My nieces’ mother bought me a book called “Nourishing Traditions” a few years back. To be honest (sorry Ashley) I never really took the time to actually read between the recipes until now. I guess now that I have a lot of time at home, and new baby, I’m thinking more about what I eat. I’m finding it very interesting, yet at the same time it is totally shaking my world! My head is spinning. Apparently everything that I thought was healthy that I was eating is not? I’m confused. I though whole grains, seeds, nuts & legumes were good for baby and me? According to the author, Sally Fallon, the full nutritional potential of these items cannot be absorbed by the body because they containe phytic acid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytic_acid) which prevents the nutrients from being absorbed. By soaking, sprouting, and fermenting you are able to decrease the amount of phytic acid therefore allowing your body the ability to absorb more of the nutrients that are so good for you (calcium, iron, magnesium, copper, and zinc!)
I cook a lot with seeds, grains, and legumes (I really love lentils, chickpeas, quinoa, faro, barley, brown rice) but the only reason why I have ever soaked any of these items (and skimmed the nasty froth that appears when cooking which contains anti-nutrients), both at home and at work, is to help with cooking time. I never stopped to think that it had anything to do with helping our bodies absorb the nutrients!
When I was cooking in NYC at the Mondrian Hotel, we had a delicious dish that I used to eat almost daily that was curried black chickpeas with autumn root vegetables. We would soak our chickpeas in lime water (a solution of pickling lime and water) for 24 hours prior to cooking, and always drain and replace the cooking water once the water came up to a simmer and foam was skimmed off. I never stopped to think why we did this. I mean I understood that it improves the quality and taste of the end result, but I was never thinking about nutrition. Many times when you are working in a restaurant you don’t stop to ask why you are told to do something a certain way (and many times when you do ask why, there is no answer except “because I told you to do it, that’s why”…meaning they don’t know why, only that they were told to do it that way!)
The thing that got me all shaken up was the section about soaking oatmeal. I eat oatmeal a lot for breakfast, at least a few times a week. I have never soaked my oatmeal though. In the book, Sally Fallon suggests soaking oatmeal with a solution of warm water, salt, and either yoghurt, kefir, buttermilk, or whey for at least 7 hours at room temperature but as much as 24 hours. I’m definitely going to try this technique out and I will report back the results (I’ve read that people after soaking their oatmeal can tell that their body absorbs it differently and feeling more full for a longer period of time). But I just ate a bagel, lox, and cream cheese 🙂 so it will have to be another day!
Anyway if you want to read more about soaking, sprouting, and fermenting, and well anything about Sally Fallon and her challenges on nutrition, you can do some research on your own on her foundations website here:
http://www.westonaprice.org/ and check out the book “Nourishing Traditions”… there are actually some good and easy recipes in there too!
–Cassidy
maison joy 