THE CONTENT OF REFRIGERATORS

A friend said to me this morning "do you know we are the only specie that drink another species' milk".......try telling people that cows milk not good for them they look on you like you are crazy, but there must be a reason why so many black people are lactose intolerant ...just not good for us people! Check out this interesting article from one of my favourite raw food teachers NOMI SHANNON.

Observations Made while on a Road Trip: What I learned about the content of Refrigerators
While on a road trip awhile back, I learned a lot about what the average person has in their refrigerator. It is sad to see so many people (non raw food people) eating in such a limited way in both quantity and variety in order to keep their weight in check when they could be eating a lot and enjoying it so much if they were 50% or more raw.
The Worst Offenders
Low Fat anything such as yogurt, pudding, cheese, milk, margarine, cookies, etc Little containers of fruit in liquid: is it really that much easier to peel the top off than to simply peel and eat a tangerine or an orange. This stuff has a very long shelf life which means: dead food.
Canned Goods (any): soups, pudding, beans, fruits, vegetables, spaghetti-o's. These items belong in a bomb shelter, not your kitchen! Most items that come in a can, a jar, or a box are not good for you.
Food not fit to Eat: Be willing to throw away old produce and be willing to shop more often. Shop more; buy less.
Out-dated food: I do not believe in bottled salad dressing, it is so easy to make your own and you can be pretty sure most store bought dressings use inferior oils which have a good chance of being rancid anyhow. But if you do use this type of thing, do not use past the date on the jar, this goes for your dried herbs and spices as well. One kitchen I visit from time to time has a noxious chemical mix of many outdated items both in the refrigerator and the pantry. It's not good to use packaged foods but it's even worse to use old, outdated, rancid packaged foods.
What I learned about how the average person uses their refrigerator.
Most people I visit have fairly new refrigerators. But I didn't see anyone utilizing their refrigerator well. For example highly perishable food like milk (shouldn't be there if you are raw anyhow) should not be kept in the door. Keep items in the door that will be OK with frequent exposure to room temperature. Always close the door right away all the time. Utilize the drawers! Many times I saw produce piled high on the refrigerator shelves rather than in the drawers that were designed to keep fruits and vegetables fresh. (One friend who juices daily has a mess of a refrigerator with no room to put anything because all her juicing produce is piled high on the bottom shelf, but the drawers are totally empty!) The smallest drawer is colder and meant for meat and cheese, I keep the most perishable items in there like basil, baby greens and seed cheese, and the larger drawers hold the rest of the produce. This leaves the shelves free for many other items, like that huge nut loaf you are making for dinner or the giant platter of zucchini pasta with pesto and marinara you are bringing to the church pot luck. Or the watermelon or the jug of water....
Spend a few minutes one day each week getting rid of almost spoiled produce, left- overs, outdated items and organizing the refrigerator. My day for doing this is Sunday night, because Monday is trash pick up day. It can't hurt to wipe off any spills or dirt either.
There are so many kitchens without a blender. Wow. What a way to live! And, where is the lemon/orange/citrus squeezer/juicer? Without exception all homes I have been in that do not own one or both of these items, are homes where the people have a poor diet. A highly unscientific but nonetheless accurate observation. Invest in a decent blender. Not only will it save you a lot of time, you will be able to make things you can't even dream about now.

A raw food kitchen or even a healthy life style kitchen is a very different place from the average kitchen - when I moved recently I bought the smallest stove ever and even now only one burner is used and it's usually to heat water or for the kettle ..........the smells are different too, I wake during this season to the smell of ripened guavas and avocados - purple and green are everywhere ...