Real love and whole food
is more than the sum of its parts...
Welcome to my Noah's Table Blog. My mission is to share relatively unknown ancient foods and their delicious multi-cultural recipes with you. I am sure this endeavor is going to be worth your time UNLESS you are a world traveler or a voracious geography reader looking for diverse agricultural commodities available in different countries or on different continents, thereby you would be familiar with the wonderful international choices of grains, beans, seeds, beneficial oils, and pre/pro-biotic’s, and tubers; which were uncommon in North America until Canada and United States increased their immigration quotas and gave sanctuary to many refugees after 1975; and these weary immigrants who adopted this magnificent and vast strange country as their new home brought their bond with ancient dietary agricultural grains, beans, and seed wisdom to us as their gift.
I have learned food values not only from my academic endeavors but from new friendships that vaulted over cumbersome language barriers as people native to the Pacific Islands, or Asia, or the Mid-East, Mexico, or South America, or from the vast countries of the former Soviet Union became my peers as students beside me in University, or became members of my church, or waited with their shopping carts in ques at the grocery store with me. The best melting pot of ethnic diversity is love and appreciation of food and intellectual ideas. These new but ancient foods are now cultivated abundantly in the United States and Canada because immigrants desired their traditional, less processed/less expensive but more nutritious ancient foods. EVERYONE'S TASTE BUDS are different but we all LOVE DELICIOUS HEALTHY FOOD and a special occasion for a party! For my immigrant friendships with their devotion and love for their multi-cultural foods I extend heartfelt gratitude to them and to the greatness of these two enormous countries for being a marvelous melting pot of humanity.
If some of the oldest known cultivated foods are Wheat, Barley, and Rye, why would I choose to omit them? The first reason is to avoid the high rate of frequent serious allergic reactions that occur in many peoples throughout the world due to insidious gluten in-tolerance effects which lurk in the majority of human digestive systems! Secondly, after years of doubt, multiple tests revealed I am Gluten-Intolerant and probably many of my long-standing health problems are manifestations of gluten intolerance...and I want more than OK tasting Gluten-Free food---I expect Gluten-free food to be a love affair of taste and pleasure for my senses!
For over 40 years, I have advocated natural foods to family and friends while teaching how to enjoy many beans and whole grains unfamiliar to most people (Amaranth, Anasazi, Adzuki, Buckwheat, Chia, Millet, Mung, Purple Corn, Soy and Quinoa). My new effort to eliminate grains with gluten from my diet expanded to justify the elimination of soy too! The necessity to rethink soy was astonishing as a plethora of information discredited the highly esteemed Soybean with prestigious research showing soy's ability to seriously disrupt intricate human hormonal balance. Due to my respect for sound health criteria, my conviction is all unfermented soybean and products are NOT a healthy source of protein. Sometimes, accepting new information requires an open but discerning mind for a Sirocco wind to clear entrenched erroneous information.
It was and is crucial to me not to rely on other’s personal experience. It is imperative to demand good nutrition science, food safety, and food security information in a careful proactive way to make certain it is credible and genuinely obtained with documented studies. There are many renown authors whose expertise is quite sound, but they don’t get the mainstream recognition the health guru’s often do who blur the line between scientific fact, conjecture, their personal opinions that sell books with easy solutions...so-o-o, I don't use them as resources despite their insight and credibility. When possible I use guidelines and research tables from the USDA or The Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston, MA, at Tufts University. FYI: Tufts University School of Nutrition Science is the only independent school of nutrition in the United States. The school's eight centers focus on issues relating to famine, hunger, poverty, and communications are renowned for the application of scientific research to national and international policy influenced me to turn a critical corner in my nutritional understanding.
“Noah’s Table” is not a tome of empirical data or just sharing the information compiled bringing years of nutritional pursuits to access the best food recipes and data available in choosing a foundation for a sustainable, knowledgeable diet…Researching new information for this book has been enlightening, motivational, energizing, and empowering us to know we can eat healthy sustainable wholesome delicious foods giving tremendous full-spectrum nutrition that can feed this world's entire population.
When I decided to write a sequel to my 1st book, "Natural Foods Storage Bible," a new fact finding mission began to compare which foods had the best nutritional status and I discovered Teff. Teff was was virtually unknown in this country, yet it is truly an ancient grain of the highest nutritional quality from Ethiopia and is a food used for millions of people. Teff's minuscule seed like a champion Arabian stallion took the forefront to lead protein analyses against other grains. My fascination and appreciation about Teff and the awesome diversity of ancient grains had my brain doing cart wheels with excitement.
Teff is still not a well used grain and locating it can be difficult. Two dependable sources to obtain it are via the Internet directly from www.teffco.com who pioneered supplying the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities thirty years ago or from Bob's Red Mill website at www.bobsredmill.com.
[NOTE: Tomorrow, I will post recipes for making Teff porridge, how to make Chia Milk, and a Lentil main dish.]
It's ironic, teff and other "new" agricultural commodities are not new at all...and neither are they hybrids or GMO "achievements." These new found food prizes had been waiting for re-discovery by Americans and Canadians. AND there was discovery-after-discovery of unheard of additional protein sources...sorghum, myriads of bean and legumes AND their flours.
WAIT, there's more! I can’t contain my renewed enthusiasm for the fantastic DOCUMENTED ability of Chia seeds to provide excellent quality protein. Hahaha~ I bet you think Chia is for those bizarre Chia Pet figurines! WAIT till you hear about Chia's documented ability to slowly release and sustain balanced blood glucose levels averting insulin for many people with type II diabetes. In addition, chia aids normalization of impaired high cholesterol levels because of it's ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 EFA's! Plus, chia's ability to be a catalyst for hormone regulation is phenomenal! AND, its practical uses as "an extender" for peanut butter while pumping-up the protein content...and oh yes, chia increases stamina and energy to maintain athletic performance and is great for tired Gramma's that can't keep up with munchkins.
Where is a good starting point to begin using ancient Gluten-Free foods wonderful adventure?
I suggest “Meatless Monday” or take an expanded jaunt to "Monday / Wednesday / Friday Meatless Days" after your first day’s experience of planning three full meals of eating with this new perspective.
- Oh, here's an interesting antidote: "Meatless Monday" originally began during World War I when the U.S. Food Administration urged families to reduce consumption of key staples to aid the war effort! “Meatless Monday” and “Wheatless Wednesday” were introduced to encourage Americans to understand their food choices influence not only feeding more with less but the ability to focus our manufacturing effort more effectively and prudently. “Food Will Win the War,” was one of the US governments proclamations!
- So-o-o "Meatless Monday" came full circle in 2003, when the "USDA Public Health Awareness Program" in association with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for a Livable Future re-introduced "Meatless Monday" to help Americans reduce their risk of preventable heart disease by cutting back saturated fat.
Here's something interesting: A year ago my life-long belief on Coconut Oil was turned upside down THEN booted out the window! But first, we need to review the types of oils:
- (1) Saturated
- (2) Unsaturated
- (3) Polyunsaturated
- (4) Mono-saturated
As a family woman whose life revolves around family, friends, and community, who loves the scent of wet earth cupped in my hands savoring the privilege of snipping herbs from kitchen garden pots after tending my garden~ my Gluten-Free perspective has revitalized my life. The symbiotic seasonal relationship of watching birds nest, then migrate---I have come to know: faith, health, and happiness are inextricably interwoven with the mindfulness of stewardship of the providence given to us for our body and spirit.
Truly the end-user result extends to sustainable living~ To be JOYFULLY AWARE, treasuring and honoring this beautiful planet God created for us to be happy and healthy on during our time here on this awesome twirling planet with agricultural dietary crops that have met the test of time.
Thank you for choosing to come to Noah's Table. Namaste~ Sharon
