Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and The... (53 page)

Place chopped cucumbers in a colander and mix with sea salt. Let stand for an hour or so. Pat cucumbers dry and mix with other ingredients. This is traditionally served with curries and spicy food.

When the sugar in milk, lactose, is turned into lactic acid by bacterial action, it functions as a digestive antiseptic and makes the calcium and phosphorus in milk products more available for absorption and use by the body. When the population of lactic bacteria in the intestine is increased. . .synthesis of vitamin B
₆
is improved, which promotes the production of niacin (vitamin B
₃
) from the amino acid tryptophan. This nutrient enhancement supports the immune system and improves host resistance. William H. Lee, PhD
The Friendly Bacteria

VARIETY SALAD

Serves 4

4 medium carrots, peeled and grated

1 cucumber, peeled, quartered and finely sliced

1 red pepper, seeded and cut into a julienne or 1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped

¼ head red cabbage, finely shredded

1 teaspoon parsley, finely chopped

¾ cup
basic dressing

This is a simple salad that makes an attractive presentation. The different vegetables are arranged in little piles on large plates. Children who are often picky about eating several foods mixed together like this salad because each vegetable is separate. And they like the different colors—white, orange, red and maroon and green.

Mix carrots, cucumber, red cabbage and pepper or tomato separately with a portion of dressing. Put four piles, one of each vegetable, on large plates. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

Carotenes are what give orange and yellow vegetables their color. In green vegetables they are masked by the green color of chlorophyll. Animals and humans convert carotenes to vitamin A, but the carotenes themselves have many functions. Beta carotene, the most active of several carotene compounds, has been shown to boost the immune system and to fight against cancer.

We need to get betacarotene from the foods we eat—carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, orange fruits, green leafy vegetables—because synthetic betacarotene has adverse effects when used in human studies. Carotenes are more available in foods that have been chopped, grated, cooked or pureed. Only about 5 percent of carotene is absorbed from eating a raw carrot. Cooking makes 25 percent to 30 percent of carotenes available, and pureeing allows the body to absorb 50 percent. SWF

VARIETY SALAD FOR GROWN-UPS

Serves 6

½ pound French beans, ends removed and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 heads fennel, sliced very thin

2 red peppers, seeded and cut into a julienne

about ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and pepper

1 cup
anchovy paste

Plunge beans into boiling water for about 8 minutes or until tender. Pour into a colander and rinse with cold water. Toss each vegetable separately with olive oil and season to taste. Chill well. Arrange a pile of beans, of fennel and of peppers on each of six plates and place a generous spoonful of anchovy paste in the center.

In certain Eastern and European esoteric healing traditions, the body is characterized as cyclically passing through three distinct phases: cleansing, building and sustaining. . .. Different nutritional systems enhance one particular phase more than others, sometimes in dramatic fashion. For example, a raw foods diet steers the body into a cleansing state, causing the breakdown of diseased tissues and the release of stored toxins. If you undertake a raw foods diet while the body is already in a cleansing state, or ready to move into one (for instance in the early spring when we naturally shed excess fatty tissue accumulated in the winter), the diet may have profound effects. Illness and pains may vanish, stores of energy be released and a wonderful clarity of mind appear.

Those who have this experience correctly perceive the healing effect of the diet but often incorrectly conclude that the diet works all the time and for all bodies. . .. What is more, many people who follow a year-round raw foods regimen meet with relative success because they live in hot weather or tropical locations like Hawaii, Florida, or Southern California—environments that naturally support the cleansing process. Try eating raw fruits and vegetables for twelve months in Montana and you will learn firsthand why it does not always work. Marc David
Nourishing Wisdom

FRENCH BEAN SALAD

Serves 4

1 pound French beans, ends removed

1 medium red onion, finely sliced

2 tomatoes

4 tablespoons
crispy pecans
, chopped

¾ cup
basic dressing

This elegant and unusual salad features tender French beans or
haricots verts
, not to be confused with string beans. Remove ends from beans and plunge into boiling water. Cook for about 8 minutes until beans are tender. Pour into a colander and rinse with cold water. Let drain and cool.

Slice tomatoes thinly and cut slices in half. Arrange the slices around the outer edge of four plates. Place beans in the center and sprinkle with onions and chopped pecans. Spoon on dressing and serve.

RAINBOW SALAD

Serves 6

2 fennel bulbs

2 heads Belgium endive

¼ head red cabbage, shredded

2 large carrots, grated

1 red pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

1 cucumber, peeled, cut lengthwise into quarters and thinly sliced

1 heart of celery with leaves, finely chopped

1 small red onion, finely sliced

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon
crispy pine nuts

¾ cup
balsamic dressing

1 avocado, thinly sliced

1 tomato, cut into wedges

¼ pound Roquefort cheese (optional), crumbled

The basis of this substantial salad is fennel and the secret to its success is to cut the vegetables up very small.

Remove outer leaves from fennel bulbs, slice very finely and cut slices into quarters. Remove outer leaves of endive and slice across at ¼-inch intervals. Toss fennel, cabbage, Belgium endive, carrots, pepper, cucumber, celery, red onion, cilantro and pine nuts with dressing. Divide between six plates and decorate with thin slices of avocado and tomato. Garnish with crumbled Roquefort cheese.

Most people do not seem to have a large variance of vitamins and minerals over the years. However, the enzyme levels drop significantly in aging; as the body gets weaker and the enzymes get fewer, old age symptoms manifest. At the world famous Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, researchers found that old people have only one-thirtieth as much enzymes in the saliva as young folks. Also people with high enzyme diets have extensive longevity patterns. For example, people like Georgians, Equadorans, and Hunzas have a diet rich in enzymes and have a high concentration of centenarians. They make extensive use of fermentation—soy, dairy, vegetables and fruits. Also, they utilize sprouting as well as soaking of seeds, which increases the enzyme level up to twenty times, and raw or undercooked food. They also fast seasonally during periods of food scarcity. . .during fasting there is a halt in digestive enzyme production. The enzymes are used to digest the partially digested stored food of fatty tissue, scars, arthritis, tumors, hardening of the arteries, etc. Thu, the enforced fast is another health and longevity promoting benefit. Victoras Kulvinskas
Introduction to Food Enzymes for Health and Longevity

ASPARAGUS VINAIGRETTE

Serves 4

24 spears medium-sized asparagus

¾ cup
sun dried tomato dressing

Wash asparagus and trim green skin off about one inch of the ends. Steam in a vegetable steamer until just tender. Divide between four plates and spoon dressing over.

SUMMER SALAD

Serves 6

¾ cup
lemon pepper dressing

1 bunch celery, finely chopped

2 cucumbers, peeled, quartered lengthwise and finely chopped

2 bunches green onions, finely chopped

2 green peppers, seeded and finely chopped

1 bunch radishes, finely chopped

3 tomatoes

1 tablespoon parsley or chives, finely chopped