By Jasmin Schellenberg —
HEALTHY SNACKS AND WHY
Almond Crackers with Garlic & Rosemary
- 2 cups almond flour/meal
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chopped, dried rosemary
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees C. Grease baking sheet liberally. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk egg and oil together until frothy. Mix into dry ingredients until well blended. Place 1 tablespoon flattened to 1/16 inch thick, place on greased sheet, and bake for 10 minutes until golden. Enjoy! Great also with soups.
NUTRIENT DENSE MEAL
Sauerkraut
- 3 large heads of cabbage
- 5 large carrots
- 3 tablespoons caraway (optional)
- 3 tablespoons sea salt
- 12 tablespoons whey
Remove outer leaves of cabbage, core them, and slice thinly. Sprinkle salt, caraway, and whey as you go over vegetables. Slice carrots thinly and mix in. Pound with hands or wooden pounder until vegetables become limp or lots of juice is produced. Press into gallon jars, cover with a leaf of cabbage, and put weight on it. Place in cool area (slow fermentation produces firmer, crisp vegetables). After a day you should see some brine started. If not, add one liter of water and mix in one tablespoon of sea salt. Allow culture to rest in a cool room for another four days. By now you should see bubbles forming steadily.
Move jars into fridge or cold room. Enjoy!
MYTHS UNVEILED
Supporting sustainable diets
Lacto fermentation is an old process involving the brining of vegetables and / or other ingredients. As is true of most ancient processes, there was more than just one reason for the use of the technique. First of all lacto-fermentation is very useful to naturally extend the shelf life of food. A raw carrot, for example, may keep for a week in the fridge; it will, however, keep for many months once it is fermented.
There are nutritional benefits to fermentation as well: the process uses microorganisms to begin breaking down the vegetable, and the result is higher bio-availability of nutrients and easier digestion. The live microorganisms also assist your body in breaking down other foods and supplement the many processes in your body that require enzymes.
Increased enzymes and probiotics in your diet encourage healthy gut flora, which in turn support positive mental states and proper metabolism of other nutrients. The addition of live probiotics can help in managing yeast overgrowths such as candida by introducing a wider variety of competitive flora. A recent study showed that a tablespoon of lacto-fermented sauerkraut was multiple times more bio-active than the most high-end, expensive probiotic supplements. And a tablespoon of sauerkraut will only cost you pennies per day.
Edible Alchemy: The increase in bioavailability brought about by fermentation is perhaps the most incredible process that holds great keys to health and economy, making it the most essential piece to understanding how to best nourish your body in a way that is both affordable and sustainable.
Once fermented, nutrients become about nine times more available than in raw vegetables. Therefore, a serving of two tablespoons of live sauerkraut will have the nutritional value of nearly a pound of raw cabbage.
According to most modern nutritional plans we should be consuming large amounts of organic vegetables each day to achieve or maintain health. Every protocol, however, should stand up to the ultimate test: is it sustainable? The answer is no. It is not sustainable to consume large amounts of vegetables simply because it is neither traditional nor is it affordable to the vast majority of the population of the world.
Lacto-fermented vegetables, however, in varied forms, were a part of virtually all traditional diets.
Understanding that a two tablespoons serving is enough to fulfill your dietary needs at any given meal, while also supporting your health through the ingestion of live probiotics can offer huge relief from the financial burden of the cost of good quality vegetables. As well, it offers relief to your body as you will be consuming less volume and lighten the load on your digestive system.
A WALK THROUGH YOUR PANTRY:
GET RID OF:
Store bought canned vegeta- bles. Not only do they have all kinds of preservatives in them, the metal cans them- selves are not healthy.
REPLACE WITH:
Start fermenting your vegetables. If you have a few canned vege- tables make them yourself and use glass jars
Brought to you by Jasmin Schellenberg Inspired by and resourced from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, www.westonaprice.org and Ethical Kitchen North Vancouver.
