Week 2: Unprocessed Kitchen Series

 

Have you already started your unprocessed journey or are you new to this?  
You can check out the first week's post HERE to get started. No time like today to help you and your family become the healthiest you can be..

 Last week for our first challenge, I asked for you to let go or start to wean yourself off of fast food. While letting go of fast food, I asked you to add 2 servings of fruits and veggies to your daily meals.. If you participated last week, how did you do? I would love to hear your response in the comments..

Now onto our second week together as we work towards an unprocessed kitchen.

After we decided to eliminate fast food back in 2005, we needed to find healthy alternatives so we could replace those meals with better options. I was introduced to a book called "Eating For Your Blood Type" I was very new to the idea of eating all healthy. Reading this book inspired me to find new foods to try. So many foods that I've never heard of popped up in the pages of this book. I thought I was going to replace the tasty fast food with eating cardboard.. I was wrong.

After gaining knowledge of the whole foods and unprocessed items that are out there to consume, I was excited about getting started. Our first 'test food' was Ezekiel Bread. Oh how delicious it was. My palette was so used to the greasy fair of restaurant food it didn't really know how to handle the real tastes of real food. This was our first challenge 10 years ago. Retraining our tongues to enjoy real food.

Let's talk first about Ezekiel Bread since I mentioned it as an item we've eaten.

 Ezekiel Bread is made with sprouted wheat which is healthy for your body. When examining the nutrient density of sprouted wheat to unsprouted wheat on a calorie-per-calorie basis, you’ll find that sprouted wheat contains 4X the amount of Niacin and nearly twice the amount of Vitamin B6 as unsprouted wheat. It contains more protein and fewer starches than non-sprouted grain and it is lower on the glycemic index. Since it's sprouted you must store this bread in your refrigerator as it spoils quicker. This bread is a great alternative from white bread for those not interested in making your own bread at home. 

So now that you've gotten the run down on one type of 'good for you' bread, let's discuss our options this week that pertain with flours and salt since these two ingredients are the main staples in today's bread, Either store bought or home made.

 It's really important on your journey to eating unprocessed foods to stock your cupboards with items that won't put you in the same boat nutritiously as eating boxed food. If you find yourself putting bleached flour in your cart at the grocery store and regular table salt  then you are not doing your body any justice.

I'd like to point out some healthy alternatives for you to look for the next time you go grocery shopping..

SALT

If you are going to put salt on or in anything you cook it's important you find the best salt available to use. Table salt is stripped of any nutrients as it's bleached and chemically processed and contains fillers which can cause health issues. Regular table salt contains no naturally occurring minerals because any minerals that were present are removed during the refining process.

Regular table salt contains no naturally occurring minerals because any minerals that were present are removed during the refining process.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/about_5449879_mediterranean-vs-regular-table-salt.html

Let's look at some healthier options to regular table salt.


Iodized Salt

Table salt with an element of iodine. This helps you with iodine deficiency. If you can't afford any of the better salts this is a great place to start.


Iodized Sea Salt

Sea salt is the generic term for unrefined or minimally refined salt, usually containing many of the trace minerals found in sea water as it has been naturally evaporated from a living ocean, sea or bay. This is even better than the iodized salt.

Himalayan Pink Salt

Mined from pure salt deposits that lie high in the mountains, and they both possess the rich, mineral flavor

Mediterranean Sea Salt

Mediterranean sea salt is obtained from the water of the Mediterranean Sea.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/about_5449879_mediterranean-vs-regular-table-salt.html

Mediterranean sea salt is obtained from the water of the Mediterranean Sea.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/about_5449879_mediterranean-vs-regular-table-salt.html

Mediterranean sea salt is obtained from the water of the Mediterranean Sea. Mediterranean sea salt naturally contains a wide variety of minerals. Trace amounts of fluoride, potassium, iodine and magnesium can all be found in Mediterranean sea salt.


Celtic Salt

Harvested near the Celtic Sea, Celtic Sea Salt supplies all 82 trace minerals needed by the human body for optimal health and longevity. Since it is unrefined, it does not contain any chemicals, preservatives, or any other additive.

My family uses Celtic Sea Salt in our baking and cooking as well as the Mediterranean sea salt. We do use Iodized Sea Salt on occasion when I'm making big baking batches since the other two salts are a little pricey.

FLOURS

Let's discuss flour options because they are all not considered equal. I highly recommend you to never purchased bleached white flour ever again or any bleached white bread. There is nothing in this to give you any nutrition and is wasted calories.

I highly recommend finding flours that are unbleached and unbromated.

What is Bromated?

Bromated flour is flour which has been enriched with potassium Bromate, a maturing agent which promotes gluten development in doughs. Potassium Bromate is classified as a potential carcinogen, meaning that it may be harmful when consumed.


Bleaching of Flours and Breads?

 Flour bleaching agent is a food additive added to flour in order to make it appear whiter and to oxidize the surfaces of the flour grains and help with developing of gluten.

Consider what gets lost in the bleaching/refining process:

Half of the beneficial unsaturated fatty acids
Virtually all of the vitamin E
Fifty percent of the calcium

Seventy percent of the phosphorus
Eighty percent of the iron
Ninety eight percent of the magnesium
Fifty to 80 percent of the B vitamins 

What are you left with? Nothing of any value to your body.

My Top 3 Picks of Flours That are Unbromated/Unbleached I Use and Love:


Wheat Montana Flours are unbleached and unbromated and also non GMO. I live in Montana so I use this flour and eat their bread regularly. If you can't get this where you live see if you can purchase this online.

Wheat Montana has different kinds of flour available for all your baking needs.


Bob's Red Mill is another great option to find unbleached unbromated flour.

King Arthur Flour is Unbleached.
I'm not sure if it's unbromated but this is a great alternative if you can't locate any of the other flours above.

My Top 3 Picks of Different Varieties of Flours That I Use and Love

Spelt Flour
One of the most popular and widely available of alternative baking flours.

Coconut Flour:
 It is ground from dried, defatted coconut meat. It is high in fiber, and low in digestible carbohydrates.


Whole Wheat Flour
Also called graham flour. It is made from the whole kernel of wheat and is higher in dietary fiber and overall nutrient content than white flours.

Top 3 Bread Companies/Brands That I Love:

Ezekiel Bread

Dave's Killer Bread
 

 Rudi's Bread

I hope this week's unprocessed post will help you make great choices in your future flour, salt and bread purchases that will lead you to a better healthy life.. 

 Hope to see you back here next Monday for Week 3 of 14 Weeks to An Unprocessed Kitchen. Until then...