Hi Jean-Louis (Ingrid Bauer?)
> >
> >My guess is that a raw vegan has fewer choices, since the
> >diet is limited to things that taste okay, and are not
> >problematic, when raw. This would probably exclude things
> >like collards, kale, dandelion greens, nettles, mustard
> >greens, lots of other bitter-tasting green leafy vegetables.
> >And most likely members of the cruciferous family (broccoli,
> >brussel sprouts) if the person is shopping at a normal
> >grocery store where these vegetables will typically be
> >pretty bitter without cooking (dare I say it - low brix).
> >And they are not eating some of the tougher starchy tubers,
> >or squashes. And they're not eating legumes. Or grains.
> >
Your guess is right to a small degree and wrong to a large
degree (at least from our point of view). A successful raw
vegan can not live on shop bought veggies and not even the
common shop veggies when organically grown. As you rightly
say, all grains (including seeds) and legumes are out. The
only veggies which I grow organically in my own garden are
Jerusalem artichokes, carrots, red and green peppers,
tomatoes, Lamb's lettuce and Brussels sprouts. All the
former, apart from the red and green peppers and tomatoes,
are winter food sources. Below is a list of the wild plants
which are available in Germany (except from November to
February when the winter veg plus sprouts and nuts, as well as
fruits from Orkos etc. are eaten). All veggies and wild
plants are eaten with cold-pressed salad oils (which makes
the more bitter leaves...not really more bitter than common
salad leaves..much more palatable..dare I say delicious?).
> >(Whether or not any of the above-mentioned foods are
> >beneficial, or toxic, in either their raw or cooked forms is
> >another question, but in any case they are certainly not
> >_palatable_ when raw).
>
Is that a statement of fact or merely you own poor, uniformed
opinion coupled perhaps with untrained taste buds?
> I understand that in the practice of raw vegan, it is often true that such
> greens ( the ones you named) are not eaten very often. But this might have
> little to do with the greens themselves,
You understand correctly in our case.
> i am myself, very attracted to strong tasting green and i prefer dandelion
> and chicorees to organic lettuces , I prefer a bolted lettuce to a normal
> one, too..
So am I. Once you start regularly eating the stronger tasting
leaves all the others taste somehow "stale and diluted".
> I n my vegetarian days i was eating huge amounts of cabbages in salad
> almost every other day , all varieties of the cabbage family)
You must have been farting like a king! ;-)
> and i stay 3
> months with a group of raw foodists and they were very much enjoying
> brocoli stems
> >
I don't eat them they also make me fart. OTOH, I like raw Brussels
sprouts after the first frosts (and they also make you fart).
> I just come from a walk with my son (2 years old raw food eater) and his
> little friend ( 4 months older cooked food eater) and we all enjoyed eating
> nettles shoots ( i prechew for them so they don't get stung ) All together
> we ate something like 25 terminals buds with 2 leaves unfolded, quite a bit.
> the palatability of such plants depends on the availability of thoses and
> how often we try them (one bad experience with them should not be
> generalised for ever)
IMO...young nettles don't taste all that good "neat" but they certainly
are delicious in a salad with diced nuts and a good cold-pressed
oil (I hate olive oil BTW).
> i read that north americans have, something like, ( not sure of the numbers)
> 90% of their plant diet coming from 12 plants.
> Natives from here (BC) were using something like 300 differents plants as
> food.
> Quite a difference anyway ( if the numbers are not right)
> So for sure when one switch to a raw vegan and eliminate some foods because
> palatable in quantity, only cooked. One might ends with not that much
> choices in its plate.
Exactly...and the reason why uninformed raw foodists generally
fail.
> I will recomend any candidate to raw vegan to widen its choice of food big
> time to have a chance to make such diet sustainable.
Didn't quite understand that.
> For example north america have lot of available wild tubers or roots in its
> flora ( like jerusalem artichoke, apios, salsifis or camas who can be
> delicious raw and replace potatoes easely, they can be easely cultivated
> too )
>
Jerusalem Artichoke (the white tubers rather than the smaller, striped
reddish ones) are a dream and really make you "glow inside".
> Coming from europe i have been shoked by the limited choice of plant foods
> available in store ( beside squach potatoes carrots celery cabbages lettuce
> and tomatos there is not much more)
Surprises me that France doesn't have more than that, Germany
certainly does.
Here's a list of edible wild plants in Germany (most of which I
have tasted and make use of). None of these plants are rare or
protected and none of them grow merely in specific areas. I have
included the English names where known (although the English
names were low priority and thus many are missing):
LATIN ENGLISH
Achillea millefolium Yarrow
Acorus calamus Sweet Flag
Aegopodium podagraria Ground Elder
Ajuga reptans Bugle
Alchemilla vulgaris (xanthochlora) Ladys Mantle
Alliaria petiolata (officinalis) Garlic mustard
Allium ursinum Ramsons Chives
Allium vineale --
Anthemis arvensis --
Anthriscus sylvestris --
Arctium lappa (Lappa major) Great Burdock
Arctium minus --
Arctium tomentosum --
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Bearberry
Aster amellus --
Atriplex hastata --
Atriplex patula --
Barbarea vulgaris --
Bellis perennis Daisy
Calluna vulgaris --
Calystegia (Convolvulus) sepium
Campanula rapunculoides --
Capsella bursa-pastoris Shepherd's Purse
Cardamine amara --
Cardamine pratensis --
Carum carvi Caraway, Carum
Chenopodium album Lambīs Quarters, Pigweed
Chenopodium bonus-henricus --
Cichorium intybus Chicory
Cirsium arvense --
Cirsium oleraceum --
Convolvulus arvensis --
Cornus mas --
Crocus albiflorus --
Daucus carota Wild Carrot
Epilobium (Chamaenerion) angustifolium --
Epilobium hirsutum --
Epilobium montanum --
Epilobium parviflorum --
Epilobium roseum --
Erigeron (Conyza) canadensis Fleabane
Fragaria vesca Wild Strawberry
Galeopsis tetrahit --
Galinsoga ciliata --
Galium aparine Cleavers
Galium molugo --
Galium verum Ladys Bedstraw
Geranium molle --
Geranium palustre --
Geranium pratense --
Geranium sylvaticum --
Glechoma hederacea Ground Ivy
Hieracium pilosella Mouse Ear
Hippophae rhamnoides --
Humulus lupulus Hops
Hypericum perforatum St. John's Wort
Lamium album Archangel
Lamium purpureum --
Lapsana communis --
Lathyrus linifolius (montanus) --
Lathyrus pratensis --
Lathyrus tuberosus --
Lathyrus vernus --
Leontodon autumnalis --
Lysimachia nummularia --
Malus sylvestris (communis) Crabapple
Malva alcea --
Malva moschata --
Malva neglecta (vulgaris) --
Malva sylvestris High Mallow
Matricaria chamomilla (Chamomilla recutita) Chamomile
Matricaria inodora (maritima) (Tripleurospermum in --
Medicago lupulina --
Mentha aquatica Wild Mint
Mentha arvensis Mint
Mentha longifolia (spicata) English Horsemint
Mespilus germanica --
Nasturtium officinale (Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticu Watercress, Water Cress
Oenothera biennis Evening Primrose
Origanum vulgare Oregano
Pastinaca sativa --
Petasites hybridus (officinalis) Butterburr
Phyteuma spicatum --
Pimpinella major (magna) --
Pimpinella saxifraga Burnet Saxifrage
Plantago lanceolata --
Plantago major Plantain
Plantago media --
Polygonum aviculare --
Polygonum bistorta Bistort
Polygonum lapathifolium --
Portulaca oleracea Purslane
Potentilla (Tormentilla) erecta (tormentilla) --
Potentilla anserina Silverweed
Potentilla argentea --
Potentilla reptans Five-leaf-grass
Primula elatior --
Prunus avium (ssp. silvestris) Sweet Cherry
Prunus padus --
Prunus spinosa --
Pulmonaria officinalis Lungwort
Ranunculus ficaria (Ficaria verna) Lesser Celendine
Raphanus raphanistrum --
Ribes alpinum --
Ribes nigrum Blackcurrant
Ribes petraeum --
Ribes uva-crispa (grossularia) --
Rorippa islandica (palustris)
Rosa canina Dog Rose, Rosehip
Rubus caesius --
Rubus fruticosus Bramble, Blackberry
Rubus idaeus Red Raspberry
Rubus saxatilis --
Rumex alpinus --
Rumex crispus Yellow Dock, Curly Dock
Rumex obtusifolius --
Salvia pratensis --
Sambucus nigra (canadensis) Elder, Elderberry
Sambucus racemosa --
Sanguisorba minor (Poterium sanguisorba) --
Sanguisorba officinalis Greater Burnet
Sedum telephium (maximum) --
Silene vulgaris (cucubalus, inflata) --
Sinapis arvensis --
Sisymbrium officinale Hedge Mustard
Stellaria media Chickweed
Stellaria nemorum --
Taraxacum officinale Dandelion, Lionīs Tooth, Piss-in-Bed, Fairy Clock,
Thlaspi arvense Penny Cress, Field Penny Cress
Thymus serpyllum --
Tilia cordata (ulmifolia) Linden
Tilia platyphyllos Linden
Trifolium aureum (strepens) --
Trifolium pratense Red Clover
Trifolium repens --
Tussilago farfara Coltsfoot
Typha angustifolia Cattail
Typha latifolia Cattail
Ulmus glabra (scabra, montana) --
Ulmus minor (carpinifolia) --
Urtica dioica Stinging Nettles
Urtica urens --
Vaccinium myrtillus Bilberry
Vaccinium oxycoccus (Oxycoccus palustris) --
Vaccinium vitis-idaea Cranberry
Valerianella locusta (olitoria) --
Veronica arvensis --
Veronica hederifolia --
Vicia cracca --
Vicia sepium --
Viola canina --
Viola hirta --
Viola odorata Sweet Violet
Viola tricolor Heartsease
> Bon appetit
And to you too,
Alan
|