A Fermented Feast for Breakfast (FFB)

 This is natto on steroids:

This is the finished product, showing the label of the natto, which is from whole aduki beans - with a very lovely full flavor.

Above is the finished breakfast, but the next few pictures show the building blocks:

• Natto, but I avoid the packaged fish-based sauce, and I use Yondu instead...
• Mustard, I use the mustard from the package
• Wasabi, besides the mustard, I add some wasabi.
• I use some dried chives
• and a fresh scallion
• and then a 50/50 mixture of brown basmati and black rice.
• And the clincher is adding one or two forkfuls of vegan Kimchi vegetables.

Irresistible. This wakes you up!

Natto Breakfast 2.0

 

I had some interesting experiences with Natto, since I started having Natto breakfasts on occasion. In this neighborhood, the only source I have found for natto has been Chang-Li Supermarker, for they have a significant oriental clientele. So they are my go-to for oriental specialties from tofu, to seitan, to miso and, but of course, natto. I wrote about it here before.

At that time, they had mostly imported natto, obviously from Japan, since it is Japanese custom. I had some mishaps when the natto occasionally was bad out of the box, and the problem was they kept it refrigerated, but it should be kept frozen, and they changed the storage, but also, they added a new variety, Rhapsody natto, which is US made, and delicious. 

It is my favorite right now, so I have updated my recipe:

• 1/4 portion Rhapsody natto
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp Yondu fermented veggie broth
• 1/4 tsp Wasabi
• 1, 2, or three scallions, sliced fine.

The results are below in pictures:

And here is the Rhapsody website, with good nutritional information.

https://rhapsodynaturalfoods.com/natto-available-now-from-rhapsody/

One serving of natto (about 100g/3.5oz) contains:

• 22% RDV Dietary Fiber
• 22% RDV Calcium
• 22% RDV Vitamin C
• 48% RDV Iron
• 6% Vitamin B6
• 76% Manganese
• 29% Magnesium
• 21% Potassium
• 20% Zinc

And, as you can tell, I like a mixed rice. In this case I use a mixture of black rice and brown basmati.

My Favorite Natto Breakfast

 The collection of Natto at Chang-Li Supermarket seems to be growing. 

This particular brand is organic, and it comes in two varieties with a subtly different flavor. One is made with whole soybean halves, and the wrapper is a darker green, the other is made with broken up soybeans, and seems to have a lighter flavor, which I think I prefer.

My favorite breakfast at the moment is Natto with a mixture of brown Basmati and black rice, plus about 3 scallions and some chives (can't find them fresh, so I use the dried kind).

Since everyone always gets concerned about protein, which is typically over-emphasized in traditional nutrition. To refresh the reader, Whole Foods, Plant-Based nutrition rests on the knowledge that an adult male, requires only about 10-12% of calories from protein, and and adult woman can get by on even less in a pinch, but it is very hard to get below 10-12% no matter how hard you try.

The total concept of #WFPB nutrition is:

• 10% of calories from naturally occurring fats/oils (beans etc)
• 10% of calories from (plant-) protein
• 80% of calories from complex carbohydrates
• no added sugars, oil or salt (no SOS).

And that is how simple it is.

So let´s go over Natto. 

It is a fermented soy product and it contains in one 1.41 Oz breakfast serving the following:

• Calories: 85
• Fat: 35 grams
• Carbs: 5.4 grams
• Fiber: 5 grams
• Protein: 7.65 grams
• Manganese: 27% of the daily value (DV)
• Iron: 19% of the DV
• Copper: 30% of the DV
• Vitamin K: 8% of the DV
• Magnesium: 11% of the DV
• Calcium: 7% of the DV
• Vitamin C: 6% of the DV
• Potassium: 6% of the DV
• Zinc: 11% of the DV
• Selenium: 6% of the DV
• Additionally: Natto also contains smaller amounts of vitamin B6, folate and pantothenic acid, as well as antioxidants and other beneficial plant compounds (5)
• Trusted Sourc).

  Natto is especially nutritious because its soybeans undergo a process of fermentation, which creates conditions that promote the growth of probiotics. 
   (6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source, 8Trusted Source).

• This is one reason why natto is considered more nutritious than boiled soybeans.

• Natto also contains fewer antinutrients and more beneficial plant compounds and enzymes than non-fermented soybeans
   (5Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source, 10).

Now I eat that with a cup of mixed rice, brown basmati and black rice, which has another 5 grams of protein.

The one cup of rice contains approximately the following:

• Calories- 210 calories
• Protein- 5 grams
• Carbohydrates– 46 grams
• ·Fat- 0.5 grams

And then I also add some three scallions, cut up and some chives.

In short, that one silly little bowl contains dynamite nutrition.

There are always rumors about soybeans being bad, but those largely are unfounded, see here, and here. Unfortunately, too many of the diet gurus do not know anything about nutrition. Or only enough to be dangerous.

One last thing about the natto breakfast, I think it is ideal food after a water fast.

I usually end up with a Kombucha the night before (fermented/probiotic) and then a smoothie in the AM, and then I might have some fruit and typically a bowl of natto will be my first solid food. You can chew it really well and thus get the maximum benefit. Great way to give your gut flora a boost. 

P.S. A special Thanksgiving addition: You can even make your natto hot and spicy. I make it with sliced, seeded jalapeño, or I could even see a serrano pepper. For now, my preferred way to spice it up over and above the traditional cut-up scallions, is settling at some chives, one jalapeño and one serrano pepper. Everyone can experiment on their own. Maybe I could see parsley. To me, I run a fusion kitchen, where the rule is #WFPB, without SOS, and otherwise anything goes. With traditional recipes, I first try to come as close as I can to the original flavor, and then the experimentation starts and dishes evolve beyond their original "traditional" flavors.
Along those lines, I made a vegetarian spaghetti sauce when I was a teenager, and I had a reputation for doing that quite well. I used mushrooms instead of meat, but otherwise it was quite traditional. Today, it has become totally 3WFPB, and I make numerous variations, and I love spaghetti even better now.

Chang-Li Power Breakfast with Natto

My regular #WFPB style breakfast is steel-cut oats with fruits, but every once in a while, I have a hankering for something that puts hair on your chest, and one of my faves is rice pilaf with natto.

For this recipe, I bought almost all ingredients at Chang-li, hence I named it after them.

Ingredients:
- a cup of cooked Rice pilaf (GABA process if you can do it).
- some bean sprouts, some onion or scallion, a pimento, a jalapeno pepper and a clove of garlic.
- natto
- a 1/4 cup of vegetable bouillon (cooking water from kale, spinach, etc.)
- some home made gomasio (roasted sesame seeds ground, with some himalayan salt, and a bit of nutritional yeast)

Preparation is easy:
- I always cook rice/rice pilaf ahead for a few days.
- begin with frying the onions, pimento (sliced!) and jalapeno for 5 minutes dry, until they are just starting to brown, add in the garlic and let it go for another minute then add the vegetable bouillon and the bean sprouts.
- when the bean sprouts begin to soften add in the natto and seasoning (mustard and soy sauce are in the package)
- serve over rice pilaf
- season with gomasio to taste.

When you do it this way, you can use cold rice from the fridge for the heat from the veggies will provide enough heat so you can eat it instantly.

Mixture of onions, peppers, garlic and sprouts with natto

Natto in display case at Chang-Li

Here are some of the ingredients I used:

Natto, open

And here is some of the rice pilaf:

12 grain rice pilaf

Bean Sprouts

Pimentos at Neerob Bazaar

Pimentos and sprouts:


















The gomasio seasoning is easy to make, just toast some sesame seeds (Chang-Li has a great selection of sesame seeds) in a frying pan till they start to pop (brown, not charred), grind them up and mix with some himalayan salt and nutritional yeast. You can save that in your fridge, it is a great all around low-sodium seasoning.

There you have it, folks... this is a beautiful power breakfast for the fall, that is sure to get your engines started.

Power Breakfast: Natto over tomatoed brown rice.

Our Chang-Li Supermarket now carries natto. A package of three is $1.99.

Natto at Chang-Li

While Natto is definitely an acquired taste, but, with a little experimenting, I developed a nifty breakfast. Oatmeal is one of my favorite breakfasts, but sometimes I have a hankering for something heartier, more tangy and stimulating for breakfast, and with natto you can definitely do it and you can make it as spicy as you like.

First, here are the nutritional credentials of natto, from Nutritiondata. As you will see, it is low in cholesterol and sodium, but it is a good source of protein, Vitamin K, Magnesium and Copper, as well as Iron and Manganese.


It starts with a good brown rice with a tomato. I simply boil the brown rice in the rice cooker with a whole tomato in it and then I stir it up.
Then, at breakfast I chop up an onion, and crush one or two garlic cloves, and I shave some Daikon radish, and, if available, I add some beansprouts. I dry roast that all in a frying pan, adding a small amount of liquid when needed and a trace of Marmite or some Braggs Liquid Aminos.
I serve the tomato rice with the natto, and the supplied soy sauce and mustard over it, and cover it all with my vegetable mix. I top it with some roasted sesame seeds or some gomasio, and I sprinkle a crumpled sheet of nori on top. If you want, you can top it all off with some Kimchi. There's a breakfast that will put hair on your chest. If you wish, you could also include a chili pepper in your breakfast.

Ingredients:

• Tomatoed brown rice
• One package of natto
• An onion, two garlic cloves
• Some shaved Daikon radish, and some bean sprouts (if available),
• optionally a chili pepper
• some veggie bouillon, marmite or Liquid Aminos with water.
• Roast Sesame seeds.

There's a power breakfast for you if you're into hearty tastes.