Please tell me what you think of these notes to our family about grains and sugars

[Rikki Jean]

For Christmas, we're giving our friends and family a cookbook of our favorite recipes. Some of the recipes include rapadura and flour soaking, so I worte up a few things about each, because those are going to be foreign to most of the people getting our cookbook. I didn't want to write too much (and really, I didn't want to have to start siting a bunch of stuff), but I wanted to give them a general idea of why we do what we do. I'm reallllllly tired (it's almost 2am. Ah! I need sleep!), so I can't decide if what I wrote is okay or not. Can you give me your input? I want to take this to the printer tomorrow.

Cook’s Notes

In some of our recipes, you may notice some ingredients and techniques that you aren’t familiar with. Here is the scoop on what they are, and why we use or do them:


Rapadura Sugar

In our home, we try our hardest to avoid white, refined sugar. Other than the obvious reasons to avoid sugar with small children (sugar high, anyone?), we also believe that it’s detrimental to our health and immune systems.

When sugar is refined, it’s stripped of it’s natural minerals, many of which help our bodies to properly process the sugar. When we eat refined sugar, our bodies don’t know what to do with it, because of the missing components. For this reason, it is especially crucial not to consume refined sugar during times of sickness, because your immune system is already busy trying to fight off an illness, and that can be hindered when it has to try to process the sugar at the same time.

In place of refined sugar, we use Rapadura. It is a granulated sugar that has not been refined in any way, only granulated. Rapadura is not the easiest to find; some people are able to find it in stores, but we order ours online, from www.AzureStandard.com.

Another option is Sucanat, which is similar to Rapadura in that it is unrefined. The difference with Sucanat is that it is left to dry on its own, unlike Rapadura, which is squeeze-dried. We prefer the taste and texture of Rapadura (it’s finer than Sucanat), but Sucanat is easier to find, as it is in most health food stores.

Both sugars can be substituted for white and brown sugars, but their flavors will be stronger, and the finished product will be considerably darker than it would be with white sugar.



Soaking Grains

It is well known that whole grains contain many nutrients that are beneficial to our health. What is less commonly known is that grains also contain phytates, which inhibit our bodies from absorbing the beneficial nutrients. The only effective way to remedy this is to soak, sprout, or ferment your grains.

We haven’t quite gotten to sprouting or fermenting yet, but we do soak our grains, when we can. We explain the process in our pizza recipe, which basically entails soaking flour in a liquid acid medium (whey, kefir, yogurt, lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar) for 12-24 hours, at room temperature, before baking. The acid medium neutralizes the phytates, making the goodness of the grains readily available to our bodies.

For more information about grains, sweeteners, and many other food-health issues, we recommend reading Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon, and visiting www.cookingtf.com.

I decided not to include anything about grinding and oils and all that, because really, this cookbook is not about being TF. I mean, most of my recipes are very TF-friendly, but in a mainstream-friendly way, iykwim. I didn't want to make education the focus of the book, which is why I just referenced NT and Cooking TF at the end, and I reference a blog or two in the recipes. This is going to a mostly mainstream audience, so overwhelming them with that info would probably just make them decide that the book was too much work!

Okay, I'm seeing spots and hearing things...I think it's time to go to bed!

[wholewheatchick]

That looks good to me, and as I am new to this TF thing and slowly immersing myself in it, I don't know too much yet, but that explains things clearly and succinctly.

The only thing I would be concerned about is possibly that bit about the immune system and sugar. It sounds a tad bit preachy, perhaps, and I think you make your point well enough without it. Just a thought.

[amcal]

Have people asked for more information on how you cook and prepare foods?

Honestly, I'd be concerned that it might come across as preachy? But, I guess if they've asked you to compile your recipes then it's different.

[memory maker]

Hey Erica...yes Im stalking you

to explain grains you could also put the link for this

[Ruthla]

I would edit the sugar section like this:

Rapadura Sugar

In our home, we try our hardest to avoid white, refined sugar. In its place, we use Rapadura. It is a granulated sugar that has not been refined in any way. Rapadura is not the easiest to find; some people are able to find it in stores, but we order ours online, from www.AzureStandard.com.

Another option is Sucanat, which is similar to Rapadura in that it is unrefined. The difference with Sucanat is that it is left to dry on its own, unlike Rapadura, which is squeeze-dried. We prefer the taste and texture of Rapadura (it’s finer than Sucanat), but Sucanat is easier to find, as it is in most health food stores.

Both sugars can be substituted for white and brown sugars, but their flavors will be stronger, and the finished product will be considerably darker than it would be with white sugar. Similarly, you can substitute white or brown sugar (or a mixture of the two) in any of my recipes that call for Rapadura.

I omitted all the reasons for avoiding refined sugar (the simple fact that you prefer to avoid it really IS enough information) and added a note about them substituting cheap sugar for the rapadura when they use the recipes. The section on grains looks good.

[LionTigerBear]

I don't know-- I would go a little further than Ruthla's version-- I would include one sentence or explanation that you prefer Sucanat or Rapadura because they contain healthful natural minerals and is easier to digest-- or something like that. I wouldn't directly criticize refined sugar in any way, I would just briefly point out the benefits of the natural sugars.

[Rikki Jean]

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate your input. It's really hard to edit yourself, especially with something like this!

No one has specifically asked for information about either of these things, but since I'm including recipes that include both (and for the soaking recipes, I've made it clear that they are completely optional, and included directions for the recipe with or without soaking), I thought that it was important to give some information about them. Some mamas on another board who are not TF said that if I didn't include the info, the didn't think that people would use the recipes.

Originally Posted by memory maker

Hey Erica...yes Im stalking you

to explain grains you could also put the link for this

Ha, I knew it!

Thanks for the link! I might just put the link to the homepage, and say something like, "Check out their free resource section." My grandparents and great aunts will be getting the cookbook from us, and they don't even know how to turn a computer on, so I'm trying not to mention the internet too much (although, most of the family members and friends we're giving this to use the internet every day )!

Originally Posted by Ruthla

I would edit the sugar section like this:

Rapadura Sugar

In our home, we try our hardest to avoid white, refined sugar. In its place, we use Rapadura. It is a granulated sugar that has not been refined in any way. Rapadura is not the easiest to find; some people are able to find it in stores, but we order ours online, from www.AzureStandard.com.

Another option is Sucanat, which is similar to Rapadura in that it is unrefined. The difference with Sucanat is that it is left to dry on its own, unlike Rapadura, which is squeeze-dried. We prefer the taste and texture of Rapadura (it’s finer than Sucanat), but Sucanat is easier to find, as it is in most health food stores.

Both sugars can be substituted for white and brown sugars, but their flavors will be stronger, and the finished product will be considerably darker than it would be with white sugar. Similarly, you can substitute white or brown sugar (or a mixture of the two) in any of my recipes that call for Rapadura.

I omitted all the reasons for avoiding refined sugar (the simple fact that you prefer to avoid it really IS enough information) and added a note about them substituting cheap sugar for the rapadura when they use the recipes. The section on grains looks good.

Thank you! I like this. I really wasn't totally satisfied with how it was written in the first place, but my brain just couldn't function anymore to write anything else!

Originally Posted by LionTigerBear

I don't know-- I would go a little further than Ruthla's version-- I would include one sentence or explanation that you prefer Sucanat or Rapadura because they contain healthful natural minerals and is easier to digest-- or something like that. I wouldn't directly criticize refined sugar in any way, I would just briefly point out the benefits of the natural sugars.

I may do this too.



Thank you all!

[Ruthla]

The more I think about this, the more I think you should simplify it as much as possible. Maybe just write "sugar" in the recipes where you use Rapadura- they'll be able to use the recipes without any adaptations or "foreign" ingredients, and you just use Rapadura wherever a recipe calls for sugar.

For grain soaking, I'd say something like "soaking grains helps to make them more digestable". Again, maybe just put that in with the instructions in each recipe. Directions for presoaking (to make the grains more digestable): {follow with soaking directions.}

You may not need the disclaimer in the beginning of the cookbook at all.