To Soak or Not to Soak....That is the question.

You're probably wandering,"What in the world is she talking about?" Well I'll tell you. Here lately I've been writing about the book by Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions. I have found many great ways to cook traditionally, the way our ancestors did. And I am loving it. When I talk about soaking I'm talking about your grains. You know wheat, barley, oats, etc... Did you know that to truly get the great benefits from your grain you should soak them? That's right. Soak them.

I know your probably thinking Wow that would take SO much time. Well yes and no. Yes it does take some forethought but what your doing is preparing whole food for your family so in my opinion it is yes and no. No, because once you get in the habit of soaking it really becomes second nature to you.

Sometimes I get my self confused explaining things so I'm going to redirect you to the Weston a. Price Foundation and Heavenly Homemakers. They both have great posts on why you should soak your grains.

From Nourishing Traditions:

Eating whole grains is important because they provide vitamin E, B vitamins, many important minerals and fiber.  But the phytic acid in the grain combines with the iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc in the intestinal tract, blocking their absorption.  They also contain enzyme inhibitors that can interfere with digestion.

So, Nourishing Traditions recommends that we soak our grains in either whey, cultured yogurt, kefir, cultured buttermilk…or in lemon juice or vinegar if you can’t tolerate milk products.  Soaking them for at least seven hours allows the enzymes to break down and neutralize the phytic acid.  Then, more of the good nutrients in the grain are released and all the good stuff is more readily absorbed in our systems and the grain is digested much more easily.