You’ve heard of raw food right? The rule of raw is that foods are eaten uncooked, with no heating above 115°-120°, therefore their enzymes are still living and the vital energy of your food remains intact. It is certainly true that our ancestors ate many foods in their raw form, and eating a living foods diet has been coined a ‘return to raw’. Wild foods can provide the raw foodist with a diversity of choices found out their own back door, versus shipping in exotic ingredients from thousands of miles away.
The wild California black walnuts (Juglans californica) are dropping like mad here in the Santa Monica Mountains. These delicious nuts are much stronger in flavor than the cultivated English walnuts that you find in the store. Walnuts in general have some major health-promoting qualities:
1. Walnuts contain a perfect 4 to 1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, and the highest ALA content of any tree nut. Click here to see the reference. This equates to major coronary health benefits, with reduction of cholesterol, no weight gain associated with increased fat consumption of eating walnuts, etc. Click here to read the study.
2. A comparison study of total antioxidant content of nuts, seeds and dried fruits, found walnuts second only to dog rose in antioxidant content…of all plants analyzed. Click here to read the study.
Raw nuts have become a staple part of the raw food diet. Consuming copious amounts of raw nuts can lead to intestinal discomfort and a general imbalance in the diet. So don’t get too nutty! The video above highlights the identification and harvesting of California black walnut (Juglans californica). We are joined in the kitchen by Living Foods Chef Chris J Watts. Be sure to check out Chris’s website to learn more about raw foods, as well as view some of his raw food videos.
Wild Walnut Raw Living Taco Meat
1 c raw walnuts
1/4 c raw wild black walnuts
1/8 c onion, diced
1/4 c red pepper, diced
1/4 c green pepper, diced
3/4 Tbsp whole cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt & pepper to taste
Soak walnuts 3-5 hours, or longer. Drain walnuts and process in food processor with spices until mixture is in small chunks. Put into mixing bowl and add diced onion and bell peppers. Serve on a red cabbage or collard green leaf as taco shell. Load up with taco meat, raw salsa, guacamole, and condiments such as fresh corn kernels and shredded red cabbage. I cut Chris’s recipe in half to serve 4.
Concerning raw foods I think in many aspects it is necessarily speaking a major part of our natural diet and a part I love and am interested to implement more of but in certain plants what can you say about compounds of oxalic acids or certain compounds that can effect absorption of vitamins or some plants that are only edible after being cooked. Certain fruits and vegetables may even toxic with cyanide or high concentrations of oxalic acids or even “unbeneficial” phytochemicals. Do most of these chemicals break down before enzymatic breakdown? Also worthwhile to note is the breakdown of chemicals in the body is similar to cooking inasmuch as some vitamins are destroyed as some noted Macrobiotic authors have proposed. We could still conjecture though that double cooking (first in the pot and second in the gut) could make a strong loss of vitamin content. Sorry if I took up alot of space…by the way I love your Blog!Raw enquirer and future survivalist Dill-Bro7. Peace.
Yo Dill-Bro7!
I think that eating foods in their raw state is an important component to our diets, but I do believe we would severely limit the foods necessary for our adaptable survival if we only eat raw. I don’t believe we need to worry about the oxalic acid as much as is warned about..in fact i think megadosing with vitamin C pills will put you at greater risk. Cyanide was dealt with through air and cooking techniques…along with others I’m sure…so this processing of food is something I think we need to embrace in order to make a larger amount of foods available to us. If you include wild foods, which are oftentimes exceedingly higher than cultivated foods in vitamins/minerals/phytonutrients/etc. I don’t think the issue of vitamin loss you reference. Anyhoo, lots to think about and this is off-the-cuff.
take care and happy eating! everyone’s bodies are different, so do what feels good for you. cheers, ~sunny
I live in Ontario Canada and my Mother has just picked about three bushels from one tree of walnuts with the green skin on them…when do I remove the skins and can I roast them? I’m allergic to walnuts – I’m not sure but I think it is in thier raw state – My question is how best to clean and store them and for how long…
well, everyone does it a bit differently. I would suggest scraping and scrubbing off the outer husk…and then fully drying them near a fire or in the sun or well-ventilated area. Then you can crack them at a later time. They will stain your hands a dark brown, so be sure to wear gloves if you don’t want stained hands.
Have fun!
cheers, ~sunny