Who was Dr. Ann Wigmore and What Is Rejuvelac?

Ann Wigmore, known to many as the mother or grandmother of  "Living Foods" or the raw food movement in general, died in a fire in  her health institute in Boston, MA, in February of 1994.   I had the fabulous experience of working in her health institute in Boston for roughly 2 years, prior to her death, and am grateful for all I learned there.  So much of what I have shared and will be sharing this week, I dedicate to her.

Dr. Ann (she had the title bestowed upon her of naturopath, before there were actual schools of naturopathy, in honor of her work in the area of natural healing) was born in Lithuania and learned, during the war from a woman that she referred to as her grandmother, of the healing powers of wheatgrass, both internally and externally.  A large part of the healing program that Ann taught over the years was based upon this learning.  The fiber of wheatgrass is not readily digestible by us, as opposed to cows whose digestive tracts can handle such, so wheatgrass may be chewed and the pulp spat out, much like used up chewing gum, or it may be juiced in a juicer designed for that purpose.  It is best to drink or chew on an empty stomach, approximately 15-30 or more minutes prior to eating, or when the stomach has fully emptied from any previous meal.    

Dr.  Ann returned to the roots she had learned at an early age in Lithuania, when she was diagnosed with colon cancer around the age of 50.  That is when she learned more about and began teaching the healing  benefits of eating food that had not been heated and began consuming a diet full of uncooked vegetables, fruits, greens, and sprouted beans, grains, seeds, and nuts.  She also began creating naturally fermented foods, notably "rejuvelac" and "veggie-kraut."  You can read more about her life, in her autobiography, Why Suffer.  You will find it available on-line and I just found a link on Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Why-Suffer-Overcame-Illness-Naturally/dp/0895292866/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341005636&sr=1-

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In the years since the fire in Boston, much has changed.  The house was so badly burned, The Ann Wigmore Foundation relocated  to New Mexico, where they currently offer classes, as mentioned in yesterday's blog. You can learn more about their classes and activities at http://www.wigmore.org/  

The Ann Wigmore Institute in Puerto Rico has continued their classes in the years since Ann's death as well.  They are located ocean front in Aguada, Puerto Rico and I am told that they are offering a summer discount of 25% off the class sessions in July and August....so if you have some time on your hands, a bit of expendable income, and the desire to learn the program that was originated and designed around Ann's teachings, consider a trip to New Mexico or Puerto Rico sometime soon. 

I recently chatted with a staff person from Puerto Rico's Institute and the Director of the Foundation in New Mexico and was pleased to see, though some of the recipes and ways of doing things have changed in time, it appears much has been done to carry on Ann's work in her absence, which is now going on more than 18 years (since her death).   Though many have begun Institutes that teach different versions of raw or living foods lifestyles, and some have names that deceptively imply they are "the original thing", the only two that were overseen and directed by Ann, until her death, are these two.  So if you want to get the information, consider getting it from the closest there is to the source!

So, as once again, this blog post is getting a bit long, as promised, one recipe for today, back from the early nineties - Rejuvelac!  Well so as not to repeat, check out yesterday's post on sprouting, if you do not recall the instructions.  

*To make Rejuvelac, we sprouted wheat (soft pastry or kamut taste the most delicious). We would rinse the sprouted wheat berries that had tails generally about 1 - 1 1/2 times the length of the wheat berries, and after rinsing well,  would place them in stainless steel or glass containers, filled about 1/3 of the way with wheat berries and somewhere between double and twice the amount of sprouted wheat berries, we would add water (again good drinking quality) and then cover with some breathable material,  ie cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.  We would let the water sit on the berries approximately  48 hours, but might taste a bit sooner, at 36 or so hours.  When the taste was a bit lemony, not quite fizzy, it was ready.  We would pour the liquid off, through something that  could strain it, such as a stainless steel strainer, and if it is not to be used right away, put in glass jar and refrigerate,  and then put the berries back in the container and add more water and let sit 24 hours, again  covering the container with a breathable material.  Then we would again strain and could do one more time, more water, same deal.  After the last batch, some would dispose of the wheatberries (but in Boston, we would cross the street from our Commonwealth Avenue house (4 story brownstone at the corner of Exeter and Comm. Ave) and bring the berries to the park that runs down Commonwealth Avenue, scattering the berries for the birds - we must have been a sight, in the middle of the Back Bay of Boston....)  

And so there you have it for today.  The famous Rejuvelac.  Nowadays, I have learned both the Foundation in New Mexico and The Institute in Puerto Rico are utilizing sprouted quinoa as one means of making rejuvelac, actually no longer using the sprouted wheat version... I was fascinated and will have to try sprouting quinoa and perhaps try this new version.  So much changes in twenty years, but so too, the desire to heal and help others to heal is still very much alive in New Mexico and Puerto Rico.  So Kudos to all of you working so hard to keep Ann's mission alive.  And thank you to those who I spoke to, that shared more about the current offerings and opportunities still very much alive at Dr. Ann's two locals!