What foods to store from a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner's point of view

[Britesea]

well let's see... Vitamin C is present in lots of foods, like most of the brassicas, peppers, and strawberries and although canning and drying tend to destroy, fermenting does not... so make lots of kraut and pickles! Vitamin D is synthesized by your body from sunshine, so go out and work in the garden! Vitamin E is present in lots of foods such as sunflower seeds, various leafy greens, pumpkin, red peppers...

I add powdered kale to lots of foods- scrambled eggs, smoothies, spaghetti sauce. As you say, it doesn't take much and although the taste is stronger than fresh kale, you don't need much to make an impact on nutrition.

The thing I've noticed is that, wherever humans have thrived, all of our nutritional needs can be found in the foods that can grow in that area. Otherwise, humans would not have thrived there!

 

[sumi]

This is a great topic for discussion, Freemotion. Thanks for starting it! I've never paid much attention to what or much I eat and didn't stop to think about what my body needs, until I found myself on a scale the morning of my second round of cancer surgery (just over a year ago) and nearly 30 lbs underweight. I've since had wonderful discussions with a scientist friend who got interested in nutrition and told and taught me a fair bit about healthy eating and what our bodies need.

I've since adapted my diet to include more un-processed and fresh foods and a bigger range of foods to make sure I get all the needed nutrients and I feel amazing. (And I gained nearly 17 lbs!) You really are what you eat

 

[Britesea]

I am NOT a nutritionist, so if I have made any errors in this post I hope that @freemotion will correct all of us.

I'm pretty sure any salt works for preserving, although I believe Pickling salt is pure sodium chloride, with no impurities to cloud the liquid. Regular table salt actually has sugar (in the form of dextrose) added, to keep the salt flowing in a humid environment (remember the saying When It Rains It Pours?). Kosher salt doesn't have the dextrose in it which is why people feel it actually tastes saltier. Sea salt and Himalayan Pink salt have impurities, but they mostly take the shape of being trace elements and such that are good for you (although I wonder about sea salt coming out of the Pacific Ocean, these days). They are also considerably more expensive than other forms of salt. Coarse salt (Kosher or otherwise) is great for corning, brining, etc. but you can use more finely ground salt if you can figure out the conversion rate.... since 1 cup of coarse salt might not equal 1 cup of finely ground salt (more air spaces). Finally, Iodized salt is table salt with just enough iodine added to prevent goiter... but you can get your iodine from lots of other sources from kelp or nori to cranberries and strawberries, although the amount of iodine in land vegetables depends on how much iodine is present in the soil it's grown in.

Oh, I forgot... don't use rock salt (the kind used in ice cream making) for anything you plan to eat, unless you like grit in your food. Rock salt has not been cleaned of the materials it was mined from.

 

[tortoise]

I skipped a lot to post and will go back and read. I was thinking about nutrition in self-sufficiency as in whether or not eating what we grow can provide our nutritional needs. I used USDA Supertracker and disregard their macros, but use their micros. I've played with it on and off for several months. The first deficiency I noticed in my family's diet was vitamin K. Kale is high in vitamin K. And we grow and dehydrate kale! I powdered it, did some math and know how much kale per day to meet our nutrition requirements - it's not much. My family refers to it as "vitamin kale" now.

We don't get enough vitamin C, D, or E either. I don't have "grow your own" solutions for those yet. I don't get enough iron either.

 

[baymule]

I love bread and homemade jelly. I love brownies. With wine. AAAARGGHH!!!!

After moving, it has taken 3 gardens to reach a level of enough humus, fertility and sweat labor that I think everything won't die.

Glad you started this. I need to get us back on track.

 

[samssimonsays]

On Track? Does that mean exercise? SO MUCH PRESSURE! (but I did download a pedometer)

 

[NH Homesteader]

Probably 10 years ago I went to a holistic health practitioner ... He told me to stop eating half of what I eat now. I cracked down for about a month before I got overwhelmed (I was just out of college and single.... Not a lot of commitment) I have never felt so healthy, strong and alert in my life. I need to go back to that... So hard!

 

[tortoise]

I feel nauseated before eating and feel sick and fatigued after eating. My blood pressure drops after eating. So I avoid eating! Which means I grab the most energy-dense food I can find. Fluids help control the blood pressure drop, so high calorie liquids. I have to eat high-salt diet too. So..... ramen with peanut butter, potato chips with whole milk, and hot cocoa is pretty much what I'm living on. The nausea results in frequent food aversions too. They do pass eventually but it can be months.

Supposedly eating low carb helps, but I have food aversions to meat, beans and hummus . @freemotion what the heck can I eat?!

 

[sumi]

FEM, you'd be amazed how many miles you can do in a day just doing chores and going about your business. Especially when you're busy, which you are.

@tortoise I had similar issues with eating and feeling bad before and after. It's awful. Went the high calorie liquid route too for awhile. Started taking meal replacement drinks, I still do daily, for "breakfast". It helps and it's nutrient rich, so it's a good drink. Maybe something like that would help you? I found lying down for a few minutes after eating helps you recover when you start feeling lightheaded or nauseas, or both.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

@freemotion - is there a way to make a good meal replacement drinks from actual real and healthy ingredients?