If I Were to Give You A Baby Gift: How to Cook Real Food Giveaway

Nourishing food is important. 

It is so important that it is one (of many) reasons Granola Mom 4 God exists. 

Nourishing food  has made a radical impact on our family’s life. 

 

I used to be very SAD when I ate. 

Meaning, I used to eat the Standard American Diet. 

• white flour
• white sugar
• white rice
• diet coke
• microwave dinners
• foods with a shelf life exceeding what seems reasonable
• fast food
• synthetic vitamins
• tap water
• foods laced with hormones and antibiotics
• corn syrup

SAD is cheap.  But what I saved in the grocery story, I ended up spending at the doctor’s office. 

I realized that my SAD diet was seriously affecting me when my doctor considered ordering a prescription for me to manage my PCOS.

We wanted kids.  Not drugs.

And the swiss cheese that my female insides looked like . . . simply didn’t want to work towards the goal of adding people to our dining room table.

So . . . I ditched the SAD diet. 

Enter whole foods (prayer, exercise, and an herbalist).

Meet my family.

“They” say that you should start eating for a baby about a year before you want to conceive.  Take your prenatal vitamins.  Even dad should be consuming healthy foods . . . avoiding chemicals. 

And hot tubs {ahem}.

So let me give you a gift . . .

a gift of well being . . . of healing . . . of nourishment . . .

whether you are thinking about getting pregnant, are pregnant, nursing, or feeding an infant --

You.  Need.  My.  Gift. 

(Thanks to Jenny over at The Nourished Kitchen.)

Probably the most important gift I could give you out of my virtual baby gift basket. 

Amber necklaces are good. 

Bacteria is great. 

Slings – oh so snuggly.

How to cook real food.   

Food that causes families to linger at the table.  Meals that cause the fork to recline in the hand and words to sprinkle like salt into the air over the dining room table.  . . .

Real food is a gift.  I enjoy giving this gift.  It is ever so much fun to delight our guests with a visually appealing and hearty meal (usually from Simple Dinners).

A meal full of flavor.  Spices that cause our guest to reminisce about a sight or smell it evokes as it slides over their tongue. 

 

What is my gift (rather Jenny’s gift for the online baby shower)?

a tuition-free enrollment to the online cooking class,

 How to Cook Real Food (hello . . . a $199 value!)

Can you say, WOW!

Totally generous.  Thanks, Jenny.

Who?  Anyone.  But I’m going say primarily the cook of the family.  Because we need to be laying a firm foundation and providing our children with the necessary building blocks to grow healthy bodies and a sound minds.

What is it?  It’s an online cooking class with 45 videos, worksheets and everything you need to know about preparing traditional foods from scratch and in season.  Check out the lesson details and get a glimpse with this sneak preview.

When?  Classes begin September 1st.  But if you are starting school, like us come September . . . you can watch, download, print, and prepare . . . whenever you want. 

Even 60 years from now. 

Where? Well, Jenny lives in Colorado.  But you can take this course anywhere there is a computer and internet.  Even in your pajamas.  On your roof.  In a car. 

Why?  You and your family will feel so much better.

How?  The fact is that you can make time if it is something that you want to do.  So stop making excuses.  Take the course . . . 

WIN IT!!! 

(a $149 value before September 15th . . . and a $199 value thereafter!)

Does any of this appeal to you . . . tug on your heart a bit?  Enter the giveaway, then! 

• 12 Comprehensive, Multimedia Online Classes
• Exclusive Recorded Conference Calls to chat with other real food lovers and get your questions answered
• 45 Instructional Videos Teaching You How to Cook Real Food
• Over 100 Tried-and-true Real Food Recipes
• Digital Workbook for each lesson to Take Notes & Develop Your Own Recipes
• Charts Outlining Seasonally Available Foods
• Charts outlining methods for soaking beans, legumes, nuts and seeds
• Spreadsheets that’ll help you take a kitchen inventory,develop a grocery budget and plan meals
• Fact Sheets and Handy Tips Analyzing the Value of Real Food
• Whole-grain and Grain-free baking tips.
• Simple Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
• Menu Planning Bonus Pack

Enter NOW to win the Nourished Kitchen Real Food course . . .

 

Mandatory:  Sign up to receive Nourished Kitchen newsletters here.  (Don’t worry, you won’t be spammed.  The newsletters might make you hungry though . . . and you’ll get great coupon codes.)

Extra Entries: (make sure to list each entry as a separate comment):

• Tweet daily about this giveaway.  You can use the following pre-written tweet:

 Want to be a GREAT cook? Giveaway from Nourished Kitchen, How  to cook real food over @GranolaMom4God http://j.mp/qXflL9

• Subscribe to my blog, so that you can learn about my other baby must-haves and the great coupon code for this course plus free 3-month subscription to Simple Dinners after the giveaway winner is announced.
• Like Granola Mom 4 God on Facebook .. . and share about the giveaway while you are at it.
• Become a Fan!
• Follow Jenny on Twitter.
• Like Nourished Kitchen on Facebook.
• Give yourself an extra entry if you subscribe to Simple Dinners or you took the Get Cultured course.

Contest ends:  September 5, 2011.  Winner will be notified by email and given 48 hours to respond. Open to the world.  If you already purchased the course, you will be refunded!

Never Fail Almond Flour Chicken Fingers

I heart this meal. 

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.)

Almond Flour Chicken Fingers

(thanks to Nourished Kitchen Simple Dinners)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almond flour (I grind my sprouted almonds in the Vita Mix.)
• 1 1/2 tsps Celtic Sea Salt
• 2 tbsps dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces (scissors work GREAT to accomplish this slimy task!)

• 2 whole eggs, beaten (I often omit these . . . at least before we started the GAPS diet).
• 1/2 to 1 cup palm kernel oil, for frying

Directions

• 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.)  

Public Service Announcement

Just wanted to pass on some sales to you . . .

Get $20 off Simple Menu Plans from The Nourished Kitchen using the coupon code:  SPRING11.

This is what you will receive (especially great if you opted not to take the Get Fermented class that I annoyingly consumed your inbox writing about).

• 3 Full Simple Dinner Menus Each Week
• 1 Dessert of the Week
• 1 Probiotic Fermented Food of the Week
• 1 Soup of the Week
• All whole foods, no refined or processed ingredients
• Easy-to-follow Recipes
• Simple to-do lists
• Guides to seasonal produce
• Information on health and wellness
• Suitable for Gluten-/Grain/Dairy-/Soy-free and GAPS Diets
• Recipes serve four, but can be easily halved, doubled or tripled
• Most menus can be prepared in under 40 minutes
• Click here to download a sample.
• easy refund policy
• averages to less than $7.50 a month!

A similar nifty code is how I ended up getting hooked up with The Nourished Kitchen . . . and how I ended up purchasing an entire year’s worth of dinners . . .

You can see a lot of my cooking experiences with Jenny here.

I like Simple Dinners . . . because for me . . . they are simple.  And rich.  And delicious.  And dense.  And nutritious.  And my husband praises me and showers me with accolades when I cook with Jenny. 

_______________________________

Second announcement, since you aren’t Sally from {With Eager Hands} , I know that you didn’t win the Resurrection Stick Figure Bible Curriculum . . . but you can purchase it for 30% off RIGHT NOW. 

All e-books are on sale now . . . no shipping fee to upset the budget . . . you could literally start stick figuring in minutes . . . and not have to wait on the mail man/woman.

Though real mail is fun, don’t get me wrong.  (Not that I galloped to my mail bearing husband when he sauntered into the room carrying 2 packages . . . and questioned if I was excited to see him or the mail he was carrying.)

But stick figuring is MORE FUN.

Just a thought.

Combine The Resurrection study with Amon’s Adventure.  Riveting. 

History will come ALIVE before your very eyes.

And your kids will want to snuggle with you instead of watching TV.

The Truffle

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?

Probably.

We will let them have one. 

 

Mayan Chocolate Truffle

compliments of Jenny at Nourished Kitchen

(*but I did make a few changes)

• 10 ounces chocolate with 100%* cocoa content, chopped coarsely
• Young Living Orange Oil**
• 1-2 tablespoons raw honey***
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
• 1 vanilla bean (use it to make extract later)
• dash unrefined sea salt
• 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.

Toss the chunks with cocoa powder and serve.

Naomi really enjoyed it to.

Inadvertently, that is. 

Changes from Jenny’s recipe:

*85% cocoa content (I wanted to avoid a chocolate bar with sugar.)

**You can use the zest from an orange peel

***I added raw honey to sweeten the 100% cocoa ever so subtlety.

Things Are Coming to a Close

The deadline is almost here. 

Two free books.  And one symbiotic culture (water kefir grains).

• Always True by James MacDonald . . . . This isn’t just a good book.  It’s a GREAT book.

Hardly any of my IRL friends have entered.  Does anyone read my blog anymore? 

Let’s see, leave a comment telling me what is stopping you from make all the changes in your life that you need to make to be healthier. 

I will randomly choose someone to send some homemade granola to.  Are you listening?  Enter all three giveaways, give yourself three entries (comments).  Tweet about it and give yourself another entry.

400+ of you receive my blog posts in your email.  Are they going to no-man’s land?  Another handful of you read me on Facebook.  The other handful pick and choose what you will read of mine on your Google reader . . . . and the last bit find me on Twitter.  Which are you?  Tell me by leaving a comment for another chance to win my granola. 

Back to the giveaway recap:

• Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon . . . . seriously if you follow my blog . . . you know a lot of my recipes come from here.  You could even email me . . . requesting me to write a tutorial on a certain recipe.  On this particular giveaway you receive bonus entries if you sign up for the Get Cultured e-course.

Speaking of which, there is a bonus lesson being offered.  Bonus.  Free extra lesson.  Yup.  Sign up for the Get Cultured e-course through this BONUS link.  You’ll receive 2 VIDEO TUTORIALS, 2 RECIPES, 2 PRINT TUTORIALS, and 2 FAQ SHEETS.

Here is a bit of subliminal advertising.  Play the following video (in your bedroom) over and over all night long while you sleep.  Then, in the morning . . . sign up for the Get Cultured e-course.  (You can give yourself another entry for the Nourishing Traditions giveaway if you watch the below video.)

Remember, set your calendar to have some school in your pajamas on March 4th, 2011 with the Get Cultured:  Learn How to Ferment Anything (shoelaces?  twinkies?).

The price goes up on March 1st, 2011. 

All I am asking you to do is pray about it.  Discuss the course with your spouse or your parents or your dog before you purchase. 

I wouldn’t be nagging you . . . OK harping at you . . . if I didn’t think that fermentation was important. 

It’s just that I think it is important.  I so wish I had had the Get Cultured e-course at my fingertips when I entered the whole foods/traditional eating/fermenting lifestyle.  Life – would --  have --  been – easier. 

I’m done with my speel. 

Have a great rest of the weekend.  Stay tuned for some questions.  Questions that my IRL (in real life) friends DREAD me asking.  They are coming your way. 

Library, Gardening, Food, and an Explanation

You are due some sort of an explanation. 

You will have to keep reading to find out what the explanation is.

First I just have to tell you that I went to the library today.  Very dangerous.  I heart books.  So when I go to the library and am surrounded by free books to bring home . . . I bring them home. 

Not just a few.

A lot. 

They weren’t books for children either.

They were . . . gardening books.  After a vacation from my summer hobby, I *think* I am ready to dirty my hands in the soil.

This year I have so many possibilities.

With four years of gardening under my belt, I have been given the opportunity to start from scratch (again) with slightly questionable soil.

The field has been mowed and is hibernating under a dense pile of snow trodden leaves.  It is awaiting a deft hand to turn the microorganisms upside down and a layer of Mel’s mix (1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 compost) poured on top. 

I desire to employ the square foot gardening principals that have worked so well under my tutelage, but with a twist. 

Slow foods style.  I call it that because I saw a Slow Foods garden that I wish to copy. 

Meandering.  Whimsical.  Heirloom.  

The perfect place for a constitutional.  (Thanks, Renee.)

I’d really like to have someone come and design it for me, like William Alexander did in his book, The $64 Tomato, which I am reading right now.

However, one has to have time to drool, to plan, to organize unused seeds, to order new seeds . . .

Which brings me to what I need to explain.

I’ve been blogging a lot about food.  Nourishing food.  Fermented food.  Grain Free food. 

The reason is because if you already thought we were in deep with eating traditionally – you haven’t seen anything yet.  Whole foods eating, once uncovered, is like the rabbit hole.  Not only do you uncover an amazing world of taste, but also of health. 

I don’t know that I will be doing the whole liver thing, though.  Or brain.  Can’t go there. 

And this time, health (though taste has been a perk) is the reason we are getting out our shovel and digging deeper. 

There is some surmising that the Granola Family is suffering a bit from The Fall.  You know . . . the one in the garden.  Of course, we all have stumbled due to this fatal bite of fruit, thanks to two certain people which shall remain nameless (ahem . . . Adam and Eve). 

Some of us fell harder.

What I have come to realize is that sometimes NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO sometimes you can’t completely overcome the obstacles in your health without some outside intervention and strict attention to what you are ingesting and using externally.

Because I have had to make serious changes in certain family members diets . . . I have been doing a lot of research on food  and on food preparation.

I discovered that I need help.  I need one thing less to plan.

I signed up for the Nourishing Kitchen meal plans.  Three dinners a week are planned, providing plenty of leftovers for the remaining nights.  Included in each week’s packet are one ferment and one soup.  And because these meal plans are set according to the season . . . I am hopeful that I will be able to use the produce from my garden to supplement our grocery budget.  Hence the reason I was telling you about my garden.

I discovered that my thyroid needs healing. 

The particular thyroid disease that I have is triggered by an inflamed gut.  Though I have been eating relatively well the past 5 years, it hasn’t been well enough to heal my thyroid. 

Had I been living more of a SAD (Standard American Diet) the past 5 years, there is no telling what my health issues might be. 

This is where my love of fermentation has been encouraged.  Health begins in the gut.  A healthy gut is a happy gut.  Fermented foods, when eaten in reasonable amounts, act like a natural medicine.  For this reason, I am super–duper excited about Jenny’s Get Cultured e-course. 

By the way – you can still sign up.  Classes don’t begin until March 4th.  BUT on March 1st the price goes up to $199 (currently it is $149).

Then . . . the bomb got dropped on me.

A health professional strongly encouraged us to avoid all grains . . . unless properly prepared . . . and then only sparingly. 

I didn’t and I don’t have the time to research the GAPS diet.  So, I am relying on Cara, from Health, Home, and Happy, to guide us through this learning curve by subscribing to her menu plans for our breakfasts and lunches.  (By the way, it is rare for the Nourished Kitchen meals to contain grain.)

And so . . . my friends . . . that is why I have been talking about food . . .

A Lot.

There is your explanation.  A rather long one.

Nourishing Traditions Cookbook Giveaway

If you have been enjoying my fermenting recipes . . . now you can enjoy them a little bit more.

You already know that I like the Nourished Kitchen. 

I like fermenting.  I want you to like it too.

In fact, I highly recommend enrolling in the Get Cultured e-course. 

But you already knew that. 

I first started learning about fermentation from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. 

And though I think this cookbook rocks, I think that the Get Cultured e-course would be more like a quarry than a rock in your kitchen.

However, I would still like you to have the book. 

So . . . . twofold blog post. 

• First, sign up for the Get Cultured e-course using the code sourpickles to receive $20 off!  This coupon is only valid until Monday.  (Classes start March 4th.)
• Secondly, win a copy of Nourishing Traditions! 

 

RULES
Please, please, please . . .do not put more than one entry per comment. I will be using www.random.org to pick the winners. Make sure you leave your email address in your comment.  All options are worth 1 entry.

(Mandatory) Read about The Nourished Kitchen e-course and tell me one thing that you would like to learn if you enrolled in it.

1. Become one of my fans through Google Connect if you aren't already! (It’s over there on your right . . . see all of the little people?)
2. Sign up to take The Nourished Kitchen e-course through my link and give yourself 10 entries.
3. Tweet, blog, email some friends, or Facebook about the giveaway and then come back and leave me the link or a copy of your email.  Do this as often as you like.  Spread the good bacteria!
4. Subscribe to my blog.

Remember, only #1 is mandatory. The rest of the entries are optional, but you MUST comment separately for each one.

The Fine Print: I will email you when you have won. You must respond within 48 hours.

Contest ends February 28, 2011 at Midnight

P.S.  This giveaway has nothing to do with The Nourished Kitchen . . . . Who knows?  I may send you my battered and loved recipe book or a new one. 

Must Have Refrigerator Item: Apricot Butter

There is something intensely gratifying about fermenting food. 

It’s a habit for me.  A healthy addiction, you might say. 

One day . . . I went a little wild.  I wanted to grow as many organisms as I could.  And I did.

See that Mason Jar with the brown stuff in it?  It’s good.  It’s good for you.  And by fermenting this certain little brown dried fruit you . . . . um . . .  don’t get the “toots.” (Not that I ever “toot.”)

Was that TMI?

Ready for this fermented must-have?

Probiotic Apricot Butter

(compliments of the Nourished Kitchen)

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried unsulphured apricots
• 1/2 tsp unrefined sea salt
• 3 tbsps fresh whey, divided
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp powdered ginger

Directions

• Cover apricots in hot water and jealously watch them soak in that luxurious hot bath (can you tell what I would like to do with a good book?)

• Drain and process in a Vitamix or other food processor with sea salt and two tablespoons fresh whey until smooth.

• I know . . . it looks concerning.  But trust me – it’s good for your gut!  Kids will want to dive into these formerly bathing beauties!

• Transfer creamy apricots into the confining Mason Jar and cover with remaining whey.

• Allow said contents to nap for two days (lucky) covered, while you busily live life around resting apricots. 

• When it’s time to wake the apricots up, slide them back into the Vitamix along with honey, cinnamon, and ginger.

• Process until smooth.  Spoon into a clean Mason Jar and place this tasty concoction in your fridge.  It will be good for 6-8 weeks.

Recently, we finished our probiotic apricot butter by lathering it on some sprouted Holy Homemade Crackers. 

Divine.  Seriously.  God knew what He was doing when He gave someone the inspiration to start fermenting foods.  And I’m thankful how simple recipes like this are improving my resistance to infection (slowly but surely). 

If you have been enjoying my fermenting recipes . . . you can thank Jenny over at the Nourished Kitchen.  If you really want to start fermenting foods in your kitchen, then I highly recommend enrolling in the Get Cultured e-course.  Use the code sourpickles to receive $20 off!  Classes start March 4th.

Get Cultured!

I like to grow bacteria. 

It’s fun.

And now you can learn to grow bacteria . . . in your PJ’s. 

With some accountability.

At your leisure. 

You could even use it as a home-economics course for your school room. 

Nourished Kitchen has just announced its upcoming e-course, Get-Cultured:  How to Ferment Anything!

So instead of reading my blog, you can take a course.  You could become a certifiable licensed bacteria-growing specialist.  How cool would that be?

Sorry.  The title doesn’t come with a badge. 

What will you learn?

(Ahem.  I thought I knew a lot.  But reading the checklist of what the Nourished Kitchen will teach you . . . I don’t know diddily-squat.)

• Why fermented foods  are critical to your health
• How beneficial bacteria can actually work with your DNA to build immunity
• How to enhance digestive health through real food
• How you can make everyday foods like ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise that enhance your family’s health
• How to make yogurt and kefir using raw milk, pasteurized milk or even coconut milk
• How to make natural, low sugar sodas that are actually good for your kids
• How to make bacon and corned beef without added nitrates/nitrites in just a few simple steps
• How to preserve foods naturally with the lost art of fermentation
• How to troubleshoot when your home-fermented foods go funky
• How to ferment foods naturally and safely

OK . . . if this list wasn’t enticing enough to you foodies  . . . then here is WHY you NEED to take this e-course:

• You want to build immunity naturally
• You want to optimize gut health and digestion
• You want to give up processed commodity foods and start eating real
• You value cooking from scratch and mastering the lost arts of traditional foods
• You want to restore the proper balance to your gut
• You  or your family suffers from digestive ills or food intolerances.
• You adhere to a real food diet or the dietary guidelines of the Weston A Price Foundation.
• You want to SAVE money by making good food at home from scratch
• You’re on a restricted diet such as GAPS or SCD which places importance on the value of fermented foods

What will you get (for a lifetime) with this $149 class that lasts 13 weeks (or one week access for $20)?

A lot.  Originally, I had it all listed for you.  But to see a detailed description of the course, head on over to Nourished Kitchen.

What else will you get?  The benefits to this course are long lasting.

I am excited about the recipes . . . and learning to make coconut yogurt. 

I don't share this with you lightly.  I believe in the value of including fermented foods with EVERY meal.  My journey into whole foods and fermentation was initially LONELY.  There was a lot of trial and error.  And no one to ask.

But you have the opportunity to learn with a group . . . and gain valuable information that can provide true health. 

So, sign up.  Your gut will thank you. 

Registration ends February 28th (the price goes up March 1st) and classes begin March4th! 

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Never much appreciated butternut squash . . . until last week. 

I think I might include this item in my gardening plans this year.

I enjoyed (yet another) Nourished Kitchen concoction so much, it replaced my afternoon latte from my nifty espresso machine (which currently features a rebate).

Um. . . . that should speak volumes to you about said Curried Butternut Squash soup from The Nourished Kitchen.  (Seriously, you really should consider subscribing to Jenny’s dinner menu plans (yes, I am an affiliate) . . . rich . . . yummy . . . . delicious . . . and easy (in a whole foods kind of way).

And this soup that I’m about to give you the recipe for (with Jenny’s permission)  . . . is great for the dairy-free family.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 shallots, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 1-inch knob ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 2 cups chicken stock (I’ll give you my recipe soon!)
• 2 cups coconut milk

Directions

1. Melt coconut oil in a heavy-bottomed stock pot over a moderate flame, then toss in shallots, garlic and ginger, frying until fragrant and translucent.
2. Stir in chopped squash and fry until fragrant, about three or four minutes.
3. Stir in curry powder, chicken stock and coconut milk.
4. Continue cooking for thirty minutes or until the squash is soft, then process in a Vitamix or with a food mill until smooth and uniform.

You won’t regret making this soup.  You might even cry when it is gone.  I almost did. 

Put Some Chicken With Your Lemons

Remember when the boys and I made fermented lemons?  Many of you wanted to know what were were going to put these sourpusses with. 

Well, Jenny, from The Nourished Kitchen had a plan and I executed it . . . with the Hottie’s help.

Without further ado, let me introduce to you,

Roast Lemon Chicken with Olives

Ingredients

• 1 whole happy chicken (2 1/2 – 3 lbs)
• 2 tbsps unrefined extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp paprika, preferably smoked
• 2 tsps ground cumin
• 1 tsp powdered turmeric
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 whole onion, quartered
• 4 preserved lemons
• 1 cup green olives
• 1/2 cup lemon juice

Directions

Thaw your chicken out prior to this particular cooking event. I thought that if I allowed approximately 3 full days to defrost my bird in the fridge that this would be sufficient time.  Wrong.  Of course it didn’t help that the particular refrigerator this fowl sat in partly refroze the chicken’s behind hours before I was to attempt to stuff an onion in a particularly private location of my de-feathered friend.

One more thing . . . make sure to pull out all of the “parts.”  Sometimes the butcher thinks you WANT the heart, gizzard, NECK . . . and maybe you do . . . but it makes me squeamish.  I pulled the “Oh, I still have some pregnancy hormones left in me . . . I’m going to puke . . . you do it, Hottie!”

To which he replied,

But seriously,

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Truss the chicken with cooking twine.  Truss?  Yes, that is exactly what I wondered.  Essentially brace your chicken for its impending doom.  By trussing a chicken you are helping your oven do its job – cooking your chicken evenly and helping to insure moist meat.

Little tip:  make sure to lace your chicken up BEFORE you have applied all of the fixings. (Once again . . . I struggle to follow a recipes instructions.)

• Whisk olive oil, paprika, cumin, turmeric and ginger.

• Stuff chicken with quartered onions. 

You may need to apply some force. 

Just sayin’.

 

• Brush chicken with mixture of olive oil and spices. 

• Add preserved lemons and green olives to the baking dish with 1/2 cup lemon juice.

 

• Roast the chicken, covered, at 275 degrees Fahrenheit for three hours. 
• Uncover the chicken, increase the temperature to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and continue roasting for an additional twenty to thirty minutes.

For this particular meal, we pretty much consumed all of the meat, but we saved the remaining juices, lemons, and olives and ladled it over brown rice the following day and it was luscious.

Think this looks to hard to make?  Then consider taking Jenny’s online cooking course.  Learn to cook weird like me!  The course is comprised of 12 classes where you will learn how to prepare and cook nourishing recipes that actually taste yummy and kids will eat!!!  (Mine are a hard sell and they have enjoyed almost all of Jenny’s meals!)  And the best part, you can attend class in your pajamas!