Positively Fermented

I have been wanting to ferment my own foods lately. It all started when I didn't know how to get a sourdough starter and didn't want to pay for one. I was all "WHY do people say I have to get a starter- it had to have been started somewhere!!!" Then I read an article in the MPLS Star & Trib that featured a writer and his book Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz. It talks of all the benefits of fermenting foods and gives a plethora of great recipes.



Fermenting in Benefits

• One major benefit of fermenting is that it preserves food. The fermenting organisms produce alcohol, lactic acid and acetic acid all bio-preservatives retain nutrients and prevent spoilage.
• Captain James Cook prevented his ship crew from dying from scurvy with fermented sauerkraut. 60 barrels of kraut lasted 27 months and no one developed scurvy.
• Fermenting preserves nutrients, it breaks them down into more digestible forms. Many folks who are lactose intolerant can eat fermented dairy, like yogurt or kefir because the fermentation process basically "digests" part of it before it gets to you. The fermentation process breaks down the lactose into a simpler form- cool huh!
• It also creates new nutrients. Cultures create B vitamins including folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, thiamine and biotin.
• Eating fermented foods is an incredibly healthy practice, directly supplying your digestive tract with living cultures essential to breaking down food and assimilating nutrients.
• Medical studies have identified specific anti-cancer and other disease preventing properties in fermented foods check out The Life Bridge: the way to longevity with probiotic nutrients.
  

The Overpasteurization Debate
It is so interesting what our government considers to be safe. *Warning* I am somewhat a non-truster of the FDA and second guess some of their decisions, so read on with that in mind.
There are studies "out there" that have looked into the overpasteurizing of foods. Basically meaning they require that our food is too "clean." Clean by FDA standards that is, which in my opinion is really questionable. Yogurt is one example of this. There are so many beautiful cultures that live in properly fermented yogurt, and the overpasteurizing of them kills some of those nutrients. Now- of you are like I was, you're all "HEY- I'm not eating dirty food." But stay with me- there are levels of pasteurizing milk. Essentially, the milk is heated and there are different levels of heating it. Did you ever notice milk that doesn't expire for like 3 months? That is VERY pasteurized milk. There are less nutrients in it because many of them were killed during the heating process. The same goes for yogurt. So when looking at yogurt in the store- look for something that says live active cultures and you will know that you are eating good stuff maynard.


Yum For Your Tum

WOW- bad heading. Sorry 'bout that. But you should know that cultures are SOOO good for your digestive tract. I bet you got that from above. So I wanted to add a section about kefir, a milk based drink. The creation of kefir is different from milk, it uses actual little kefir grains, that look like big tapioca's stuck together. So this kefir has different cultures than yogurt and may even be easier for the lactose intolerant to handle. The cultures in kefir are said to give amazing benefits to us by working really well with our intestines. Keeping things clean and running well- need I say more? If we consume it on a regular basis our systems will benefit greatly. Also, eating fermented foods can really help the immune system.


My Fermented Future
I would like to try to make kefir, I'm going to the Mississippi Market soon to purchase my kefir grains. I also will be trying to make yogurt, and ranch dressing from yogurt. I have made a sourdough bread starter and baked my first loaf with it last night. I have some perfecting to do, but it is yummy : )


Fermenting Your Future?

If you don't want to make it- buy it. You can find fermented foods at any store, here is a list of some great ones:

• Sauerkraut
• Wine
• Beer
• Herring
• Yogurt
• Kefir
• Miso
• Pickles (many types)
• Cheese

Are we becoming more like Barbie and Ken?

I've been known to be a little obsessive about staying healthy. There is something scary about preventable things happening to my body, like getting serious illnesses from ingesting things, or like getting Lyme disease from a deer tick. Scary weird things like that. Sometimes we just don't have the knowledge or exposure to know what could happen- and sometimes our culture isn't quite honest about products and what can happen to you if you use them.

When I read that certain plastics used for food/beverages are stored in our bodies and can have harmful effects on you and your offspring, I was alarmed. You mean, plastic- the stuff that we heat/freeze/store everything in is harmful? Even most of the food we buy is in plastic. WOW.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that is used to strengthen plastic containers and line metal bottles and cans. It has been used for the last 60 years and is in a lot of our common products. I first read about this in the Good Housekeeping mag, the article is titled “Is It Safe to Heat Food in Plastic?.” There was an article questioning the safety of plastic, and it caught my eye! This article said that there are two main chemicals that can make us and our offspring sick, BPA and phthalates (pronounced Thay-lates).

After reading the article I decided to see if I could find more than what a magazine was reporting, and boy did I find a lot! You see- after being a MAJOR debate nerd in HS I have had this need to research everything that intrigues me. Well, needless to say- this was very intriguing.

So, BPA is a pretty widely used. It has been used in pretty much most of the #7 plastics, (look on the bottom of a plastic container, it should have a number on it, If it has a #7 on it, it probably contains BPA). Also, some#3’s and #5’s contain BPA as well. BPA is in the lining of almost all canned foods, there is only one food company; Eden Foods Canned Beans that I have found to have BPA free canned goods. BPA is in other household items like CD’s some children’s toys etc. The main concern is for it to leach into our foods and stay in our bodies. The effects of BPA are constantly being argued, and pay attention to the source of your research if you look this stuff up. There are many companies that support certain products based on their financial investment. Based on pure scientific research, you will find that the main concerns are adverse effects on the brain, male and female reproductive systems, and diabetes. It may also be related to cancer or even obesity and heart disease. There isn’t an immediate reaction to this chemical, it accumulates over time in our bodies. The greatest sensitivity to bisphenol A occurs in-utero and infant development. ACK! This sucks!

Onto the next devil plastic chemical…

Phthalates, known as “plasticizers,” are a grouping of chemicals used to make plastics more flexible. They are found in toys, food packaging, hoses, raincoats, shower curtains, vinyl flooring, wall coverings, lubricants, adhesives, detergents, nail polish, hair spray and shampoo, as well as other products. Phthalates can be "endocrine disruptors" because they copy hormones in the body and have shown in lab tests to cause reproductive and neurological damage. So if someone says to you, “why are you trying to bite your elbow??” you know that you may have used too much plastic wrap. Sorry, I had to throw a joke in there, you started to have that scared depressed look!

What to Do??
I know we can’t turn our world upside down and go back in time to prevent our bodies from becoming plastic-y, and this stuff is pretty scary. But, you do have control and a little more knowledge now. You can make choices in your future to help curb the intake of these devil chemicals. And- feel good about it at the same time. If you have kids- or will, you can also feel good that you are armed with this knowledge.

Here are some tips for identifying products that have, or are likely to have, phthalates or BPA. These are the things that I have introduced into my daily living habits.

1. Choose foods in plastics with the recycling code 1, 2, 4 or 6. Recycling codes 3, 5 and 7 are more likely to contain BPA or phthalates. My mantra for plastic is “Even Steven, and #1 are good.”

2. Don’t eat anything canned, unless the can reads “BPA Free.”


3. Transport and heat your food in glass never plastic; never ever in styrofoam (don’t use the plastic covers of glass containers either). I save glass jars from bullion for yogurt, jam jars for milk and apples etc.


4. Buy refillable water bottles that aren’t plastic, or lined with BPA. Many companies are marketing their products to this concern now.


5. Read the ingredients. According to the organization Pollution in People, you can identify phthalates in some products by their chemical names, or abbreviations:
-DBP (di-n-butyl phthalate) and DEP (diethyl phthalate) are often found in personal care products, including nail polishes, deodorants, perfumes and cologne, aftershave lotions, shampoos, hair gels and hand lotions. (BzBP, see below, is also in some personal care products.)
-DEHP (di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate or Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) is used in PVC plastics, including some medical devices.
BzBP (benzylbutyl phthalate) is used in some flooring, car products and personal care products.

-DMP (dimethyl phthalate) is used in insect repellent and some plastics (as well as rocket propellant).

6. Be wary of the term "fragrance," which is used to denote a combination of compounds, possibly including phthatates, which are a subject of recent concern because of studies showing they can mimic certain hormones.

The real question is, are we plastic now??

The answer, no. But, if your big toe slowly starts looking like Barbie’s, all hard and connected to the rest of your toes, maybe you should start to worry. Or, you could just buy the Pink Malibu Convertible and go with it.
This is purely for your information, not intended for you to become a worry wart. I’ll do that job for you. My philosophy about these things is to arm yourself with knowledge, do the best you can, and then forget about it. Go on enjoying life because you know you are taking care of yourself and your loved ones.

Some sources for you:http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/phthalates-47020418#ixzz0K1cybpS8&D
http://www.reallynatural.com/archives/food/eco_food_friday_eden_foods_can.php
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/phthalates-47020418
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=6141554
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/product-testing/reviews-tests/kitchen-cooking/plastic-safety-heat-food
http://www.ewg.org/chemindex/term/480

A Great Article

A best gal pal of mine sent me a link to this article. It is excellent and I agree with it! In fact, Mike and I went to Mississippi Market to buy tomato paste in the JAR!!! So exciting! And I'm not kidding people!!

10 Tips to Detoxify Your Diet
by Janelle Sorensen

I will openly admit I love cheese puffs, cheese curls, pretty much any kind of baked cheese snack - the more neon in color, the better. I also really love artisanal cheeses - and, oddly, cheese puffs, cheese curls, and their brightly colored cousins really taste nothing like any type of real cheese. How do we come to crave these fake flavors? (I know I'm not the only one). More importantly, when did food become so un-natural?

And, our food hasn't simply become more synthetic than ever before, it's also laced with ingredients and contaminants that pose distressing health risks. They aren't like salmonella, e-coli, or other pathogenic pollutants that can cause immediate illness or even death. These toxic impurities are more insidious - subtly causing harm over time.

Reduce your exposure to unwanted ingredients by following these 10 tips to detoxify your diet.

1. Ease up on animal fats. Animal products can contain synthetic hormones, antibiotics and organochlorine chemicals, such as dioxin, DDT and other pesticides, which concentrate in animal fat. The same chemicals that accumulate in animal fats are transferred to our own when we eat them. Then they linger there for years quietly causing damage. When you buy meat, poultry or dairy, look for low fat options (get the unsaturated fats your body needs from plant sources like walnuts, flax seeds, and avocados). Trim all fats and skins and broil meats and fish so that the fats drain away. Avoid frying, which will lock in the contaminants. You can also do your body a favor by reducing how much meat you eat. Making even one vegetarian meal a week can make a big difference.

2. Select safer seafood. Eating seafood is the primary way we are exposed to methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin. Fish can also be contaminated with PCBs, which the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the Environmental Protection Agency have declared a probable carcinogen. Use the Environmental Defense Fund's Safe Seafood Selector to find species that are lowest in chemical and heavy metal contamination and that are fished in ways that are not harmful to our Oceans. Or access the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch, one of the more popular seafood guide's online, who have now made it possible to get their website information with ease when you're standing in front of the seafood case by using their free iPhone app.

3. Go organic. According to the Environmental Working Group, you can lower your pesticide exposure by 90 per cent simply by avoiding the most contaminated conventionally grown produce: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, imported grapes, carrots, and pears. If you're really craving one of these foods, opt for organic. Conventionally grown fruits and vegetables that have the lowest levels of pesticide residue include: onion, avocado, sweet corn, pineapple, mango, asparagus, sweet peas, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, papaya, watermelon, broccoli, tomato, and sweet potato. You can download the EWG pocket guide that lists these and the dirty dozen from Foodnews.org.

4. Prep your produce. Wash all fruits and vegetables well to remove surface chemicals (and pathogens). It's easiest and most efficient to wash everything right when you bring it home. You should even wash foods with inedible peels - like melons, bananas, and oranges. If there's a contaminant on the surface, you can get it on the knife you use to cut it or on your hand, and then spread it to the part you eat.

5. Ban the can. Canned foods and beverages are lined with a resin that contains bisphenol-A, a hormone-disrupting chemical that's building up in our environment and our bodies. Most manufacturers are beginning to explore safer alternatives, but in the meantime you should choose foods that are fresh, dried or frozen or packaged in glass jars or tetra packs.

6. Bulk up. Bulk foods are often less processed so you reduce your exposure to questionable food additives. Buying it bulk can also save you up to $500 a year! Bulk cook staples like beans and other legumes and store them in your freezer in serving sizes that are appropriate for your family size. You can also buy dried pasta, nuts, seeds, and many other staples in bulk.

7. Cook your cuisine safely. If you enjoy grilling or well-done meat, be advised - you are adding to your cancer risk. Grilling creates smoke laden with carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which end up on the surface of whatever you're cooking. When meat, chicken and fish are cooked at high temperatures for a long time (aka "well-done"), it creates carcinogenic heterocyclic amines, or HCAs.

8. Read a food label - for real. Ever stop to read the ingredients label on packaged, processed foods? It's usually a mouthful of words most of us have a hard time pronouncing, so what exactly are you eating? You can learn which food additives are safe and which are not by visiting The Center for Science in the Public Interest's food safety guide, but it's even easier to simply choose whole foods. Whole foods are not processed, so they have all their natural nutritional gifts. Look for foods made from whole grains (think whole wheat bread, oatmeal and brown rice) - and it should say "whole" on the label. Make more foods from scratch (it's easier than you think). You'll end up saving money, eating healthier and reducing all the waste created from packaging and processing foods.

9. Wet your whistle with water. Americans drink an overwhelming amount of sodas, sports drinks, energy boosters, juices (that often contain little juice), and other bottled beverages. The first problem with this is that most of these drinks are loaded with sweeteners and artificial flavors and colors. The second is that they're bottled in plastic, which can leach additional chemicals into the drink. Your body is 70-75% water, so hydrate it with water! And, skip the single-use bottled water. Again, it can be contaminated by the plastic bottle. Also, it's less regulated than tap water. Make an investment in a water filter and reusable stainless steel water bottles. They quickly pay for themselves.10. Eat-in more often. When you eat at a restaurant or pick something up from a deli you have very little control over what you're getting. Save money and protect your health by making food at home. When you do go out, make healthier choices.

Hmmmm..... Bread.

Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread, especially the rising yeasty kind. Hmmmmmm...



A while back, probably around a year now, I started hating what I was reading in my store bought bread ingredients. Take a look the next time you go to the store, many may have changed to a more natural sweetener, but most still contain HFCS, that is High Fructose Corn Syrup. It is a sweetener that has been the basis for much debate in the last few years. If you ask a lot of parents, foodies and nutritionists they would tell you that HFCS may just be the cause of childhood onset of diabetes these days. If you ask people in the corn industry, they say HFCS is completely safe in limited quantities and it is our culture that is causing the diabetes. The problem that I see with the corn industries argument is why is it in most of our processed foods that we eat on a daily basis- like bread? If you ask me, I say it is both, and regardless, I don't want it in everything I eat. Thus, I became the Maega bread baker!


I have never been a super big bread eater. In college I had a stomach issue and bread-y foods just made me feel icky. But the thought of warm fresh bread (with butter of course) was something I liked, and I like to try new things so I started learning how to make bread. Also, my DH is a carb consumer. You want him on board when selling carbs- he loves them. I thought it would be better for him too to have something wholesome and HFCS free.

So, my first, say, 5 loaves totally sucked. Seriously people. Bricks. It was worse than trying to make sandwiches out of large Melba toasts. And, to boot- they were completely wheat based- so try to swallow that. Uffda. Now, you are wondering, I can see the gleam in your eye, how did DH fare with this experiment of mine? Well, I happened to have married THE most patient man I could find, so he just ate the bread and said things like "great job" and "hmmm, fresh baked." At least our house smelled yummy, right?


Anyway, on to success. I figured out that, yes, it does matter what kind of flour you buy. Also, when the recipe tells new bread bakers to NOT start with wheat, they had a reason. Smart people! After a few successes with white bread, I tried my hand at wheat, and now can proudly say that I know some little tricks of the trade myself. It just took a few google searches, a Mississippi market trip, and some time and- voila yummy bread.


I must add a plug for the Kitchenaid stand mixer (I hated reading these when I didn't have one- sorry non-owners!). If you plan on making more than two loaves a year, get a dough hook!! It is like having a maid (I guess I wouldn't know, but it seems like it would be that awesome). I use the KA for all of my mixing needs- maybe I should just blog about that sometime.... adding it to the list.


I figured I would share my all time favorite recipe for everyday bread with you, with my changes and additions. The original is from a website called Hillbilly Housewife- because they are known for their baking skills... (I think) http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/beginnersbread.htm

Maega Bread
1-1/2 cups of White flour (plus a little extra flour for kneading)
1-1/2 cups of Wheat flour (NOT GRAHM FLOUR)
1 teaspoon salt
1 packet, or about 2 teaspoons yeast
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons EV olive oil
1 cup warm water (not hot, just warm)
~2 teaspoons of soy lecithin granules (I got mine from Mississippi Market in bulk area)


1. Ingredients:-Put your 1 cup of warm tap water into a Pyrex type deal, put your yeast and soy lecithin in there as well, mix just a bit with a fork and let sit.
-In a large bowl (or Kitchenaid [KA] bowl) put your oil, honey, and salt. Then get all your other ingredients out of the cupboards (to give your yeast and soy lecithin a chance to get to know each other).
-Gently mix the warm water mixture together a bit with a fork, then pour it into the bowl of your other sticky ingredients, mix around with a rubber spatula until all the ingredients have "met each other."
-Now, add one cup of wheat flour and mix with a spoon (or hook on your KA) for like 60 seconds. Stop, add the 1/2 cup of wheat flour, mix for a bit, stop add the 1 cup of white flour mix for a bit, stop add the 1/2 cup of white and mix until all of it is mixed together as best you can.


2. Kneading: important note* If you are mixing this by hand be ready for a work out. Dump your dough (it is o.k. if it is a little chunky) onto a slightly floured surface and start kneading like you hate someone and knead to get that energy out... (WOW bad jokes... can't help myself). You will knead to knead (can't stop!) for 10 to 15 minutes, until the dough looks like it has started to string up a bit (see above recipe link for more info on kneading). For you KA owners, "alls you gotta do is" scoop the bottom ingredients to the top and set your mixer to a 2 or 4 speed for like 5 to 7 minutes. You should consider lifting some weights during that time to get the same workout though.... Just a thought.


3. Rising/Baking: Here is a tricky deal. Your bread kneads (k, last joke) to rise enough to be beaten down before the 2nd rise. Here is what I do: microwave a cup of water for a minute to warm up the microwave. Pop your little ball of dough into a bowl that has been oil sprayed or EVOO'd a bit, cover with a tea or drying towel and put it in the micro (micro will be unavailable for a while). You aren't cooking it in the micro, it just sits in there! If you have to use your micro for other things- stick it in the oven or a warm cupboard. I let mine rise for about 90 minutes before I check it. It will take longer in cool weather and shorter in warm weather. You know that it is ready to be punched down when you stick your finger in it and it leaves a hole (that doesn't pop back up).


-When the hole stays, you use your fist and gently/slowly punch it down so the air is pushed out. Grab a loaf pan, or whatever you are baking it in, spray it with the cooking oil/ non-stick stuff (don't use EVOO- the bread will stick). Take your dough, gently massage (yes- I used massage for a bread recipe) it to be similar to the shape of the pan, and put the dough in. Cover it up with the drying towel and stick it back in the micro for about 90 minutes again. When it has risen (indeed) put it in the oven at 350 and bake for 30-35 minutes. It is done when you take it out of the pan and a flick to the bottom sounds sorta hollow.



Now- if you are like me and have a job, you just don't have time to sit around waiting for bread to rise (let's start saying that- "She is so lazy she waits for bread to rise!! ha ha ha!"). So, this is my modification. Go back to step 3. Rising. Instead of letting the bread rise a second time in the micro- stick it in the fridge overnight and bake it in the morning. The max it should be in the fridge is 12 hours. Forgotten dough gets tough- this I know from experience. The people you live with will love you forever by the way. Fresh baked bread in the a.m. is awesome.



The whole process takes about 25 minutes of my time total. I usually double the recipe and make 2 loaves. I freeze one and we have bread for a week and a half. This bread goes bad in about 3 or 4 days unless you keep it wrapped in aluminium foil, then you have about a week with it.




So I thought I would share with you my enthusiasm for freshly baked homemade "everyday" bread, seeing as we will soon be baking in the July sun ourselves.

Happy baking!

Tea; Te; Tee; The; Sweet tea...

For my first post, I am choosing to write about tea. It isn't one of my most recent "opportunities for enthusiastic obsession" however it is a life long obsession so I will share my journey.

Are you a person who enjoys drinking either hot or cold tea? Maybe you've tried it and thought, "hmmm tastes like dirt" but wouldn't admit you've tasted dirt and just commented that you "didn't like it." Well, that was my first experience with tea way back in high school (alllll the way back). Healthy eating habits hadn't escaped my dad's understanding of nutrition. I think he had either acquired some tea from a family member, or found himself in the tea isle one day. But what he brought home was named something like "joint comfort" and "weight loss" tea. Now on the yummy scale, these were really close to the yuck side. Well, when dad says "you kids should drink tea, it is good for you!" Then you drink tea. This was precisely the moment when tea reminded me of dirt, which I didn't admit of course.

The summer between sophomore and junior years at the U of MN I was introduced to a woman who would become a best friend, and reintroduced to tea all at my new job in Academic Advising. This woman, we will call her AG, brought in some tea because the AC was pushing out some mad cold air. She brought in Lipton Blackberry. Imagine, a tea that tasted like fruit, and had a kick of caffeine. I was in love. We drank and drank this tea until she said "do you think other flavors are as good?" We slowly began a journey of tasting. Today, we have gone in slightly different directions with flavor preferences, however very much enjoy this obsession together just as much. We even report to each other when we have "brought another on board the tea loving express."

Now for the fun part. Here is what I want you to know about tea. I'm sure you know a few tidbits (or all of this) if you have jumped on the recent tea craze wagon, but hopefully you can pick something up from my life long obsession.

Did you know:
-There are 4 types of tea all made from the same leaves? Yup!

• Black, oolong, green & white- in order of processing. Black is most processed, white is least.



• The leaves are processed differently, and sometimes grown differently (but from the same type of plant)

-Teas like chamomile and rose hips aren't actually tea? Yes again!

• these teas are actually called tisane's, and are a source of judgement from me. Yes, people loving, super understanding me judges the people who only love chamomile tea. IT ISN'T TEA PEOPLE!!! IT IS A TISANE. How could you even miss that.

-That tea dates back to 600 BC (probably before)? There is so much history and tradition around tea that you really should just google this one.



-Tea is VERY good for you? I will list my favorite stats- which only represents some of the benefits. (from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_health & http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/130/10/2409).

• Anti cancer properties: There has been much research surrounding this topic. Bottom line is that they found antioxidants in tea.


• Boosts mental alertness


• Boosts immune system


• Lowers stress hormone levels


• Effects on bad breath: Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago stated that polyphenols help inhibit the growth of bacteria that cause bad breath. I'm not so sure about this one- I am always feeling like I have "tea breath"...

• Can you say fertili-tea? Research has found that green tea can be linked to increased fertility- ohhh baby!! http://www.babyhopes.com/articles/greentea.html
  

• Effects on bacterial and fungal infections: A study at Pace University reported in American Society For Microbiology (May 2008) found white tea extracts effective at treating bacterial infections, such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, pneumonia and dental caries.

• Cardiovascular health: Research published in April 2009 by the University of L'Aquila suggests that drinking just one cup of regular, black tea per day may help to protect against cardiovascular disease.

Please note that I am not a doctor, nor an expert, and this blog isn't meant as professional advice. Always ask your doctor when making decisions about your health.






So this concludes my first blog. Albeit a long one, I could write for days about tea- but then you would stop reading my blog and NEVER return for fear of complete boredom. I will leave you with some words steeped with history...

Tea that helps our head and heart.

Tea medicates most every part.

Tea rejuvenates the very old.

Tea warms the hands of those who're cold.
J. Jonker, Amsterdam, circa 1670