This week, good ‘ol Nana and I signed up for the Healthy Whole Grains bread course, hosted by Ann Marie of the Cheeseslave.
I didn’t wait to join the throng that will be taking this class.
No, I wanted to be one of the first. I’m excited and I just wanted to share my passion with you.
‘Cause I think that you need to catch it.
Please watch this video to learn how important properly prepared grains are in your diet. Your belly will thank you. (If you don’t see the video, click on over to my blog).
Hurry now while the cost of the class remains cheap-o (until February 7, 2012). That is $11/class, which is significantly cheaper than going back to graduate school.
Trust me . . . I know. We just paid for the Engineer’s tuition.
But be sure to use the coupon code SPROUT20!
If you are unsure about this class, you can join Ann Marie on Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at 7 PM EST / 4 PM PST for a WEBINAR. (A webinar is a seminar conducted over the internet.)
How soaking, sprouting and using sourdough neutralize anti-nutrients like phytic acid
When to sprout, when to soak, and when to use sourdough
How to make whole grains kid-friendly
How to save time preparing whole grains
How to save money preparing whole grains
I really want you to understand that just because you eat whole wheat bread, doesn’t mean you are actually making an improvement in your diet . . . even if your bread is organic or if you make it at home.
Grain isn’t what it used to be. A lot has changed in the structure of the actual wheat berry since big seed companies have come along . . . and a lot has changed in how grains are prepared compared to years ago.
It’s not a donkey. (Toy Story yjolk if you didn’t catch that!)
It’s breakfast.
It never looked particularly appealing to me. And then I tried it. It is one of the Engineer’s egg specialties. (You should taste the omelet's he makes!)
The boys . . . well Asher likes it for one reason.
It sounds like a gun had to be involved. A rifle.
This is a quick breakfast . . . with protein and good fat. But you need to eat grain. So . . . I don’t often have this cowboy breakfast.
2 lbs boiled, quartered sweet potatoes (I washed the buds and left the skin on)
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp cinnamon
Directions
Turn oven on to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wash and cut sweet potatoes. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add your sweet potatoes. Once soft, drain. Beat potatoes in a mixer with butter and cinnamon until fluffy. Set aside.
Offer your {hopefully} thawed ground beef to the hot skillet and brown, allowing it to dance with your onion and garlic.
Once thoroughly cooked, stir in the diced tomatoes, maple syrup, and ketchup. Add cinnamon, salt, pepper and rosemary. Mix thoroughly and allow to simmer for approximately 10 minutes.
Once the liquid has boiled down, like a cake, ice the Meat-Za! with your mashed sweet potatoes.
Place skillet in the oven for as long as you like . . . we had to get dinner on the table. As a result, I baked our Sweet Meat-Za! for 15 minutes. But if you like a firmer top, bake longer.
1/2 cup kombucha from previous batch (you can also use vinegar)
clean round bowl or “candy jar,” preferably (in my opinion) with a lid or mason jar
towel and tape if you don’t have a lid (see original instructions) or paper coffee filter
Directions
I have changed from being adamant about using white sugar and Lipton tea . . . despite the directions I received with my last SCOBY.
I am better educated.
Plus . . . I like using organic ingredients. I’m Granola Mom after all. But seriously. SCOBY’s absorb whatever they come in contact with . . . which is why you don’t want them to contact metal or linger in plastic.
Do use sugar, not honey or other sugar substitute. You want to maintain a proper PH and deter unwanted organisms from growing in your culture.
Heat your water to boiling.
Add sugar and heat until it has dissolved.
Once boiling has resumed, stir in loose tea.
Turn stove off and allow tea to steep approximately 10 minutes or until cool.
Transfer sweet tea to glass jar and add SCOBY and 1/2 cup of previous kombucha (or vinegar substitute).
Place your well fed SCOBY in a dark, safe place . . . preferable a quiet spot away from your compost container and fruit flies for 5-10 days, depending on your taste buds. The warmer the environment the faster the fermentation. The longer you allow it to brew, the more tart it will become.
Bottle, chill and enjoy!
Each time you make kombucha, you will always grow a baby. You can give this baby to a friend or place it in your compost pile.
Or make a sling shot out of it . . . it works great as a substitute leather. Just saying.
I found a recipe. Not only does it use brown rice, but it has Thieves essential oil in it. I needed something to drink using an TGEO (therapeutic grade essential oil) because I was teaching an essential oil class.
In a large pot, combine rice, water, and Thieves. Set aside for 3 hours. (Remember soaking a grain makes for a happy grain. I am curious to see how this would do if I soaked the grain for ohhhhhhhh 3 days? At least long enough to sprout. But the question would be . . . do I soak the rice WITH the Thieves oil in it?)
After three hours (not before or after or during – just kidding – lighten up!) bring the water and rice to a boil. Reduce heat. I left the lid off . . . I didn’t care about having sticky or fluffy rice.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Allow to cool.
When a sufficient time has elapsed, get out the old blender. I prefer the Vitamix. I like some horsepower. Blend until smooth.
Strain through a cheesecloth or a fine sieve. Great activity for a 7 year old.
Chill and serve over ice. You might want a straw. It’s a bit . . . thick.
*What is Thieves oil? A very cool essential oil. It’s a blend of oils that offers defense against the icky sickies. Snotty noses. Puking. Using Thieves oil is a daily habit for our family, especially in the winter. A little bit of Thieves will kill a lot of bacteria.
For more Granola Mom 4 God recipes, check out my recipe page! Or head on over to Real Food Wednesday.
I never know which to say. I’m making chicken broth, I mean stock, I mean . . . I don’t know what I mean.
I’m just making something that requires a bird, some vegetables, a little apple cider vinegar, filtered water, a large pot and time.
This means that I am making chicken stock.
Just like you invest in the stock market to make more money, you invest in your health by making more chicken stock.
Chicken broth is the liquid procured after boiling chicken meat with vegetables over a minimal timeframe, whereas chicken stock incorporates boiling bones (with or without meat) over a long duration . . . yielding greater nutrition in the form of gelatin and minerals.
If you want to make your taste buds do the happy dance, and your gut say, “Thank you!” then you want to MAKE chicken stock for your soups . . . your meals . . . even your baby’s food.
It. Is. Worth. It.
You can use it as your secret ingredient.
Let’s say, Aunt Betty Sue wants your special prized Algerian Wedding Rice casserole . . . because everybody loves it.
But let’s be honest . . . you don’t want to give it to her. If you do, then not only will she bring it to every family function, but she will post it on the internet (like I’m doing).
Go ahead. Give her the recipe. Just tell her to use broth instead of stock.
Is that mean?
Chicken Stock
Ingredients
a whole bird (chicken) . . . minus the feathers (You can use a chicken frame. A chicken frame is basically the carcass – where the farmer acted like a vulcher. Sorry, but it’s true.)
3 or more peeled carrots, cut into large chunks
5 or more washed celery stalks, cut into small stumps
2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
1 large onion hacked into 4 pieces quickly (I don’t want you to cry.)
approximately 4 quarts of filtered water
3-4 garlic cloves
parsley
a very large pot or crock pot
Directions
1. It is recommended that you cut your chicken into pieces.
Now I “might” do this if the Engineer is home. I have been known to play the “pretend pregnancy” card and say that I will puke all over our nice bird if I have to hack the neck off. I will sweetly ask said husband to lop off chicken parts, while I gag at an exaggerated rate.
Sometimes it works.
Now it won’t. The Engineer reads my blog, because I make him. (He gets quizzed each night over the previous day’s contents.)
So . . . if you are an individual with a weak stomach . . . then I certainly wouldn’t recommend you add chicken feet. Because you actually are supposed to.
Two feet.
Why? They contain gelatin.
You could try to remove the neck. If I am feeling adventurous, I will do this . . . but with my Cutco scissors.
When it comes down to it, though, I have yet to notice a difference if the neck is attached or unattached. If she were alive . . . then certainly a neck is important. But once she is dead . . . well, I have yet to find that my gelatin has increased by a neck-less bird.
Moving on.
2. Place the chicken in a stock pot with all the ingredients except the parsley.
Let stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour while the apple cider vinegar does its magic.
3. Then bring to a boil.
Remove scum that rises to the top, then reduce heat and simmer for 6 to 24 hours. The long you cook, the richer the flavor.
4. Ten minutes before you finish add the parsley. I always forget to. Sigh.
5. Now for the part that I hate: separating the bird from her broth.
It doesn’t matter how you do it. Use a spoon . . . tongs . . . two large paint stirrers (just kidding) . . . or your hands (make sure the broth isn’t hot!)
6. Take the meat off of the bone. It is great for teriyaki, chicken salad, enchiladas, baby food or curry.
7. Strain the stock into a big bowl and reserve in the fridge until the fat collects and congeals on top.
8. Store strained chicken stock in wide-mouth Mason jars, making sure to leave plenty of head room if you freeze the jars.
Other methods of freezing chicken stock include ice cube trays or quart size freezer bags, which is what I did last night!
Do you know where to begin when it comes to cooking nourishing food that actually makes you feel good and have energy?
Seriously, you won’t believe how much better you will feel if you start with a few simple steps.
You can sort through my blog to find the ingredients towards stocking your house with real food, figure out which ones you want to ingest first, or take Kelly’s Real Food for Rookies class.
I don’t want to force this down your throat (no pun intended), but just gently remind you in case you were riding the fence on whether or not to take the jump start course into whole foods.
(If you are receiving this in your inbox and can’t see the flashing picture, then travel to my website by clicking on the title of the post. It is a cool flashing ad. At least, I think so.)
Here are some quick links for you to check out . . . just in case you want more information.
I called a friend . . . and nearly sobbed like a baby. Cried like my sons do when scratched by Ruth.
Change is hard. Especially when it involves food.
And when said certain food creates a beneficial environment in which a body can properly detox, it ain’t purty.
But it is good for you.
I don’t want to scare you off from pursuing the GAPS Intro Protocol diet that really clenches the healing and sealing of the walls of your gut . . . but I will be honest with you.
It can get ugly. It has gotten ugly in our house.
I have read that it doesn’t have to get ugly. However, I don’t know how to do that, because, as usual, I started something before I had finished reading the entire set of instructions and book.
It said to read the book and wait a month.
As a result, we are stepping back a little bit. We will remain a grain-free family (for a season). However, the Engineer and I are reintroducing some fruit, raw veggies, eggs, and raw milk to our diet instead of serving ourselves bone broth with boiled meat and super cooked vegetables.
Let me back up a little bit, the Engineer and I have “detoxed” together without problems. We typically take a very gentle approach using a product called Perfect Cleanse, put out by Garden of Life.
This time we dove headfirst into the GAPS diet –- we alldid, sans Ruthie. (Although she has been acting officially off-the-wall.)
I don’t know that I would recommend detox-ing as a family to anyone. I suppose it was nice to get all of the grumpiness (anger, lethargy, and achiness) over together at the same time. But it has been intense.
It has been rocky. I have thought to myself. Health? Who needs it. I don’t want to be grumpy and uncomfortable . . . even if it is just for a few days.
However, to do it over again, I would opt for the adults going through the GAPS Intro Protocol diet in the fall or winter first, so that our heads are on straight when we guide our children through.
And I probably would gradually eliminate grains . . . instead of going cold turkey.
On a positive note, Gabe now likes cheese eggs!
And I have lost 6 pounds.
So, I tell you the truth because sometimes it is nice to know someone who has walked in your shoes -- ahead of you. Someone who understands and won’t think that you are weird, or diagnose you, or laugh at you.
Like I said, I called my friend, Sarah. Her family just experienced the same transformation and has lived to tell about it. She walked through a detox before me with her entire family. Sarah has been my taxi driver through the city of detox. She knows the short cuts, road blocks, and alleys.
She told me I was normal. We were normal. She told me to love on my kids even though I didn’t want to. She especially encouraged me to bathe my children in prayer and speak Scripture over them . . . because they can’t identify why they feel yucky.
My children don’t realize that the reason they are all discombobulated is because of what I have been feeding them. Or rather . . . haven’t been feeding them.
(French Onion Soup from the Grain Free Menu Plan)
My point in all of this besides being honest, is to encourage you to take a taxi ride with someone who has been down the road you are about to take.
For several years it felt like our family was in the middle of Kansas with no car in sight. I didn’t know many who were eating like us, cloth diapering, visiting Farmer’s Markets, making laundry detergent . . . or whatever else I have listed on my Frugal Organic pull down menu.
It was a lonely place filled with trial and error. Some U-turns.
That is why I started this blog. (Well, one of the reasons.)
I didn’t want you to travel alone. I wanted to to be your backseat driver . . . point out some tips along your whole foods journey.
But I realize that to utilize my blog as a map for your journey . . . is actually very difficult. I think you have to know what to look for.
There is a search button . . . but sometimes it doesn’t even give me the blog post that I am looking for . . . and I wrote it!!!
So . . . if you want to begin your whole foods journey, let me introduce you to Kelly, the Kitchen Kop. She is offering a class to teach you. . . to walk you through the steps towards Real Food. . . she will give you some tips so that you can learn how to change. It’s titled the Real Food for Rookies Class.
The cost of the class is $145 . . . but will jump up to $190 starting May 7th.
I know . . . it seems pricy. However, I bet it will save you from buying countless recipe books, self-healing books, and well . . . time. (This works out to $12 a class . . . so skip Starbucks once a month, assuming you go 3 times a week . . . not that I ever have.)
(Ahem. Cough. Sputter.)
Or you can pick which class you want to take for $20.
I will be honest with you . . . I am not going to take the class at this time. I am currently enrolled in the Reversing Food Allergies course and Get Fermented.
And I’ve taken the journey you are about to engage in. I don’t admit to know it all . . . but I am up to my eyeballs in learning right now.
But if you are JUST STARTING OUT or are CURIOUS as to how to bring real food into your home . . . then I would imagine that Kelly has some priceless information to pass on to you.
Some perks:
12 weeks of online classes with videos, downloadable audios, and written materials.
LIFETIME access! Read/listen/watch at your leisure.
Expert interviews with Sally Fallon Morell (President of the Weston Price Foundation), Dr. Kaayla Daniel (author of The Whole Soy Story), Jane Hersey (Director of the Feingold Association), Tom Naughton (Fathead filmmaker), and Jimmy Moore (Livin LaVida Low-Carb blog!)
BONUS: the price of this class will include so many generous members-only coupons and discounts that you’ll be able to recoup over half of the enrollment fee! Discounts on Green Pasture cod liver oil, U.S. Wellness Meats, Biokult probiotics, stainless steel pans, fermented food starters & supplies, and organic ghee.
Free copy of the Kitchen Kop Real Food Ingredient Guide.
Members-only discussion forum (Chat about Real Food all you want and no one will think you’re a weirdo!)
You’ll Learn How To:
Save time and money while serving Real Food
Read labels and avoid dangerous ingredients
Make nourishing “fast food” meals to avoid last-minute trips to the drive-thru
Find healthier alternatives for soda pop, refined sugars, heart-killer oils, sugar-bomb breakfast cereals, factory farmed meat and more
Serve nutrient-dense foods that are necessary for good health
Take control of your health and change your family’s future!
And so ends a long-winded post from Jodi. . . . that is what happens when you don’t have the internet for a week . . . so all your work goes into one post.
In short, if you need a hand understanding how to navigate whole foods or real foods, allow Kelly to be your GPS. Sign up, here! (And please let me know if you do so that I can encourage you in your journey!)
And why else do I like Kelly . . . she has another cool blog, Christianity 101.
Use coupon code REALFOOD to receive $25 off! Valid until Monday night!
In fact, EVERYONE in my family gobbles this tasty and nutritious copycat.
My kids refuse McDonald’s chicken nuggets (not that we really go there there. The Looser-Cruiser has only ventured into said parking lot four times in six years) and the kids rarely finish Chick-Fil-A chicken tenders . . .
Of course, that makes me smile. No, that makes me grin like a larger than life rainbow.
I try to make leftover almond flour chicken fingers . . . but each time . . . only tiny crumbs remain. (Until the Engineer licks gobbles them up.)
After enjoying the variety of contrasting colors in your mixing bowl, pretend you are a toddler and mess mix the following ingredients: almond flour, sea salt, parsley, mustard powder, garlic powder, and paprika.
I have found that dipping the chicken pieces in the eggs can be an optional step. Before we started the GAPS diet, I kept my happy eggs in the fridge . . . due to the Engineer attempting to avoid them. Why did he keep them at bay? It was largely because some blood work informed him that he was “sensitive” to eggs. I am curious to see *IF* he actually is “allergic” to them post GAPS introductory diet.
So . . . . long story made short. You *can* now dip your chicken in the egg. I almost wanted to say, you may now have the chicken kiss the egg. Get it?
Then, dredge (what a great word) the chicken in the almond and spice mixture to provide a nice rough coat that won’t do anything to keep that chicken from frying. Poor chicken.
If you struggle with the smell of Palm Oil (such as me) either suck it up OR use butter, and lots of it! (Of course coconut oil works equally well, but I really enjoy the taste that both palm oil and butter bring out.)
Heat the palm oil in a cast iron frying pan until it is melted and sizzles. (You might want to move any important papers or um . . . a computer {if it happens to be nearby} so as not to have oil spots parachute down. (Not that I would know anything about this.)
Fry seasoned chicken in the oil (or butter) until it becomes a nice golden brown. We actually like them somewhat crispy!
Serve with dipping sauce . . . like raw honey or a yogurt-herb dip or the amazing honey-mustard dipping sauce that Jenny gave me . . .
Stinky-wizzle-spoons, I can’t give it to you. You’d have to sign up for her meal plans.
Sorry.
Actually, I just don’t have time to give you the recipe.
School is about to begin.
(By the way, just in case you didn’t notice . . . this post is littered with affiliate links. You don’t have to click on them . . . but most of the time I include them because I can . . . and because I genuinely use what I have linked to.)
Sometimes you have to do things in life that you never thought you would have to do.
For example, this week we had to take Gabe to the oral maxillofacial doctor to have his impacted front tooth removed. The pediatric dentist could not perform the outpatient surgery due to the depth that the tooth had plunged itself deep into his toddler face.
I held my child as he slowly became somewhat catatonic.
I had to willingly force my child to receive pain.
We did the right thing for him . . . but never did I imagine sitting across from my high school sweetheart singing “Jesus Loves Gabe,” before being asked to step out of the room while a stranger took a scalpel to my child’s gum line.
Though not nearly as brutal, I never thought that I might maneuver my family through some looming health issues by radically changing their diet.
I mean, we already eat unusual. Some people might deem our food choices weird. Perhaps even smelly.
I considered the majority of our eating healthy. Whole foods.
But what I’ve come to realize in the last month is that we can eat whole foods . . . we can do all the fermenting . . . we can consume all the stuff God intended for our bodies to eat BUT that doesn’t mean our bodies are going to cooperate . . . or function as intended.
I see a new era dawning . . . a new style of cooking emerging from my kitchen.
Grain free. Potentially dairy free. (Already I have been dairy free for 4 days. I miss my milk.)
The boys are still drinking raw milk and enjoying fermented dairy products, but not I or the Hottie.
Eczema is the symptom on my little Naomi. And milk could be the culprit. Certain foods can irritate our immune systems . . . leading to things like eczema, little white bumps, anger, or a case of the itchies.
To celebrate this development, Cara is offering a sale!
For first time subscribers, use the coupon code SPRING to receive 50% off of your first month (valid until March 20th, 2011).
To see what the grain free menu plans look like check out this sample . . . see if it might interest you.
If you are new to your dietary changes . . . feeling overwhelmed . . . and want to help heal your gut . . . Cara’s meal plans ROCK! She follows the guidelines for the GAPS diet.
We heart her Coconut Pancakes, which I will share with you soon (along with a giveaway.)
But if you can’t wait . . . download a simple the Grain Free Meal plan or subscribe for a month (or more) at 50% off using the code SPRING.
And soon . . . I’ll be hosting a little Grain Free Meal Plan giveaway.
What is a truffle? It can be an edible fungi or a chocolate confection. I’ll go with the confection. Especially because it involves chocolate.
It broke the Hottie’s fast from said brown substance.
Last night we contemplated the multiple people we could bless with our new indulgence. For we quickly discovered that this prodigious nugget of chocolate failed to take up enough real-estate on our tongues.
In the end, we decided to keep them for ourselves.
We may not even tell the boys.
Is that wrong? To hide the chocolate . . . the truffle . . . the delectable, solidified nugget of exquisitely blended mixture of sweet and bitter?
1 cup full-fat coconut milk (learn how to make coconut milk)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
cocoa powder, for dredging truffles
Directions
Break apart chocolate and slam dunk it into a mixing bowl with the Young Living orange oil, cinnamon, chipotle chili powder, the contents of one vanilla bean and a dash of unrefined sea salt.
Bring coconut milk and coconut oil to a slow simmer in a saucepan over a moderate flame.
Pour coconut milk and oil over the chopped chocolate, honey, and seasonings. Then stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the chocolate is thoroughly melted and the mixture, or ganache, becomes thick, uniform and glossy. (Mine remained lumpy.)
(Expect some help to magically appear.)
Transfer the mixture to a plate lined with parchment paper, molding into a log as best you can, and allow it to harden in the refrigerator for eight to twelve hours, or overnight.
My first attempt at forming a log:
And my second more effective attempt at forming a log . . . that unfortunately received some choice comments from certain young lads and a not-so-young man living in my house . . .
After the Mayan chocolate has hardened in the refrigerator for eight to twelve hours (umm . . . less if you live in our house), remove it, unmold it from the parchment paper and carve it into irregular bite-sized chunks.
Much of what I write is inspired by God. He gave me the idea and allows me to be a steward of it. Please respect my authorship and stewardship of all content on this blog. Do not copy pictures for yourself without permission from me or use the written text as your own. And always . . . link back to me should you refer to an idea you saw on Granola Mom 4 God.
