How Much do YOU Chew...?

We were out walking in nature recently and I was struck by the realisation that so many of the plants we were walking past are most likely fantastic food for humans, yet we don't even recognise them as such because we've never had any modelling for eating that way...we can of course take cautious, intuitive and/or educated 'guesses' at what might work for us as food – it just struck me as very odd in comparison to other creatures that we have very little idea what suits us as food out there...I imagine that butterflies, grasshoppers or otters are seldom found scratching their heads in the wild, wondering what to eat – they just seem to know or get natural modelling of what to consume, from their wild kin...whereas most humans in western societies seem to get modelling of how to go to a supermarket and buy cans/boxes/plastic packages...most of us humans are chronically disconnected from nature and this little observation of my own disconnection from what I could potentially eat out in the forest/meadows really underscored this for me...more foraging for the Stokes–Monarch, please ;)

on July the 23rd I loved:

1 quart water
1.5 cups goji water with Marine Phytoplankton
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, spinach, carrot tops, ginger, lemon
big bowl of blueberries with almond butter
3 cups water
2 cups water with marine phytoplankton, 25 chlorella 'nuts'
fresh fruits: plum, few cherries/grapes, blueberries with tahini
3 cups water

While we're on the subject of the contrasts between wild animals and most humans, I got a very interesting little link in my inbox yesterday all about chewing...now, those of you who have heard me give a talk will know that I often speak about the importance of chewing our food very thoroughly as a key to vibrant health and that most people seem to not chew very much at all (more like inhale ;)...
Well, it seems one researcher, Richard Wrangham, went off to closely study our friends the chimps in Tanzania and imitate their lifestyle and one of the main contrasts he noted was the LARGE amount of time apes pass daily chewing their food. In the article it states that the average person in 'civilised' western societies chews food for around 36 minutes a day or 5% of their time, whereas to match the chimps' chew rate, we'd be chewing more like 42% of our time, or around 5 hours a day... ;O WOW...
Chewing raw food really thoroughly is KEY for accessing the nutrients and assimilating better...you can read all about the 'power' of raw food and the importance of chewing in the classic old raw food text 'Raw Food and Health' by Dr. St Louis Estes...
I think this is smthg that is overlooked repeatedly by all people, raw foodies or not – and it seems it is especially key for those of us who choose to eat raw, so this is one reason why I speak about it so often... ;)
Now, Mr. Wrangham seems to not at all be in favour of eating raw, which is of course his own bag'o'beans to rattle – I do like the chewing stats shared in that article though, so that's why I wanted to share this and I hope it gives you smthg to 'chew' on... ;)


on July the 24th I was blessed to enjoy:

1 quart water
pot of pineapple chunks
romaine wraps stuffed with avocado, dulse, tomato, mixed sprouts, sauerkraut, kim chee
3 cups water
1.5 cups goji water with marine phytoplankton
bowl of blueberries with almond butter
3 cups water


on July the 25th I savoured:

1 quart water
1.5 cups green smoothie from Mr. Tim Van Orden – plum/banana/spinach – yummmmmmm :)
1.5 cups goji water with marine phytoplankton
2 oz wheatgrass juice
1 cup mint/honey water
2 cups water
2 Tbsp bee pollen
2 oz wheatgrass/sunflower greens juice
chunk of AMAZING cultured lemon cheesecake, with fresh blueberries and almond butter
3 cups water
2 curry noriwraps
2 cups water


Un petit reminder, my dears – the current RawReform Giveaway Contest to win a free bag of our yummy chlorella 'nuts' closes on August the 5th...if you'd love to green up your gnashers chewing some chlorophyll–rich greeeeens, then here's a reminder of the contest details:

We're giving away a bag of our SUPER-popular, SUPER-tasty Chlorella 'Nuts' - one of my absolute favourite raw food snacks :) (I usually can't STAND the taste of chlorella, yet these crunchy tasty little tablets of pressed chlorella powder are delicious - to my taste buds at least, lol ;)
Chlorella is a yummy algae with massive amounts of chlorophyll, protein and B vits to share with you...eating it is also a great way to get the classic raw food 'green mouth' look - see evidence to the left.
To be in with a chance of winning a bag of these yummable munchables, we'd love you to send in your best creative raw green mouth picture; yes, get out your spirulina, your blue-green algae, your green smoothies, your wheatgrass or whatever other greeeeeeens you love to green yourself up with and show us your most outstanding green face...here is another favourite from my personal album:


You can send your entries in to rawreform@gmail.com before August the 5th to be in with a chance of winning the chlorella tablets - enjoy ;) The winner will be drawn at random and with a giggle around the start of August. We look forward to seeing your entries...

With love, gratitude and green teeth,
Ms. Sto–Mo. xxx