Fermented Sprouted Soy/Tofu With Veggies

Soybeans contain phytochemicals that have toxic effects on the human body. It has been linked to digestive distress, allergies and immune system breakdown. However, fermented soybeans releases nutrients and transforms soybeans into healthy nutritious food. When you consume small amounts of fermented soy foods, they help provide a wealth of friendly microflora to the intestinal tract that aids in digestion and assimilation of nutrients, as well as boost immunity.
Miso neutralizes toxins and alkalizes the blood. It contains an excellent source of digestive enzymes, probiotics, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals!
'Fermented soy in small, condimental amounts as practiced in traditional Asian cultures is the only safe way to consume this legume and even then, only for those who have healthy thyroid function because it is so extremely goitrogenic. Miso, tempeh, natto and soy sauce (If traditionally brewed) fall under this category.' (see full article in link below)
Sources:
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/why-sprouted-soy-is-worse-than-unsprouted-even-if-organic/
http://www.organicauthority.com/health/what-are-the-safest-nongmo-soy-products.html
http://www.wildwoodfoods.com/products/tofu
http://ourearthland.blogspot.ca/2012/06/releasing-nutrients-in-soybeans.html
http://naturalsociety.com/miso-soup-protects-against-radiation-exposure/
http://www.naturalnews.com/025513.html
http://ourearthland.blogspot.ca/2012/08/the-benefits-of-barley-miso-soup.html

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Fermented Green Cabbage Guacamole

Fermented foods create probiotics which are healthy bacteria that repair the gut. When we promote good bacteria, we can reverse disease because 80% of our immune system is in our gut flora! It is important to have probiotics after the use of antibiotics, although antibiotics should always be avoided! You can learn more about disease reversal, on our 'disease' and 'health' tabs above. Also, check out our 'fermenting' label for more of our pro-biotic recipes.

A couple weeks ago, we fermented some green cabbage with leeks, celery and a hint of basil. Today, we cracked open our jar and added our fermented cabbage to some guacamole with kale! Very tasty! Check out our recipe below. Enjoy!

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Fermenting Cabbage with Basil

It is important to have pro-biotics after the use of antibiotics, although antibiotics should always be avoided! Fermented vegetables create pro-biotics which are beneficial for the immune system because it provides healthy bacteria to the gut flora which can fight against bacteria, viruses and 'diseases'! Fermenting foods is really simple to do. A while ago, we began fermenting some green cabbage with leeks, celery and a hint of basil. Check out our 'fermenting' label to see more of our previous fermented vegetables and their results.

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The Benefits of Barley Miso Soup

In Japan, those affected by radiation sickness from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were treated with miso soup. Miso neutralizes toxins and alkalizes the blood. It contains an excellent source of digestive enzymes, probiotics, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals! We wanted to make miso paste from scratch but were uncertain about the exact process of fermenting. We decided to purchase some barley miso paste for now, until we can learn how to ferment it ourselves. Miso soup is very healthy and tasty! See our simple recipe below. For more information on miso and radiation sickness click here.

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Live Curtido Salad

We've been fermenting lots of red cabbage to create healthy bacteria for a strong immune system! It is important to have pro-biotics after the use of anti-biotics in order to have a strong immune system! Our latest live salad recipe was created with fermented 'curtido' along with some fresh parsley and summer squash. Summer squash (yellow zucchini) is an excellent source of manganese and vitamin C. It is also a good source of vitamin A which supports the immune system. Give it a try! (see recipe below)

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Spicy Live Cauliflower Salad

A little over a week ago, we prepared more vegetables to ferment. Fermenting vegetables creates pro-biotics for our gut flora! Today we cracked open our cauliflower and leek mix to make another spicy live salad. We added fresh organic tomatoes, cilantro, red cabbage, (pre-soaked) seeds and spices - very tasty! Cauliflower is an excellent source of vitamin C and has anti inflammatory nutrients. (see recipe below)

Spicy Live Cauliflower Salad Recipe

Serves 1-2 

Prep Time 5 minutes! 

Ingredients: 

∙ 1 large organic tomato 

∙ a handful of organic cilantro

∙ 1/2 cup of organic red cabbage (shredded)

∙ 2 tbsp of organic sunflower seeds (pre-soaked over night)

∙ 2 tbsp of organic pumpkin seeds (pre-soaked over night)

∙ 1 cup of fermented organic cauliflower and leek mix

∙ organic cayenne pepper 

∙ dry kale spice (optional - see recipe here) or dry kale

∙ non-treated pink sea salt 

∙ organic black pepper 

∙ organic crushed red pepper

Directions:

1. On a chopping board, dice tomatoes into small chunks and place in a large mixing bowl.

2. Chop cilantro into small pieces and add to large mixing bowl.

3. Add shredded cabbage, seeds and fermented vegetables to mixing bowl.
4. Sprinkle cayenne pepper, dry kale, salt and black pepper onto vegetables and mix ingredients.
5. Add crushed red peppers and continue mixing until all ingredients are mixed well with spices.
6. Serve in two bowls and enjoy!

IMPORTANT: Make sure you tightly seal the lid, on the fermented veggies that are left behind in the jars, after you've measured out how much you will use. This will prevent mold. Also DO NOT put the jars in the refrigerator because you will kill the bacteria and you will have defeated the purpose of fermenting in the first place.

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How To Make Organic Soy Milk

We made our own soy milk last week and incorporated it into a Green Tea With Ginger Latté, which was very tasty! Preparing soy for healthy consumption is time consuming but worth the effort once you taste it! A few days ago we soaked some more soy beans to prepare some milk for this week. The instructions* are below. Keep in mind that dehulling the soy beans can be tedious. A good tip we'd like to share is to sit down and set up an area where you can remove the hulls while watching one of your favorite shows, a sports event or over conversation. It will get you through it quicker and help you to not get impatient. It is important that all hulls are removed and that the process is completed properly since non fermented (or not previously soaked and hulled) beans are toxic to your health. Check out our process below and enjoy!

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Creating Curtido

Curtido is fermented cabbage with carrots and onions, similar to coleslaw, that is common in Salvadoran cuisine. In the next week or so we'll be having some pupusas. Pupusas are also a Salvadorean dish - a favorite of mine growing up. My (Guatemalan) mom made the best pupusas and curtido that I ever had! Pupusas are served with curtido, so we prepared two jars (below) to ferment. We also fermented a cauliflower and leek mix. We'll be sharing the recipe for gluten free pupusas in about a week when the fermenting process is complete.

Below is a photo from today's walk in the park. Enjoy!

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Spicy Live Salad With Lentil

GoodVeg on Squidoo shares recipes, news and information relating to a healthy vegan and vegetarian diet. It's an excellent resource to healthy information and recipes! I recently created an article that contains my latest fermenting recipe that I felt was worth sharing. We were literally counting down the days when we could crack open the fermented zucchini and onion mix! The recipe below is very tasty - give it a try and enjoy good healthy and flavorful food!

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Releasing Nutrients In Soybeans

In their natural form, soybeans contain phytochemicals that have toxic effects on the human body. It has been linked to digestive distress, allergies and immune system breakdown. Fermentation releases nutrients and transforms soybeans into nutritious food. In small amounts, once fermented, they help build the intestinal system, providing a wealth of friendly microflora to the intestinal tract that can help with digestion and boost immunity. We're fermenting some soy beans to make miso soup this week. We've done some research but if anyone has any experience in fermenting soy beans please let us know. To learn more about the harmful effects of non fermented soybeans click here. 

Below: Our organic soybeans fermenting - it's been about 48 hours since we placed them in the jar.

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Fermenting Greens

On Tuesday, we began fermenting sliced zucchini and cucumber. It's been really hot these days in Toronto and you can see the fermenting results in just 4 days! We are still going to wait a week before cracking it open but we started pickling some more and added hot peppers to the mix! We can't wait to try them...

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Naturally Storing Food

A root cellar is excellent for storing food! It can store food for long periods of time which can be beneficial during the winter season. The earth soil on top of the cellar controls the temperature naturally, keeping your food from freezing or overheating. We are going to be building one for our sustainable home. When considering our design for the root cellar, we decided to buy a book entitled 'The Complete Root Cellar Book! The book is available on Amazon and we will be reviewing it and sharing what we learn in an upcoming post.

Below: An image of a root cellar (photo taken from here) and more fermenting jars (eggplant, celery, garlic and cayenne pepper mix and red onion, leeks, celery and garlic mix).

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The Benefits Of Dehydrated and Fermented Foods

Dehydration is one of the oldest methods of food preservation known to man. The history of dehydrated food includes dried fish, Chinese tea leaves and preserved fruit, vegetables and meat. Today it is still put into practice and is beneficial for your health. Not only does it preserve food so it is readily available but it also provides the enzymes and nutrients you need for a healthy immune system. Food fermentation is also very beneficial for the immune system because it provides healthy bacteria to the gut flora which can fight against bacteria, viruses and 'diseases'.

Below: Our dried fruit yeast is ready to go, our new additions to the fermenting family (zucchini with cucumber and red beets) and dehydrated banana chips. Yummy!

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Making Yeast Water

While researching the internet for information on creating yeast, we came across an amazing blog that shows you how to make yeast water. We decided this was going to be the method for making yeast that we will use in our first gluten free bread loaf recipe. We're very excited! We placed dried figs, dried prunes and some honey in our glass jar. Hopefully the results will be successful!

Below: Our latest addition to our fermenting family - dried fruit yeast water!

7 hours later... The figs began to float to the top of the jar. According to Wao, the fruit should begin to rise during this process. So far so good!

And later on... we are officially addicted to fermenting and decided to also try Wao's tea leaf yeast water! We only had organic red rooibos tea leaves available, so that's what we used. Hopefully it works out. (see image below)

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White Fish With Fermented Goodness

It's been over a week since we began fermenting some red cabbage and celery! Today we decided to try some as a side dish to our tasty White Fish from Kolapore Springs. Fermented vegetables are very tasty! We are very happy with the results. They also create healthy bacteria for the immune system! We are now fermenting some napa cabbage so we can make some Kimchi Non Fried Rice next week.

Below: Healthy White Fish sautéed with organic leeks and garlic and served with a side of fermented organic red cabbage and celery spiced with organic cayenne pepper, sea salt and black pepper. Yummy!

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'Nature, time and patience are three great physicians.'

Quote by: H. G. Bohn

On Sunday we began fermenting red cabbage after our success with our green cabbage. We now have a new addition to the fermenting family - celery! Celery is a very good source of vitamin C, a vitamin that helps to support the immune system. It contains compounds that help prevent free radicals from damaging cells. We heard it was one of the tastiest of fermented foods and can't wait to try it in a couple weeks! Fermenting vegetables creates healthy bacteria that helps fight off disease and toxins in our body.
Below: Fermenting celery and nature photos from today's walk to the park - we finally got some warm weather. Enjoy!

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The Robust Red Cabbage

Red cabbage has more nutritional benefits than green cabbage. It is an excellent source of antioxidants and is one of the most nutritious vegetables around. Today we began fermenting some red cabbage. A really quick and easy way to prepare vegetables for fermentation is to diffuse some salt water in a jar by shaking it and then pouring it into the vegetables that will be fermented (the vegetables should be sitting in a large mixing bowl once shredded or chopped). We then use our hands to mix the vegetables up (like tossing a salad) and make sure they are evenly salted. Finally, we start packing it into the jars tightly, using some device to push down. Very easy to do and effective. To learn about this process, click here. Tomorrow we will be fermenting some celery, garlic and onion!

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Brown Rice and Scallops On a Bed of Cabbage

Fermenting vegetables creates healthy bacteria that repairs the gut. 80% of our immune system is in our gut flora! About two weeks ago we began fermenting cabbage to create our own pro-biotics. Yesterday, we decided to crack open one of our jars and give it a taste test. It was amazing! We wanted to make kimchi with our scallops and rice dinner but didn't have all the ingredients required, so we just added some chilli pepper, garlic, onions and ginger to our cabbage. Very tasty! This had also been the first time we made scallops and they were a success! This one one of the healthiest dinners we've had and we felt very energized afterwards. Today we'll be fermenting more vegetables and will keep you posted on the results.

Below: Organic gluten free brown rice with shiitake mushrooms, onions and garlic and a side of scallops on a bed of fermented chilli cabbage... Yummy.

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Creating Pro-biotics

Fermenting vegetables creates healthy bacteria for the immune system! You can read information about this from our previous post on understanding 'allergies'. Fermentation not only creates good bacteria but it also provides a variety of foods which you can incorporate into your daily meals. It is important to have pro-biotics after the use of antibiotics, although antibiotics should be avoided at all costs! 

Last weekend we decided to begin fermenting cabbage. To do this, we soaked raw cabbage in salt water and then packed it tightly in a jar. We saved some cabbage leaves at the start to cover the top of the cabbage, once it was full, in order to pack it in real tight. We then filled in any gaps that were left behind, with water. In 1- 2 weeks the process should be complete. We will be experimenting with more vegetables once we get the results of the cabbage and will keep you posted.

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