Easy To Make Lacto-Fermented Foods
Presenter: Annie DruImmediately upon watching this presentation, I was very impressed with Annie Dru’s effervescent nature and clarity of thought. I felt that her presentation flowed beautifully, was very well organized and very entertaining. Her exuberance is a testimony to the six principles which she lays out for us in the first part of the video. She is a natural speaker and engages her audience with her wonderful examples and descriptions.
Annie begins the six principles with fermentation and the fascinating role this process plays in transforming already nutritious foods into even more nutritious superfoods. She explains that vitamins, enzymes and beneficial bacteria are all increased upon fermentation.
Principle number two involves the importance of bone broth. Dru includes complete instructions on how to make bone broth and discusses the role gelatin plays in aiding the digestion of meats.
The next principle focuses on why we should be soaking, sprouting and sour leavening beans, seeds and nuts. Dru explains how these processes neutralize the anti-nutrients found in these foods and makes them more digestible.
The fourth principle discusses why certain animal foods should be eaten raw. Special attention was given to liver and dairy products.
Principle number five centered on organ meats. Information was shared concerning the practices of animals in the wild and of indigenous people. When there was an abundance of food animals and indigenous peoples went straight for the organ meats and discarded the muscle meat of their prey. The animals instinctively knew what parts of their prey contained the most dense nutrition. People learned the same lesson either from experience and/or from watching what the animals did.
The last principle revolved around saturated fats and cholesterol. Dru explained how indigenous people made it a priority to save the fat from the animals and how important it is to include fat along with the meat we consume. Fat aides in the digestion of meat and also increases the assimilation of various vitamins and minerals. Dru stressed the idea that in order for people to be healthy, the animals that they consume must be fed their natural diets. For example, chickens are supposed to eat insects…..not corn. When animals or people eat a food they are not designed to eat, then their health suffers and their fat ratios also change. The animals pass their health status and their fat properties on to us.
In the second half of Dru’s presentation she actually demonstrates how to ferment vegetables and milk products. Included are sauerkraut, ginger carrots, beet kvass, crème fraiche, and soft cheeses. She encourages the audience to experiment with fermented foods and stressed the idea that fermentation is not a laboratory science. She added the fact that every batch of a specific fermented food will result in a little bit different end product and that this is ok.
Because our medical system is based on Pasteur’s Germ Theory, we have been taught to fear and obliterate all germs. Dru shares the fact that the human body is largely composed of bacteria and that instead of fearing these organisms, we need to learn how to coexist with them and how to put them to work for our benefit. Better health will result from working with nature instead of against it.
After I finished viewing “Easy To Make Lacto-Fermented Foods”, I realized that watching this video with my family and friends would be an exceptional way to share with them the vital research of Weston A. Price. The information was presented in such a clear, friendly, and interesting manner that it may even convert the most diehard junk foodie …or it would at least plant the seed for further exploration into real nutritional wisdom.
Our fast food technological society is depriving people of the joy of real connections to the food we eat. However, we don’t have to let this continue. We can once again experience the rhythm of the seasons through growing and preserving our own foods. We can increase our health by preparing our foods using more traditional soaking and fermentation methods. When we turn our focus to restoring and maintaining health as a foundation for increased harmony, not only will the individual benefit but society as a whole will begin to heal. Annie Dru provides a much needed stepping stone in this learning process and I encourage those who want to make a difference to watch this video and to share it with others.
This video can be purchased from the non-profit Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation
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