Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and The... (166 page)

POTTENGER LIVER COCKTAIL

Makes 1 cup

1 small chunk pasture-fed beef or lamb liver, frozen for at least 14 days

4-6 ounces tomato juice

dash of tabasco sauce

squeeze of lime juice

1 tablespoon whey
Whey and Cream Cheese

Dr. Francis Pottenger, author of the famous cat studies, recommended this tonic for the health and stamina-building properties of raw liver and gave it to patients at his sanitorium suffering from tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases. This is a great tonic for athletes. The liver you use should come from pasture-fed cows.

Grate liver finely to obtain about 1-2 teaspoons. Mix with tomato juice, whey and seasonings. Drink immediately.

Fasting is an ancient traditional method of restoring health, based on the principle of sparing the digestion through greatly reduced food intake (or a monodiet composed of one easy-to-digest food like raw milk) so that the energies of the body can be directed towards healing and rebuilding. Many fasts call for the exclusive use of plant foods, usually in the form of juices, broths or purees. Such diets can be very useful in the short term for healing and detoxifying, particularly if coupled with gentle methods of removing toxins, such as coffee enemas or colonic irrigations. Fasting should only be carried out under the supervision of a qualified health practitioner and never be allowed to continue for too long.

Fasting may be likened to applying mops and brooms to the body temple. All buildings, even the magnificent edifice of the human body, need an occasional cleansing; but they are built strong and kept in good repair with bricks and mortar—the fats and proteins supplied by nutrient-dense animal foods. SWF

RAW LIVER DRINK

Makes 1 cup

¼ pound raw beef liver, frozen for 14 days and thawed

½ cup cold water

pinch sea salt

juice of 1 lime

½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 teaspoon Rapadura (see
Guide to Natural Sweeteners
), optional

1 tablespoon whey
Whey and Cream Cheese

Wash liver, chop finely and soak for 2 hours in water and sea salt. Press through a fine strainer. Mix with the remaining ingredients and drink immediately.

Of course, using food as medicine is ancient. The pharmacopeia of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, Greece and China as well as those of the Middle Ages was based on food. Only in this century has society become almost exclusively dependent on manufactured pills to cure our miseries. But now that pharmaceutical model is breaking down as a panacea for today's plague of chronic diseases, such as cancer, arthritis, and heart disease; and the ancient wisdom about food's medicinal powers, newly confirmed by twentieth century scientific research, is increasingly infiltrating mainstream medicine. Jean Carper
The Food Pharmacy Guide to Good Eating

BARLEY WATER

Makes 1 quart

4 tablespoons pearled barley

1 quart filtered water

juice of 1 lime

Rapadura (see
Guide to Natural Sweeteners
) to taste

¼ cup whey
Whey and Cream Cheese

Wash barley, cover with cold water, heat to boiling and discard this water. Place barley and 1 quart water in top of double boiler and simmer for 2 hours. Strain and add remaining ingredients after barley water has cooled. May be drunk warm or cold.

Primitive tribes in both Africa and the New World consumed algae in the form of "pond scum," which they dried in the sun. Rich in chlorophyll, protein, beta carotene, omega-3 fatty acids, minerals, enzymes and nucleic acids, dried microalgae have been used successfully to treat everything from leprosy to AIDS. The nutritive value of these products depends in part on the minerals available in the water in which they are grown. Toxins will be present if the growing medium is polluted. Look for algae that have been processed by freeze drying, rather than heat, and that are cultivated in pure, mineral rich waters.

There are three main type of dried algae available. Spirulina is said to be the easiest to digest and absorb, partly because its cell walls are composed of mucopolysaccharides rather than indigestible cellulose. Chlorella needs special processing to improve the digestibility of a tough outer cell wall but is valued for its ability to bind with heavy metals and pesticides and carry them out of the body. Wild blue-green algae is said to have remarkable healing properties but can transform into an exceptionally toxic plant under certain conditions. Freeze drying is said to denature these toxins. SWF

MARY's SWAMP JUICE

Makes 6 ounces

1 tablespoon freshly ground flax seed

1 teaspoon spirulina powder

¼ teaspoon dolomite powder (See
Sources
)

6 ounces fresh orange juice

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and drink immediately.

IODINE GARGLE

Makes 1 cup

1 cup filtered water

2 teaspoons sea salt

7 drops atomidine, an iodine solution (See
Sources
)

Add salt to water and bring to a boil. Allow to cool and add atomidine. Use when the gargle is still quite hot but not hot enough to burn. Great for sore throats, hoarseness and tonsillitis.

Throughout history, ocean salt has earned a hallowed reputation. Our ancestors saw it as an element that regenerates blood, a principle of equilibrium and life. To this day names of towns ending in "lick" still attest to the fact that our early ancestors were drawn to the seashores or the rock salt deposits of the earth. In England town names ending in "wich," in Germany "saal" as in Salzburg, remind us of its neolithic origins. Early settlements grew up around these salt beds and springs. Jacques DeLangre
Seasalt's Hidden Powers

WHEY DRINK

Makes 4 ounces

½ cup whey
Whey and Cream Cheese

½ cup filtered water

juice of 1 lemon

Mix all ingredients together and drink immediately.

Using cheese whey as a beverage in human nutrition, especially for therapeutic purposes, can be traced back to the ancient Greeks. Hippocrates, in 460 BC, prescribed whey for an assortment of human ailments. In the Middle Ages, whey was recommended by many doctors for varied diseases; and by the mid 19th century, whey cures reached a high point with the establishment of over 400 whey houses in Western Europe. As late as the 1940's, in spas in Central Europe, dyspepsia, uremia, arthritis, gout, liver diseases, anemia and even tuberculosis were treated with the ingestion of up to 1500 grams of whey per day. V. H. Holsinger
Whey Beverages: A Review

MORNING TONIC

Serves 1

2 tablespoons noni juice (see
Superfoods
and Sources)

1 teaspoon cod liver oil

1 heaping teaspoon Azomite mineral powder (see
Superfoods
and Sources)

18 drops 3% hydrogen peroxide

¼ cup filtered water

Mix all ingredients together and drink immediately.

CABBAGE JUICE TONIC

Makes 2 quarts

¼ organic green cabbage

1 tablespoon sea salt

¼ cup whey
Whey and Cream Cheese

filtered water

This should be taken in small amounts throughout the day to improve intestinal flora.

Shred cabbage finely with a stainless steel knife and pound briefly with a meat hammer or a wooden pounder. Place in a 2-quart jug with salt, whey and enough water to fill the container. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for 2 days before transferring to refrigerator.

Variation: Spiced Cabbage Juice

Add
¼-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
to 4 ounces cabbage juice tonic for a gargle and sore throat remedy.

Cabbage is an unusually rich source of vital nutrients, particularly vitamin C and carotenoids. Vitamin C is required by the body for the integrity of blood vessels, connective tissue, bones and every essential biochemical activity including immune function.

Cabbage juice is highly valued as a folk remedy. Its healing powers may be related to its high sulphur and chlorine content, which in combination is said to exert a powerful cleansing action upon the mucous membranes of the intestinal tract. Cabbage juice has been used in the treatment of arthritis, gastrointestinal ulceration, skin disorders and obesity. "Cabbage water for the complexion," is a truism among the Irish.

Even better than plain cabbage juice is the juice of fermented cabbage, with is content of lactic acid and enzymes. German folk wisdom values both cabbage juice and cucumber pickle juice for digestive disorders, infectious illnesses and many other complaints. SWF

REJUVELAC

Makes 6 quarts

2 cups organic soft spring wheat berries

filtered water

cheesecloth

This tonic was popularized by Ann Wigmore, the first of American practical nutritionists to recognize the importance of enzymes and lacto-fermented food in the diet. Rejuvelac should be yellowish, cloudy and tart, without being too sour, and slightly carbonated.

Place wheat berries in a 2-quart glass jar. Fill with water and cover top with cheesecloth held in place by a rubber band. Soak at room temperature for 8 to 10 hours. Drain through the cheesecloth, rinse and drain again. Place jar at an angle and leave for 2 days, rinsing two to three times per day, while the berries begin to sprout. After 2 days, rinse thoroughly and fill jar with water. Soak 48 hours. Pour off the rejuvelac and store in a glass container in the refrigerator. A layer of white foam may form at the top, which should be gently lifted off with a spoon.

A second batch may be made by filling the jar and soaking for 24 hours; and a third batch, by filling again and soaking another 24 hours. After that the berries will be spent and may be put outside for the birds.

No sooner had we concluded the formalities of taking possession of the island than people began to come to the beach. . .. They are very well-built people, with handsome bodies and very fine faces, though their appearance is marred somewhat by very broad heads and foreheads, more so than I have ever seen in any other race. Their eyes are large and very pretty. . .. These are tall people and their legs, with no exceptions, are quite straight; and none of them has a paunch. They are, in fact, well proportioned. . .. These lands are very fertile. They are full of
niames
[sweet potatoes], which are like carrots and taste like chestnuts. They
have beans very different from ours
. . .. These fields are planted mostly with
ajes
[manioc, yuca or tapioca]. The Indians sow little shoots, from which small roots grow that look like carrots. They serve this as bread, by grating and kneading it, then baking it in the fire.

More than 120 canoes came to the ships today. They all brought something, especially their bread and fish, small earthen jars of water, and seeds of many good kinds of spices. Some of these seeds they put in a gourd full of water and drank it; and the Indians with me said that is very healthy. . .. I think that another 500 swam to the ships because they did not have canoes, and we were anchored 3 miles from land! Robert H. Fuson, trans.
The Log of Christopher Columbus