Day 374

A perfect Sunday, full of ritual, health, strength and love.

I took the boys to the gym this morning for an orientation on the workout and weight machines with a personal trainer. Now, as long as Michael and I are with them, they are allowed to work out right alongside us. We are all excited about this possibility. The orientation took longer than we expected, so I got a great Sunday morning workout in too–bonus.

Before we left for the gym, I put my very first loaf of handmade sourdough bread in the oven, after letting the dough rise all night. A dear friend gifted me the starter. It came from Cultures for Health. From the website:

In a healthy sourdough starter, yeast and lactobacilli thrive in a harmonious symbiotic relationship. Each has a preferred carbohydrate fuel from the grains. The yeast uses these carbohydrates to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide. Ethanol is further converted by the bacteria, which produces lactic acid. Bubbles of carbon dioxide become trapped in the stretchy dough, making it rise. The acidity created by the lactobacilli is good for the yeast but inhospitable to other organisms. A sourdough starter is able to be kept at room temperature (if fed properly) and the acidity of the bread acts as a preservative even after baking.

Because sourdough breads go through a fermentation process, many of the simple sugars present in the grain are eaten up in the process. This process makes the bread easier on blood sugar levels. The fermentation process also makes the bread higher in nutrients, especially B vitamins.

Finally, the bacteria present in the sourdough help to activate phytase, an enzyme that breaks down phytic acid, an anti-nutrient found in all grains and seeds. This allows your body to better hold onto minerals, as phytic acid can bind with them and take them out of your body.

It felt so good to come home from the gym and smell the fresh sourdough which Michael had taken out of the oven while we were gone. I love everything about it; the ritual of feeding the starter, making the dough, waiting for it to rise, baking it in a simple Dutch oven, and doing it all again next weekend. Mostly, I love that I am able to help restore Benjamin’s gut flora in such a nourishing way. This is definitely a new part of my Sunday routine.

After a hearty brunch with the delicious bread, the boys played outside with our neighbors nearly all day long. The weather today was perfect. I cleaned, organized, prepared food for the week, snuck in an afternoon bridge walk, and made sure sweet music was playing wherever I went. Everything about this day felt so good. 

As I was organizing the last of the Christmas gifts, I emptied a large plastic bin. It gave me an idea. I wrote “All Children’s Hospital” on it and put it outside my front door. I emptied the bag of toys already dropped off this week into the bin, and posted on social media that it will live outside our door through the end of treatment. Whatever is in the bin will travel with us over the Skyway once a month.

The day is ending with bone broth simmering on the stove and reading stories with my boys. I have definitely filled my cup today. (And my Dutch oven. Twice.)