Living on live foods in Ludlow Part1

The course

Ludlow, Shropshire, is a town renowned for its gourmet fare but I went there for food of a different order. In June this year, I attended a week-long course at the UK Centre for Living Foods. Hosted by naturopath Elaine Bruce, it was a memorable immersion in the power of raw living foods to change our lives.

Elaine is a highly trained and experienced natural healer. One of her teachers was Dr Ann Wigmore, famous in naturopathic circles for using chlorophyll-rich wheatgrass juice, living foods and cleansing techniques to restore ailing people to wellness.

Elaine adheres to Dr Ann’s rule of offering hands-on teaching at affordable prices. If you seek a pampering spa you won’t find it here; you will, instead, find something far more valuable: a solid theoretical and practical grounding in preparing and using living foods to set you on the road to vibrant health.

The course ran from 10-17 June 2011. Six people attended, including me. We stayed in B&Bs or self-catering cottages and trotted over to Elaine’s lovely home every morning. There we spent our days juicing wheatgrass and veggies; preparing living foods; attending classes on natural healing; and eating and drinking the live raw meals Elaine provided (with our faltering help!). She taught us how to culture fermented foods, care for sprouts, grow indoor greens, and create compost in her exquisite permaculture garden.

We also had time to get to know each other, delight in Elaine’s flowers, explore the beauty of Ludlow, stroll by the duck-filled river, and torture our heightened senses by practising deep breathing outside the restaurants. At night we returned to our temporary homes … and a self-administered enema to relieve the detox symptoms stirred up by our ultra-green diet. (TMI warning: you’ll have to attend the course to find out more.)

Living foods

So, what are living foods? And what can they do for you? Living foods are a step beyond raw foods. They include enzyme-rich sprouted beans, nuts and seeds; planted indoor greens; wheatgrass juice; and probiotic ferments like rejuvelac and glittering violet sauerkraut.

Baby plants are brimming with nutrients; they need them to grow. When you tragically cut their life short with your knife and fork, their vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytochemicals nourish you instead.

Fermented foods strengthen your system by supplying enzymes and supporting good gut flora. Every morning – before our wheatgrass shots – we prepared rejuvelac, a potion made from fermenting wheat berries and water. It was surprisingly tasty, reminiscent of beer when young and yoghurt when more mature. “Aha!” teased my cynical pal Gerry. “Shots and beer. No wonder you loved the course!”

In Elaine’s kitchen, the evening sun dappled green through trays of buckwheat lettuce, pea shoots and sunflower greens. These were our staples. We ate them with oil-free dressing, or blended into Ann Wigmore’s Energy Soup. Twice a day we juiced pretty blades of wheatgrass and sucked it up. Elaine’s home-grown wheatgrass is intensely sweet, a world away from the bitter fluid that curses juice bars. Sweetness signals a mineral-rich juice.

The rest of our diet consisted of veggies, soaked nuts and seeds, dehydrated treats, lightly cooked quinoa and millet, and occasional fruit. Being an efficient housekeeper, Elaine showed us how to make three recipes from one main ingredient. Soaked peeled almonds, for example, could be (1) eaten whole (addiction warning!) (2) blended to create a base for energy soup and (3) whizzed up, folded into goji berries and dehydrated to make delectably buttery bikkies.

Benefits

Elaine’s living foods programme is designed to encourage a deep level of detoxification while rebuilding healthy tissues. It does not leave you strung out, hyperactive or depleted, as some less balanced detox programmes can. Her meals are simple and easy to digest. They give your body a chance to self-heal and rejuvenate. You are also encouraged to drink lots of water between meals. The course provides a basis for safely transitioning to a living foods lifestyle at your own pace, plus a taste of what you might experience when you do.

As you begin to cleanse, nourish and hydrate your body on a cellular level, good things start to happen. You might experience some or all of the following: increased energy and vitality; supple joints and flexible muscles; weight loss or gain, depending on what you need; balanced well-being; a more grounded feeling; brighter eyes; glowing skin; inner cleanliness; mental clarity; emotional balance; and a host of other benefits, depending on your individual status.

Tune in next week to find out how I fared in my green field foodie immersion summer school…