food, real food

I grew up on a home cooked meal almost every night.  Thanks to my mom, I learned that dinner should be made from ingredients--not a box.  That's not to say we never ate food from a box, but it tended to be on only extra busy nights.  We'd occasionally have fish sticks before Wednesday night church or a frozen pizza if we were left home alone, but all of the rest of the days, we sat down to a meal made from real food. 

I didn't always appreciate it at as a kid...my mom loved to try new recipes and some of them were  not considered favorites by my pre-teen pallet.  However, I realized, when I reached adulthood and found myself cooking for one in my small downtown studio, that the idea of making food from anything other than real ingredients wasn't really an option for me.  When I first started grocery shopping, I often found myself looking at the ingredients on the box and the unit price for what I was paying for.  I was sometimes amazed that I could put in just a little extra time, make the "same" thing from scratch, and save a ton of money!  Not to mention, the end product usually tasted much better and was better for me!  Pizza crust, pie dough, bread, soup, macaroni & cheese, alfredo sauce, all of these things I found were really simple to make at home and they didn't really take that much time to make.  When I compared the cost and the taste, for me, it was an obvious choice to fill my shopping cart with a few staple ingredients and to leave the pre-made foods at the store.

image.jpg

This rule, for me, holds true today and has grown into a complete lifestyle.  As we've learned more and more about the things the food industry sneaks into our food and the loss of nutritional value that happens during processing, our desire to put real, whole foods into our bodies has intensified.  I've found that over the past few years, the foods that fill our kitchen shelves and cupboards have even simplified.  Where there used to be several different boxes of cereal, there now sits a jar of oatmeal and a canister of homemade granola.  A shelf which once held cans of chicken broth, is now filled with a few different types of grains, nuts, and dried beans, while frozen jars of homemade broth fill my freezer.  The simplicity of what's needed to run my kitchen, has carried over into my shopping as well.  Instead of making a huge list once a month of all the different ingredients I need for this recipe and that, I'm finding that I now have most of those ingredients in my house.  More on that to come...but for now...

...back to whole foods.  While for some, I know the idea of making food from scratch can seem overwhelming, I also know that for others it may just be something that you may not have thought about.  For me, I've found that I've tended to buy things that I'm comfortable with.  My husband recently asked me why we had cocktail sauce in the fridge (and for how long we'd had it...).  I, of course, said it was for fish/seafood, but then found myself wondering what all goes into cocktail sauce...and is it really something that I need to keep in my fridge, or could I just whip it up if the need for it suddenly arose??  The answer was, yes!  It's super easy to make! Just mix a little ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and horseradish...voilà! For me, its been those little realizations over the past few years that have really propelled me down this trail of whole foods.  The ideas for the prepared foods we now buy, had to have started in a kitchen with real ingredients at some point, right?? (Well, maybe not Fruit Loops...but that's another story...)

image.jpg

So, I thought I share with you a few of the things that I make from scratch instead of buying--not for you to feel overwhelmed or like you're not doing enough, but rather to inspire and invite you to join me on this journey of whole foods.  It's amazing the things you can easily make in your kitchen with just a bit of effort!  And trust me, the results--both in taste and nutrition--far outweigh the convenience of the boxed versions.  I've included links for a few of the recipes that I use, and I'll also be sharing some of my own recipe versions over the weeks and months to come, so stay tuned.  

  • Grains and Doughs
    • bread (I make almost all of the bread that we eat, in many different forms)
    • biscuits
    • crackers
    • granola
    • pie crust (I use Julia Child's recipe)
    • pizza dough
    • popcorn (popped on the stove in a bit of oil)
  • Meats & Beans
    • chicken bone broth (recipe to come)
    • whole chicken (meaning I only buy whole chickens, not breasts, not thighs, just whole uncut birds)
    • cooked beans (I buy mostly dried beans, cook them, and freeze them)
    • gravy
    • soups (any and all...soups are the easiest thing to make from scratch)
  • Desserts
    • brownies
    • cakes
    • cookies
    • pie fillings
    • pudding
    • whipped cream (yup...leave the Reddi-wip and the Cool Whip at the store...)
  • Dairy
    • kefir
    • shredded cheese (meaning we only buy blocks of cheese)
  • Condiments & Sauces
    • alfredo sauce for fettuccini  
    • apple butter
    • cheese sauce for macaroni 
    • jam
    • mustard
    • pickles
    • sauerkraut
    • salad dressing
  • Spices, Seasonings, & Extracts
    • vanilla
    • taco seasoning
    • pumpkin pie spice (just use the individual spices)
    • Italian spice (just use the individual spices)
    • poultry spice (once again...just use the individual spices)

If you're looking for an easy place to start with real, home cooking, get yourself a good, basic cookbook.  I recommend this big 'ole Betty Crocker version.  Most of the recipes use whole, real ingredients and it's full of pictures and how-to's to really educate you on all things related to homemade food.  I use mine on a weekly basis.  

If you're looking for some good information on topics such as whole foods, processed foods, traditional foods, here are some resources that I've found super helpful/interesting.

Changing the way you eat/cook can, and probably should, be something that you do over a period of time.  If it's something you're interested in doing, then pick one new thing to start making.  Once that one thing has become a part of your life, add another.  Don't let yourself get overwhelmed by it.  And when life gets really busy, order a pizza, relax, and get back to cooking tomorrow.  That's what I do, anyway. 

image.jpg

healthy bodies, happy lives

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."  -Hippocrates 

We've become a culture with so many health problems and illnesses, that people seem to just be used to getting sick.  Vaccination signs are everywhere.  Prescription drug commercials fill our TV screens and radio waves.  And there are multiple brands of any kind of over-the-counter drug you could ever need or want and they all claim to fix whatever ails you. 

So, with all of these ways of "fixing" sickness, why the heck is our society still so sick?!?!

In our house, we've decided to take a different approach to staying healthy.  We spend so much time as a society trying to kill germs, but what if we instead spent all that time on just building up our immune systems to be able to fight off those germs?  I believe that our bodies were created to heal themselves; they just need the right fuel.  This is where food comes in.  

About a year and half ago, Dan and I started doing some research on the food that feeds us.  We started learning all about conventional produce, conventional meat/dairy, and GMO's.  What we learned set us down a path of finding better food.  As we've slowly transitioned to a mostly organic, grass-fed, and local diet, we've noticed that overall, we've been a lot healthier!  It has now been a year and half since I've been sick with any sort of cold, flu, or bug.  I've had a day here or there when I've felt a bit run-down or a little scratchiness in my throat, but my body has been able to kick it by the next day.  Dan has had a similar experience.  He's had one or two colds over the past year, but they've been short and rather insignificant compared to the full on sicknesses we were both used to dealing with once or twice each year in the past.  

So, what has changed?!  I've always been one to cook mostly whole foods, mostly from scratch.  I grew up with food like that and I've always been a bit turned off by anything that comes in a box.  So, with that being said, the types of foods I'm buying has not really changed, but the quality of that food has.  

We've also learned multiple ways to give our immune systems an extra boost when we feel that our bodies need it.  So, now that the cold and flu season is quickly approaching, I thought I'd share some of the things we do to stay healthy in our house.  I'll briefly highlight those things today and then share more in-depth about them over the weeks to come.  

  • We eat good, whole foods.  There is so much to say about this (and I will definitely do so later), but for now, if you haven't done any research on the benefits of whole foods, organic produce, grass-fed meat and dairy, and the potential/unknown dangers of GMO's, then I highly encourage you to do so.  Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to these matters.  Take responsibility for what goes in your mouth and do some research!  The bottom line is that we are what our food eats.  In the U.S., if we eat a conventional diet (with conventionally grown produced, conventionally raised meat/dairy, and highly processed foods) we are eating a diet filled with GMO corn and soybeans.  I'm not going to take the time now to fill this post with references and links, but stay tuned (or do some research), because there is so much to know and learn about this topic.  
  • We are active people.  We are not exercisers.  We literally don't exercise.  I'm in no way promoting a non-exercising lifestyle, as I do realize the great benefits of exercising.  However, I'm also not saying that we are couch potatoes.  Rather, both Dan and I work jobs where we are on our feet and moving around for a large majority of the day, and when we're not working, Dan's often out hunting, fishing, or working outside.  While I'm often moving around the house or yard working as well.  We stay busy and we keep moving.  We also are outside all of the time--even in the dead of winter.  I think this is a big factor in keeping us healthy.  We get fresh air and sunshine (whatever there is of it) almost everyday.  
  • We try to get good sleep on a regular basis.  Sleep plays such an important role in helping our bodies heal themselves.  However, we live in an over-worked and overly-tired society.  It can be hard to get good sleep.  And on top of that, we are also an overly-caffinated and overly-sugared society that struggles with sleeping problems.  In our house, sleep is important.  We are by no means great at this, but it's something that is often on our minds and in our conversations as we find ourselves feeling run-down and over-worked.  When we feel those first scratches of sickness in our throats, we make sure we do what we need to do to get ourselves to bed early for a long, good night's sleep.  It's amazing how effective good sleep can be.
  • We take large doses of vitamin C when we're feeling run-down.  While most of us know that vitamin C is good for the immune system, it's power is sometimes overlooked or forgotten.  We have a vitamin C, zinc, and echinacea supplement that we take on a fairly regular basis.  However, when we feel like our bodies are run-down or fighting something, we take double, triple, or quadruple the regular amount.  Now, I am not a doctor, and I'm not in any way saying that you should do this, but this is what we do and we've seen great results.  We've gone to bed feeling like we're on the verge of a nasty cold, taken vitamin C, and then woken up in the morning feeling as good as new.  Do your research and find a vitamin C supplement that is well-reviewed.  We use Melaleuca's  immune system support supplement and have been very happy with it.  If you want to know more about Melaleuca and their products, send me a note and I'll get you that info.
  • We start fighting colds as soon as we feel them coming on.  Whenever we get those initial cold symptoms (a little scratchiness, a runny nose, a tired body) we our bodies the fuel it needs to fight back.  Homemade bone broth is one of the ways that we fight back.  It's packed full of good things that help our bodies heal.   Another remedy we use is to make ginger/lemon tea.  I chop up fresh ginger and put it into a tea strainer.  Then I pour boiling water over it and let it steep for 5-10 minutes.  Squeeze in a bit of fresh lemon juice and add local raw honey to taste.  Ginger, lemon, and raw honey are each so good for you and the three combined with hot water often takes care of any cold symptoms we may be facing.  

Now, we are by no means perfectly healthy people all of the time, but since we've started viewing food differently, we noticed great improvements in our overall health.  We don't spend time being sick--which gives us much more time to just enjoy living life, which is a much better way to live.  Wouldn't you agree??

kombucha

I started making kombucha at the end of last summer.  I had done some reading about it and was intrigued, so I got a SCOBY from a friend, bought a big jar, and brewed my very first batch. At this point, I hadn't actually ever tasted kombucha!  I love tea, though, and I love sour/fizzy things, so I figured that we were going to get a long great.  

Fast forward about 10-11 months, and I must say that kombucha has not only become a favorite beverage in our house, but it has also become something that we have come to rely on for our health.  We love the taste--it's refreshing and delicious--and we love how we feel after we drink it!  If we are feeling at all under-the-weather, a bit of kombucha helps to reset and refresh our systems by adding good bacteria back into our systems and helping to balance our guts!  It's quite a beautiful and fascinating thing!  (For more on the benefits of eating/drinking fermented foods, see my post here.)

Kombucha is a fermented tea made with the help of a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast).  The SCOBY (sometimes called "the mother") is the strangest part of making kombucha.  It's a kind of jelly-rubbery-like thing that you put into your jar of freshly brewed sweetened tea, and the SCOBY is what ferments the tea and turns it into kombucha.  If you can get past the strangeness of the SCOBY, then making kombucha is simple and easy!  Most of the work is done for you while you wait for the SCOBY to ferment it!  

Here are the basics, if you'd like to start brewing your own kombucha!

Kombucha

a SCOBY  (get this from a friend or order it online)

6-8 plain black tea bags (some people use other types of tea, I've only used black)

1 cup of sugar

3 1/2 quarts of water

2 cups of raw kombucha (You can get this from a friend or the store for your first batch.  After your first batch you can use your own kombucha for this.)

fruit, herbs, ginger, honey, etc. for infusing/flavoring

a 1 gallon glass jar (Ball makes a decorative gallon jar that works great for this.  However, you may be able to get a jar from a restaurant or deli. Most pickles, olives, etc. come in large glass jars.)

smaller jars for flavoring the kombucha (I use 1 half-gallon and 1 quart jar)

paper towels or cloth pieces to cover the jars

rubber bands or string to secure the paper towel/cloth to the jars

bottles for storing the finished kombucha (you can get glass bottles at beer brewing supply stores, and they work great!)

STEP #1:  Brew your tea by boiling the water on a large pot on the stove.  Once the water boils, turn off the heat and stir in the sugar to dissolve.  Add the tea bags and then let it sit with a lid on until it has cooled to room temperature.  I usually start this part of the process in the morning or before bed.  Then I come back to it 6-8 hours later and finish the job.  

Make sure your gallon jar is very clean (you may want to run it through the dishwasher on the sanitize setting or even boil it for 10 minutes to sanitize it).  Pour the 2 cups of starter kombucha into the jar and then add the freshly-brewed room temperature sweetened tea.  Using very clean hands, gently side the SCOBY into the tea.  Cover the jar with a paper towel or a piece of cloth and secure it with a rubber band or string.  Place the jar somewhere out of direct light (mine gets a bit of direct light in the summer, but I don't worry too much about it) and let it sit for 7-10 days.  I write the brew date on my jar with a crayon, so that I don't forget it.  You may want to start tasting it after 7 days to see when it has reached the flavor that you are looking for.  It will get more sour and vinegar-like as it ferments.   (NOTE: I currently make a two-gallon batches, so my pictures include double of everything.)

STEP #2:  When the kombucha is ready (it should have a bit of fizz at this point), brew a new batch of tea.  Once your new batch of tea has reached room temperature, gently lift the SCOBY out of the finished kombucha with clean hands and place it onto a clean plate.  Pour 2 cups of the finished kombucha into a measuring cup or bowl and set it aside to be used for your next batch.  With the remaining kombucha, you can do one of two things.  You can bottle it as "plain kombucha" or you can put it into smaller jars with fruit, herbs, ginger, honey, etc. and let it infuse and take on those flavors.  I typically fill two bottles and then pour the rest into a couple jars to infuse it.  Some of our favorite flavors are strawberry/rhubarb, mixed berry ginger, and honey ginger.  I usually fill the bottom inch or so of the jar with my ingredients and then fill the rest of the jar with the rest of the kombucha.  Cover the jars and let them sit for 1-3 days.  The longer they sit, the stronger the flavors will be.  

At this point, you should clean your gallon jar and pour in the 2 cups of reserved kombucha along with the fresh tea.  Then check your SCOBY for any bad spots.  Your SCOBY will grow a new layer with each batch of kombucha.  It may get darker in spots as well.  This is all normal.  However, if your SCOBY has any black spots on it, this is most likely mold and the SCOBY should be discarded and not used again.  If you SCOBY looks good, then gently slide it into your new batch of tea, cover the tea, label it with the date, and let it ferment.  (NOTE: As your SCOBY grows, you can peel off the old layers and compost them.  You can also give a few layers to a friend for their brewing delight!)

STEP #3:  When your infusions are ready (1-3 days after you started them), strain out the ingredients and then bottle the kombucha.  Once your kombucha has been bottled, you should let it sit outside of the refrigerator for 1-3 days.  Because the bottles are sealed, the kombucha will continue to ferment a bit and it will become more effervescent.  

STEP #4:  ​Your kombucha is ready to drink!!  You can put it in the fridge or drink it right away.  I've read that kombucha can  last up to a month, ours has always been consumed before that, so I haven't experimented with the shelf life.  

There you have it!  It may seem a bit complicated after that long explanation, but it's really not.  The basic steps are:

  1. Brew a fresh batch of tea, combine it with the starter tea and SCOBY and let it sit for 7-10 days
  2. Pour into smaller jars with yummy things and let it infuse for 1-3 days.  Also, start a new batch at this point.
  3. Strain out the yummy things, and pour the finished kombucha into bottles.  Let it sit and carbonate for 1-3 days. 
  4. Refrigerate and consume!!

When I was first starting the process, I found the pictures, instructions, and troubleshooting notes on The Kitchn's website to be super helpful!  Also, if you have questions about the health of your SCOBY, do a google image search.  You can see a lot of crazy SCOBY's out there and I have found the pictures to be helpful.  

Lastly, experiment with it!  Try new flavors, try different fermenting times, take note of the temperature in your kitchen and watch how that impacts the fermentation process.  Enjoy the journey and the product and recognize that there is not a perfect product!!

fermented

Over the past year, as I've been gaining knowledge about the benefits of eating clean, nourishing foods (such as grass-fed meats/dairy and organic produce), I also stumbled upon the world of fermented foods.  And when I say world, I really mean it!  There are so many different types of fermented foods out there!  It's amazing, and a bit overwhelming all at the same time.  

Before I learned about this so-called world, I had very little knowledge or awareness of its presence and its many benefits.  So, after I learned a little, I found myself wanting to know a ton more!  It all started when I realized that fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and kimchi, are packed full of probiotics (aka, good bacteria) and that they've been around for thousands of years!  Now, I've read plenty of yogurt containers over lunch breaks to know that yogurt has good bacteria in it in the form of live cultures, but I was completely unaware of all of the other fermented foods that also contain those wonderful little bacteria.  

Now, in our society of anti-germ everything, many people have come to disgust, hate, and even fear the word bacteria.  We're told that it's bad, that we should avoid it, and that if we come in contact with it, we should kill it and get rid of it completely.  This information comes to us in the form of antibiotics, antibacterial soap, antibacterial hand-sanitizer, antibacterial cleaning products, the list goes on and on.  Don't get me wrong, there a lot of bad types of bacteria out there and they can be rather dangerous. However, at the same time, there are also a lot of good types of bacteria out there, and all of our killing of the bad, often times also kills the good.  

This killing of good bacteria ends up being very harmful for our guts (stomach/intestinal/digestive systems).  We need all of those good little bacteria to keep us healthy.  Not only do they fight off the bad guys, but they also help us to better digest food and absorb nutrients.  So, when you don't have a balanced gut (full of good bacteria), it's actually possible to eat really healthily, but not really benefit from it because your body may not be absorbing all of the nutrients from that food if it doesn't have the help of that good bacteria.

Yikes!  So, you may be wondering....what do I do about this?!?! 

Well, there are a couple options.  An easy one is that you can start taking probiotic (good bacteria) supplements.  You can get them at health food stores and they often pack thousands of helpful bacteria into a little capsule.  When we are away from home or out of our normal routine, we take Melaleuca's Florify Probiotic supplement.  (Contact me for more info about this.)  For those who are looking for an easy and quick way to build up your good bacteria defenses, a supplement may be a good option.  The other option, and this is the one that I prefer, is to incorporate probiotic-rich foods into your diet.

This is where fermented foods come in.  As I mentioned before, fermented foods are packed full of probiotics.  Not only that, but when foods are fermented, their nutrients actually become more readily available and more easily digestible for us.  They are also rather yummy!  If you are at all interested in diving in or even just getting your feet wet in the world of fermented foods and probiotics, I highly recommend the book Fermented Food for Health by Deirdre Rawlings.  She not only explains the benefits, traditions, and reasons behind fermented foods, but half of the book is filled with recipes and tips for how to incorporate fermented foods into your life.  It's highly educational, interesting, and mouth-watering! 

There are several fermented foods that I've started incorporating into our diets over the past few months.  The first is kombucha, a fermented tea drink.  It's bubbly and refreshing, and we absolutely love it, especially when it's infused with strawberries and rhubarb! 

The second is sourdough bread.  Now, I do believe that most of the good bacteria in sourdough are killed in the baking process, but you still get the nutritional benefits from the fermentation process, which helps to break down difficult to digest nutrients that are typically found in grains.  So, sourdough bread, made from a fermented sourdough starter, is easier to digest and more nutritious than other types of bread.

Fermented carrots have become another favorite of mine.  I tried making sauerkraut last fall, but I don't think it really turned out.  While waiting for it to ferment, I also realized that I wasn't really a fan of sauerkraut or even cabbage, so the idea of tasting my creation was never really appealing.  However, when I found a recipe for fermented ginger-carrots, I decided to take another shot at fermenting vegetables.  I figured that starting with favors that I already enjoy, was probably a good idea.  The result was great!  I love adding fermented carrots to salads!  They are ready to use, packed full of nutrients, and add a ton of flavor.  

The most recent fermented food that I've added to my list is milk kefir.  It's similar to plain yogurt in taste, but a mix between milk, sour cream, and yogurt for texture and consistency.  I use it in smoothies, over granola, in place of buttermilk, in place of sour cream (I mix it with a bit of yogurt to thicken it), and to make kefir cheese (which is very similar to cream cheese in texture and flavor).  It lasts far longer than milk and buttermilk and is a great way to keep dairy on hand!  I've become quite the fan! 

After the past ten months of this fermented journey, I must say that I will never turn back.  We are healthier than we've probably ever been and feel great.  I know there are a lot of factors that have made us healthier, but I know that the fermented foods that we regularly eat are definitely one of those factors.  

So, if you take anything away from my ramblings today, please take a little (or much) interest and curiosity in the world of fermented foods.  I think you'll enjoy the journey!

Here are a few resources for further reading: