.
SAUERKRAUT
Use a sterilized wooden barrel or earthenware pot of
suitable size. Place a layer of shredded cabbage 10-15 cm/4 - 6 inches deep in
the container. A small amount of salt and some herb seeds, such as caraway,
fennel or cumin, may be sprinkled over it; other shredded vegetables may be
added for flavoring. Press the first layer down then add another layer and so
on. The cabbage must be completely saturated with its juice and no air pockets
left. Cover the contents with cheesecloth, place a wooden cover over it and
weigh down with a heavy stone. Leave at room temperature.
From time to time, after several days, remove foam and
mildew from the top, wash the cheesecloth, board and stone with warm water and
then put them back. After about 2 weeks it should be ready for eating. Store
the container in a cool place, or fill the sauerkraut in jars and refrigerate.
Eat it raw and drink the juice as well as an excellent source of beneficial
bacteria.
To make it easier for beneficial bacteria to develop, you
may sprinkle some suitable ferment into the different layers, such as sauerkraut
juice, organic cider vinegar, kefir, or some acidophilus culture.
SEED CHEESE - SEED YOGURT
Soak oily seeds such as almonds, nuts, sesame seeds,
pumpkin or sunflower seeds for 8-12 hours. Puree in an electric blender and add
kefir or acidophilus culture, or possibly sauerkraut juice or rejuvelac as starter. Keep in a warm place for several
hours until the desired degree of sourness develops. Refrigerate and use within
3 days. If it is too sour or if curd and whey have separated, just strain and
discard the whey, possibly even rinse the curd. You may use seed yogurt as part
of a salad dressing, for flavoring meals or as bread spread. The more sensitive
you are the less sour it should be when you use it. If it smells or tastes bad,
discard it.
SEED MILK
Soak almonds or sunflower kernels overnight or for
about 12 hours. The simplest way is to change the water, blend the soaked seeds
in an electric blender and press them through a strainer. You may either drink
the liquid immediately or refrigerate. You may add the residue of the oily
seeds to any breakfast mix (remove almond skins before blending). However, a better
way is to obtain viable seeds and wait until they start sprouting. In this way
you may even use much cheaper un-hulled sunflower or pumpkin seeds for making
milk. You may also sprout barley or brown rice and then blend and strain, the
sprouting process produces sweeter milk.
SOYMILK
Self-made soymilk is less harmful than commercial soymilk and may be
used for making yogurt. Soak whole non-GM soybeans for 2 days in the
refrigerator, changing the water several times to remove all the
anti-nutrients. Then blend and strain through a cheesecloth. Bring the strained
liquid to boiling and simmer for 3-5 minutes, cool quickly and refrigerate
until needed. One cup of dry beans yields about 3 cups of soaked beans and 2-3
litres of soymilk. When using this to make yogurt add a tablespoon of raw honey
as food for the starter bacteria.
SPROUT
SALAD
Mix a variety of freshly rinsed sprouted seeds with a
combination of fresh, raw vegetables, basically using whatever is available.
Most suitable are sprouts of mung beans, lentils,
sunflower seeds and fenugreek together with finely grated beetroot, carrot and
turnip or radish. Tomato and cucumber (try grated) are good for flavoring. If
you have difficulty chewing, you may put all of it through a mincer or you may also liquefy and drink it, possibly as
part of a protein drink.
The key to enjoying a salad is to find a delicious
dressing. Experiment until you succeed. Try a general dressing of extra virgin
olive oil, lemon juice or whole blended lemon or cider vinegar or rosehip
powder, any fresh or dried herbs or spices, possibly a dash of cayenne. These
may be added individually or mixed beforehand and refrigerated in a jar. You
may flavor olive oil by mixing in a jar one part of tahini
with 3-10 parts of oil, lemon juice and lecithin. Raw egg yolk is a good
addition to the dressing, and possibly seed cheese or sour milk. You may also
flavor this salad with tofu or yogurt.
SWEET VEGETABLES
Use any combination of the following: sliced pumpkin,
sweet potato, onion, turnip, carrot and tomato. Adjust the cooking water so
that finally almost all of it has evaporated. Vegetables with short cooking
times (tomato, pumpkin) may be added later to preserve their flavor. Also any
salt, oil, curry, cayenne, herbs and spices are best stirred in at the end of
cooking.
VEGGIE BURGERS
Soak overnight one cup of chickpeas or lentils; next
morning replace the water and blend. Soak two cups of rice overnight and cook.
Combine the blended legumes with the cooked rice and add some buckwheat flour
or an egg to bind. Flavor this with any combination of the following: miso, soy sauce, fresh parsley, coriander, cumin, fresh
ginger, onion, and any other herbs or spices. Form flat burgers, and bake crisp
in a grill or a non-stick pan.