by Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt
I’m still working on unpacking, understanding, and integrating the information I received from Daniel Vitalis’ talk in October. One bit in particular really struck me: his concept of the origin of domestication and our responsibility to become feral beings. As an example of this, he spoke about the importance of incorporating more wild edibles into our diet. That resonated with me.
Jim and I have been doing a lot of research lately on foraging, especially for medicinal plants and edible mushrooms. The culmination of these activities is, ideally, the undoing of damage done by domestication.
Domestication is defined as “tameness; to overcome the wildness of.” Feral is defined as “is one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to a wild state.” Most people understand these words in the context of animals, mainly pets, and Daniel expounded on this to include, among many others, our lawns, methods of Western food production, our system of government, and… each other. The idea of domestication was not new to me. I’d heard variances of it in my college philosophy courses – Marx, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Foucault. However, the idea of feral was new. And how these two come together in terms of parenting is profound.
I don’t remember Daniel mentioning parenting, per se; but I remember listening to him and feeling something unlock in my head. It was audible, a resounding click, a turning, a creak of a door opening.
***
“Mom, I’m going to take a walk in the forest. I’m bringing Edgrrr with me.”
My immediate thought: AGH! No! Don’t bring the damn dog! He’ll get all muddy and I’ll have to wash him and it’ll be a big damn deal! And don’t climb on anything! I don’t want you covered in leaves and crap!
What I said was: “Cool. Don’t wear those dress-up boots though. Wear your sneaks, please.”
As Mo was changing her shoes, our dog – a 13-pound miniature poodle – excitedly paced back and forth around her legs. His was wearing that dog smile, as we call it, and was looking up at her expectantly. Mo opened the door, and he busted through, leaping onto the porch. Mo ran out after him. I stood there staring at the door for a while, thinking about my reaction.
***
When I am parenting Mo, I am ideally trying to guide her on her path while not giving into my power-over desires. We chose to homeschool because it afforded something we knew she could never get in a public school setting: virtually unlimited exploration time. But I struggle with this. I struggle with the learned inclination of wanting to make another Good Citizen™. For example,
she’ll burst into a fit of giggles while working on her grammar and I’ll find myself getting irritated because it will seem she’s lost her focus. Or she’ll clean her room and do things at speeds that work for her and I’ll find myself questioning her productivity. Or she’ll work on a sewing project and I’ll find myself getting frustrated because she’s not completing the task in a way that I
would deem efficient.
As an informed, enlightened parent, my responsibility should be, I believe, to refrain from my pull toward domestication. Almost more importantly, I have to work on undoing all the domestication I’ve been subjected to. So, I am having to find my inner wildness, to find those parts of me that want to burst out laughing, to do things ass backwards, to play in the mud
without a thought to stain remover. This is challenging, to say the very least.
In my family, we’re all doing this work together, communicating openly about the pitfalls, struggles, and accomplishments. We bash up against each other, each on our own course, our own path, living in our own authentic state. But we remind each other that we are operating from a place of love and always with each other’s best intentions at heart.
I’m not sure where we’re going to end up, but a feral family is on the horizon. Clad we may be in animal skins and eating mushrooms, but at least we’ll be that much closer to the Divine.
Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt is a raw foods chef and teacher and owner of Rite Food and Company (www.ritefoodandcompany.com), which offers workshops on intentional and joyful eating. Lisa Marie and her homeschooled daughter, Mo, record a weekly podcast – called Sweet Peas Podcast – chronicling their raw foods journey together.
Lúcuma (Pouteria obovata) is a Peruvian sub–tropical fruit that is usually found in raw food stores as a powder, made from the dried fruits. This yellow–gold, rich powder is actually my FAVOURITE of the lower–glycemic sweet raw powders, as it has a unique, delicious taste – something similar to shortbread or caramel.
Lucuma is related to mamey, green sapote and canistel (egg fruit) and is an excellent source of carbohydrates, fiber, beta–carotene, B vitamins and iron.
Yacón (Smallanthus sonchifolius) is a root vegetable, also native to Peru, in the Andes. Yacon can be found in many forms in raw food stores – syrup, powder, dried slices. It is often called the ‘apple of the earth’ and is related to the sunflower and Jerusalem artichoke. The syrup is very thick, dark and sweet while the dried slices taste a bit like dried pineapple slices and make great snack food, or trail mix additions.
Mesquite powder is made by grinding the seed pods of the mesquite tree (Prosopis spp. – also known as algorroba) – a leguminous plant found in arid/desert areas worldwide. This golden powder has a distinctive, sweet, almost nutty taste.
Carob powder is also made by grinding seed pods – this time, the pods from the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua). Carob is another leguminous tree, native to the Mediterranean – it also grows well in California and Florida.
The herb stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is part of the sunflower family, native to South and Central America. It is very popular with diabetics as it doesn’t raise blood sugar levels and is almost calorie–free.
Goji berries (Lycium barbarum) have become very popular in recent years as a healthy sweet ‘superfood’. They are part of the nightshade family. Dried whole goji berries are very widely available, along with goji berry powder. I LOVE the goji berry powder and feel it is best eaten straight from the packet 
Pomegranate fruits (Punica granatum) are native to the Middle East and are now grown all over the world. Pomegranates are a medium–glycemic, delicious fresh fruit and it is also possible to get dried, concentrated pomegranate powder and dried whole pomegranate seeds. The pomegranate powder is bright pink and tastes a bit like sherbet 
Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a plant with many uses, from food to clothing,fuel, paper, cosmetics and more. Hemp powder 50% is a powdered hemp product made by Nutiva that contains less fibre and more protein – 50% protein. It is sweeter than most hemp powders because there is less fibre. While this powder is not super–sweet by itself, it is certainly a unique, nutrient–packed ingredient for sweet raw dishes. Hemp is rich in essential fats, protein, vitamin E and iron.
Coconut (Cocos nucifera) is an awe–inspiring plant with myriad uses. As a food it is available in many raw forms such as coconut flour, oil, butter, chips, shreds or simply fresh coconut water/meat. Coconut is naturally a little sweet.
Some nuts/seeds and their butters have a natural sweetness to them, which can make them ideal choices in recipes like cakes, cookies, grawnolas etc. I find almonds naturally a little sweet for example, along with macadamias, hemp seeds, pine nut butter and hazelnut butter.
While different bee pollens can differ vastly in their taste, colour and texture, they are usually naturally at least a little sweet. The best bee pollen I’ve ever tasted was from a little bee–keeper in New Orleans somewhere and the pollen actually tasted like chocolate ;O I don’t know what those bees had been picking up but it was a gorgeous concoction.
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is a spice made from the cinnamon tree. Cinnamon is naturally a little sweet, plus warming and pungent.
Vanilla (Vanilla spp.) is an exotic, pungent spice derived from the seed pods of orchids. Vanilla is available in different forms like whole vanilla pods, vanilla powder, liquid forms and so on. We have an incredible vanilla powder for sale, along with whole beans.
Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a root vegetable native to the Peruvian Andes. Maca is not particularly sweet by itself, yet is quite often used in sweet raw dishes as a ‘superfood’ addition. Maca is most commonly found in powdered form and is usually a creamy colour, though red and black maca powders are also available (green and purple roots also grow 
As we will explore the timeless Wisdom of Ayurved, we’ll learn new ways to keep balanced throughout the year, restoring Harmony in our Lives by being more in tune with Mother Nature and Her Cycles.
I have been studying under the guidance of world reknowned teachers, although I consider Mother Maya (Swamini Mayatitananda of Wise Earth Ayurveda) the Warrior Goddess and most Beloved Guide.
I am currently suffering really bad hayfever and I have been trying to find a solution. I have been on antihistamines and others to help dry up and heal the symptoms but they are losing their effect.
I have been eating raw foods for two and a half years and have had the honor of being a new Mama to my son, Thaddeus, for eight months now!
One of the most important aspects of mothering for me so far has been to live out the Continuum Concept, as described in Jean Liedloff’s book. I finished reading her book just a few weeks before I heard her interview on the Raw Mom Summit! I instantly knew that I wanted to put into practice the Continuum Concept, especially giving my baby the adequate time to be “in arms” before he became more independent through crawling and eventually walking. I have found it challenging in American culture, since the concept is based on a mother-baby-village relationship.
First off, there are so many versions of the raw food diet out there. And so, while I am happy to share what I have found to work for me, I still think it’s important that everyone learn to be in tune with their own body to find out what is optimal for them. As raw moms who are breastfeeding our babies, I think we have probably all been there when it comes to hormonal fluctuations that are natural in the postpartum phase and breastfeeding years… You know, the ones that send you on an emotional roller coaster at meal times (and in between times too!).
A daily raw food diet for a breastfeeding mom should always begin with drinking a glass of water every time you nurse your baby. (Preferably breastfeed every two to three hours during daylight… As the more frequent you breastfeed, the higher the fat content of the milk, which is needed for optimal brain development).
Followed by a chopped salad of the same ingredients, which I like to rotate for variety.
just fruits throughout the morning and afternoon; greens, sprouts, and veggies in the late afternoon; and end the feast with a blended salad / green soup.
We moms have a tough path to walk as we help our daughters navigate the sometimes choppy waters of growing up girl. It’s our job to protect our children and do our best to keep them safe and healthy, yet we also have to allow them to grow, stretch and learn from their own mistakes. It’s a fine line between letting them be who they are and wanting to “tweak” them just a little bit so they don’t suffer from the same mistakes or struggles that we did.
