Lambsquarter: Raw Wild Green You Just Have to Tame!

Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 June 2010 08:32

What a wonderful discovery, lamb's quarter (Chenopodium album)! I remember last year, pulling this weed by the handful in my vegetable garden, cursing all along that such a nuisance could have been created. Today, I savour this wild edible every morning. I'll even dehydrate some for winter use. My favorite recipe using this wild green is a juice, that I call Wild Calcium Booster Juice. It's based on a Cherie Soria recipe. It's at the end of this article. Give it a try!

Nutritional data relating to this edible green is, to my knowledge, all based on cooked (what a shame!) and drained lamb's quarter. So I'll have to extrapolate. What I like the most about this plant, is it's calcium content: one cup of cooked, drained lamb's quarter yields an astonishing 46% of the daily recommended dose of calcium! WOW! Of course, since I use it raw, the dose of calcium is somewhat diluted (since cooking evaporates water). But still... And since it's free here, I can feast on it and make ample provisions. I'd bet that once dehydrated, its calcium content must be excellent.

 
Lamb's quarter constitute a good source of the following elements: niacin, folate, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. It also contains very good stores of dietary fiber, protein, vitamins A, B6, C and K, thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, potassium, copper and manganese.

Strawberry

Last Updated on Thursday, 17 June 2010 10:56

In my family, the love of strawberries is natural. I even grow my own, to ensure proper quality. Store-bought non-organic strawberries are among the most sprayed with chemicals of all sorts crops today. And I eat such huge quantities of them that cultivating them, although more labor-intensive, makes sense.

I make, every summer, an all-strawberry meal. It's tradition. Everything from hors d'oeuvres to dessert contains strawberries. And this year, there will be a raw version (just for me!!!). I can't wait!

This berry abounds in luscious flavor and exceptional nutrition. Let's look at a few reasons (as if we needed any!), to have an inordinate love of strawberries and how to include more of them in our raw and living food meals.

Strawberries are packed with phenols: anthocyanins (responsible for the red color of the fruit) and ellagitannins. Phenols, it is well known, are powerful antioxidants protecting our cells from damage. The unique content in phenols of the strawberry makes it a heart-protecting fruit, not to mention that it aids in the prevention of cancers and inflammation.

Raw 101 - Living Food and Solitude

Last Updated on Thursday, 10 June 2010 14:40

Like a lot of people wishing to eat a healthier diet, it can happen that someone who decides to start eat raw and living foods will feel alone. One of those uncomfortable solitudes around food choices. More than one raw foodist lives with other family members that do not share their dietary choices. Some even face serious opposition. How does one stay happy in such cases?

If your friends, family or colleagues disapprove of your eating style et they let you know with force (and repetitiously!), you will have to explain to them, with the all the respect you can muster, that their comments are hurtful. Try something along these lines: "I know what I eat might upset you and that you don't agree. But I would really appreciate it if you would stop talking about it and keep your opinions to yourself in my presence because I feel [insert the feeling you are experiencing]." If they respect you in the least and if they love you at all, they will comply. If they refuse, then the question becomes: why put up with such people? One exception to point out: the case in which you are actually showing signs of illness. Some people starting out on the living food path do not feed themselves properly and therefore start showing signs of being malnourished or other negative effect on their health. So you must pay attention to this type of remark, especially if it comes from different sources and is repeated to you over a certain period of time. If people you know love you and have your best interests at heart, tell you that you look sick, unwell, you must think carefully at the truth of what they are saying. Fix any nutritional imbalance you might be experiencing before your health really start to suffer from it. After all, you are seeking health, right?

Kombucha

Last Updated on Monday, 19 July 2010 08:55

Have you heard about kombucha? Has someone proposed that you give it a try yourself at home? Hesitant? Here is how to do it.

I use a double fermentation process, taught to me by my dear Carmella, which spares the culture from unwanted contaminants or unhappy mixes that could reduce its vitality.

Necessary Material:

1. large glass container (must hold about 18-20 cups of liquid)
2. pure water: 12 cups
3. organic sugar (sucanat) : 1 cup
4. tea (green, black, white or combination) : 5 bags or 5 tsp of leaves
5. piece of paper towel, coffee filter or thin cloth (so that insects cannot penetrate into the container but the culture can still breathe)
6. one mushroom, also known as scoby
Read more... Add new comment