Kevin: Do you use a lot of Nama Shoyu?
Matt: We've actually been transitioning away from using so much. We've been creating our own replacement by using miso, blending miso paste with water. We found that in a lot of the recipes it's a reasonable, or often very good, substitute. It's a good quality product. It's made with care, certainly. It's a good product but it's probably not something you want to have tons of everyday. There's people that are sensitive to wheat and they don't like that about it.
Kevin: What other salt substitutes are there? Miso mixed with water. Is sea salt comparable? I don't see many people saying, "Just add sea salt instead of Nama Shoyu." What's the thought here?
Matt: The reason is not just taste or health benefits. Sea salt is fantastic and I think it's not only OK but it's actually health promoting when used the right way. I think sometimes the liquid aspect of Nama Shoyu creates nice textures. A good example is the taco meat in my book just simply wouldn't work if we switched the Nama Shoyu with sea salt. So sometimes it's using the fact that it's a liquid as an asset to creating a certain texture.
Kevin: Gotcha. That makes a lot of sense. That's the first time I've ever heard it that way. I've asked that question before and no one really knows.
Matt: I was actually talking about that earlier today. Every ingredient combination is a combination that has a consequence of taste and of texture. So while you can achieve the same taste with salt instead of Nama Shoyu, you can't always get the same texture. So both of those things have to be considered when you come up with a good recipe.
Kevin:. We have a question from your number one fan, who is Bunny, and the question is: Hey Matt, if you're stranded on an island with only two ingredients, what would they be and why?
Matt: Two ingredients, wow. At that point I don't think you could call them ingredients. They'd just be food.
Kevin: Yeah, they're food. [laughs]
Matt: You're not going to have many combinations. I think it would be silly not to say coconut, because there are a lot of people stranded on islands that live on coconuts. That would have to be one. If you look at all the indigenous island tribes you'd almost, exclusively coconuts in some cases are a percentage of their diet. I would say that would be a good one. Coconut is an amazing food and there's no other ingredient or other food in the raw food pantheon that results in so many other foods or products like coconut oil, coconut butter, shredded coconut, coconut slush that can be eaten fresh or dehydrated. It's so healthy. It's gotten a bad rap over the years from the canola farmers and people like that trying to vilify tropical oils, as they deem them. But coconut is great for the joints and the hair and digestion and brain and it's anti-parasitic and anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, anti-mold. It's really a fantastic food. So I would have to say coconut.
And then some kind of greens. You'll see if you look at actual islands they'll always have some type of coconut and some type of wild, edible green that's a protein source and source for most of their minerals.
Kevin Gianni the host of Renegade Health Show - a fun and informative daily health show that is changing the perception of health across the world. His is an internationally known health advocate, author, and film consultant. He has helped thousands and thousands of people in over 21 countries though online health teleseminars about abundance, optimum health and longevity. He is also the creator and co-author of "The Busy Person's Fitness Solution."
