My TF Journey

[mamayogibear]

Hi, I am sort of new to TF. I have been into one type of fermented foods or another for a while. Right now I just dove head first into fermenting this past week since I found a copy of Nourishing Traditons cheap at a used book store!

I am starting out with:

kiefer

kombucha

fermented carrots

sourdough

I hope to start the following this week:

ginger beer

fire cider

saurkraut

Aside from the fermenting I'm not sure what other pieces of wisdom I should expand upon. I am really pondering stoping being vegan and starting to drink raw milk and eat raw cheese and fre range eggs. I am hoping to cut out more grains from my diet and can not think of a way to have a balanced nutritious diet without grains and remaining vegan.

I think my biggest challanges will be cutting out beans since there a large source of protein for us now. Are raw nuts acceptabel in TF? Or are they only 'not allowed in paleo diets?

Wow I have a lot to learn and not much time to read, I guess I'd just better take the book to the kitchen each day and get started that way!

[HouseofPeace]

beans and nuts can be TF if properly prepared.

i disagree w/ NT on preparing beans w/ acid base, but instead suggest soaking them in an alkaline base (baking soda) for 24 hours.

for nuts, soak or sprout.  i usually do almond milk from soaked almonds (i buy raw in bulk from Just Almonds in California), but you can soak and also dehydrate.

but if you're stepping back from grains and legumes, i'd support raw dairy and especially good quality eggs.  

i love my raw cheese and pastured eggs.  for my kids, having the raw milk on hand is my go-to health food for all purposes.  and i don't regret it.  we've never been vegan, but i was a raw foodist for years, and raw dairy really carried me as i need a dense source of protein every day.  w/ my son i couldn't handle much meat (transitioning off of raw foods) but could do raw cheese, and also did stock based soups.  since i've been grain intolerant for years (except for some quinoa and sometimes sourdough rice) it's been a balancing act for sure!  but want to say that grains and beans can be a great part of the diet if prepared well and if you body tolerates them.  i think finding the sources that work best for you is also a key part.  no one in my family or world loves quinoa like i do, but it's the one grain that i can eat almost daily.  that said, my kids and hubby are perfectly satisfied w/ pastured butter and sourdough rice bread as their staple.

[1love4ever]

How do you make sourdough rice bread?

I always sprout my beans, here's easy instructions http://www.cookingtf.com/2011/04/19/why-i-no-longer-soak-my-beans/

IMO, nuts and seeds are good, but not meant to be the main part of the diet.  As a snack sometimes, sure.  Soak or sprout them first.

[HouseofPeace]

rice likes to sour and has lots of good yeasties on it making it very easy to sour.

i grind FRESH gluten-free rice (many brands are cross-contaminated and i react to all of them, so i order Lundberg Farms in bulk and have had no problems since going that route)- usually i grind fresh every other day.  and i mix the warm fresh ground rice w/ clean water (no chlorine)- sometimes i start w/ a smaller bowl, and 1 cups to 1/2-2/3 cup of water until all the rice is moist but not soggy or watery.  then i cover w/ a clean cotton towel and place in a warm spot (oven w/ light on, except i always burn out my oven light) for 24-48 hours.  if you place it in a glass measuring cup, you can watch the bubbles form in the batter.  it doesn't 'rise' like gluten flours, but it definitely gets a yeasty smell, and a light bubbly texture.  then mix starter into larger batch of flour and enough water to make it moist but not runny.  let sit for 8-24 hours.  remove 1/2 cup from each batch before cooking it up.

then i add eggs, sometimes fat, baking soda, and make pancakes or sourdough bread in an oven at 405 for 45-60 min.  

[Brees_Mama]

HouseofPeace, would this work with already ground up rice flour and just enough flour to absorb the starter? It sounds like it would make a really good bread!

I use Lundberg organic brown rice flour if that helps (I buy it in bulk on Amazon). 

[treehugginhippie]

Something to look into is anerobic fermentation using Pickl-It jars! Lots of people switch to this method after using mason jars for fermenting.

[HouseofPeace]

Originally Posted by Brees_Mama 

HouseofPeace, would this work with already ground up rice flour and just enough flour to absorb the starter? It sounds like it would make a really good bread!

I use Lundberg organic brown rice flour if that helps (I buy it in bulk on Amazon). 

yes- i can't see why it wouldn't.  i'd play w/ it for sure.  the starter grows very easily, and just moist enough to get the flour sour is best.