Sunday, June 27, 2010

Day Seven...

Well, here we are a week in and I feel great! However, I do miss bread, beer and cocktails...and the simplicity of convenience food.  I am in the kitchen a lot more; soaking grains, making recipes, being creative and resourceful!  But I am enjoying every minute.  I recently made beet soup and lamb and beef stew.  Both recipes are below:

I am really proud of Travis.  He went camping and managed to stick to the program...minus a half a cookie that apparently jumped into his mouth. His parents forced him to eat it --so he says! He is back on track today and human!  I will let him off.

Beet Soup - serves 6
6 medium beets
2 TBS butter 
1 quart of filtered water
sea salt
2 TBS finely chopped chives
Raw cream to garnish
Peel beets, chop coarsely and saute in butter very gently for 30 minutes.  Add water and bring to a boil and skim the top where foam is present.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.  Puree soup with a hand held blender or other.  Season with salt to taste and garnish with cream.

Beef and Lamb Stew - serves 6
1 lb of stew lamb meat (local, organic and grass fed)
1lb of beef stew meat (local, organic and grass fed)
32 oz of homemade stock - (chicken, meat or veggie)
Additional water if needed
10 fingerling potatoes
3 celery stalks - chopped
3 carrots - chopped
4 garlic cloves - chopped
1 medium onion - chopped
fresh oregano - about 1 TBS
fresh rosemary - about 1 TBS
raw sea salt - to taste
Place meet in a stewing pot and brown, add all of the ingredients and boil.  Simmer for 30 minutes.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Day Four...

Trav here...well I actually haven't felt super great for the last few days, stomach a little screwy...I think my body is sending me a signal..."Eat Cookies--drink beer---repeat".  Ang has been great making good dinners and lunches for me.  I couldn't get raw milk at Whole Foods in SF near my office so I'm on organic low fat for a little while, which could explain the stomach. For some motivation, I've pulled out an old book from the bookshelf called Junk Science.  It is reminding me that it is a good idea to eat like this...at the very least to establish some balance in the diet.

Day Three...

Ang here...

Soaked oats with butter and raw, whole cream for breakfast...wait a minute, what??  This is so against my "policy" and way of thinking and eating. It was so delicious and tasted so naughty.  I have lost a few pounds this week and am really surprised.  I am adding more saturated fat to my diet and just like Sally Fallon said, I am losing weight and feeling great.

I roasted the best fingerling potatoes for dinner.   I put about 10 of them in a baking dish, oven at 350, added some butter, fresh-dried rosemary and some homemade chicken broth, and cooked for an hour and a half.  I don't think I've had better potatoes.  You must try this recipe.

We are off to the Farmer's Market...to stock up on local fruit, veggies and other.  More later...

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Day Two...

Ang here...

Day two; what a day!  Sam had us up most of the night.  He must be teething.  I think I had about 4 hours of sleep last night.  I needed coffee desperately this morning.  I am so grateful for coffee and am glad we didn't give it up!

For the first time I made black beans from scratch.  I soaked them overnight and then cooked them for 4 hours in water and garlic on the stove.  They were delicious.

Jen, our supportive friend, bought us 3 re-usable veggies bags today and told us how she proud she is that we are doing this. Thank you, Jen!!  I have already used them and highly recommend them.  Reusable Produce BagsI am loving this challenge and am so very proud of us!

Monday, June 21, 2010

First Day

Trav here...

I wasn't really prepared to get started today, but we had some apricots, figs, banana and left over veggies and meat from the weekend (all local/organic).  So it wasn't too bad...the milk-free Americano I had made it a little easier.  I went on a little shopping trip to be better prepared for tomorrow, stocked up on some fruit/nuts/etc.

Ang here...

Day one done!  I was pretty satisfied.  However, I did miss bread.  I am thinking about making some tomorrow.  For dinner we had a pork shoulder that cooked in the crock-pot for 8 hours--over soaked brown rice and soaked lentils.  Life is tasty when you take the time...till tomorrow.

Why does something that should be so simple sound so hard?

What do doughnuts and beer have in common?  Those are two things my husband won't be enjoying for the next thirty days!  Since moving to Fairfax nine months ago, we have been absorbing a lot of the alternative cultures and have decided to put some of them into practice.  Basically, focusing on healthy eating and low environmental impact. I went to a local lecture put on by Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions a cookbook and guide that challenges politically correct nutrition.   This lecture really opened my eyes and got me thinking about our day-to-day food consumption and how that impacts our bodies and our community.  Our family plan is to avoid any processed and packaged foods, consume only local/organic produce and meats, and eat raw dairy (yogurt, milk and cheese) for the next 30 days.  I know half the world already does this....but for most Americans, this is a challenge.  We won't be quite as extreme as No Impact Man, but it should be pretty hard on Trav who likes to have a Friday doughnut and a trip to the pub--and me who enjoys trying new restaurants for our weekly date-night.  We've made a few small concessions; to keep honest and to not torture ourselves too much.  First, we get one cheat item, we both decided that would be coffee...meaning we can get a coffee from Peet's and not feel too guilty about it--but we will bring our own cup and of course our own raw milk!  Second, we can pull out of the bulk bins at the grocery store if it's organic and isn't processed.  Third, make as little waste as possible, but understanding that foods like milk have to some in some sort of package.  Please feel free to join us or just follow our blog.  Input is always appreciated and welcomed!!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Are You Soaking Your Grains?

There is a lot of information available today around soaking grains before consumption. There is sound research that proves many benifits to doing so. I have recently started soaking my grains and wanted to share what I have learned with you...so far!

Phytic Acid Prevents Digestion

Unfortunately, whole grains contain phytic acid in the bran of the grain which combines with key minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc and prevents their absorption in the intestinal tract. This makes it more difficult to digest properly. Soaking, fermenting, or sprouting the grain before cooking or baking will neutralize the phytic acid, releasing these nutrients for absorption. This process allows enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to not only neutralize the phytic acid, but also to break down complex starches, irritating tannins and difficult-to-digest proteins, including gluten. For many, this may lessen their sensitivity or allergic reactions to particular grains. Everyone will benefit, nevertheless, from the release of nutrients and greater ease of digestion.

How to Soak

1. The first stage of preparation is to soak the whole grain flour in an acid medium and liquid. The basic idea is to soak all the flour with the liquid ingredients and 1 Tbsp of an acid medium per cup of water called for in the recipe.

- If the substance is too dry to mix well (i.e. more flour than can mix evenly with the liquids), you can also add the liquid oil and sweetener (honey, maple syrup or agave) called for in the recipe to the mixture. This will help maintain a moist consistency that is easy to combine with the other ingredients after soaking.

- Acid mediums options include: cultured buttermilk, milk kefir, coconut kefir, water kefir, cultured yogurt, whey, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Dairy product acid mediums must be cultured!

- Make sure to use warm filtered water/liquids for soaking. Warm water is necessary for the soaking process to be effective. Warm the water/liquids until they are bath water temperature before adding to the grain/flour.

- Brown rice, buckwheat, and millet do not have as high of phytate content and thus need only be soaked for 7 hours (these are great last minute grains if you forget to soak, won’t be a big problem – also recommend purchasing brown rice pasta for this reason as well)

-All other grains (whole wheat, spelt, kamut, oats, etc) should be soaked from 12-24 hours, with oats have the highest level and best soaked for 24 hours.

2. Leave your grains soaking at room temperature on your counter. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, or with a plate to prevent it from drying out (especially in the case of a dough). After soaking, you add the remaining ingredients, if required, and proceed with recipe!

Information taken from passionatehomemaking.com


I went to see her speak last weekend and she really rocked my world. She is a nutritionist that I recently heard about and am very interested in learning more about her work and am putting some of her suggestions to the test...stay tuned for the results.
Please let me know if you have any questions!

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