There are just not enough kind things I can say about this sweet, beautiful mama. I truly admire Jennifer, she has a beautiful heart filled with compassion. She's the kind of person that makes you realize there is still kindness in this world.
Please make sure to visit Hybrid Rasta Mama. I suggest you start with her awesome post on coconut oil, 160 Uses for Coconut Oil and if you're like me and love pumpkin, you have to check out her post Pumpkin Recipes Gone Wild.
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Fermenting foods the way our ancestors did is a lost art but one that is making a comeback. Traditionally fermented foods like grass-fed cheese, kefir, miso, olives, pickles, sauerkraut, tempeh, and yogurt are some of the oldest and healthiest foods on the planet. The term “fermented” may sound unpalatable but this ancient preparation and preservation method, which involves breaking down carbohydrates and proteins using microorganisms such as bacteria, molds, and yeast, produces delicious food. More importantly, these foods contain probiotics that can be beneficial to your overall health.
Why should you incorporate traditionally fermented foods into your diet? Here is a short list outlining the benefits and the reasons of why you might want to keep a well-stocked refrigerator of various fermented foods and beverages.
· Fermented foods improve digestion. Fermenting our foods before we eat them is like partially digesting them before we consume them. According to Joanne Slavin, a professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, “…sometimes people who cannot tolerate milk can eat yogurt. That’s because the lactose (which is usually the part people can’t tolerate) in milk is broken down as the milk is fermented and turns into yogurt.”
· Fermented foods restore the proper balance of bacteria in the gut. Do you suffer from lactose intolerance? Gluten intolerance? Constipation? Irritable bowel syndrome? Yeast infections? Allergies? Asthma? All of these conditions have been linked to a lack of good bacteria in the gut.
· Raw, fermented foods are rich in enzymes. Your body needs enzymes to properly digest, absorb, and make full use of your food. As you age, your body’s supply of enzymes decreases. This has caused many scientists to hypothesize that if you could guard against enzyme depletion, you could live a longer, healthier life.
· Fermenting food actually increases the vitamin content. Fermented dairy products consistently reveal an increased level of folic acid which is critical to producing healthy babies as well as pyroxidine, B vitamins, riboflavin and biotin depending on the strains of bacteria present.
· Eating fermented food helps us to absorb the nutrients we’re consuming. You can ingest huge amounts of nutrients, but unless you actually absorb them, they’re useless to you. When you improve digestion, you improve absorption.
· Fermenting food helps to preserve it for longer periods of time. Milk will go bad in the fridge but kefir and yogurt last a lot longer. Sauerkraut, pickles and salsa will keep for months. And if you’ve got a huge batch of produce in your garden that you don’t know how to use up — ferment it!
· Fermenting food is inexpensive. There’s nothing fancy required for this hobby. And many of the foods required to make these recipes are very cheap. You can use inexpensive cabbage to make sauerkraut, or get yourself a kombucha scoby and with just pennies’ worth of water, sugar and tea, you’ve got a health elixir slash soda pop.
· Fermenting food increases the flavor. There’s a reason humans enjoy drinking wine and eating stinky cheese. There’s a reason we like sauerkraut on our hot dogs and salsa on our tortilla chips. It tastes good!
Need a place to start? Looking for some creative ferments? Here are two recipes using produce that is currently in season.
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| Photo Credit Citrus Trees Online |
Spiced Fermented Lemons
Ingredients
· 7 to 8 medium lemons (organic – you do not want the wax coating from standard lemons)
· Juice from 7 lemons
· 3/4 cup unrefined sea salt
· 4 whole, organic bay leaves
· 1 large cinnamon stick
· 1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
· 1 tablespoon coriander seed
Directions
1. Wash the organic lemons thoroughly.
2. Cut lemons in quarters so the sections remain connected. Typically stop the cut about ¼ inch from the bottom of the lemon to keep it intact.
3. Put 2 tablespoons of salt into the openings of each lemon.
4. Press the salt into each cut section so that it is packed tightly.
5. Pack everything into a 1 1/2-liter mason jar.
6. Mix remaining salt & lemon juice.
7. Pour lemon juice/salt over lemons packed in jar.
8. The brine should extend 1/2-inch above the lemons; if not, add filtered, non-chlorine, non-fluoride water to raise level.
9. Make sure that you have headroom in the jar to allow for any expansion.
10.Place the jar in a dark area or cabinet.
11.Ferment at room temperature for 10-30 days. The longer you ferment, the richer it will be.
12.At the end of the fermentation period, refrigerate.
13.Use the recipes in middle eastern and Indian style recipes. These lemons are great with chicken dishes! You can also eat them by themselves are with a little Greek yogurt.
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| Photo Courtesy of Jennifer @ Hybrid Rasta Mama |
Fermented Citrus Beets with Ginger
Ingredients
· 4 medium beets, peeled and sliced into ⅛"-thick rounds
· 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
· 1 teaspoon whole allspice berries
· 1 teaspoon whole cloves
· 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
· 2 sticks cinnamon
· 1" piece ginger, peeled and cut into slim sticks
· Peel of 1 orange, cut off in strips
· 2 tablespoon whey
· 2 tablespoon raw honey
· 3 cups filtered water, warmed to room temperature
· ½ cup unrefined sea salt
Directions
1. Bring a 4-qt. saucepan of salted water to a boil, and add beets; cook until just tender, about 3 minutes.
2. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water, and let sit for 2 minutes to chill.
3. Drain and place beets in a sterilized 1-qt. glass jar along with mustard seeds, allspice berries, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and orange peel.
4. In a medium bowl, stir together whey, honey, and filtered water; pour over beets until covered.
5. Pour any remaining brine or water into a resealable plastic sandwich bag, and place bag on top of beets to keep them submerged.
6. Place the jar in a dark area or cabinet for at least one week. You can then taste the brine to see if you like it. Keep fermenting for 3 days periods until the brine suits your personal taste.
7. Once beets are cured, season them with sea salt to taste and refrigerate for up to 10 days.
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Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes Jennifer! xo
About Hybrid Rasta Mama
Jennifer, author of Hybrid Rasta Mama, is a former government recruiter turned stay-at-home mama to a precious daughter (“Tiny”) brought earthside in early 2009. She is passionate about conscious parenting, natural living, holistic health/wellness, real foods, and a Waldorf inspired approach to education. Jennifer is committed to breastfeeding (especially extended breastfeeding), bed-sharing, cloth diapering, green living, babywearing, peaceful parenting, playful parenting, and getting children outside. She is a hybrid parent, taking a little of this, throwing in a little of that, and blending it all together to create a parenting style that is centered on what her daughter needs in order to flourish as a human being. Jennifer also lives and breathes reggae music, the Rastafarian culture and way of life. Reggae music and its message touches her soul. You can also find Jennifer on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Networked Blogs, StumbleUpon, and Google +.
