Health Foods that I love...

I thought I'd tell you about some foods that I love to use, that might go unnoticed on the store shelves of your health food store. I LOVE fermented foods. They're one of the healthiest things you can put in your body. If you want to give your gut some lovin', eat some fermented foods...and I don't mean Activia or some other sugarladen yogurt..
Some of you would be surprised to know that there is fermented cottage cheese. Nancy's brand makes it, and although it has a little "kick" like yogurt, it's very delicious. It's packed full of protein as well. 14 grams per 1/2 cup!
Another great fermented food that people seem to forget about is saurcraut. Be sure and read the ingredients though. Some add vinegar and you don't want that. A good German sauerkraut will never have vinegar. Bubbie's makes one that is in the fridge section of health food stores, but I'm currently eating one straight from Germany:)
Kim Chi is basically the same thing as sauerkraut but has a totally different flavor. I'm not a huge fan, but a lot of people love it.
Kefir is another great fermented food/drink. Some brands have more "fizz" than others. I believe Helios is the fizziest (I like it fizzy), but most brands just taste like liquid yogurt. Always buy plain and sweeten with stevia. Most yogurt and kefir that is flavored is packed with sugar! Speaking of Yogurt...have you tried the "Greek Gods" brand? Delish!! It's like heaven!
And of course, Kombucha. You gotta love Kombucha. Refer to my old post to find out how to make your own!
Bread..I love Bread, but Gluten and Yeast bloat me up and make me look 5 months preggo... so I stick to sprouted bread. Although there is Yeast and Gluten in most sprouted breads, there is significantly less. And since it's sprouted, it's alive,just like fermented foods are alive! I eat the Food for Life Raisin 7 Grain bread (same company as Ezekiel) every morning. I like the 7 Grain better because it doesn't have sprouted soy, and I have an intolerance to soy. I also enjoy Alvarado Street Sprouted Barley and Sprouted Sourdough. Their bread seems moister to me than Ezekiel. I also eat the Ezekiel Tortillas and Ezekiel Corn tortillas quite often. The tortillas are completely yeast free. Manna bread is a delicious sprouted bread that is yeast and gluten free and is like a dessert! It's so yummy and has no added sugar!
For those of you who just can't get into the sprouted bread (my husband), try breads that are fermented and yeast-free like authentic sourdough. Most artisan breads are fermented, but you'll have to label read to make sure. French Meadows is a brand who's entire line is yeast free. I was unable to find it at Whole Foods, but Nature's Pantry carries it. Fermented breads are not only free of added yeast but the phytic acid is fermented out of the bread. Phylates (phytic acid) is in raw grains, nuts and seeds. It makes bread hard to digest, and it binds to calcium and zinc, leaching it out of your body! In turn..it's not good for you at all!
This is my theory to why the French and Italians are so skinny when they eat a lot of bread!! It's artisan bread so the body is processing it better. That's just my theory!
So, my goal is to make some fermented bread. My husband has been begging me to make "Fresh Bread" and my response is always "So we can get fat?". So I'm going to bake him fresh bread now, but it's going to be fermented and healthy! Here's the video I'm following. Serene is amazing by the way. She has a house full of adopted kids and still feeds them all so healthy!