Making Whey

Making whey is so easy!

It is used in lacto-fermented beverages, vegetables, mayo... I don't even know of all the uses.

Lacto- fermentation preserves foods for long periods. The lactic acid produced from the starches and sugars in fruits and vegetables is a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying bacteria. The proliferation of lactobacilli in fermented foods enhances their digestibility and increases vitamin levels. This fermentation process has been used traditionally around the globe for many, many years. This was one of the first things that I learned to do on my real food path for healing and maintaining a healthy digestive system.

First, you need a good quality plain yogurt or you need to make your own from raw milk. Since I don't have access to local raw milk and haven't yet mail ordered any (expensive!), I purchase Brown Cow or Strauss plain yogurt.

Pour the desired amount of yogurt (1/2 a container usually produces 1/2 cup or a bit more of whey) into a lined strainer over a bowl and leave on the counter. I line my strainer with a linen towel. After a few hours you can suspend the towel over a cup or bowl without the strainer. I use a chopstick and large drinking cup. This holds 1/2 a container of yogurt easily, but would not accomodate a full quart of yogurt. I have seen others (Kelly the Kitchen Kop) hang larger amounts from a chandelier, over a bowl. Make use of what you've got!

Continue collecting the whey until it stops dripping. Sometimes I collect the whey for 12 hours and other times for longer. It really is up to you. When it stops dripping, you have collected all the available whey. Pour the collected whey into a small mason jar for storage in the fridge (about 6 months). You can also keep the yogurt "cheese" in the fridge (about 1 month) and use instead of cream cheese. I do this all the time with some added sea salt for flavor. You can also use it in dips or other recipes that call for cream cheese.

Refried Beans

There's nothing better than being able to make your own refried beans! I love it when a store bought item, like canned beans, can be eliminated. Plus the fat used in canned refried beans is unhealthy canola oil or hydrogenated lard. Fat is what makes the refried beans and by making them at home, you ensure that a healthy fat is used. We eat burritos and other Mexican dishes on a regular basis. I've made these beans almost every week now for the last month. They are easy and great to have on hand for a quick meal. I soak and cook the pinto beans on the weekend, because this takes time; 24 hours to soak and 6 hours to simmer. I'm not around during the week for the cooking time, which is why the weekend works best for me.

Ingredients

2 cups pinto beans

warm filtered water

4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed

3/4 cup of bacon fat (lard can be used, but I have bacon fat on hand)

sea salt and pepper to taste

Soak the pinto beans in warm water for 24 hours. Drain and rinse. Place in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, skim off foam, and add garlic. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 6 hours. Check occasionally and add more water to keep beans covered. Add salt and pepper to taste. Now you've got some pinto beans ready for any recipe or side dish.

To make the refried beans from the cooked pinto beans, take 4 cups of the cooked pinto beans, drained, and mash with a potato masher. Melt bacon fat in a heavy skillet on medium heat. Add mashed beans, stirring constantly, until all the fat is encorporated into the beans. Salt to taste. You can store the beans in the fridge for a week or freeze until ready to use.

The cooked pinto beans and the refried beans are great to have on hand! You can use black beans instead of pinto. Black beans are Cassidy's favorite. If you do make with black beans, add 2 Tbsp of whey or lemon juice during the soaking phase.

Things to remember about healthy dietary fat:

• Fear of fat is not grounded in scientific fact.


• Dietary fats are essential to life; they are the building blocks for cell membranes and hormones.


• Eating fat does not cause heart disease.


• Fat protects the liver from toxins and enhances the immune system.


• The more good fats that people eat the healthier they become.


• When you eat dietary fats, they do not turn into fat in the body, because they do not stimulate insulin release.


• Fat cannot be stored without the presence of insulin.

Health problems from depriving your boy of fat (The Schwarzbein Principle):

• Brittle nails


• Carbohydrate cravings


• Constipation


• Dry, limp, thinning hair


• Infertility


• Insomnia


• Loss of lean body mass with body-fat gain around the middle


• Mood disorders


• scaly, itchy skin

Homemade Mayo

I have made mayonnaise quite a few times with varying ingredients, but have found that I like the mayo best with the fewest ingredients. I have had a couple failures, so don't be discouraged if this happens. The mayo can be fixed.* Mayonnaise emulsifies best if all ingredients are at room temperature.

Ingredients

1 whole egg

2 egg yolks

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup olive oil (I use Spectrum organic extra virgin mediterranean olive oil)

1 Tbsp whey (liquid obtained from straining yogurt; optional)

Using a blender or stick blender, blend the eggs for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and sea salt. Blend for 30 seconds. Very slowly drizzle in the olive oil while blender is on. After half of the oil has been added, you should see it thickening. This is a good indicator that your mayo is emulsifying and will be a success. I have had failures due to pouring the oil too quickly or using cold ingedients.

*If your mayo fails to emulsify, you can start with a fresh room temperature egg or egg yolk and add your failed mayo slowly to this. It should emulsify.

Lastly blend in the whey and spoon into a mason jar, cover with a lid, and leave on the counter for 7 hours before refrigerating. If you do not add the whey, spoon into a mason jar, cover with a lid, and refrigerate. Without the whey, the mayo should keep for a week. With the whey, the mayo should keep for up to 30 days. I always add the whey, as we do not use mayo often enough to use up in a week. I also make homemade ranch dressing with it and need for this to last more than a week.

For a more flavorful mayo you can add the following optional ingredients with the lemon juice:

apple cider vinegar

dry mustard or dijon mustard

cane sugar

garlic powder

onion powder

If the oil you are using is old or strong in flavor, this can cause the mayo to also be strong in flavor. It is best to use the freshest oil. Taste it first. If it is agreeable to you, the mayo should be, as well. I originally used sesame oil and was not pleased with the flavor. I also tried different olive oils, before finding the Spectrum olive oil. I think this is the best I've tried yet.

Dylan's Breakfast Smoothie

Dylan is pretty routine when it comes to his breakfast. He has french toast, made with sprouted wheat bread and a farm fresh egg, and a smoothie every morning. Below is his smoothie recipe:

Dylan's Breakfast Smoothie
4 oz orange juice
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp plain yogurt
1/2 capsule nettle (about 200 mg, for his allergies)
1 capsule probiotic
1/2 banana
about 3 frozen strawberries or a couple strawberries and a few blueberries (organic)
3 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients until smooth and enjoy!

Breakfast is hearty for all of us. Ian has soaked oatmeal and a smoothie every morning. I have a fried egg and coconut flour bread or coconut flour pancakes, and occasionally a smoothie. Ian and I have a coconut milk smoothie. Recipe posted below. Cassidy is the toughest one. She doesn't wake up as quickly as the rest of us and sometimes doesn't want to eat much. Her breakfasts vary; french toast, toast and butter, cereal (ugh!), or Dylan's smoothie.

My Breakfast Smoothie
8 oz coconut milk tonic (1 can coconut milk, 1 can water, and a splash of maple syrup)
1/2 or whole banana
1 egg yolk
2-3 Tbsp plain yogurt
1 Tbsp flax seed
1/2 tsp magnesium powder
3 frozen strawberres and a few frozen blueberries
3-4 ice cubes

I increase the ingredients if both Ian and I are having a smoothie.

Bread Crumbs & Meat Loaf

I love this Alvarado Street Sprouted Sourdough bread, and I hate to throw out the heels. I would try to eat all the heels as toast, but that's a lot of toast. I started stockpiling the heels in the freezer for some use later. I had seen a recipe for French Toast Fritatta and thought I would use these for that, but never got around to it... Just last weekend, I toasted the heels in the oven and stuck them in the blender to make bread crumbs. It seems so pointless to buy bread crumbs and besides the store bought ones are a proceesed food; not from soaked or sprouted wheat. This was so easy to do. I then had to make something with them, which was the meat loaf recipe from Nourishing Traditions. I had never made meat loaf before. This is a delicious recipe! I cut the recipe in half, because I only had 1 lb of ground beef. Below is the full recipe.

Spicy Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground grass fed beef

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 carrot peeled and finely chopped

1 stalk of celery finely chopped

4 Tbsp butter

1/4 tsp dried chile flakes

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp cracked pepper

1 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

1 cup cream

1 egg

1 Tbsp fish sauce (optional - I used it since we have on hand)

4 Tbsp tomato paste

Instructions:

Saute onions, carrots and celery in butter until soft. Add chile flakes, thyme, pepper and salt and stir around. Meanwhile, soak bread crumbs in cream.

Have a 9-inch by 13-inch pyrex pan ready. Using your hands, mix meat with sauted vetables, soaked bread, egg and fish sauce. Form into a loaf and set in th pan. Ice with tomato paste. Add about 1 cup of water to the pan around the formed loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours.

Leftovers are great on sandwiches!

Coconut Flour Banana Blueberry Pancakes

I tried the original recipe for Coconut Flour Pancakes from cheeseslave.com, but wanted a bit more flavor. Below is my take on the recipe.

Coconut Flour Banana Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3 Tbsp butter melted
3 Tbsp coconut milk
1 ripe banana mashed
1 1/2 tsp cane juice sugar (maple syrup or honey)
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 Tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
blueberries, fresh or frozen

Instructions:
1. Whisk eggs, melted butter, milk, sugar, and sea salt.
2. Whisk in mashed banana.
3. Whisk in the coconut flour and baking powder.
4. Heat a 1 Tbsp of butter in a skillet on medium flame.
5. Spoon 2-3 Tbsps of batter onto skillet making pancakes 3-4 inches in diameter.
6. Cook on both sides. They brown more than regular pancakes.
7. Serve with lots of butter and real maple syprup.

I didn't need much syrup, because the bananas and bluberries make the pancakes sweet enough.

Grain Free Meal Planning

I have been researching the benefits of going grain free. I might try it for a time in the near future or just gather enough good grain free recipes that I can use as healthy alternatives. Grains can be hard to digest, especially if they are whole grain and not sprouted or soaked. I try not to eat any grains that have not been sprouted or soaked, but I don't always have time for the soaking nor do I care very much for the outcome. I tend to use sprouted wheat flour most of the time and have tried sprouted spelt, which I liked just as well as the wheat.

I am gathering as much information as I can and have been pleasantly surprised to find quite a bit on the topic from some of the regular bloggers that I follow, such as at Home, Health & Happiness: http://www.healthhomehappy.com/menu-subscriptions

The alternatives for grain flours that I am going to be trying are coconut flour and almond flour. The almond flour is more expensive than the coconut, so I'm starting with the coconut first.

The first recipe I tried was Coconut Flour Bread: http://www.cheeseslave.com/2008/11/26/coconut-flour-bread/

Initially, I did not care for it, but soon adjusted to the density, texture and taste. I found it great with cream cheese (the "cheese" that is left after draining whey from yogurt) and honey. Yum! The coconut flour had lots of fiber and the recipe calls for lots of eggs which if pastured are a great source of nutrients and protein. Just a couple little slices are very filling and nutritious. This weekend I am going to try the Coconut Flour Pancakes: http://www.cheeseslave.com/2008/10/17/coconut-flour-pancakes/. I will let you know how they are!