On Saturday, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nourishing Traditions author Sally Fallon for an article I’m working on for Living Without magazine. Having read her entire book—a weighty tome of 680 pages, packed with more than 700 recipes and a wealth of nutrition knowledge—earlier this year, I was eager (and a bit intimidated, I might add!) to speak to her specifically about how traditional methods of food preparation (including sprouting, soaking, culturing and fermenting) might help those with food allergies, intolerances and sensitivities to overcome their symptoms. As you might imagine, it was incredibly inspiring to speak with her. Not only did she provide what I pray will be a fresh perspective for the readers who will eventually read the article, but she also graciously answered many questions I couldn’t help asking about my son Kellen’s specific situation. What’s more, she offered hope that he might actually be able to eliminate some of his food-allergy symptoms, and she suggested several things to try to help him eventually get to that point.

Nourishing Traditions isn’t a new book. The second edition was published 10 years ago. But the information and ideas it contains are new to me, and I’m so grateful to the community of bloggers I stumbled onto (especially Wardeh Harmon of www.gnowfglins.com) who first introduced them to me and who continue to inspire me with their own innovations based on the principles and techniques outlined in the book. They, too, have patiently answered questions and shared recipes as I’ve worked to convert my kitchen to meet real-food ideals.

With renewed zeal, I tackled a few tasks this week that were foremost on my mind:
• Homemade chicken stock. Sally Fallon writes extensively in Nourishing Traditions about the healing properties of homemade meat stocks—in particular, the natural gelatin they contain, which aids digestion and allows proteins to be more fully utilized. (Store-bought stocks are not a good substitute, as they don’t contain the beneficial gelatin, and often do contain undesirable preservatives). She suggested that I give Kellen lots of meat stocks and broths to help heal his gut. I’d like to have enough on hand that he (and the rest of us, too!) can eat a little with each meal.

• Sprouted pinto beans. Living in the Southwest, we tend to eat a lot of beans. But although I’d heard about the added benefits of sprouting beans before cooking them (especially that sprouting increases enzymes that help aid digestion), I’d never tried it before. I started sprouting several quart-size jars’ worth on Sunday, and they should be ready to cook today. I’ve been told that sprouted beans cook in about half the time that it usually takes for regular dried beans, so I’m looking forward to keeping the stovetop heated for just an hour or two instead of half a day.

• Salvaging our squash. We came home from a trip to my in-laws’ home in northern Arizona a couple of weeks ago loaded with produce from their garden—especially the ever-prolific zucchini and yellow squash. Not wanting to waste one bit, I’ve been working it into as many meals as possible. After last night’s feast of stuffed zucchini (a Nourishing Traditions recipe that calls for a filling of whole-grain breadcrumbs, eggs, Parmesan cheese, onions and, of course, the scooped out flesh of several large zucchinis—to which I added ground beef), I have just enough left to make a soaked version of zucchini spice bread (another NT recipe). The yellow squash will go into the roasting pan with some other veggies as a side dish later this week.

This post is part of the Tuesday Twister blog carnival hosted by www.gnowfglins.com. To link to today’s Tuesday Twister on that site, click here.

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