Making Lacto-Fermented Salsa (with Recipe!)

A few days back, Amy asked us to post our lacto-fermented salsa recipe. We use the basic outline of the recipe from Nourishing Traditions and tweak it a bit based on which fresh ingredients we have available at the time. Sometimes it has more bell peppers than other times, sometimes it has cilantro, sometimes not. We have found though, that a key to making it really yummy is to dice the veggies very small, so that you get a blending of all the flavors in each bite. The following recipe is for making one quart, but the process of skinning the tomatoes dirties a lot of dishes in our opinion, so we don't bother making less than a dozen quarts at a time. (More bang for the same amount of mess, you know.) The real key to deciding how much to make is how much refrigerator space you have, because that is where the salsa will live after fermenting, not in the pantry.

4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced (you want about three cups worth)

2 small onions, finely chopped

finely chopped bell peppers of any color to taste (we use roughly 1/4 of a pepper per quart)

6-8 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and minced

1/4  bunch cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 Tablespoon sea salt (Do not skimp here! This is the key to getting the bad bacteria to not grow while waiting for the lactic acid preservation to complete!)

4 Tablespoons whey (not powdered, use only the real stuff - you know, the watery stuff that is sometimes in yogurt) [Note: if you don't have this available, use an additional 1 Tablespoon of sea salt, for a total of 2 Tbsp. per quart]

filtered water

Optional: Finely chopped hot peppers to taste. We have used jalapenos, chilies, etc. Use what you have available, and go easy until you see how the peppers react to lacto-fermenting. Some seem to get spicier.

Here's what you do:

Peel the tomatoes. (Google instructions if you have never done it before.) Chop all the veggies, then mix all veggies into a large bowl along with the lemon juice. We then fill each jar with the veggie and lemon juice mixture, leaving a full 1.5 inch headspace above the tops of the veggies. Smush the veggies down lightly with something non-metal  (your fingers, a wooden spoon, a plastic spatula, etc.). On the top of the veggie mixture, add your sea salt, whey (remember: extra salt if you don't have this), and filtered water to bring the total volume up to 1 inch below the top of your jar. (Tip: Often you will not need to add any water; the volume will already be high enough.) Cover the jar tightly and shake until the sea salt is dissolved and thouhroughly incorporated into the jar contents. Set them on the counter, and leave at room temperature for about 48 hours. When the time is up, transfer jars to cold storage(i.e. your fridge). Try them after they are cool! The flavors will blend more, and mature after more time in cold storage, but this salsa is also delicious immediately!

Now, go get some Green Mountain Gringo chips (or make your own if you are ambitious) and dig in!

Also, I just came across this other recipe for Lacto-Fermented Salsa last week.

Enjoy!

Nursing Mommas and Dietary Oils

I was asked by a friend (several weeks ago - blush) about hydrogenated oils, and why I avoid them especially when nursing. Her comments were:

Since I read your follow-up to my comment on your twins I have been researching hydrogenated oils and their effect on breast milk and our bodies. I guess this is a little new to me as I haven’t really thought or heard much about this before, but I am very glad you brought it to my attention. (I am kind of ashamed that I haven’t been awakened to it sooner as I try to be reasonably attuned to our nutritional needs, but I don’t normally do a lot of researching in this area). I intend to make some changes right away. I think it will be tough in some ways, though…I mean, we go through a LOT of peanut butter and I don’t know if it is reasonable to think that we could just start making our own since we don’t even have the equipment to do so…(what do you do? Do you have a grain mill and an attachment to make your own p-nut butter?) What do you use for cooking oils? I read here that canola, corn, and safflower oils should be avoided, so I am curious about how you do it and would appreciate your input to help me get started, when you have time. Do you use coconut oil? I purchase 50# pails of it for my soap making business, but have never once used it for cooking (although it is food grade). Do you use lard in place of shortening? Do you make your own bread, and if so, what do you use for the oil? We actually sell a lot of honey wheat bread since my oldest dd has gotten quite proficient at it, and we took it to sell at our local farm market every Saturday this summer. I’m realizing that perhaps my baby’s birth weight was noticeably lower so that I would come to learn about this nutritional concern for our family. But if you have any links to share or helpful info, esp. on how you do it. I’d love to hear it!

I kept putting off answering this until I had some time to do a little research and post links, etc., but  realize that may not happen for some time still. But it is an interesting subject to Google should you be interested, and anyone can do it (Google stuff, that is). The basic gist is that hydrogenated oils, partially hydrogenated oils and trans fats all have a deleterious effect on breastmilk - production and the actual constitution of the milk.

What I'll do instead is just answer the basic questions and share our experience.  :)

When I first started learning about oils, which ones are health-supporting and which ones are not, I could not afford to just change everything we did overnight. Firstly, I did not know how, secondly, it would cost too much and be wasteful of what we had on hand. So, like every other change we made in our diet and lifestyle, when something ran out, we replaced it with something better... never to go back except in an emergency. When the canola oil ran out, (that the media had told me was so good for us), I bought extra virgin olive oil. When the margarine was gone, I started buying real butter and have not looked back.

It was more expensive to replace the bad stuff with the good stuff, but we squeezed money from somewhere else to make it work. We purposely canceled our health insurance policy and used the money to add to our grocery budget and to learn about our health. We also changed around how we shopped by buying in huge quantities in order to save more money to put into healthier ingredients.

Now, we only use three main things as oils for cooking. I use extra virgin olive oil for anything raw like mayonnaise or salad dressings (because it is unstable when heated). I use coconut oil and butter for cooked foods. Coconut oil is very stable at high temperatures, so it is what I use for anything fried. I also use coconut oil for most things that call for shortening. Pie crusts turn out best for me with butter, though. I buy the coconut oil in 5 gallon buckets, too. With grocery prices going up so much recently, I stepped back to expeller-pressed coconut oil (a lot cheaper) instead of the virgin coconut oil that I had been buying, because it was going to overly stress my grocery budget. I purchase butter 36 pounds at a time from a local food co-op.

We do not use lard (pork fat) at all because it is not part of what YHWH has called food for us. Trust and obey... for there is no other way, right?

We make our own bread (gotta love that Zojirushi!) and use either butter or coconut oil in our bread recipe. The coconut oil seems to make the bread keep a bit longer, too.

Peanut butter is a tough one. We use it a ton, too, but I do not think I have it in me at this time to actually make it. (I have to be honest and admit that it never crossed my mind before.) Too many other irons in the fire, I guess. What we have done in the past is buy 5 pound containers of peanut butter whose only ingredients are peanuts and salt from our food co-op. That is a great plan if you really want to cut back on usage, because it does not taste as good (at least to us). A better plan that actually works out to be very close in cost is to buy Smuckers brand natural peanut butter from the grocery store. If you have a Trader Joes nearby, they also have a good price on healthy peanut butter. If the cost is still an issue, spread really thin.  :)

[EDIT: Be sure to check the comments below, where Amy tells us how she makes peanut butter from scratch with just a food processor!]

So, I hope that helps. I'd be happy to help with more questions, too, if you need!

*Kosher* Holiday Cooking With Gelatin

Thanksgiving is upon us, and we love to get together with our extended family and feast, feast, feast. It is a great time for us to get together without the tension that can be a part of celebrations with relatives that are not believers. Somehow, the thankfulness that wells up in hearts on this day breaks down walls and allows conversations that would not normally occur. We discuss our hopes and dreams, reminisce over our growing up years and talk about what the future may hold for us and our children. We list our blessings,  acknowledging that for which we are thankful.  Most importantly, we openly discuss to whom we are thankful.

We love to have our favorite recipes, passed down from the Grandmas and passed across from special friends, but since we have had a change of heart regarding Yah's Word in the last few years, some of the recipes are just not acceptable anymore. In our efforts to avoid pork (among other things that Yah does not call food), we felt led to eliminate some of our old favorites that contained pork by-products like gelatin and marshmallows. Our family agreed to exalt no euphoric recall, longing for what we left behind in Egypt, but to be thankful for what we still have. We did this for several years until one day I had an epiphany. (Hey, it can happen.)



Since the children (and the Mommy) have missed a certain congealed Jell-O salad that Grandma used to make, I was determined to discover a way to make it without having to use Jell-O (99% of gelatin produced in the U.S. is made from pork skin). I got 100% beef gelatin (available at health food stores or online - try NOW brand), and brainstormed how to get it to taste fruity. My first ideas were using fruit juice, but they just didn't have the same flavor we were used to. Then the Kool-Aid idea hit me! I would use Kool-Aid as the liquid! Eureka!

So, without further adieu, I bring you the before and after versions of Grandma's Mandarin Orange Salad...

The Before version required: 1- 6 oz. package orange Jell-O, but the new version has Kool-Aid and bulk (plain) beef gelatin substituted.

Mandarin Orange Congealed Salad

One  0.15 oz. package orange-flavored Kool-Aid (unsweetened)

1 cup sugar

1 quart cool water

2 Tablespoons bulk beef gelatin

1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

2 - 10 oz. cans mandarin oranges

6 oz. Cool Whip or real whipped cream

1 cup small curd cottage cheese

Mix package of Kool-Aid powder with 1 cup sugar and 1 quart of cold water. (Note: This is only half the amount of water called for in making Kool-Aid as a beverage.)

Take 1 cup of the Kool-Aid mixture and dissolve the gelatin into it. Let sit for five minutes.

Boil the other 3 cups of the Kool-Aid mixture, then stir it into the cold gelatin/Kool-Aid mixture until all the gelatin is completely dissolved.

Add the cream cheese to the hot gelatin mixture, stirring until the cream cheese is melted.

Chill until slightly thickened.

Drain the oranges.

Fold  Cool Whip or whipped cream, cottage cheese and drained oranges into the gelatin mixture.

Pour into 9X13" pan. Chill until set.

Serves 8-10.

Notes:

• Folks always ask , "Doesn't this taste like beef since you use beef gelatin?" No. No more than other gelatin tastes like pork. It tastes like nothing when it is plain.
• We skip the Cool Whip because I think it is yucky, and I want to save our real cream for whipped cream on the pumpkin pie! This recipe turns out equally well with or without the Cool Whip.
• Yes, it does have artificial colors, white sugar and pasteurized dairy, but for special occasions we break most of the rules. I certainly would not recommend making a habit of this recipe. But it is yummy, and it reminds us of Grandma!
• If you want to convert other gelatin recipes, the ratio to use is 1/4 oz. of gelatin will congeal 2 cups of liquid. I weighed this out, and found the 1/4 oz. to equal about two teaspoons. So, for normal gelatin recipes, 1 teaspoon of gelatin will congeal one cup of liquid. 
• It is also pretty poured into a bundt pan or gelatin mold to make a special presentation.

One more thing: I don't care about eating "kosher". Whether some rabbi declared something to be acceptable or not, matters little to me. I do care very much, however, that I am obeying my Father and staying within the confines of that which Yahweh has called food.

That is why I avoid the pork gelatin. Kosher-Schmosher.
Enjoy! And Happy Thanksgiving!

Eating Fresh On A Two-Week Grocery Plan

When folks hear that I do our grocery shopping every six to eight weeks, they are often flabbergasted.  Without exception, their first gasping question is always, "How do you have fresh produce?", as if it were the Holy Grail of feeding a family. Granted, fresh produce is very healthy for us. Even conventionally grown, non-organic, pesticide-laden produce has produced good results in scientific studies. It is what was used in all the studies showing that eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables can help reduce risks of cancer and other disease. (Remember Five-A-Day?)

While I concede that the ideal situation would be to live in the garden of Eden, or as a distant second, to have our own backyard gardens with seasonal produce ripe for the harvesting four seasons of the year, ideals are rarely reality. Having our own garden supply all our produce needs for the year is our goal, but we are not there yet, and something must be done in the mean time.

Although I am about to share my plan for how to eat fresh produce without living at the grocery store, I would like to state for the record that having fresh produce all year 'round is not an inalienable right. It is simply a blessing that we have in this country - a blessing for which I am grateful.

On to the plan. Every six to eight weeks, depending on how much is going on in life, or how much company we have had, we do our stock-up grocery shopping trip. This is where I refill the pantry and freezer with any frozen fruits and vegetables and shelf-stable items like canned goods. Once a month our health food co-op delivers our meats, grains, beans and baking supplies. That just leaves the fresh produce to pick up every two weeks, which for us, looks like Mr. Visionary making a stop on his way home from work.

We shop this way because it keeps us out of the stores more (so no impulse buying), it saves trips to town (so saving time, gas and stress) and it forces frugality (we make do with what we have on hand). It is not brilliant, it is just a fruit of planning ahead.

During the first week, we focus on the fresh produce that goes bad the fastest. This is the time to eat lettuce and bananas. During the second week, we focus on the fresh things that keep a bit longer like apples and carrots.  We rotate the produce we eat seasonally, to take advantage of what is in abundant supply and cheaper during each season. That means we rarely eat fresh tomatoes and watermelon in January (they taste yucky then anyway), but instead focus on the citrus fruits, leafy greens and root vegetables that are in season. We only have pomegranates in October and November, but enjoy them fully and often while they are in season and actually affordable. Two great books that discuss eating this way are Simply In Season and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle .

Week One Produce:

Lettuces, berries, avocados, pomegranate, bananas, peaches, tomatoes, pineapple, spinach, pears, kiwi, etc.

Week Two Produce:

Carrots, celery, potatoes, cabbage, green peppers, apples, oranges, sweet potatoes, beets, turnips, refrigerated bananas (put them in the fridge during week one- they will turn black on the outside, but still be white and fresh on the inside), leafy greens like collards and kale, and romaine lettuce usually keeps well in the second week, too.

Week two can also be supplemented with frozen fruits, since they are not blanched, and are still raw. We use frozen fruit in smoothies and mixed in our yogurt. The children also like frozen banana slices with peanut butter on top as an afternoon snack.

Both weeks we supplement with lots of lacto-fermented vegetables, which are not 'fresh', but they are raw. Each week can also be supplemented with fresh sprouts grown on your kitchen counter. Alfalfa sprouts, while popular, are not good for you, so we like to make mung bean sprouts (the kind used in oriental food a lot). My kids love these lightly sauteed in butter with a sprinkle of soy sauce. They are crunchy, yummy...and fresh.

So, that is how we do it. My goal as a Mommy Chef is to serve something fresh or raw three times a day, and this is the best way I have come up with to pull it off so far. If you have other tips, I'd love to hear them!

Yummy Homemade Toothpaste!

If you are like me and use flouride-free toothpaste without SLS and other yucky ingredients, you are likely paying a lot for toothpaste. Any of the brands we have found that meet the criteria we are looking for cost about $5.00 per tube, for a not-so-family-sized tube. (If you don't understand why someone would want toothpaste without flouride, then you may want to do some homework on your own. When I found out that Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Austria, France and The Netherlands have banned fluoride, I figured it was something worth looking into. Here are a few articles to get you started: Weston A. Price  Foundation articles and Dr. Mercola's site .)

Because I have been focused obsessed with "bringing back home" (making/creating/growing our own or even eliminating our "need") all the items that I reasonably can, and our family has been making concerted efforts to end our own consumerism, I was intrigued to find instructions for making your own toothpaste on the MOMYS digest.  The fact that it is potentially cheaper is also a bonus, although I haven't yet crunched the numbers.

Here's the recipe I used~

Mix together:

~2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil (I buy this from Mountain Rose Herbs - $121 for a 5-gallon bucket.)

~3 Tablespoons of Baking Soda

~5 drops Peppermint Essential oil

~5 drops Spearmint Essential Oil

~a pinch of Stevia powder

I have used baking soda to brush my teeth before (and felt a bit like a martyr because the taste was less-than-desirable), but this was incredible! I am so thrilled at how well it turned out! The coconut oil gives it a creamy consistency, and holds the Baking Soda together, while the Stevia and essential oils gives it a yummy flavor. (I chose to use part Spearmint instead of all Peppermint because the Spearmint doesn't have that "hot" mouth feel that Peppermint does. This is important to little people!) Note: I feel safe allowing these essential oils to be used in a situation where they could possibly be ingested because 1) the amounts are so small, and 2) both Spearmint and Peppermint essential oils are on the FDA's GRAS (generally recognized as safe) list.

It doesn't have that foamy effect that commercial toothpaste has, but I actually appreciate that - it doesn't get the bathroom sink so dirty, and it doesn't gag this pregnant woman like the foamy kind does. I was amazed at how well it turned out, but the best part was how quick it was to mix together. It literally took less than five minutes including the time it took to gather the oils from another room. Our stores change brands of toothpaste so quickly, that I couldn't have picked out toothpaste in the store as quickly as that because of reading labels. We mixed it in a tiny wide mouth half-pint canning jar, and just dip dry toothbrushes in it. Don't get grossed out... remember coconut oil is anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, so it will even keep the toothbrushes more sanitary.
This business of bringing stuff back home is so much fun!

Homemade Prenatal Vitamins

I stopped taking prenatal vitamins a few pregnancies ago because I don't really feel comfortable with singled-out vitamins (out of their naturally occurring form, i.e. "food"). I looked around for a natural supplement as well, reading lots of ingredient lists and testimonials, but I either didn't like the company well enough to buy from them, or they included ingredients I felt would be harmful, so I struck out on that front as well.

As I was researching and making my personal list of what *I* would put in a prenatal supplement, if *I* were a manufacturer, it hit me that I had access to each of the ingredients. I could just purchase the bulk ingredients and make my own capsules. Eureka! So that is exactly what I did. Now, the disclaimer is that these may not be *your* list of what to put in a prenatal supplement, or any particular expert's list, but they covered my bases.

Here is what was on my list:

Alfalfa ~ Loaded with vitamins A, D, E and K, eight digestive enzymes, and numerous trace minerals. It is particularly helpful in late pregnancy because the vitamin K it supplies promotes proper blood clotting, thereby reducing the risk of postpartum hemorrhage.

Bee Pollen ~ contains more than 96 different nutrients, including every single nutrient that is needed to sustain human life. It is made up of 40% protein, nearly all of it usable by the body without any further breakdown or metabolism. Nourishing Traditions calls it a "super food".

Beet Root Powder ~ Beet root is a good source of minerals, particularly easy-to-assimilate iron. Beet root is also helpful in the digestion of fats, gallbladder infections, digestive problems, anemia, and for toning and rebuilding the liver. Contains beta-carotene, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), phosphorus, potassium, selenium, tryptophan, vitamin C, zinc and soluble and insoluble fiber and spleen function improvement.

Bull Kelp (Nereocystis Leutkeana) ~ excellent source of vitamins A, B's (especially B12), C, D, E and K as well as essential fatty acids. High in iron and chlorophyl as well as a wealth of other minerals like potassium, sodium, calcium, iodine, magnesium, sulfur, nitrogen, zinc, boron, copper, manganese, chromium, selenium, bromine, vanadium, and nickel.

Milk Thistle Seed ~ Milk thistle extract may protect the cells of the liver by blocking the entrance of harmful toxins and helping remove these toxins from the liver cells. Shonda Parker says this is the best supportive supplement for the liver in her opinion.

Norwegian Kelp (Ascophyllum Nodosum) ~ excellent source of vitamins A, B's (especially B12), C, D, E and K as well as essential fatty acids. High in iron and chlorophyl as well as a wealth of other minerals like potassium, sodium, calcium, iodine, magnesium, sulfur, nitrogen, zinc, boron, copper, manganese, chromium, selenium, bromine, vanadium, and nickel. Kelp as a source of iodine assists in making thyroid hormones, which are necessary for maintaining normal metabolism in all cells of the body. The U.S. population in general has shown a trend of significantly decreasing iodine intake, and I take it because we do not use iodized salt.

Oatstraw ~ Calcium and magnesium rich, has silica, fiber, and trace nutrients. Also contains phosphorus and vitamins A, B1, B2 and E. Oats and oat straw help strengthen the nervous system and are considered nerve tonics. Rich in minerals, oats and oat straw also help build strong bones and teeth and strengthen capillaries and veins, and provides some support to those troubled by varicose veins and hemorrhoids.

Red Raspberry Leaf ~ tones the uterus and helps prevent miscarriage and postpartum hemorrhage from a relaxed or atonic uterus; rich in calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and vitamins B, C and E. This is the most frequently used herb for pregnancy, and has a long track record of benefit to the female organs.

Spirulina ~ Contains rich vegetable protein (60~ 63 %, 3~4 times higher than fish or beef ), multi Vitamins (Vitamin B 12 is 3~4 times higher than animal liver and is the best vegetable source of B12) and is rich in folic acid. It contains a wide range of minerals (including Iron, Potassium, Magnesium Sodium, Phosphorus, Calcium etc.), a high volume of Beta- carotene which protects cells (5 time more than carrots, 40 time more than spinach), high volumes of gamma-Linolein acid (which can reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease).


After acquiring my ingredients, I powdered them all well in my blender. (Most of them I was able to buy already in powder form.) After they were all sufficiently powdered (small enough to fit easily into a capsule without hanging out over the edges), I mixed them well in a large bowl in the amounts I had planned. Measuring by weight, I added equal parts of everything listed above, with the exception of only a quarter part of the Bull Kelp. Next I began to make them into capsules.

(Are you as tickled as I am to realize that this is something we can make at home?)

Here is a basic photo tutorial of how to make the capsules from the company from which I bought the capsule maker and the ingredients. It really is very easy, and most of my Bigs (the older children) can do it alone, without any supervision. Even the younger children can "help Mom make vitamins for the baby" - they have so much fun! I keep the already-made capsules in a bottle with a (supposedly) child-proof cap, and the rest of the herbal mixture in a tightly sealed glass jar in the freezer. I only make enough capsules for about two weeks at a time, so I can keep the rest of the ingredients as fresh as possible.

I am really impressed with how much better I feel since beginning this supplement! My midwife is also thrilled with them, and has asked me to make them in bulk and sell them to her other patients. I don't really foresee that happening anytime soon, but it encouraged me that I was on the right track, anyway. OK, another disclaimer: surely you know that I am no doctor, other than a Dr. Mom. So, do your own homework, check with your own practitioner, etc, etc, bla bla, bla before you go taking advice from some stranger (namely Me) on the internet.

I also made my own herbal tincture as an iron supplement to help with my anemia, and these are the ingredients I added to it:

Dandelion Roots & Leaves ~ Both have tons of vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, potassium, folic acid, and many trace elements. The root is a specific remedy for the liver (remember, pregnancy is very hard on the liver). The leaf is a mild diuretic, which can reduce water retention during pregnancy - but...without depleting potassium stores like most diuretics.

Nettles ~ Vitamins A, C, D and K (which will increase blood's clotting ability and increases available hemoglobin, both of which decrease the likelihood of postpartum hemorrhage), calcium, cobalt, potassium, phosphorous, protein, folic acid, zinc, copper, vitamin B complex- especially B1 and B2 and carotenoids, biochelated iron and sulphur are particularly abundant, also aids the kidneys, and eases leg cramps. The leaves and stalks also provide smaller amounts of manganese, selenium, silicon and vitamin B3 (niacin).

Yellowdock Root ~ high in iron and aids in iron assimilation. This is the herb to use if anemia is unresponsive to other measures.

I hope you have fun researching and making your own supplements! It was exciting to me to have one more thing brought back home. We are becoming a little less of consumers with each choice like this that we make, and it feels really good.

Have a happy pregnancy!

Nutrition During Pregnancy

I've been asked several times recently about nutrition and supplements for pregnancy, and have also been reviewing my own notes for my own pregnancy, so I thought I'd share here about this timely-for-me topic for my own benefit, too. I have done much research on this and had a bit of experiential data (i.e. I've been pregnant before) to back up what is covered here. However, let the record show that I am not a girl who is into re-inventing the wheel, so most of what is to follow is from another lady's blog. Since Stephanie has done all the foot-work of gathering this information I'll just post it here with her blessing. I will only add my own personal notes here and there. This post is printed out and in the pregnancy file of my Family Health Notebook, anyway. It is too good not to share.

Diet For Pregnant Mothers (developed by Stephanie in 2004 during her last pregnancy)

1. 1 tablespoon cod liver oil daily (Vitamins A &D, Omega-3s, For good brain and dental development) **Very important** make sure you do this, even if you do nothing else and the rest of your diet is awful the whole day.

[Julie here: I have on my list to ask my midwife about this at the next appointment. I always take cod liver oil too, but I have been reading so much lately about the prudence of getting your levels tested first, that I'm going to check into it. Another thing that my midwife swears by is that cod liver oil makes your amniotic sac tough as nails. No worries about water breaking in the grocery store! It turned out to be true for me, as we had a really tough time getting my water to break so I could push during this last pregnancy - my first while taking cod liver oil.]

2. At least 2 servings of high calcium (containing highly absorbable calcium salts) foods daily: 1 cup of organic whole milk/kefir, 1 cup organic whole milk yogurt, 4 oz. cheese (no lowfat or fat free, the fat in dairy products helps in the absorption of the calcium), 1 cup of steamed cultivated or wild greens eaten with butter, 1 cup herbal infusion (see below)**All these foods contain at least 400 mg. calcium salts or more**

[Julie here:
My personal opinion is that any dairy items ought to be raw milk products. This is backed up extensively by Weston A. Price Foundation, Dr. Mercola, The Makers Diet, Nourishing Traditions, etc. My midwife says her patients who have raw milk always have bigger and healthier babies, too. (Our family does not buy any pasteurized dairy products because of issues with asthma and eczema that are exacerbated by pasteurized milk.) If we don't have raw milk available, we skip milk altogether... it is that important.

We have found a great way to prepare leafy green veggies (like collards, kale, etc.) while avoiding pork. (Most Southerners don't know you can make good "greens" without ham hock, but this is delish! We add a smidge of minced onion (dry or fresh) to the cooking pot, along with a frozen block of the yummy chicken stock (with a layer of healthy fat at the top) that we have made ahead and frozen. A bit of salt and pepper and a dash of Liquid Smoke makes them so yummy that my kids vie for who gets the "pot liquor" (that's the juice left over after cooking for you non-Southerners). ]

3. Butter and Coconut oil daily (saturated fat, lauric acid and vitamins A & D...coconut oil is especially good for breastfeeding. Lauric acid is not found in many foods, but it is found in high amounts in coconut oil and it’s one of the fatty acids unique to human breastmilk…it has anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties. ) Butter all your veggies and coconut oil is really good in shakes and as a oil/shortening replacement in baked goods.

[Julie here: Another great way to get coconut oil in is to add it to hot drinks. Hot tea is good, but hot chocolate, or even coffee is a real treat - if you like flavored coffee, that is. Anytime we fry any food, it is in coconut oil, because it is quite stable at high temperatures. I feel like I have a whole new life. As a Southern girl who was raised on fried food, it has given me back a few comfort foods that are (now) actually healthy.]

4. 2 or more high omega-3 eggs daily (These have too many nutrients to count!…what better for a growing baby than for it’s mother to eating another animal’s placenta, it’s the perfect pregnancy nutritional powerhouse.) Additional egg yolks daily (all the nutrients are in the yolks), added to smoothies, salad dressings, scrambled eggs, etc. **it’s OK to eat raw eggs as long as they are organic, and preferably free range, wash the egg and don’t let the egg come in contact with the outside of the shell since that is where the salmonella is, if it is there at all**


[Julie here: One of my favorite breakfasts on a hot summer day is homemade eggnog - and Sue Gregg has a great recipe. Don't get yourself stuck in a rut of scrambled eggs for breakfast everyday, or else you may burn out on them and miss this nutritional blessing.]

5. 4 oz. of red meat daily (protein, iron, all the essential amino acids, fat) preferably organic and/or pasture raised. Beef, lamb, veal, buffalo, venison and other wild game are all excellent choices.

6. 4 ounces organic liver at least once a week **For Iron and Vitamin A**(If you have been told to avoid liver for fear of getting "too much Vitamin A," be sure to read Vitamin A Saga at www.westonaprice.org) Remember, pregnancy is an extreme Iron-hungry state…be sure to get plenty of eggs, fish, liver, red meat, green leafy veggies and herbal infusions.

[Julie here: I have not been doing the liver thing, as organic is too hard to find, and too expensive once it is found. As a woman who once fell down the steps after baby number four because of the iron-deficiency anemia, I totally agree with the iron hungry part! I have made myself a tincture with Nettles, Dandelion Root, Dandelion Leaf and Yellowdock herbs to help combat this during this pregnancy. These are all herbs with great iron-boosting abilities, and other nutrients to help the iron be absorbed better. To further help with absorption AND to cut down the yucky taste of the Yellowdock, I mix my tincture dose with a little orange juice. The vitamin C from the juice helps the iron absorb better.]

7. 12 oz. of fish weekly... particularly wild salmon, chunk light tuna, sardines, and fish eggs/roe, only fish with both scales and fins and NO bottom feeders! NO shrimp, crabs or lobsters (Omega –3s, easy to digest protein, minerals, Vitamins A & D…esp. in the fish eggs)

[Julie here: Please don't bother with farm-raised salmon or Albacore tuna, as they are both high in toxins. If you're not too fond of fish, a cool recipe you can try is the Anchovy Salad Dressing from Nourishing Traditions on leafy green salads. It includes a whole can of anchovies, but if you don't know it is in there, you can't tell. It doesn't taste "fishy".]

8. At least 1 cup. (preferably more) of dark leafy greens daily, steamed, raw or stirfry with coconut oil or in soups. **Spinach, cabbage, broccoli, kale, collards, brussel sprouts all needed to be eaten cooked as they contain certain chemicals that can harm the body if eaten raw. They contain Goitrogens that interfere with thyroid function and oxalic acid which blocks calcium absorption.** Proper thyroid functioning and calcium are both very important during pregnancy.

9. Unlimited vegetables and fruits-preferably raw, lightly steamed or cooked with meat. Esp. good ideas for pregnancy are: Pineapple, all berries, dark purple plums and prunes, dark purple grapes and raisins, bananas, broccoli, sweet potatoes, garlic, zucchini, peppers (hot and sweet)

10. Unlimited Lacto-Fermented Foods-esp. sauerkraut, fermented sweet potato, beet kvass, homemade ginger ale, and kombucha (Probiotics, trace minerals, lactic acid…all help digestion and the proper assimilation of other nutrients)

[Julie here: I have become a huge fan of Kombucha during pregnancy after learning how many B Vitamins it has. It is also a wonderful way for this girl who is not good at drinking enough to get in extra fluids. And if you don't know much about lacto-fermented veggies, do some homework now, so that when your garden is ready this summer, or the prices in the stores are way low, you can make some for yourself! They are so easy! They are so delicious! You may never go back to vinegar pickles again. After eating the yummy lactic acid fermented kind, my kids refuse the vinegary ones. And even Mr. Visionary, who won't touch vinegar with a ten-foot pole loves our homemade pickles and sauerkraut! ]

11. Unlimited Homemade Bone Broth: Chicken, Beef, Lamb, or Fish broth used in soups, stews and sauces (calcium, trace minerals, protein, gelatin, iron) I've always found a cup of hot broth to be very soothing and nourishing during early pregnancy.

[Julie here: For a girl who was raised with gravy as a beverage (OK, just about), I have no problem getting lots of good bone broth into out diet. We save bones in the freezer until it is a good time to make broth, make the broth (in the crock pot is an easy way) then freeze the broth in quart or pint containers. ]

12. Soaked/Sprouted whole grains and legumes…oatmeal, sprouted or sourdough whole grain bread, wild rice, brown rice, lentils, etc. (properly prepared whole grains contain a lot of trace minerals and B vitamins…esp. if you buy organic.) If you are watching your weight limit these to only 1-2 small servings a day.

13. Use high quality moist grey celtic sea salt to taste on food (salt is very important for baby’s development…esp. the brain, contains many trace minerals, nutrients, and natural iodine)

[Julie here: Our budget has not allowed the Celtic sea salt, but we use Real Salt from our bulk co-op. Regular old sea salt is great, too, just know that Iodized Salt from the grocery store is *not* a health-supporting food. Avoid it like the plague, as all salt is not the same - my little brother with high blood pressure has figured this out the hard way.]

14. At least 8 cups of filtered water daily. **Very important since the amniotic fluid is entirely replaced every three hours, dehydration is also one of the main causes of miscarriage** Try to drink naturally sparkling high mineral water for extra minerals, it’s great with dinner, iced with a slice of lime or lemon added, or half and half with concord grape juice (high in antioxidants).

[Julie here with a confession: I stink at getting in enough fluids. I just don't know what the hang-up is, but sometimes plain water makes me feel barfy (and yes our well water has been tested, and it is great). I also hate, hate hate, Red Raspberry tea. I don't know why I hate it so much, but I can't get it down. After finding millions of glasses that I had made and left sitting on the counter, I finally stopped trying to convince myself that "I will really drink it this time". I finally gave in and cut myself a little slack in order to get in enough fluids. I'll make some herbal tea with a smidge of sugar, or water down some juice (a lot) in order to help me drink more. Ideally, I'd rather not have the extra few calories from the sugar or juice, but it is way better than being dehydrated. Being due in the summer, I don't want to risk miscarriage for a few calories, not to mention dehydration increases Braxton Hicks contractions. ]
These are the things you should work to AVOID when you are pregnant: Trans fatty acids (e.g., hydrogenated oils), junk foods, commercial fried foods (home fried foods fried in coconut oil are fine), caffeine, sugar, white flour, soft drinks, alcohol, cigarettes and drugs (even prescription drugs).

**If you crave chocolate, it’s a sure sign of Magnesium deficiency…drink lots of beef/fish broth, herbal infusions (esp. nettles) and high mineral water as they are all excellent sources of usable magnesium.

**Try to buy Organic food where your budget permits, if you can do nothing else at least buy high omega-3 organic eggs…nothing can beat them for nutrition!


Herbs For Pregnancy (all pregnancy herbs are also good for breastfeeding)


-Red Raspberry Leaf infusion: strengthens uterus so that contractions are more productive at the time of labor and delivery, increases milk production


-Stinging Nettle infusion: an excellent nutritive tonic, esp. for iron, magnesium, calcium and vitamin K and for increasing breastmilk. Very High In Iron!

-Red Clover infusion: eases constipation, strengthens liver, and keeps breast milk rich, is also complimentary to Red Raspberry leaf (best used in a 1 to 1 ratio with red raspberry)

[Julie here: I have read a lot of sources that contraindicate Red Clover during pregnancy, so I avoid it. Please do your own homework to decide for yourself which herbs you feel comfortable taking during pregnancy or nursing.]

-Dandelion Root Tincture: supports liver function, which is very important during pregnancy since the liver has a lot of extra work to do in supporting the baby. Morning sickness is a typical sign that the liver may not be up to par, so is itchy sensitive skin (not just on the belly) and heartburn before the 3rd trimester begins.


Basic Infusion Recipe: 1 Qt. of boiling water added to 1 oz. of dried herb, allow to steep for at least 4 hours, store in fridge (taken from Wise Woman Herbal For The Childbearing Year By Susun Weed). However I usually just leave the herbs in there and strain the liquid as I drink it. 2 qt. mason jars work really well for making these infusions.

**I usually drink 1c. of red raspberry mixed with 1c. red clover infusion, and 1 cup of nettle infusion on most days (4-5 days a week)…you should drink up to 5 cups of red raspberry infusion daily from week 37 of pregnancy till delivery. I also have a pregnancy tea recipe that can be used daily, instead of drinking the infusions...which are very strong tasting and best for acute probelms. Check your local natural foods store or shop online for herbs in bulk (I buy most of mine from http://www.bulkherbstore.com/) they are usually very cheap. At my local natural food store it's only 62 cents an ounce for Red Raspberry Leaf. The Dandelion root tincture I take when I sense that my liver needs it.

Information taken from:

The Brewer Diet (www.blueribbonbaby.com)
The Weston A. Price Foundation (www.westonaprice.org)
Nourishing Traditions By Sally Fallon
Wise Woman Herbal For The Childbearing Year By Susun Weed
Dr. Joseph Mercola (http://www.mercola.com/)

[Julie here: I also have made my own pregnancy vitamins, as a supplement to my diet. I will make this a separate post, though, because I want to share what I put in them and how I made them.]

I’ve Gotta Tell *Someone*

My seven year old son is particularly adept at dragging a day's lesson of Explode-The-Code out for several hours. If I could find any verses referencing it (which, to his chagrin, there are none), I might be able to call it a spiritual gift. However, I am convinced that it is a gift to be able to randomly jump from topic to topic (forty-seven to be exact) at will while managing to make four pages of workbook phonics take two hours. He tells about his recent escapades and travels, inquires about what angels eat, and have I ever been on an African safari, shows how far his loose tooth can wiggle, queries regarding the ingredients in tar, the height of the Empire State building, how does Mrs. S get her Hot Jam hot, and what is for lunch, seemingly all in the same breath. The ease with which he seems to drag his mother along into his forty-seven random subjects causing her to temporarily forget the phonics as well is, well... nothing short of dumbfounding to me.

So, in the spirit of my seven year old's random musings, I share with you the recent happenings at our place.

Since we survived the flu, and Spring had not yet come, I decided to buckle down and try to get some projects wrapped up so I'd be free to play outside when the weather gets nice. Some of these were begun before the morning sickness began, only to be quickly shoved to the back burner during said morning sickness, then finally dragged back out and completed. In any case, what follows is not to be construed as, "Look what we did this week!" by any stretch of the imagination. It truly is a compilation of several months... and it truly is random. But I wanted to share because I'm excited, and... I have no one else to tell.



First, to update the progress on some of my sidebar goals, here is what we came up with for cloth napkins. I wanted to not have to worry about matching napkins with tablecloths and all other fancy-schmancy details that don't quite fit the casual nature of meals with seven children, so I looked for a ton of something all the same color. I had heard that lots of MOMYS use cute dishtowels for cloth napkins, so that got me to thinking outside of the box and allowed me to ditch my original plan of making napkins with my serger. (Whew!) The girls and I found off-white (who knew they came in that color?), unbleached cotton shop towels at Sam's Club, and thought they would be perfectly cute and quaint for napkins. They are not perfectly square or uniformly size (and neither are we) , but they are close enough, and the price was right. We paid about $12 for 100 towels. We love them!



Next, we had always made our own baby wipes from paper towels, but I wanted to switch over to non-disposable ones. We had heard Moms talk of using the shop towels for baby wipes, so we considered those, but I didn't like the rough texture of them for delicate bottoms, so we settled on cheap wash cloths. We picked white because I wanted to wash them in hot water with the diaper loads and be able to see if they were really getting clean or not. They have been wonderful! Not at all too thick to wipe with (which I had wondered about), and they are very quick to throw together. They also don't dull my good butcher knife like cutting the paper towel rolls for the disposable ones did. We mix about a quart of water with two tablespoons of liquid soap, mix it together, and pour on top of as many washcloths as we can squeeze into our container. (We grate a bar of TN Farmgirl's soap, and pour two cups of boiling water over it, let it dissolve, and voila! Liquid soap that lives in a squeeze bottle in the bathroom closet, ready for making wipes!)

We also switched back to cloth diapers successfully. My first three were in cloth, but when I had four in diapers at once, I was given a large quantity of disposables and I switched to disposables and never looked back. Well, until now that is. I started making homemade cloth diapers with these instructions, but haven't been totally happy with them. They are thick and absorbent, very soft (made from old T-shirts), but the weave is so thick that pins refuse to go through them without a fight. If you decide to make them, I recommend adding the Snappi-able fabric, and using Snappi straps instead of pins. I would have continued to make more anyway (and buy some Snappi straps), except that someone (Thanks Anita!) just passed on to me a large bag of nice cloth diapers, and now I am freed from one more sewing project! (Yay!)

I also made (and totally fell in love with) wool soakers - diaper covers made from felted wool sweaters. WOW and double wow! I had NO idea the things would work so well. I will not bother with pictures and details, because Holly has already covered that well, but I will tell you that I am amazed that they work so well and are so sweet and cozy. I will never go back to any other cover after trying these! I made some wool longies (long pants-type diaper covers) and regular no-legs types. The wool longies are not the least bit scratchy (if you choose well when picking out which sweaters to use) and are so, so yummy-cute sticking out from under a little girls' dress in winter. They are also quick and easy to make! This is a great thing, as I priced pre-made ones online for upwards of $50 per pair! So there are three things now marked off my Switching-Over-To-Cloth list. Cool.



These jars contain some of our herb projects. The green one on the right is Healing Salve that we learned how to make from TN Farmgirl's Medicinal Herb Course. It is green because we used extra virgin olive oil for it. We use it for boo-boos instead of antibiotic ointment (it has several herbs known for their antibacterial/antifungal qualities), and for diaper cream in place of any kind of Vitamin D ointment. It is so much fun to slowly, one-by-one replace all those petroleum-based products with something HOME MADE! Although I usually hate the way this word is overused, I have found it to be empowering... I can really do this? Yes, I really can! Things like this remind me so much of the ideas in Mary Pride's The Way Home book... another few pieces of life brought back home. It is a good feeling.

The jar on the left contains homemade lotion/cream. We mixed yummy things like coconut oil and sweet almond oil with cocoa butter, herbs great for skin care like calendula, and essential oils like lavender and lime for that invigorating aromatherapy factor. It turned out great! We found the instructions from KeriMae at A Happy Home, and it really was as simple as she made it sound. My big girls really could have made this themselves - it was that simple. If you can make mayonnaise, you can make this... it is the same process (only without the eggs).



These yummy looking morsels are not truffles, no matter how hard I tried to convince my children. But they are close. Ever wonder how to get herbs into little children? Me too. Carla Lynne encouraged me to make what she calls "Herb Balls" to help get herbs into small children easily. She told me to powder the herbs I wanted included, then mix them with honey. Then, grind nuts, dried fruit, etc, and mix it all together. Make small balls, and roll them in carob powder, and refrigerate. She did not give me an exact recipe, so I can't give you one, but, I recommend the taste test plan. I tasted the mixture as I went along to know how much of which ingredients I wanted to add. The key to getting these yummy, I found, was to really powder the herbs well, so the texture doesn't stand out. They turned out great, and the flavor improves with a few days in the fridge. Now my little children beg for "those chocolate balls" and I have no trouble getting the herbs into those little bodies.



These little babies are the beginning of our making our own herbal cough drops. We got the recipe from TN Farmgirl's blog. I am not going to link to the exact post, because I want you to have fun digging through the archives and learning about all kinds of other herbal things on your way to this recipe. I will tell you this, though. They only have two ingredients, and making them was close to as fun as a taffy pull, if you have ever done that. They taste yucky. Horehound is a bitter herb, and it only is effective when bitter, BUT, my kids actually ate them OK. They said they weren't that bad. I did not try them, as horehound is contraindicated during lactation and pregnancy!



First we made the drops, then we rolled them in corn starch to keep them from sticking together. Next we wrapped them in freezer paper squares and put them in jars. They really work well for loosening chest congestion!



So that's the happenings around here. I hope you have survived enjoyed the journey through our random musings!

P.S. My Inbox is swamped, but I hope to catch up this week, so if you're waiting to hear from me, I'm hurrying! Thanks for being patient with me!

Leftover Oatmeal Transformed

After going through the trouble of making yogurt to save a jar of whey, buying from a co-op 50 pound bags of organic oat groats, rolling it into oatmeal, soaking the grain overnight in the whey mixture, cooking it and adding organic butter and coconut oil... I can not bear to throw the stuff away. It goes against every frugal, there-are-children-starving-in-this-world and...don't-you-know-how-hard-Dad-worked-to-pay-for-it bone in my body to just toss it.

So the experiments began. I would add the oatmeal to my bread dough, but never could get it to stay light. I journeyed through adding it to homemade pancake batter, homemade biscuit dough and cookie dough. Some of those experiments were fair, but we were still searching for *just* the right use for this pale, cold and slimy bit of what could potentially be yummy-healthy goodness.



Enter Peanut Butter Bars. An old La Leche League cookbook recipe I made in ages past called for rolled oats, soaked in boiling water for a bit before adding to the recipe. I looked at the leftover oatmeal and thought,"This has been in boiling water quite a bit...let's try it." So, without further adieu, we share with you our new, tried-and-true, we'd-almost-make-extra-oatmeal-just-to-have-for-this...recipe.

Peanut Butter Bars with Leftover Oatmeal

2 cups leftover oatmeal, cold and slimy is fine

1/2 cup butter, softened (coconut oil is also yum)

1 cup sweetener...sugar, sucanat, etc....(or honey- if you half the amount, and it doesn't get the batter too moist)

1 egg

1 cup whole grain flour...wheat, spelt, etc....(Yes, these work with rice flour if you need!)(maybe a bit of extra flour if you used honey to sweeten)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/3 cup peanut butter (we like this better doubled)

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter, sweetener and eggs in a bowl. (The boys like to squoosh this with their well-washed hands.) Add oats and other ingredients; mix well. Spread into greased 9x13" baking pan. Bake at 350' for 10-15 minutes. Cool on wire rack; cut into bars. Yield 18(small) servings.

We have also served this hot, scooped into bowls with cold milk either on top or in a glass beside. It is so yummy for breakfast. The texture seems to be a bit different each time we make it, my guess is because of the varying amount of butter and sugar we add to the original oatmeal pot. It makes great snack bars, or with a few chocolate chips mixed into the batter, a very rich dessert bar for crowds. (We have found that tripling this makes two very full jelly-roll pans full.)

Enjoy!

For more frugal ideas, head over to Crystal's place for her Frugal Friday post!

Cincinatti Five-Way Chili

In honor of it being:

a) finally cold outside

b) Kitchen Day at our house (per the Large Family Logistics Plan)

c) a dish my family has been asking for,

I am posting my recipe for Cincinati Five-Way Chili. My Mother-In-Law came home from a work trip with this recipe about 12 years ago. While in Cincinati, she and friends found that the city was famous for this dish. Cincyusa.com estimates that there are 140 chili restaurants in the city, and around 70 of them are owned by the same extended Greek family. This is not the Texas version of chili con carne...this recipe was created by Athanas Kiradjieff, a Macedonian, and tastes Greek. It is served like this:

One Way: chili in a bowl with oyster crackers on the side.

Two Way: chili on a bed of spaghetti.

Three Way: chili on spaghetti with grated cheddar cheese on top.

Four Way: onions underneath cheese on top of  chili over spaghetti.

Five Way: spaghetti, chili, onions, kidney beans and grated cheese.

Cincinnati Chili

 

1 Quart water

1 pound ground beef (double ground or run through blender quickly)

2 medium onions grated in blender

4 garlic cloves

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

16 oz. tomato sauce

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes*

2 teaspoons Worcestershire

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons salt (omit if using cheap chili powder)

4 Tablespoons chili powder*

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ ounce Unsweetened Chocolate

In a Bouquet Garni:

1 large Bay leaf

5 whole allspice

5 whole cloves

 

Cook over medium to low heat until consistency is like spaghetti sauce. *You may want to go easy on the chili powder and red pepper flakes until you (especially the children) have tried it first. I can't remember how many serving this is, but I multiply it by ten making six meals for us, if that helps.

You can pick and choose which toppings to add, but most prefer not to have it just plain chili in a bowl, as it is very spicy (not hot, just rich). Some folks like to serve sour cream with it as well.

I'm anxious to see how you like it! Happy Autumn!

Tincture Time!

I promised a post on making herbal tinctures, and here it is!

Everybody's doing it. The more folks learn about natural health, and taking seriously the stewardship of their health, the more folks are learning about herbal medicine. Making your own herbal medicine is combining health stewardship and financial stewardship. Even Martha (who surely doesn't view stewardship from a biblical worldview) is doing it. (As much as Mr. Visionary 'respects' Martha Stewart, if he sees this, I'll have to break out my ginger tincture to help settle his stomach. "You put a link to who???")

Most of the time, when I need herbal medicine for my family, I choose alcohol tinctures for several reasons. First, they make the chemical constituents of the herbs easier for our bodies to assimilate. (Just like you wouldn't eat nails if you wanted to increase your iron levels. It just doesn't work.) It is the same with herbs. Not all the good stuff in the herbs can be extracted through digestion. Second, alcohol is the strongest solvent that can extract a major portion of the plant constituents without harming its properties. Also, they are easy to make (read that: not labor intensive), keep forever (about five years when stored properly), and they don't take up tons of space (compare a cough syrup bottle for the tincture to a bag of cotton candy for the bulk dry herb).

You can make tinctures with a different menstruum (the liquid medium) such as vinegar or glycerine, but the alcohol medium makes the tincture stronger. Also, Mr. Visionary wouldn't get near anything made with vinegar and the glycerine method is much more involved.

How you make them is actually very simple. Powder the herb, add alcohol, and let it sit a while. Then take the alcohol back out, and it is a tincture. The timing and measurements are the only parts that are slightly more complicated.

I buy my herbs in bulk in the largest form possible (i.e. sticks or pieces of root herbs, whole leaves or flowers of herbs, etc.), then powder them myself in the blender. This is because the chemical constituents last longer in a whole form rather than a powdered form.  If you do not have strong blender, then it is perfctly fine to buy your herbs already powdered, just make sure they are fresh.

Here is how we recently made an Elderberry tinture and then turned it into syrup (you'll flip when you see how easy it is):

Step One: Gather supplies. We use 100 proof alcohol (v*dka is said to have very little taste) because it has the exact 50/50 ratio of water to alcohol that you need for your menstruum. (Some of the plant constituents need water to extract and some need alcohol, and the ratio matters.) The proportions of herb, alcohol and water we use will make a standardized extract that will have a specific amount of that herb's healing ingredients. This makes following dosage guidelines more accurate, and you know that when you make the same tincture the next time, it will have the same strength.

Step Two: Measure ingredients. For soft herbs like Elderberries (they are a little harder than raisins) you will need to blend the herb and v*dka at the same time without powdering the herb first. (You will need 1/4 pound of dried herb for 16 ounces of alcohol to make a standardized tincture.) Here are some very good directions for making a tincture with instructions for figuring out your measurements.

Step Three: Blend Well. Blend the herb and alcohol until thoroughly combined. It will be thick and the berries should be as completely dissolved as your blender can get them. (Just a side note: this can also be done with a simple mortar and pestle...you don't have to have a spectacular blender, it just saves time.)

When you use hard dried herbs (like this echinacea) it works best to powder the herb in the blender before you add the alcohol (at least that is what we've found).

Step Four: Macerate (or soak). Now, pour the mixture into a jar with tight-fitting lid and stick it in a cabinet or pantry (somewhere in the dark). Even though it has to sit for two weeks (at least) you will want it some place easily accessible (and easy to remember) because it needs to be shaken every day. Shake it every day to get it well mixed (the herb will settle to the bottom of the jar). While it needs at least two weeks, the longer it sits, the better it will be. Some (especially Asian herbalists) believe it is better to leave them to macerate for 6 weeks or longer. However, I have read that after six months, the alcohol will no longer extract constituents from the herb.

Step Five: Strain the liquid (two weeks later). You need something to help you strain all that smushed-up herb back out of the mixture. We use a metal mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth (wet the cheesecloth first). Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth lined strainer, and let as much liquid as you can strain through on its own. Do small amounts at a time. Then, gather up the cheesecloth and gently squeeze the remaining liquid out of the herb mixure. Be careful not to squeeze too hard or you will burst the cheesecloth and have to start all over. However, get as much liquid as you can squeezed out, as this is the richest part of your tincture, and you don't want to waste any.

Step Six: Bottle and store your tincture. Now your tincture is complete, and you can bottle it for future use. It will keep best if stored in dark jars (blue or amber).  Make sure you label your jars!

Now, for how to make the syrup:

I learned that I can mix equal parts of an herbal tincture with either honey or maple syrup to make a simple syrup. I chose not to use honey in case I ever needed to give some to the baby.  So, I mixed equal parts of my elderberry tincture and real maple syrup. When using this syrup, I double the standard dosage. Typically, during an illness, I keep the sick person far away from any sugar. Shonda Parker (author of Mommy Diagnostics) taught me that any sugar (even healthy natural sugars like juice, sucanat or honey, etc.) decreases immune function for up to four hours after ingestion. But since we use Elderberry syrup primarily for prevention, and since the dosage is so small (for children: 30 drops or ~1 teaspoon per day) I determined that it was a small price to pay for the ease of getting herbs into my children. You see, this stuff tastes like candy-it is delicious! My children call it blueberry juice'.

 

'Blueberry juice' recipe: equal parts elderberry tincture and maple syrup. Store in the refrigerator.

There are tons of sites online that give more information about making herbal medicine, and I have learned some there. Some sites I use when researching herbs are:

this one for learning about the usage of certain herbs,

this one for learning how to make different forms of herbal products,

 and this one for buying herbs and essential oils in bulk.

Several books that have taught me a lot are:

Mommy Diagnostics by Shonda Parker

Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Harrod Buhner

The Complete Woman's Herbal by Anne McIntyre.

 

Have fun making your own medicine. (Although I hope you won't be needing it!)

Redeeming Lunch

Nesting seems to be covering many aspects of the daily workings of our home these days. I've been painting, cleaning, ditching stuff, and reworking systems to be more automated. Reinventing the wheel on a daily basis is not as efficient for me as reading a previously thought-out list of ideas. Read that: I don't think well on my feet. I've been working on grocery lists, chore lists, stuff-to-pack-in-the-diaper-bag lists, and any other list that will help me (and the kiddos) keep ourselves in order even when life is crazy.

The ladies at the old Choosing Home (edit: this site is no longer in existence) have inspired me to work on a What-To-Have-For-Lunch list. Whenever possible, we have leftovers from dinner the night before, or Live It Up Lunch, but in the absence of leftovers, I am sharing some of the ideas from our list.



First, some of the ideas for the days when there are "some" leftovers, but not enough to just have that alone.

~Soup: Ok, kind of a no-brainer, and not all that interesting in August, but it really works for January. We mix different veggies and meats together, and usually fill in the rest with milk. A tip I learned from Joy of Cooking, is to not mix too many types of leftovers together. Pick a theme and go with that: Mexican (corn, tomatoes, beans), Italian (pasta, tomatoes, spinach, white beans), oriental (rice, brocolli, peanut butter). We serve soup with bread, leftover muffins, or pancakes.

~Open-faced sandwiches: leftover casserole, soup, Sloppy Joes, meat and gravy, etc on top of toast.

~Omelet: a few veggies and some chopped meat make fun omelets. When we have tons of time, we make individual "real" omelets. When we are short on time, we mix all the ingredients together into scrambled eggs.

~Salad: Dad prefers Plain Jane type salads, so when he's not here, we can be a little zany with our salads. Into a base of lettuce or spinach, we toss in leftover meat, cheese, boiled eggs, weird veggies that you wouldn't find on a salad bar (corn, green beans), nuts, bread cubes , etc.

When we are starting from scratch without leftovers, here are some of our usual (and unusual) ideas:

~Cheese fondue: Shredded cheese, some milk, maybe a smidge of your favorite herb, melted together. For dippers, use bread (fresh or stale), raw veggies cut up, fresh fruit cut up (apples in cheddar fondue is awesome), crackers, etc.

~Yogurt bar: we always have plain yogurt around , so we serve bowls of yogurt, so folks can doctor it up themselves. We add pineapple, apples, orange slices, berries, jam, shredded carrots, a bit of ginger, etc. for a sweet version. Some folks eat it straight from the bowl, others wrap it in a tortilla, or serve it on leftover pancakes.

~Tuna/chicken/roast beef salad: we stretch the meat by adding shredded carrots or shredded apples to the mix. (Shredded apples is especially good with tuna.) We eat this plain, or with crackers, on celery , scooped up with carrot sticks, in a tortilla, or the "normal" way: on bread.

~Eggs: Boiled eggs with veggies on the side, egg salad (plain, on bread, in scooped out tomatoes, etc.), fried or scrambled. Quiche is also pretty quick to throw together. Leftovers mixed in the batter, or just some salsa and cheese are yum. We just use a ratio of 1/4 cup milk for every egg, then bake it at 375' until set in the middle.

~Baked potato bar: This only works if I think of it early enough in the day, since they take an hour to bake. We top potatoes with leftover or canned chili, always cheese, veggies, yogurt or sour cream, green onions, etc. The kids love making their own crazy toppings.

~"Heidi Lunch": This is one of my kids favorites-literally a slab of cheese, and a thick slice of homemade bread. Butter the bread, and serve with lacto-fermented pickles. Add an apple, and lunch is done.

~"Beanie Weenies": This is one of my emergency lunches for a brain-dead-with-no-leftovers day. Saute chopped hotdogs with some onion, green pepper, and add canned beans. Add to taste: ketchup, mustard, mollasses, garlic.
~Mongolian Grill: The kids get ready their own stir-fry ingredients, then I saute each one individually. It is really quicker than it sounds-remember stir-fry is a quick-cooking method. We serve it over rice. When we are pressed for time, we mix everyone's ingredients (that they picked out and got ready) together and saute all at once.


~Bean Burritos: Another emergency food I keep on hand is canned refried beans. The kids can add whatever they want to these: cheese, veggies, salsa, etc. They also sometimes like them cold.


We prefer to eat whatever we're in the mood for, but since that doesn't always work (i.e. life is crazy, someone is melting down, there is a newborn in the house), I have adopted Kim's plan from Large Family Logistics (scroll down sidebar for "Lunch Plans"). We have a menu set up for those less-than-perfect days, then, when things are going smoothly, we can eat a little more intuitively.



Also, when things are going smoothly, or more importantly when they are not, and we need something refreshing to change the direction of the day, we throw something easy into a basket and head out to the yard. This doesn't have to be involved-just think Heidi lunch: toss in a loaf of bread, a block of cheese, some apples, and a jug of water. When the weather is yucky, I'll let the kids eat under the kitchen table, pretending they're camping for a change of pace.







Two birds, one stone: another quick note about our lunches is that we do Science during lunch. No, no, no... not because we pull out the green hairy stuff from the fridge during lunch. We listen to science audio tapes during lunch. Currently we are enjoying the Jonathan Park creation science radio shows. They are a little hokey for the mommy's taste, but the scientific stuff is awesome! The fringe benefit is that lunch has to be eaten by the time the tape is done (thirty minutes), so we don't hang out too long and blow naptime.

Priorities, you know.

Loaves, Fishes and New Pants

It is a fact. Life is not predictable.  The weather doesn't always do what I would like, nor does the IRS. Diapers flood on the way out the door, and children don't always grow at the rate I expect. Growth spurts happen typically when I least expect them. The first evidence of their arrival is an increase (sometimes exponential) of a child's appetite. 

Likewise folks sometimes come over without warning. And they are usually hungry. In the South, where I have been raised, it is downright rude not to feed folks when they show up. It matters not that they have been discourteous in arriving hungry without an invitation. A good Southern woman feeds everyone in her path.

Adding these factors into the equation, it becomes necessary for a homemaker to have a backup plan. I can get over the house not being "just so" after a few minutes of visiting, but I can't make food appear out of thin air. Those times when there isn't enough prepared food to meet the apparent need,  creativity is earnestly needed. In our home this creativity is actually a learned skill. We call it Loaves And Fishes-making the available food feed the present mouths (or appetites). 

While understanding the difference between mincing and dicing, frying and sauteing, boiling and braising are all important, they are skills not used nearly as often as Loaves And Fishes. In our home, Loaves And Fishes is viewed as the single most important kitchen skill to learn before leaving home.

We know not what a day may bring. Where we will live, what types of food may be available, and our budget are all variables that we cannot presume. But an understanding of how to make food stretch can always be useful.

There have been times when I have dumped the contents of a casserole back into a bowl and added more vegetables and sauce. Still not enough casserole? Serve it over rice. For a pasta meal, more pasta can be quickly prepared. Bread is a great filler of bellies-especially homemade. More lettuce can be tossed in to a salad, along with other miscellaneous refrigerator items. A few lonely boiled eggs? Throw them in. Stale bread? Make croutons and throw them in.  Everyone knows that soup is great for using up small bits of leftovers, but what about quiche? Quiche is a great user-of-leftovers. We toss in bits of meat, small amounts of vegetables, some cheese, and pour on top a mixture of one egg for every quarter cup of milk. It doesn't even need crust-just throw it in the oven and bake at 375' until set in the middle.

Truly, the method is not as important as the mindset. Feeding hungry folks is very rewarding. Just remember that good company makes the food taste great. So, the next time you have an unexpected blessing of company, think Loaves And Fishes.

The next time your twelve servings don't make it past your eight year-old son, think Loaves And Fishes...

...and be ready to buy him some new pants.