Food Preparation

Processed, prepackaged foods - even organic - are always a less-than-optimal food choice. This is for two reasons. First, many essential nutrients and enzymes are destroyed through extensive processing and handling techniques, reducing the body's ability to carry out essential metabolic processes.  Second, any number of food additives are included in the mix, and these additives are not necessarily required to appear on the label, even for organic foods. When non-organic foods are used, an extra metabolic burden is created by chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

Because raw foods in general supply the highest amounts of enzymes, vitamins and other nutrients, it is in your own best interest to include as much raw foods as possible in your diet.  Sustainably grown or organic food also generally supplies a higher level of nutrients, and a lower level of chemical pesticides, so it is worthwhile to seek out sources for such food as much as possible.  Vegetable juicing is one easy way to get lots of fresh, raw veggies into your daily diet and veggie juices are preferrable to fruit juices - both because of the types of nutrients supplied and also because of all the problems resulting from insulin/blood sugar balance.  Because juicing is a concentrated form of vegetables, it is important to use organic vegetables, because the last thing you want in concentrated form is pesticides.

Another easy way to get more raw foods in your diet is to consume raw milk and dairy products. (To find sources near you, contact the chapter leaders nearest you listed under Local Chapters:  http://realmilk.com/ and while you're there read all about the benefits of raw dairy from clean, healthy, pastured animals).

Consuming raw animal products such as beef or fish are sometimes frowned upon in our culture, but many studies have shown that these too can supply critical enzymes and other essential nutrients which can be lost or destroyed through cooking. So check recipes from Martha Stuart, go to a good sushi restaurant or oyster bar - and buy Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig along with The Recipe for Living Without Disease by Aajonous Vonderplanitz for some recipe ideas.

Naturally fermented foods such as Kefir from raw dairy and sauerkraut from cabbage are excellent ways to consume "predigested" raw food. Traditionally fermented foods preserve and increase available nutrients and provide important digestive enzymes and bacteria (otherwise known as probiotics). Healthy intestinal terrains are populated with plentiful "good" bacteria which then helps produce many of the B vitamins required for proper food metabolism.  Nourishing Traditions mentioned above is one source for learning about fermented foods and some great recipes for preparing them.

Whole grains and beans should be soaked overnite before cooking. Oat meal is also best soaked overnite in lemon juice and water or buttermilk. Nuts (except cashews) and seeds also are best when soaked then slow roasted in a low heat oven, seasoned with sea salt if desired. Second best are dry roasted nuts and seeds.

The best cooking techniques involve either high heat, very fast cook times (as with stir fries) AND good quality heat resistant fats, such as coconut oil or beef tallow OR low heat, long cooking times. "Bone broth" soups for example become richer in minerals when the cooking time is extended to 18 hours. When frying foods, use heat-stable lard, beef fat, or coconut oil (and read our Cholesterol Myth and Fact page). 

For recipes and information the best overall source is Nourishing Traditions  by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig.

COOKING APPLIANCES: We urge you to seriously consider the avoidance of MICROWAVES AT ALL COSTS. This outstanding article which originally appeared in a 1994 issue of Acres, USA deserves careful reading.   Here is another and another.

COOKING UTENSILS: The best and safest cooking utensils are glass, or OLD cast iron pots and OLD stainless pots. IF new utensils must be purchased try to find out whether "radioactive by-products" have been added to the raw materials somewhere along the production line. (From experience we can tell you this won't be easy, but you might start by investigating the waterless stainless cookware available at our "best herbs source".)  For more information: http://www.nirs.org/radwaste/recycling/recyclinghome.htm

AVOID chemically treated pots and pans: This excerpt from an article titled DuPont Denies Poisoning Consumers with Teflon Products  gives one example as to why:

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has filed a complaint against DuPont for withholding evidence revealing negative health and environmental impacts from a chemical used to produce Teflon. The chemical, commonly known as PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), has been found to cause cancer in laboratory animals. Due to Teflon's popularity (those nifty non-stick frying pans, etc.), PFOA can now be detected in the bodies of 90% of Americans. The EPA is investigating the possibility that DuPont may have learned of potential problems with the chemical more than two decades ago. On an international level, the EPA's announcement has prompted foreign governments to launch investigations into the toxicity of the chemical, and stores in China have begun pulling Teflon products from their shelves. "

AVOID ALUMINUM POTS: Eustace Mullins explains why in an excerpt from his book Murder By Injection:

[Aluminum cookware was introduced in the 1920’s and] “by the 1930’s, American housewives had learned that it was potentially dangerous to leave many foods in aluminum pots for more than a few minutes. Greens, tomatoes, and other vegetables, were known to discolor and become poisonous in a short time. . . It is now known that cooking any food in an aluminum pot, particularly with fluoridated water, quickly forms a highly poisonous compound. Dr. McGuigan’s testimony in a famous court hearing on aluminum’s effects, the Royal Baking Powder case, revealed that extensive research had shown that boiling water in aluminum pots produced hydro-oxide poisons; boiling an egg in aluminum produced a phosphate poison; boiling meat in an aluminum pot produced a chloride poison. Any food cooked in aluminum containers would neutralize the digestive juices, produce acidosis, and ulcers."