Ann Wigmore's Famous Energy Soup

Energy Soup was all the rage when I studied with and worked for Ann Wigmore..  That has not really changed, though the recipe has been a bit adapted, as different folks head the kitchen and get creative.  Dr. Ann was happy if we prepared Energy Soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!  The students, were they equally overjoyed?  Not so much.... "Energy soup again?"  they would say with a certain  look in  their eyes.... So we would occasionally shake it up with a yummy buckwheat cereal or fresh watermelon juice.   And in week 2 of the program,  we taught the students to make nori rolls with "seed cheese" on Tuesdays, I recall...  I still remember which day... They were that good!   And I do remember making guacamole the night the students first arrived..... But otherwise, during the 12 day program we offered, it was Energy Soup!  Love it or leave it!

So here is the recipe we used in Boston circa 1991-1993.

In a blender (because remember no cooking....) please place the following:
*1-2 handfuls of sprouted beans (we used a mix of sprouted lentils, green peas, and mung beans - though the mung beans were later eliminated from the mix - something in them when viewed by some high tech device was "spinning the opposite way of the other beans...." My memory from 20 years ago on this one is a bit scanty, and I believe the man who told Ann this, well respected at the time, is now deceased, and his name no longer at the tip of my tongue.... so you will have to trust me on this one...) -  Thus the more recent mix was sprouted green peas and lentils, a couple of handfuls.
*1 or more peeled and cored golden delicious apples (really any apple you like would be fine, but sweet golden delicious apples were quite tasty in this recipe....) - and this is just really added to sweeten the soup so it would be more palatable, so feel free to leave it out if you are practicing food combining - or try a sweet vegetable such as carrots....
*some pieces of Dulse (seaweed, available from Maine Sea Coast Vegetables), just a bit to start - adds minerals and some salty flavor - start with less - you can always tear some up and add to the soup later, on top
*Rejuvelac - just enough to make it all start to blend - the recipe we used is posted in the blog post June 30
* Put the lid on the blender and pulse for a few moments
*Now add lots of greens - we grew Buckwheat "Lettuce" and Sunflower Greens on the premises, in the grow room, in about 7 days - Add and blend - add more, add rejuvelac as needed to have enough liquid to blend.
Finally at the end, add a half of an avocado, or more as you like, to make it creamy and add flavor-
There you have it - the original...... Or so I was taught.

Sometimes we used almond cream in place of avocado.  Easy to make, but  nowadays you have to search for really raw almonds, as all US grown almonds are flash pasteurized.  I have heard that you can get really raw organic almonds imported from Spain, possibly at Trader Joes.....  So find some really raw almonds and soak in drinking quality water 16 hours.  Now rinse and remove the skins.  They can be peeled off, a bit of a slow process.  The way we did it back then (SShhhhhh.... We poured them into boiling water and counted to 5 and then poured them into a strainer.  Then the skins just popped off when you squeezed a bit.... But a little less raw, one might think, though I was assured at the time that 5 seconds was not enough to destroy all the enzymes.... But some?   Oh well, better to go slower without the boiling water if you are a purest.... Anyway, now blend your newly peeled (skin  off) almonds with rejuvelac, enough to blend to a smooth consistency and there you have it - almond cream.  If you want it to take on a bit of a kick or fermented quality, like yogurt, let it sit an hour or two.  Keep tasting as it will get "kickier."  Then refrigerate in glass covered bowl,  but you can  add several spoonfuls to your Energy Soup, in  place of  the avocado.

Now other  variations to the soup....  Ann was actually quite cute - she would go walking through the Boston Commons, or at least I was told, and she would occasionally pick wild edibles, such as purslane or lambs quarters and others... And she would come into the kitchen and say, "Here dear, add this to the soup...."  I have to admit, I was told she got them on her walks.... As I live in the Boston area and ponder, where did she find these still growing wild.... I have not noticed wild edibles growing on my walks....though again, admittedly, I don't really  know what they look like.....  There is some possibility that she was walking through China town.... Hmmmmm

So anyway, whatever greens you like to eat raw, sure you could throw them in the soup.  And sweet veggies like carrot can replace the apple, or hearty souls might not need anything to sweeten the  mix.... In Puerto Rico, they sometimes use papaya instead of apple.  And I could swear in the summer, we sometimes used the red and white of the watermelon in place of the apple and put pieces of the red on top.... Though when speaking to someone in Puerto Rico, they said "Oh no, never add the red/pink part of the melon to the soup, just the white...." But we did.... And I know it was not my idea.... Just following the teachings of my kitchen guru at the Foundation, Carolyn.... Perhaps it was when Dr. Ann was in Puerto Rico?   Hmmmm..... When the master is away, the students sometimes play.....


Check back tomorrow for a few more recipes from the old days.  Then we will have to shake it up with some new topics, as I don't want anyone to get bored.....However, with all these raw and living posts,  I may just go raw / living again..... At least more than we are currently doing, as right now raw in my house is generally just munching raw fruits and veggies.... nothing fancy.....    Though a few weeks ago we did sprout some sunflower seeds, so perhaps we are making  progress....My eight year old is now asking if we can make Energy Soup.... How cool is that?