• 
• 100% rye bread
• Only whole rye grain and cracked rye is used for the dough, no milled flour – Pumpernickel has humble origins and for a long time it used to be peasant fare for people with no access to a proper mill
• Rich dark-brown colour, but no crust (it’s baked in fully covered baking tins)
• A very heavy bread with a darkly sweet aroma and earthy in taste (rye has 7% natural fruit sugar, compared to wheat at 4%, which caramelises during the bake)
• Is Germania Gourmet Bakery Pumpernickel healthy?
• • 
  • Yes,
  • the starches of real Pumpernickel have undergone so much of a transformation that they are quite easily digested 
  • Whole-grain rye contains nearly 15% fibre
  • Pumpernickel also has a low glycemic index (less likely to increase in your blood sugar level)

4 Seasons Brands Mixed Fruits has been cleverly crafted and improved over the years.

This mixed fruit is sun ripened, no sugar added has savory plums, sweet pears, distinctive peaches, tender apricots, and tasty apples - it's the perfect bounty of dried fruits. We've taken the best of all the orchard fruits to create a tantalizing blend that satisfies the most discerning palates.

4Seasons Brands Mixed Fruit is a good source of the antioxidant vitamin A and dietary fiber.

Sardines are one of the world’s healthiest foods because they contain three of the nutrients a lot of people are often deficient in: omega-3 fatty acids, calcium and vitamin D.

Sardines (and herring) are great because they are:

• Inexpensive 
• Shelf stable (keep them in your pantry at all times for a quick meal)
• Already cooked – no dishes to wash
• Full of high quality protein and good fats
• Versatile (mash them on crackers, make a salad, turn them into a sandwich spread, cook into sauces)

Eating A Sardine

If you like tuna salad and you like fish, you’ll like sardines. If you aren’t so hot on fish, however, you probably won’t like them.

4 Seasons Brands sardines are smoked and best to eat them from the tin directly or tend to mash them up into salads, spreads and things.

You can easily flake the fish to look like chunk light tuna. The bones of sardines are so soft and mashable they really shouldn’t even be called bones. People think of bones as pointy, stiff and dangerous to eat, but these bones are soft cartilage that gets mashed with the filets. They are where all the nutrients are! You can’t even really see them:

Sardine salad recipes

chop in all kinds of veggies – carrots, celery, peppers – plus add some binders in the form of mustard, mayo, Greek yogurt and then spice things up with salt, pepper, curry powder, smoked paprika, dill, lemon juice, capers and more.

For a basic salad:

1. Drain your sardines and mash them with a fork until you reach a uniform consistency.
2. Add a quarter cup to half cup of chopped veggies
3. Add 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4. Add 1 tablespoon mayo or Greek yogurt
5. Add 1-2 teaspoons of seasonings to taste
6. Serve over greens, with chips, on a sandwich, with crackers, or simply eat with a fork.

Here are some of the sardines and herring dishes :

Method.

Cod liver oil is perhaps the world’s most misunderstood superfood. First recorded by Hippocrates for medicinal use in Ancient Greece around 400 BC, cod liver oil has enjoyed a storied history since.

Ancestral cultures as diverse as the Eskimos and the South Seas Islanders both revered the use of fish liver oils for their health-giving properties, especially with regard to fertility and producing sturdy children.

British physician Dr. John Hughes Bennett noted in 1848 that cod liver oil had been utilized since the beginning of recorded history by the fishing communities of Scotland, Sweden, and Norway for its strengthening properties as well as for medicine.

Doctors prescribed cod liver oil to treat rickets, a vitamin D deficiency disease, starting about 1800, perhaps even earlier. A couple of decades later in 1820, the practice of using cod liver oil to prevent and treat rickets was widespread in the countries of Germany, Holland and the Netherlands.

The anti-infective nature of cod liver oil due to the natural vitamin A content made it an indispensable remedy for all manner of illnesses prior to the advent of antibiotics including tuberculosis, measles, and diseases of the eyes.

According to the book Ultraviolet Light and Vitamin D in Nutrition, the United States imported about 1.8 million gallons of cod oil and cod liver oil in 1922.  Cod oil is used for tanning while cod liver oil is taken as a supplement but the two were not separated in the data kept by the US Department of Commerce at the time.  Five short years later in 1927, the amount nearly tripled to 5 million gallons with most of the increase in edible cod liver oil due to research showing its benefits in preventing rickets.

A little over 70 years later, America imported less than a half a million gallons in the year 2000, a steep and shocking decline in use no doubt due to the rapid transition and reliance of the medical profession since the middle of the last century on synthetic vitamins, antibiotics and other pharmaceutical drugs to prevent and treat disease symptoms.

Cod Liver Oil Enjoys a Resurgence in Popularity

Since the turn of the millenium, cod liver oil has been enjoying a significant resurgence in popularity as interest in natural remedies and whole food supplements for maintaining health and wellness grows. The worrisome problem of antibiotic resistance and the growing body of evidence that antibiotics can do significant harm and perhaps even irreparable damage to the gut has motivated forward thinking individuals to look to the past for effective and safe alternatives.

Unfortunately, this interest has not been without controversy as confusion regarding this ancient superfood abounds.

The predominant myths about cod liver oil are discussed in the commentary below:

Myth #1: All Cod Liver Oil is Basically the Same

The truth is that almost all cod liver oil on the market today is heavily industrialized with processing taking place in Iceland or Norway. This destructive manufacturing process which includes alkali refining, bleaching, and deodorization (oil kept at 482 F/ 250 C for up to 6 hours) destroys the natural vitamins A and D and damages fragile omega-3 fatty acids. Synthetic vitamins are typically added back in to meet desired labeling requirements.

Cod liver oil as used traditionally was not widely manufactured using this violent, denaturing process and certainly no synthetic vitamins were ever added in.  As a result, if one desires the ancient benefits of cod liver oil, it is important to seek a manufacturer who produces this supplement using old fashioned processing techniques which render and purify the oil at low temperatures to preserve nutrients.

Myth #2:  Cod Liver Oil Contains Dangerous Amounts of

Vitamin A

It is very important that intake of vitamin A be balanced with its synergistic companion vitamin D.  Unfortunately, some cod liver oils on the market contain very little vitamin D and even when included in larger amounts, the vitamin D is commonly synthetic in origin. Prolonged intake of cod liver oil that contains vitamin A with little vitamin D could lead to symptoms of osteoporosis and other health challenges if the diet is also lacking in vitamin D according to research performed in Europe.

If cod liver oil is consumed that has been manufactured in a traditional manner with the natural vitamins A and D preserved in their correct ratios, however, these problems are avoided and the benefits of this ancient supplement optimally enjoyed.

Myth #3:  Cod Liver Oil Contains Toxins Such as Mercury, PCBs and Dioxins

All modern cod liver oil processing techniques such as molecular distillation remove heavy metals and other toxins. Cod liver oil manufactured using traditional, low heat rendering methods is purified using a proprietary filtering method with every batch tested for purity (sources).

Myth #4:  Plain Fish Oil is Better Than Cod Liver Oil

The truth is that most fish oil on the market comes from farmed fish that are treated with antibiotics.  It is a little know fact that farmed salmon are fed more antibiotics per pound than any other livestock in North America!

In addition, noncarnivorous species of fish such as salmon, which are omnivores, eat almost anything, and are a popular source for commercial fish oil, are commonly fed an unnatural diet which includes GMO soy and corn.

The final nail in the coffin for the myth that plain fish oil is somehow better than cod liver oil is that the vast majority of fish oils on the market contain little to no vitamins A and D and the caustic chemical and high temperature processing damages the delicate omega-3 fats (EPA and DHA).

Myth #5:  Cod Liver Oil is a Good Source of Vitamin D

Most cod liver oil on the market is purified using the process of molecular distillation which removes most of the natural vitamin D. Some manufacturers add it back in, but it is usually synthetic and in smaller amounts than would naturally occur in the oil.

Therefore, if a primary reason for taking cod liver oil is for the natural vitamin D, it is imperative to seek out a brand that preserves the natural vitamin D by employing old fashioned processing methods and does not add any synthetic vitamin D.

While crusty French sticks and airy Italian loaves still tend to attract the most attention, Germany is a worthy rival for Europe’s bread champions. They have around 300 varieties of dark and white breads, and lay claim to a whopping 1,200 varieties of rolls and mini-breads too – an achievement worth toasting to, we’d say.

As anyone who’s ever hungrily encountered a hotel buffet will know, bread venerated at the German breakfast table as it is nowhere else. The most important element of the most important meal of the German day, bread provides a vehicle for sausage, cheese, boiled egg, cold meat, fish, jam, honey and other delights, but it’s also a star in its own right. In the rainbow of German offerings there are seeded varieties, wholegrain breads, sweet mini loaves and pretzel rolls alongside more conventional wheat bread and, of course, rye.

A hardy grain that’s closely related to barley and wheat, rye has been grown for over 4,000 years and has been popular across central and eastern Europe since the Middle Ages. Naturally lower in gluten than wheat flour, rye is often lauded for health benefits, including lots of vitamins and minerals, high levels of soluble fibre and evidence that it makes you feel fuller for longer. On top of all that, it’s delicious.

Dense, dark pumpernickel is one of the most traditional forms of German rye bread (as well as being really fun to say), and is typically wheat-free, but does contain gluten. Our 100% rye pumpernickel uses a natural rye sourdough starter and also features roast potato shavings and cane molasses for a slightly sweet, moist loaf that can last for over a week.

Germany’s Scandinavian neighbours are also big fans of dark rye, using thin slices as the foundation of their extravagant smørbrød – open sandwiches topped with smoked fish, seafood, caviar, eggs or pâté. And the famous “black bread” eaten by Heidi in Johanna Spyri’s Swiss children’s novel of the same name would have been rye – although it’s fair to say she appreciated it less than we do now.

Rye is often combined with other lighter flours in mixed loaves too, for a subtler flavour and less-dense texture that still has the grain’s distinctive character. Caraway seeds, pumpkin seeds, oats, barley and cornmeal have all been used to create light rye bread and, in America, wheat-rye mixed loaves are famed in Jewish delicatessens, loaded with salt beef, cheese or pastrami. Put yours to work in a serious mouthful like Jamie’s Reuben-ish sandwich.

If you fancy baking your own, this black bread recipe from Jamie Magazine features coffee, molasses and even dark chocolate for a beautifully rich and fragrant mixed rye loaf. Pop it on the table for breakfast and you might still be tucking in come lunchtime.

copyright:www.jamieoliver.com