The Forgotten Remedy

Facts

In our last email, we introduced nature’s 8 doctors (if you missed that email, visit our blog, Simple Truths ).

We started off with NUTRITION, but as important as nutrition is, it’s not enough! Remember, there are 8 natural laws of health, and they all work together synergistically.

In her book, The Raw Gourmet, Nomi Shannon comments that 75% of the benefits of eating a clean and nutritious diet can be lost when you’re not getting sufficient daily exercise. That’s incredible! So, for nutrient absorption, exercise is a key element! Studies also show that sedentary lifestyles are known to be linked to dementia, diabetes and heart disease. These should be great motivators to get anyone moving!

According to WHO (the World Health Organization), globally, 1 in 4 adults do not meet the global recommended levels of physical activity, and more than 80% of the world’s adolescent population is insufficiently physically active! We can see why exercise has been rightly called “the forgotten remedy!”

Here are a few tips for incorporating more physical activity in your day!

·       Go for a 10 to 15 minute brisk walk after every meal. This improves digestion and blood sugar levels!

·       Even if you’re glued to your phone – walk and talk!

·       Take the stairs when you can!

·       Grab the leash and walk your dog!

·       Enroll in an exercise class! Either in person or on youtube!

·       Get a good watch that can track your steps and encourages you to keep moving!

As you begin to practice new exercise habits, your health will steadily improve and happy endorphins will multiply, causing you to feel better than ever! Here’s a link with some helpful “hacks!”

Now, at this point you may be asking, “what exactly does exercise have to do with Simple Kneads bread?” Well, you need more resources when you are exercising and Simple Kneads bread has 3 grams of protein in each slice. So, our product is not just empty carbs!

Our CEO and founder Tristaun eats 4 slices of our bread after his grueling CrossFit and weight training routine every day! Why? The protein for one, but it’s also prebiotic, so it’s very assimilable. It’s well cooked, doesn’t have cheap, starchy ingredients, and it’s an all organic, naturally gluten-free product! Tristaun and his wife Sacha also have 4 rambunctious kids they have to keep up with! You can see why one of the main components in their diet is Simple Kneads bread!

Here’s to a clean, natural product your whole family will benefit from!

Sandy K Workman
SK Director of Brand Development

Healthy bread can be nutritious AND delicious

Facts

Most of us today, especially in the United States, eat bread every day. Whether it’s breakfast toast, a sandwich, a wrap, bread sticks or a burger bun, most eat bread multiple times a day. But bread is not what it once was. It would actually be unrecognizable to our ancestors. It has lost most of its nutritional content, most of its fiber, and honestly, bread today could resemble more of a sugar drink. You can imagine how this would affect our gut bacteria. But you won’t have to research long to find that true sourdough bread is one of the healthiest breads out there! It is naturally leavened the way bread use to be and this makes a world of difference.

It’s only been in the last hundred years that we have been using commercial yeasts as a leavening agent. Which has brought with it many health issues (not to mention, most bread now days is a highly processed food). But before commercial yeasts, all bread was “sourdough.”

Sourdough is the ancient method of leavening bread. Which is quite simple. You add a yeast culture to flour and water and let it ferment. This mixture is what makes the bread rise. Here’s a little video to educate you on the process.

But the easiest way is by getting a little starter from somebody else. This is what we did! And we got our sourdough starter from none other than our friend Barbara O Neil! Check out this little clip from the last time she was in the states and came by to visit us!

Barbara shared the starter to our founder about 10 years ago. We took a small amount and have been feeding it gluten-free grains ever since! We have many celiacs that enjoy our bread and it has been changing people’s lives through it’s wonderful ability to heal the gut microbiome.

Sourdough is truly a beautiful and amazing ancient science. Here’s a little clip on the art of sourdough with Dr. Vanessa Kimbell for your enjoyment…

Sandy K Workman
SK Director of Brand Development

Simple Kneads is a nutritional POWERHOUSE! Here’s why…

Facts

Our true sourdough bread is made with 5 gluten-free ancient “grains” that are rich in vitamins, minerals and packed with good macronutrients! Macronutrients like carbs, fats and proteins are nutrients that you need in a LARGER quantity. Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber all fall in the category of micronutrients, which are nutrients you need in smaller quantity. Simple Kneads is packed with both!

Quinoa is one of the few plant foods that are a complete protein AND therefore contains 9 of the essential aminos acids you need. In fact, there are 9 amino acids which you can only get through your diet because your body doesn’t make them, and quinoa has all 9!

Buckwheat is considered a SUPERFOOD because it is so rich in vitamins and minerals. In addition, it helps control blood sugar levels and therefore helps manage diabetes.

Millet is a protein rich and believe it or not, is one of the 3 gluten-free ancient “grains” that does not have lectins! Teff and Sorghum are the other two. Lectins cause serious digestive issues for many people. If you fall into this category, you will want to stay clear of lectins as much as possible. Millet improves digestive health because it is rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber. In addition, at Simple Kneads we use organic Proso millet which is known to be safe for those with thyroid issues.

Teff, although the smallest “grain” in the world, packs a nutritious punch! It is very high in protein and amino acids. Protein and amino acids are 2 important building blocks for your tissues. It is also higher in fiber, calcium, and iron than most grains. So, although small, it is a mighty grain!

Sorghum is the other lectin-free ancient grain that we use. It is high in protein, fiber, B vitamins and antioxidants. Antioxidants scavenge free radicals from the cells of your body and therefore can reduce aging.

Our ancient “grains” truly have some unique properties. You can get all these wonderful benefits by incorporating more of them into your diet, or simply by enjoying the nutritional powerhouse that’s packed right into our loaves! And by the way, one slice of Simple Kneads bread contains 3 grams of plant-based protein! With all these benefits, Simple Kneads true sourdough bread is definitely a great option for you and your family!

Sandy K Workman
SK Director of Brand Development

Let’s Get Back to Ancient Artisan Goodness

Facts

In ancient times bread was considered a most prized food. Many times, the quality of the ingredients and baking methods were under the king’s strict regulation. This artisan bread was made from whole grains, so it naturally packed an array of body blessing nutrients. In those days, bread was rightly called the “staff of life.” Unfortunately, over the hundreds of years since that idyllic time, this seemingly magical food has been through many dangerous digressions, ultimately leading to a nutrient-deficient, carb-rich product.

In the 1960’s and 70’s we had the counterculture movement that protested against industrialized foods, that is, anything that was grown with pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and made with additives, preservatives, flavorings, and other unnatural ingredients. They wanted to go back to a simpler, more nutritious way of eating whole foods. They even believed yeasted bread was unhealthy, and since bread was central to the American diet, they set out to revolutionizing it as a way of taking control of their health. Back then Wonder Bread and Roman Meal were the hype. You may remember those days. The drought of real bread reached it’s height in the 1980’s, early 90’s. A plethora of issues started surfacing, such as Celiac disease, gluten sensitivities and all sorts of allergies (corn, oat and soy), along with allergies to harsh commercial yeasts and much, much more. People began removing bread entirely from their diet. A grass roots movement of “natural food stores” started springing up to provide better food options, but what’s interesting is, bread didn’t make much progress, and if you were gluten-intolerant, you may as well have said good-bye to bread altogether. The world has come a long way since then, yet even with the many gluten-free, allergen-free options out there, most have little to no real nutritional value. Since nutrition is key in the healing process, this poses a real problem for those who are struggling with serious health issues.

The Solution:

Simple Kneads has created a nutritious and delicious gluten-free, true artisan sourdough bread that’s sole aim is to bring healing and balance back to the body. But what exactly is true artisan sourdough? This means we do not use commercial or baker’s yeast to make our bread rise. Instead, we use a starter – a fermented flour and water mixture that contains wild yeast and good bacteria. We make our bread the way bread was made in ancient times, and before the introduction of commercial yeasts! This is critical for health and healing!

 

“Natural leavened bread, because of its inherent beneficial ferments, slowly re-creates the population of friendly lactobacillus digestive bacteria in the absorption tract. The end result is recovery of the digestion and proper elimination by the effective action of friendly bacteria.” (Naturally Leavened Bread by Jacques de Langre).

“Baking with natural leaven is in harmony with nature and maintains the integrity and nutrition of the cereal grains used … The process helps to increase and reinforce our body’s absorption of the cereal’s nutrients.” (Excerpt from Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions.)

True artisan sourdough has supported human health for thousands of years and rightly done, continues to bring health and healing back to many. This bread is truly the “staff of life.”

Sandy K Workman
SK Director of Brand Development

2023: A YEAR FOR PROGRESS!

Facts

We want 2023 to be a year of progress. We want there to be a decided improvement, not only in your health but in every area of your life. For this to take place, taking care of yourself with intentionality is going to be key. When you begin doing this, it’s amazing what happens!

We have already introduced you to 8 very simple but powerful laws of health. These laws consistently practiced will make a significant difference in your life. At Simple Kneads our product focuses on one of these laws – nutrition. When your body is getting the nutrition, it can do wonderful things for you. Some simple things that will help you better absorb the nutrients you are taking in, include:

• Waiting at least 4 hours between each meal and for adults with digestive issues, waiting 6 hours, will prove to be very helpful (unfortunately, this is not how most Americans eat). But yes, when we eat is just as important as what we eat. This gives your body the opportunity to digest your meals, better absorb the nutrients in your food, have more energy and much more! And did you know that there is even evidence showing that waiting 4 hours between meals decreases cancer tumor development? That’s pretty amazing.
• Do your best to eat at the same time every day. It turns out that our bodies have little clocks inside that tell us when it’s time to eat and studies have shown that adults who consumed meals at the same time every day were less obese, had better cholesterol and insulin levels, hormone regulation, better sleeping patterns, usually live longer and have overall less health problems! Wow! In fact, if you are a sporadic eater, it will be challenging for your body to experience lasting health and function optimally. So, try getting on a set eating schedule. You will begin to see and feel the difference!
• Eat a variety of foods. This will ensure you are getting a plethora of vitamins and minerals. Meals bursting with colors (red, yellow, orange, purple, green and white, for example) tend to be more nutrient-packed and satisfying. In fact, some of the healthiest populations in the world (such as Greek and Japanese) have food variety as one common feature (although they differ widely). In fact, many nutrient deficiencies surface because of a lack in variety. This, of course, will eventually lead to disease.

I’m not saying these things will be easy changes to incorporate into your life, but again, things that are worthwhile rarely are. So, make a plan! As soon as we know what to improve it’s important to do it! Remember, nutrition affects both your physical and mental progress. Eating unhealthy or less nutritious food can lead us to experience anxiety, mood swings, depression and much more. So, getting good nutrition is about your very life! Your health, your relationships, your effectiveness in everything you decide you would like to do depends largely on good nutrition!  

Here’s to the best year of your life!

Sandy K Workman SK Director of Brand Development