Leafy greens: Healthy, organic greens are our connecting link to earth. All life comes from healthy Mother Earth. Only fresh, organically grown food has the capacity to rebuild diseased bodies. Leafy greens are high in essential minerals and chlorophyll. Any healthy organic greens can be used—including watercress, turnip greens, spinach, endive, escarole, lambsquarter, purslane, and dandelion.
Buckwheat greens or sprouts: These greens are an excellent source of chlorophyll, vitamins A and C, calcium, and lecithin. Buckwheat lecithin contains natural phosphorus and is a fat solvent. This means it is very effective as a way of removing fatty deposits from the tissues and cholesterol from the hardened arteries.
Sunflower greens: These sprouts will eventually grow into large sunflower plants. They contain an excellent balance of protein, chlorophyll, B-complex vitamins, vitamin E, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus. These greens have a very strong nutritional value and should be consumed daily.
Avocados: Avocados are an ideal food because they are a complete food. They are packed with nutrition and contain vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, and generous portions of such minerals as iron, phosphorus, and magnesium. Avocados are about 12 percent oil and 8 percent carbohydrate—more like a nut than a fruit. The essential fatty acids in avocados are unrefined and beneficial to the body.
Apples: Apples mix well with vegetables, especially when used in a blended recipe. Apples contain protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium, vitamins A, B1 and B2, niacin, and C. They provide necessary natural sugars. (If papaya is used in place of apples in your Energy Soup, you will have about the same nutrients but will be adding valuable digestive enzymes.) Always peel non-organically grown apples and remove cores.
Rejuvelac
Rejuvelac is a fermented, enzyme-rich drink made from sprouted grains. It’s a great aid for digestion and elimination, due to the fermentation process. Rejuvelac is one of the three most important items on the Living Foods Lifestyle Program, along with Energy Soup and wheatgrass juice. It is an excellent source of vitamins B, C, E, amino acids, simple sugars, and enzymes. Since it is a fermented food, Rejuvelac is also used for improving bowel flora.
Rejuvelac replaces the missing enzymes that cooked foods have destroyed. Because one of the biggest health problems is a deficiency of enzymes, Rejuvelac plays a vital role in restoring good health. Rejuvelac contains all the nutritional nourishment of wheat, is easily digested, and also works as an appetite suppressant. Although a beverage, Rejuvelac is actually so nutritious it could be classified as a food by itself.
How to make Rejuvelac
• 1 cup soft or hard wheat berries (or rye, kamut, or quinoa)
• 2 cups purified water
• 2 wide-mouthed Mason jars
1. Place wheat berries (or grain) in clean Mason jar. Add twice as much water as berries and cover with gauze, held securely with an elastic band to soak overnight.
2. In the morning, rinse and drain wheat berries well. Sprout by placing the gauze-covered jar upside down at an angle, and rinsing twice a day. Sprout for two to three days or until the tail of the sprout is the same size as the grain.
3. When sprouts are ready, rinse well and drain one last time. Add water to the Mason jar (about two to three times the amount of sprouts).
4. Ferment at room temperature for two days. Cover the jar with cloth, but do not seal! Rejuvelac is ready to harvest when you see a thin, creamy foam on top of the water, which is rich in vitamins and minerals.
5. Pour off liquid Rejuvelac into another jar. Refrigerate. Refill original jar (still containing sprouted wheat) with water, reducing the amount of water, as the grains are milder. Let sit for one day and pour off the second batch. Refill again with even less water for the final batch of Rejuvelac. Compost wheat berries. Refrigerate.
Note that the strength of Rejuvelac also depends on the climate (the warmer the climate, the faster it ferments). If you prefer a stronger batch in the winter, let it ferment an extra day.
When preparing Rejuvelac (or Cabbage Rejuvelac, next page), be sure to keep the Mason jars sterile, otherwise bad bacteria can also grow in the jars during fermentation.
Two reasons Rejuvelac works:
Reduces toxicity—A healthy colon is the most important means for eliminating toxins. If your colon is not functioning properly, you are toxic. The healthy bacteria in Rejuvelac and other fermented foods enable the colon to function properly by introducing healthy lactobacteria.
Rich in enzymes—The biggest deficiency most people now face is a deficiency of enzymes. Rejuvelac has a very high level of enzymes and replaces the missing enzymes in our bodies, enabling the healing process to take place.
Avoid using tap water because chlorine will interfere with the production of the bacteria. Like sprouts or any cultured food, it is possible for Rejuvelac to spoil. You can generally tell if Rejuvelac is good by the taste and smell. It is a cloudy liquid that has a tart lemon-like flavor, tinged with a doughy, yeasty flavor. Rejuvelac should keep in the fridge one week. Drink in place of water or juice between meals, or add to green smoothies or Energy Soup to reduce oxidization.
Cabbage Rejuvelac
When lactobacteria are to be taken, the recommended form is that of Cabbage Rejuvelac, which is obtained by fermenting fresh cabbage. Cabbage is teeming with lactobacteria. No starter is needed—Cabbage Rejuvelac is made with organic green (or purple) cabbage.
Good-quality Rejuvelac tastes similar to a cross between carbonated water and the whey obtained when making yogurt. Poor-quality Rejuvelac has a putrid odor and taste and should not be consumed. Always use good-quality water when making Rejuvelac (distilled, reverse osmosis, or filtered).
How to make Cabbage Rejuvelac
• 3
• 6 cups coarsely chopped, loosely packed fresh organic cabbage
Add water and cabbage to blender, and start blending at low speed for thirty seconds. Advance to high speed, and blend for another thirty seconds until well blended. Pour into a clean Mason jar, cover lightly with a cloth (do not seal!), and let stand at room temperature for three days.
Strain off the liquid Rejuvelac using a nut milk bag (used for making creamy nut and seed milks or for sprouting and available at many health food stores). Refrigerate liquid Rejuvelac, and compost the pulp. (All the nutrients are in the liquid.)
Cabbage Rejuvelac takes three days to mature. It will keep one week in the fridge.
I don’t particularly care for using measuring cups, which has delayed me from writing an un-cook book, and find that a much easier way of preparing Cabbage Rejuvelac is to fill the blender to the top with cabbage and then just fill it up with water and blend!
Wheatgrass juice
The third essential element of the Living Foods Lifestyle is wheatgrass juice. Dr Ann Wigmore popularized wheatgrass for its healing properties. High in oxygen, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, and vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, and K, it is very helpful in building the immune system. Wheatgrass juice is the juice extracted from hard wheatberry seed sprouts. This strain of wheat has been used for thousands of years all around the world for its healing properties.
Wheatgrass juice is also rich in chlorophyll, the pigment which gives plants its green color. The molecular structure in chlorophyll is very similar to that of hemoglobin in humans, and some health experts believe that when wheatgrass is consumed, the production of hemoglobin is increased. Higher amounts of hemoglobin in the bloodstream lead to more oxygen-rich blood. It is easily absorbed by the body and uses little energy for digestion. Additionally, wheatgrass juice is a powerful blood cleanser and can help