12 Steps to Whole Foods

Preserving Raw Foods with Natural Probiotics
children has ever had strep, the flu, or any infection or other serious illness. None has ever had yellow/green
(stagnant, acidic) mucous since I made nutritional changes those many years ago.
My mother and some of my friends love to drink kefir straight. I don’t personally drink milk of any kind, but I
add two tablespoons of whey to my Hot Pink Breakfast Smoothies to get the health benefit, or I use part or all
coconut-liquid kefir in it. Whey is the clear yellow liquid that separates from the creamy white part of yogurt or
kefir and it is rich in sodium (not table salt, or sodium chloride, but naturally occurring sodium that you need to
get from food to build healthy tissues).
In addition to taking a probiotic, many of us take digestive enzymes. But some studies suggest that cultured
foods will actually replenish the body’s enzyme stores, helping us digest other foods. Bringing fermented foods
back, since they have been largely lost since ancient times, is an important step in achieving health and
wholeness.
I recommend making yogurt or kefir first this month, because having some whey on hand (especially
homemade) is very helpful in making sauerkraut with consistent results and with minimal salt added. In fact, if
you anticipate bottling lots of fermented vegetables for a garden harvest, for instance, you may want to
stockpile whey for a week first.
TIP: If you want to make fermented vegetables but making whey is daunting for you, or you do not want to use any
animal products, we have a vegetable starter recommendation for you. Click on “Robyn Recommends” on
GreenSmoothieGirl.com, then select “Culture Starter” to learn more.
Fermented Grains
Vegetables and dairy products can be fermented, but by far the least expensive, easiest food to ferment for
outstanding health benefits are grains.
Ann Wigmore pioneered the technique of sprouting and then fermenting grains. A half gallon of Rejuvelac—a
drink made from cultured, live grains—will cost you about a nickel. I drank a few glasses a day at Creative
Health Institute in Michigan, one of the Ann Wigmore institutes. Director Bobby Morgan wrote me later,
“You can ingest huge amounts of nutrients, but unless your body is able to actually absorb them, they’re
useless. Dr. Ann Wigmore taught us that Rejuvelac is full of the vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates,
destrines, caccharins, and phosphates that our bodies need to be healthy. In fact, she felt that ‘Although a
beverage, Rejuvelac is actually so nutritious, it could be classified as a food by itself.” 3
At CHI, we were told not to drink Rejuvelac after 4 p.m. because it gives you so much energy that it could
interfere with your sleep. This leads to a good strategy for those who suffer with low energy, rather than using
chemical stimulants and caffeine, which are not natural and are harmful in a variety of ways.
I use Rejuvelac as a base for my green smoothies. I did not write about this in Chapter 1 and I do not talk about
it in my lectures, because it is too advanced for people currently entrenched in the Standard American Diet. I
have learned that people must take baby steps, and Rejuvelac, as simple as it is to make and use, is too far
outside mainstream concepts most people have been exposed to.
228 12 Steps to Whole Foods
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