Author Archives: Melissa | Growing Green Nutrition

Wild Fermentation

I finally got my hands on the library’s copy of Wild Fermentation.  In addition to recipes on how to make common ferments, like sourdough and sauerkraut, the book is packed with information about the health benefits* of fermented foods, as well as more exotic recipes, including one for the Ethiopian sponge-bread injera.  (A previous attempt to make injera yielded disappointing results, so we’re looking forward to trying this version, with uses a sourdough starter as the base.)

We were ready to start another batch of sauerkraut anyway, but we adapted our technique from last time based on the book’s instructions for making a somewhat lower-salt kraut.  When we were at Local Harvest Grocery last weekend, I spotted a pint of live-fermented organic purple cabbage sauerkraut (basically exactly what we made last batch), selling for $10 a PINT!  Our current batch of kraut (above, middle) should yield about 2 gallons, i.e., 16 pints, or $160 worth of sauerkraut — now that’s wild!

The quart jar on the right in the above picture contains my attempt at sourdough starter.  I made my starter with 100% whole wheat flour.  After a few days, I saw some good bubbling activity, but that died down, and I’m beginning to think that I’ll have to toss this and start over.

Some places suggest starting with whole wheat flour, but then switching to white flour for feeding.  A white sourdough starter wouldn’t be the end of the world, since sourdough bread recipes consist of some starter and a large amount of flour — we can just use whole wheat flour in the bread recipe for an almost 100% whole wheat bread.

After reading all the details on starting a sourdough starter here, I’m thinking getting an established starter from someone may be the way to go.

*Health Benefits of Fermented Foods¹:

  • Promote digestive health by supporting “good” bacteria in the GI tract
  • Makes many nutrients in foods more digestible
  • Neutralizes  toxic chemicals in foods (e.g., phytic acid in whole grains) that may otherwise impede absorption of nutrients
  • Rids body of heavy metals and radioactive materials — this benefit is specific to live-cultured  miso (a soybean ferment — think miso soup)

1. Wild Fermentation.  Sandor Ellix Katz.  2003, Chelsea Green Pub.

Into the 3rd

Well, here we are at 28.5 weeks!  We got back from our trip almost three weeks ago now, and I realize I’ve written very little about it.  I spent the first two weeks exhausted, fighting the third cold I’ve had this pregnancy (poor little immune system), a Roman superbug, and diving right into a busy time at work.

After the sore throat, runny nose, etc., the superbug announced its presence in my sinuses last Monday with a sudden onset toothache affecting only the teeth on the top right side of my mouth.  For a few hours, I sat at my desk, feeling like my face was going to explode.  The tooth pain abated on its own, but since that time, I’ve upped the neti pot to twice a day, which seems to be working.

I’m actually trying to be good about resting my bum knee, which means almost no biking, because I need it to get me through an entire day in the saddle for the Cycling Savvy training this Saturday, followed by a community bike ride on Sunday.

I’m still keeping active with some walking, upper body weights, and the prenatal yoga class I just started.

I hope to get back on track here soon, with some posts on our time in Italy and green baby prep.  Until then, here’s hoping for sunny skies to dry up the soggy ground and healthy knees for biking!

Happy Earth Day!

Wondering what to do for Earth Day?  Here are a few ideas.

Check out green cleaning tips, including some from yours truly, in the “Green Cleaning” post from KERF.

Want to learn more about Earth Day?  Apparently there’s a documentary called Earth Days available for screening on Netflix.  I haven’t watched it, but Taryn at Mama Gone Green reviewed it here.

For a discussion on the green movement and avoiding “ecological snobbery,” see The Eco Cat Lady’s post “Greener Than Thou.”

Curious about having a party in your pants?  I’ve written about it (here and here).  In celebration of Earth Day, the folks at Party in My Pants are offering free shipping on all orders and 10% off orders of $35 or more through the end of April.  If you’ve never tried a PIMP product before, you can try one of their cloth panty liners for free.

Traveling while pregnant

I purchased our tickets to Europe back in December, still early-on in my pregnancy.  I’d already checked with my doctor and midwife about international travel while pregnant and received the green light, with advice to travel during the 2nd trimester if possible.  With that in mind, I nervously committed a large chunk of money to the trip, not knowing how I would feel, or how big I would be, or if there would be any pregnancy complications that contraindicated travel when March 22nd rolled around.

Fortunately, I felt great during the 2nd trimester and my still-small belly, while sometimes frustrating because I wanted to “look” pregnant, made for relatively easy travel, with just a few challenges.

Challenge #1 — The Bladder

In London, I could count on relatively easy restroom access when out-and-about by ducking into a Starbucks or McDonalds.  I became accustomed to walking in, quickly scoping out the place and the most likely restroom location, and making my way there, and back out, without making it too obvious that I wasn’t a paying customer.

Italy was trickier on the restroom front.  In Florence, I ducked into a small restaurant and waited an agonizing 10 hours (okay, more like 10 minutes, or less) for the father and little girl  who stepped in just before me to vacate the restroom, all the while hoping that the staff in the nearly empty place would not approach me and ask what I was doing, or call the polizia and haul me off to jail.

In Rome, we wandered for at least two hours trying to find a restroom one afternoon.  I should have just sucked it up and played the pregnancy card, but the one time I tried to do that, in a small gelato shop (where we actually PURCHASED something, by the way), the rude woman denied my request.

Now I suppose it was POSSIBLE that they really didn’t have a restroom, even for employees, in the tiny shop, but I doubt it.  There I was, a customer, obviously pregnant and in distress, and this woman wouldn’t help me.  I left the shop fuming and in tears.  When we finally found a restroom, it was at least an hour later 😦

Advice: Take full advantage of any restroom opportunities you get.  Always go before leaving a museum, restaurant, etc.  You never know how difficult it will be to find the next toilet.  Though it didn’t work so well for me, don’t be shy about playing the pregnancy card.

Challenge #2 — Lots of walking while carrying extra weight

We walked EVERYWHERE in London and Italy, which was great from a physical activity perspective, but turned out to be hard on my body.  Despite my relatively small size, I’m already carrying an extra 20 pounds — not insignificant!  That, combined with loosening ligaments due to pregnancy hormones, led to some painful times.  From the night of our second day in London, until sometime in Florence or Cinque Terre (about 6 days later), I walked around with excruciating foot pain and seriously thought I may have stress fractures in one or both feet.  Miraculously, this went away on its own, despite being on my feet constantly.

Unfortunately, about the time the foot pain resolved, I started having issues with my left knee.  Although I think that may finally be getting a bit better, it’s been at least two weeks now.  It’s been especially hard trying to be good and stay off the bike since we’ve been back.  Since I nigh upon refuse to drive anywhere within easy biking distance, I’ve felt like a prisoner in my own apartment.

Advice: Keep in mind the additional stresses that pregnancy puts on your body, even if you’re in relatively good shape.  Don’t expect that you’ll be able to do everything, and plan to scale things back a bit.  Tune in to early warning signs that you may be over doing things, and adjust as necessary.

Overall the trip was great, and I’m really thankful we had the opportunity and that it went so well.

Edible souvenirs

In our quest to not accumulate too much “stuff,” we usually forgo souvenirs when we travel.  If we do buy something, it is often edible.  Here’s our booty from Italy:

  • Truffle-infused pici — a thick noodleto be prepared in a traditional way, simply topped with olive oil, grated cheese, and black pepper)
  • Very high quality dried porcinis — super flavorful and much fresher than any dried porcinis you can buy in the States
  • Sciacchetra — a special dessert wine, product of the Cinque Terre region.  We plan to use a bottle to toast baby’s arrival this summer 🙂
  • Our two non-edible souvenirs are still food -related: a big ladle and a baby spoon, both made locally in Siena from olive wood.

Sure, edible souvenirs don’t last forever, but that’s kind-of the point.  For lasting memories, we have plenty of pictures!

I also have a few trip “souvenirs” that I would like to disappear.  First, there’s the cold that started halfway through the return flight from Rome.  A week later, with lots of hot honeyed tea, water, and regular neti pot usage, I think it’s on it’s way out.

Unfortunately, the knee pain that started in Siena or Rome shows few signs of subsiding.  Regular walking is not too problematic, but going downstairs (or down steep hills), is a different story.  Today I discovered that I can walk downstairs at a slightly faster rate if I go down backwards.

To make matters worse, biking is also painful.  I biked to my dentist appointment last Friday and haven’t been back on since 😦  I’m really itching to get back on the bike, but I also want my knee to heal, so I’m trying to be good.  Will I get desperate enough to go see a doctor?  TBD.