by Melanie Dearing | Mar 11, 2016 | Beverages, Cultured Creations, Recipes
I have enjoyed getting back into making kefir. When I first made kefir I used non dairy heavy coconut cream in the can from Trader Joe’s. You can learn how by watching an easy video at Cultured Food Life. When using non dairy milk you still must add about a quarter cup of whole milk in order to feed the kefir grains.
Orange Dreamsicle Kefir
Author: Melanie Dearing
Course: Cultured Creations
Cuisine: Recipe
- A little less than 1 quart whole organic or raw milk
- 3 to 4 live kefir grains
- 1 orange (peeled and cut into large chucks - save 1 slice for garnish if desired)
- 2 Tbsp. monk fruit and/or chicory root sweetener
- Place a little less than 1 quart of milk in glass quart mason jar (leave 1 inch at top open for expansion)
- Add kefir grains.
- Place lid on jar and set in cool dark place for 24 hours.
- Remove kefir grains (you can place them in a fresh jar to start your next batch).
- Add orange chucks and small piece of orange peel.
- Place lid on jar and set in cool dark place for another 24 hours.
- Remove lid and add sweetener
- Blend well (I use a Nutri-bullet or Vita-Mix)
- Garnish with orange slice (optional)
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by Melanie Dearing | Mar 4, 2016 | Cultured Creations
I was introduced to kefir, komucha and cultured vegetables about a year ago. I was very impressed with the different probiotics in all three. I was a little skeptical of growing these crazy looking creatures in jars in my kitchen, but as a former homeschool mom, I was willing to try. I was even blessed enough to take a wonderful “Trilogy” class through Donna Schwenk at beautiful Casa Somerset bed and breakfast.
I reluctantly admit, that I used the excuse of the busyness of life to set this incredible process aside for many months. Through a variety of circumstances, the health benefits of fermentation as come back as a high priority for me and my family. To my surprise and amazement, my komucha scoby’s and my water kefir grains were still very much alive and active. (More information, stories and pictures in a later post).
I wanted to post a very easy and simple cultured vegetable recipe just to begin to introduce this onto our site. Again, much more will be coming very soon on this topic. To watch an expert doing this and to know where to buy materials I have placed the link here Cultured Food Life
Donna is the very best
Here is a picture of my first attempt back at cultured vegetable. I made a gallon and I plan to store this mix in smaller quart jars in the refrigerator.
Easy Cultured Vegetables
Author: Melanie Dearing
Course: Cultured Foods
- 1 head organic cabbage
- 2 organic red beets
- 4 organic carrots
- ⅛ cup red onion, chopped
- ¼ cup organic red cabbage
- ½ cup red kale, chopped
- 1 Tbsp. Celtic sea salt
- 1 packet cultured vegetable starter
- Filtered water
- Open cultured vegetable starter and mix with 1 cup filtered water. Set aside.
- Shred all vegetables a food processor, and place in large mixing bowl. Toss gently until well mixed.
- Sprinkle with salt and mix well.
- Place mixture in gallon jar.
- Pour in cultured vegetable starter.
- Fill with filtered water, leaving 2-3 inches empty at the top of the jar to allow for expansion.
- Gently make sure all veggies are under the water.
- Cover with an air lock lid.
- Set in a cool place out of sunlight for 6-7 days.
- Remove air lock lid and replace with regular lid and refrigerate. (i place in smaller jars first)
- This mixture will last at least 9 months in the refrigerator.
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by Melanie Dearing | Mar 4, 2016 | Auquaponic, Garden, Inspiration, Nutrition
Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. It always seems full of new energy, new hope and promise. I love the beautiful sounds of the birds and smell of fresh air that jog childhood memories of Spring. Today I heard my first turtle dove and I saw a majestic bald eagle flying near our home! I was so excited to see it that I stopped in the middle of the road just to watch it. There is a wonderful sense of new life in the Spring with the daffodils and tulips breaking through the ground and trees budding into bright colors. With every warm day we see our honeybees out flying around. Our neighbors chickens are exploring everywhere searching for bugs and are back to laying an abundance of eggs.
Grow Your Own – THE TIME IS NOW
Vegetables, herbs and fruits are a vital part to good nutrition. With the rising costs of healthy food options, growing your own may be an alternative for you. In addition to the obvious notion of eating your produce, there are the added health benefits of working outside (exercise is essential to health) and the enjoyment of reveling in the beauty of nature (recreation – Re – Creation; new life and freshness for you mind, emotions and spirit).
Part of our passion is to give you resources and to cheer you on into this area of gardening. If gardening is an interest to you – now is the time to begin. We have tried a variety of gardening techniques and one of the books we love is “All New Square Foot Gardening” by Mel Barthelomew.
Under Construction
This year we have launched a new construction project of putting up a small greenhouse (10’ x 12’) in order to extend our growing season and to attempt the possibilities of hydroponic gardening with a tank of Tilapia. This is totally a work in progress, but we wanted to bring you along on our journey. We were blessed to have our neighbors, Bill and Tarey Shipley, join us in this endeavor so we split the costs and the effort. We want to encourage you by giving you the resources we found so that you may be inspired.
We bought our greenhouse at Harbor Freight
We bought seed starting supplies at Growers Solutions
We collaborate with Sullivan’s Greenhouse and buy small organic plants.
We bought our hydroponic supplies at Allied Aqua
Nutrition
Regardless of whether you grow you own or not, our challenge to you is to eat and/or drink as many veggies as you can each day. A great place to start is to drink a smoothie everyday making sure it is comprised with 50% vegetable (organic spinach or kale are a great place to start). You can find an easy smoothie recipe option that can be adapted to your personal tastes here.
Our foundational books listed in Resources are “Grain Brain” and “Wheat Belly”. This month we would encourage you to read “Brain Maker” (We will use this book as a reference for next week’s post).
Challenge and Encouragement
When it comes to vital health and wellness, we believe it is best to be pro-active and focus on prevention of illness and disease whenever possible, so that you can more fully enjoy quality of life, not just quantity of years. Our challenge for you is to examine areas of your life that may be negatively affecting your health now or potentially in the future, and commit to making small changes.
We want to offer encouragement by giving you suggested resources that can help turn your health around. Remember we are all “under construction” and there are always opportunities for “new life in the Spring”.
by Melanie Dearing | Feb 17, 2016 | Breakfast, Recipes
The incredible edible egg – what a wonder of nature. Eggs are a great source of protein and are one of the foundational items that you can add in and change up in an unlimited number of ways. Eggs can be fried, poached, baked, boiled and scrambled. (I am beginning to sound like “Bubba” Blue from Forest Gump) This recipe post is similar to smoothies in that the options you choose are totally geared to your own personal taste preferences. This is also one of those recipe choices that are very easy to apply the “eat the rainbow” philosophy.
I am blessed to have neighbors who free range chickens and literally deliver my eggs from their farm to my table. I have learned that when the hens are laying abundantly, I can freeze raw eggs for up to a year. You can read more here: incredible egg
Versatile Paleo Eggs
- Step 1:
- Select the amount of eggs you want to make. I try to make extra if I can.
- This recipe suggests scrambling them, but you can bake them in muffin cups as well (I find they tend to be a little rubbery when reheated). Scrambled eggs do reheat well. As an example, I will make these suggestions based on using 12 eggs (1 dozen).
- Step 2:
- Choose the add ins you prefer for that day. These are options or suggestions and the amounts are geared for the 12 egg scramble amount, so adjust amounts to your liking in the amount of eggs you are preparing. This list is long, so mix and match to suit your preferences.
- ½ red onion, diced
- ¼ cup green onion, chopped
- ½ cup asparagus chopped
- ½ cup mushrooms, chopped
- ½ cup peppers, chopped
- ¼ tsp. garlic, minced
- 1 cup cooked nitrate free bacon, crumbled
- 1 cup nitrate free Canadian bacon, chopped
- 1 cup ham, cubed
- 1 cup cooked breakfast sausage, crumbled
- 1 cup cooked steak, cubed
- 1 cup cooked Salmon, flaked
- 1 cup cooked shredded sweet potato
- ½ cup spinach, chopped
- ½ cup kale, chopped
- 1 tsp. herbs and/or seasonings of choice (basil, rosemary, turmeric, garlic powder, onion powder, 21 salute…)
- 1 tbsp. healthy fat or oil of choice (ghee, bacon, avocado, coconut…)
- In large mixing bowl, crack the 12 eggs and whisk lightly until well mixed.
- Add herbs or seasonings of choice and mix well. Set aside.
- In large skillet, heat oil/fat and add any add ins you have chosen. Sauté until well heated and veggies are cooked through.
- Pour eggs into skillet and continue stirring gently until eggs are cooked through.
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by Melanie Dearing | Feb 17, 2016 | Beverages, Recipes
Smoothies are one of the simplest ways to provide a variety of healthy nutrients into your system. It is especially helpful if you or someone you know has a hard time eating enough vegetables. I also believe that because the blending process breaks down the food particles so small, it is easier for your body to digest and more quickly absorb the nutrients. Plus you retain all the great fiber from whatever produce you use. In addition to all that, smoothies can easily be tailored to each individuals personal taste preferences and physical needs. They are fast and easy to make and fast and easy to drink. There really is no down side here. Smoothies should be a regular part of your morning routine. I am going to list options for this very generic recipe. You decide what works best for you. (The best smoothie: Is any smoothie you will drink – just watch to be sure to limit the amount of sugars in the fruit). There are a multitude of books written on smoothie recipes. These steps are the easiest I have found to help the average person just get started and make a habit of drinking a smoothie daily.
Paleo Smoothies Made Simple
Author: Melanie Dearing
Course: Beverages
Cuisine: recipes
- Step 1:
- Choose the type of blender you will use (I use a NutriBullet or a Vitamix blender). There are so many good products on the market, you have lots to choose from. Find one that fits your budget and is easy for you to use.
- Step 2:
- Be sure you dedicate at least ½ of your smoothie to organic dark green leafy vegetables. Easy examples here are kale and or spinach (there is also Swiss chard and arugula, I find them a little bitter). I recently found a delicious red kale that I love. A quick, easy tip here to keep these from going bad before you get a chance to use them up: I buy the largest containers of organic spinach or kale. I bring them home, wash and dry them well (a salad spinner works well) and immediately bag them in smaller portions and freeze them. Once they are frozen, I smash the contents in the bag into small pieces to condense the space they take up. I can use them then for smoothies, eggs, soups, casseroles…….
- Step 3:
- Choose a creamy thickener like avocado or frozen banana (watch the sugar with the bananas) or even a spoonful of healthy nut butter with no sugar (avoid peanut butter). I like using frozen bananas. It is easy to store them and they give the consistency of ice cream.
- Step 4:
- Choose organic fruit of choice. Remember those darker berries are the best; blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries. Costco has a wonderful selection of frozen organic fruits (and veggies). Again, I find it helpful to buy the large bags and repack them into smaller smoothie size bags to use more easily. This can save time in the morning, especially if you have a favorite mix or blend. You can venture into other fruits like pineapple and mangos as well.
- • Optional:
- Now is the time of many, many optional add- ins. There are lots of great green powders on the market (I like Green Superfoods) or other superfood powders like Mangosteen, Goji, Acai, Marqui Berry, etc… You can also add unsweetened shredded coconut, raw hemp seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds, chia seeds, cashews, walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, etc…. This is where you can experiment and create your own special favorite flavors. I try to keep a variety of these items on hand. I use many of these items to make power balls (see recipe under Sweet Treats) and I also use them in non-dairy coconut yogurt.
- Step 5:
- Place your chosen ingredients into blender with ¼ cup filtered water or unsweetened non-dairy milk (coconut milk, almond milk, hemp milk) of choice and blend until smooth. Drink immediately for best results
- Place your chosen ingredients into blender with ¼ cup filtered water or unsweetened non-dairy milk (coconut milk, almond milk, hemp milk) of choice and blend until smooth. Drink immediately for best results.
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