Brad Hefta-Gaub Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Some background: (from wikipedia) "Rejuvelac is a fermented liquid made from sprouted grains. It is purported to improve digestion of food. Rejuvelac can be drunk as a digestive aid or used as a starter culture for other fermented foods such as raw nut and seed yoghurts, cheeses, sauces and Essene Breads." I've been Gluten and Dairy free for several years now. And I had also mostly adapted my diet to near-paleo for the last year. This January 1st I started Whole 30, and so far, it's going great. Anyway, I've always been a bit of a foodie... I love to cook. And so I'm now into that phase of Whole 30, where I want to get more creative. I have found some recipes for Nut Cheeses that look interesting. One of them calls for Rejuvelac... which I'd never heard of till today, but with some google, I've found several resources, recipes, etc. Including a ton of notes from the Gluten Free community on how to make it using gluten free grains. As far as I can tell, the Rejuvelac doesn't actually include the sprouted grains, which are removed and only the "fermented liquid" is used in the later nut cheese recipes. From a "food craving" or "paleoizing treats" perspective, I feel like I'm pretty safe ground, because I'm no longer a big cheese fanatic. I'm just looking for a couple of long term healthy whole food recipes to add to my repertoire. But from a nutrition and health effects perspective... is this a reasonable choice, in moderation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee Lee Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 It comes from grains...i'm going to go with no. I've heard that nutritional yeast is a good option if you want something cheesy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Hefta-Gaub Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 The "it comes from grain" logic seems contradictory. Rice vinegar comes from grain, but is allowed. I'm asking the more specific nutritional effect question. Sprouting does reduce and almost eliminate phytic acid. Using a GF grain would by definition eliminate the gluten. Not actually using the grain at all (since it's just the liquid) would eliminate most/any of the carbohydrate effects. I have to assume the nutritional answer is more subtle than this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Christensen Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I used to drink rejuvelac a lot and honestly I can't think of why it would be needed in a recipe. It's watery and just tastes a little "off". It's my least favorite fermented drink and I love fermented drinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Hefta-Gaub Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 Kim, I found several different nut cheese recipes. Many of them don't use rejuvelac, and have something like lemon or lime juice instead. Those clearly are whole 30 friendly. But a couple used this stuff. I assume it's to give the "cheese" a more tangy cheesy bite. But I'll admit, I'm a newbie to the notion of raw/vegan/paleo nut cheeses. I've used commercially produced "vegan" cheeses, and for years I've made a point of avoiding any cheese substitutes with soy. But the brands I'm used to using have canola oil in them, so I'm not eating them. I was investigating the idea of making my own nut cheeses as a way to have more control over the ingredients... so I knew what I was eating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsteen Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Personally speaking, I don't think nut cheese is something I'd bother making during a W30. I've done it in the past when I was a raw food vegan but to me, there's a great similarity between nut cheeses and nut butters and they, as the book says, are best consumed in moderation. As the book also says, "some nuts and seeds in the diet may be good but more is not better. We still want to be careful not to incorporate too many of these fragile PUFAs into our cell walls, whether from whole-food sources or not" There's so many more healthy foods we can have, I'd rather fill my plate with them but, as i say, that's just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Here's my thought on the subject, and I'm blatantly plagiarizing from Renee somewhere else in the forum: There are so many fresh, whole foods available to you during your Whole30 that it seems a bit contrary to go out of your way to tranform foods from their natural states into a (likely less than satisfying) facsimile of something that makes you less healthy. If it so obscure that you need to ask, and then debate, it's better just to avoid it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Hefta-Gaub Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Thanks for all the feedback, I appreciate it. But I'm realizing that maybe I asked the question in the wrong forum... I'm less asking about Whole 30 and more asking a long term lifestyle question. I understand that plenty of people struggle with Whole30 and trying to break eating habits and cravings. I understand the reason behind the no SWYPO during Whole 30. I'm looking for more guidance on the health implications of using Rejuvelac in the context of a ISWF/Whole365xROYL context. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terez Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 It sounds a bit like kombucha in which there's a sugar-and-tea starter but by the end of the fermentation, the sugar has been metabolized by the yeast and bacteria. What you're describing with the grains sounds along those lines. Maybe it's even one additional step removed since the grains are the starter for the rejuvelac, and the rejuvelac is the starter for these nut/seed sauces and yogurts. I'm not a moderator but what you say makes sense to me. What's ROYL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Hefta-Gaub Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 ROYL = rest of your life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsteen Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Actually, believe it or not, unlike kombucha, there isn't any sugar used in rejuvelac nor is there a starter like the scoby, it's just srouted wheat berries and water. I was never sure if it was fermenting or just going 'off'. Yes, a few years ago (before I learned of W30) I did the Wigmore Protocol but we'll draw a veil oer that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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