Why I Take Fermented Cod Liver Oil (this will surprise you)

****Update 2-25-2016   We are no longer purchasing from Green Pasture.  Information has surfaced that the FCLO is actually toxic.  Google it....there's a ton of info.  Cheeseslave has a lot to say about it too here. Wonderful, right?!  How long did we take this?!  I am now using doTERRA's Life Long Vitality and the kids are taking doTERRA's IQ Mega.*****



My current passion has been studying Fermented Cod Liver Oil (FCLO).  Sounds fishy doesn't?  Sorry, couldn't resist.  Lol

Remember back when everyone was talking about fish oil and how you should be taking it?  Well we listened, sorta.  I just donated 1 very large bottle of our fish oil capsules to our local soup kitchen.  We took the fish oil capsules, sorta, for a while.  Then stopped.  Didn't really feel a difference so we stopped.  The reason we didn't feel a difference?  The stuff we were taking was crap.

Now that there is so much noise about FCLO I had to buy some, start taking it and start doing some heavy research on the subject.  So, here is what I found.

Why should you take FCLO?
-decreases bad cholesterol
-increases good cholesterol
-can heal cavities (When taken with butter oil.  I will go further into detail later on)
-can prevent cavities
-can prevent illness (colds, flu)
-can boost your immune system
-can decrease the healing time from a cold by at least 1/2 (I know from experience)
-give you more energy (definitely agree with this!)
-when given to young children, can prevent or decrease the future need for glasses and braces
-very nutrient dense
-great source of Vitamins A, E, K and D
-fermented (good for your gut)
-decreases inflammation
-full of omega 3's (EPA and DHA)
-can fight infections
-it has never been heated, which retains all the vitamins and nutrients available
-consistent testing occurs to insure the FCLO is mercury free
-cod are wild caught
-helps fill in the holes (if I don't eat our healthy foods at home every day I know I am still covered)
-can help with infertility issues
-if taken before you get pregnant can increase health in your baby exponentially!
-it does not taste bad at all, trust me here me and my 2 kids take the liquid form no problem.  I have heard that the fermented tastes better than the old formula which was very fishy.

Where do you want to buy your FCLO and butter oil?  Once place...Green Pasture.  And Radiant Life carries Green Pasture products for a little less money and shipping (and right now they are offering 10% off!).  Just make sure the bottle reads Green Pasture.

Why do I need to buy Fermented cod liver oil?  Why can't I just buy cod liver oil?  There is a real difference here.  Fermenting the fish and fish livers is an ancient practice.  The resulting oils were considered sacred.  "Many great cultures had one sacred food in common which they relied upon to ensure strong mind, body and spirit of their people.  The Mighty Roman Soldier consumed a daily ration of fermented fish oil.  The Stoic Scandinavian Viking kept a drum of fermenting cod livers outside he door of his home.  Even Grandma had the wisdom to keep a bottle of cod liver oil in her cupboard."(1)  
Fermenting is a natural procedure that takes months.  Cod liver oil that is not fermented and from Green Pastures has been heated to speed up the process of acquiring the end result, cod liver oil.  Heating kills and destroys the nutrients and vitamins your body needs.  So, in a nutshell but fermented, don't waste your money on cod liver oil that has been heated. 

Dosing-recommended to take first thing in the morning
Adults
1-1 1/2 tsp each day
plus
1/2 tsp butter oil each day

Kids
1/2-1 tsp each day
plus
1/2 tsp butter oil each day

The first bottles we bought from Green Pasture was their Blue Ice Arctic Mint Liquid Fermented Cod Liver Oil and their Blue Ice non-gelatin capsules.  And believe it or not but myself and my 2 kids take the liquid without a problem.  The liquid comes with a syringe.  I have the kids open their mouth, tilt their head back, stick their tongue out and I squirt the FCLO at the very back of their tongue.  Then they take a drink of raw milk.  No problem at all.  Makes me very proud of them.  Hubby didn't think he wanted to try the liquid so we got him the capsules, no prob.  :-)

I do not recommend you take the FCLO without the Butter Oil.  The butter oil helps the body absorb as much of the FCLO that your body can.  Without the butter oil, you are getting benefits from the FCLO but not like you do with it.

If you don't want to spend the money on the butter oil, make your own.  It will not be as "perfect" as the butter oil is from Green Pasture's but it will be close.

Here is how you make you own butter oil or ghee (this will be up tomorrow).  Thank you Sarah Pope at The Healthy Home Economist.

*Information gathered from the following resources...
-Sarah Pope's ebook "Get your fats straight."
-Green Pasture website
-Radiant Life website
-Wise Traditions The Cod Liver Oil Debate by Chris Masterjohn
-The Healthy Home Economist website
-And of course my own personal experience
-Even though I have not finished reading it yet, Dr. Weston A Price's book titled "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" is the foundation to all of this information.  I did find a website that was offering his book to read for free as an ebook, click here.  
(1)-Quoted from Green Pasture

For a little cod liver oil humor, click here.

And if you would like to hear the cod liver oil songs, click here. 

Keep trying to live green. :-)

Homemade Yogurt Push Pops

Seriously, I am so eager for SPRING to really get here.  I am aware that the calendar hanging on my refrigerator says that spring is here, but when I walk outside I begin to doubt my calendar.  Or maybe it is global warming, who knows?  Anyway, in my STRONG anticipation of warmer weather, I created these sweet little babies and I vowed today to stop wearing long sleeved shirts.  That is, until the predicted 12 inches of snow fall on the ground overnight.  Grrrrrrrrr.......  Then my long sleeved shirts may, just maybe, will end up over my head again.  :-)

My boys sampled the push-pops today with delight.  And trust me, they were soooo easy to make.  So, I no longer have to buy their organic yogurt sticks, I can make them.

I made two different types.  Chocolate honey and strawberry honey.

Here's what you need.....
-Whole/Full fat Organic Stonyfield plain yogurt (buy plain so you can control the sweetness level)
-Organic Fruit (frozen or fresh, pureed in bullet, blender or food processor)
-Organic chocolate syrup
-Local honey (raw that you slightly warm till liquid or local that has been warmed to the temperature below raw, ask your bee keeper for specifics)
-Push pops (I bought mine here from Amazon)

Pour desired amount of plain yogurt into a glass bowl.  Add desired amount of chocolate syrup and honey, stir well.  Pour into your clean push pop container.  Place in freezer
or
Pour desired amount of plain yogurt into a glass bowl.  Add desired amount of pureed organic strawberries and honey, stir well.  Pour into your clean push pop container.  Top with a slice of fresh strawberry.  Place in freezer.

I did not add the stick to the push pop until the yogurt was completely frozen.  This allowed for easier storage in my freezer.  When the boys wanted to try one today, we removed the push pop from the freezer, allowed it to set out for a little while and then stuck the push pop stick in the bottom of the push pop container.

Now, I will admit these were slightly more "icy" than the already made Stonyfield yogurt sticks we buy, I need to further research this to see what makes the commercial brand smoother.

Let me know when you try this recipe and what your family thought.  :-)

Making my own Sauerkraut! (super excited!)

Ever since myself and 3 of my gal pals went to the conference in Indy in September 2012 I have been very curious about the process of fermenting.  While we were there we went to a break out session that showed us the process.  It was very intriguing to me.

So, needless to say, months later, my friend Tammy and myself finally have pulled everything together that we need to start the process of fermenting.

Let's talk a little about fermentation.  Most of you think BEER!  Yes, that's fine, that is fermentation too.  This is a little different.  Most of the American, 'oh so' unhealthy food we buy off of the shelves in the grocery store (notice I said shelves, meaning those things called "food" in a box or pre-packaged) have little to no nutrition in them.  And most of the nutrition that is in them has been added back in artificially   Why, you ask?  Because the process that created that 'oh so cute' little package for you killed everything good in it.  So, you buy it.  Take it home, add boiling water to it.  And eat it.  Yes, your stomach feels full.  But every cell in your body is still SCREAMING and craving nutrients, vitamins and minerals.  Your cells think "well he or she put something in me but I am not pulling anything good out of it, what is going on here?"

So, in a nutshell, this food is dead.  DEAD FOOD.  Sound delicious?  I don't think so.

So, we need to add foods to our diet that help our bodies.  A better idea?  Start eating traditional, unprocessed foods.  But even if you are eating 100% traditional and non-processed foods, adding fermented foods to your diet is still a must.

Our body has a lot of bacteria in it.  Now, I don't mean the stuff you see growing on that piece of food you left in the back of the refrigerator for over 6 months ago that has turned black.  I mean the good bacteria that keeps everything moving and you healthy.  You know, that bacteria that is in your gut and intestines, that keeps your entire body healthy when present.

Well, when we eat that DEAD FOOD, we kill the good bacteria and cannot replenish it.  So, what do we do?  We find a food that we can incorporate into our diets that will give us some of that bacteria back (and we change the way we eat and stop eating out 6 days a week...and stop buying that processed crap that comes in boxes.  you want hamburger helper?  make it yourself.  it doesn't take any longer!  want a recipe?  let me know.)  :-)

We started with Kombucha.  Which you can read about here and here.

And me and my kids have been drinking it for months now and we LOVE it.

But now it's time to add something else.  I LOVE sauerkraut.  So, now enters my latest adventure.  :-)

Items to purchase:
1/2 gallon sized ball glass jars
Pickle-pro vegetable fermenting lid
Glass weights
Caldwell's starter culture
2 organic heads of cabbage
Sauerkraut pounder or Fermenti Artisan in Indianapolis is where I bought mine (see picture below)

Additional items:
Sharp knife
Cutting board
Timer or watch
2 tablespoons Redmon's sea salt
2 cups room temperature reverse osmosis water
Wide mouth canning rings

Then this is what you do.

Remove the 2 outside layers of cabbage from each cabbage head, throw those away and cut out the core and throw that away.  Cut up the heads of cabbage as fine as you want them.

This is how much 2 heads yielded.  This is the largest bowl in my house.

Then you dissolve 3 tablespoons of sea salt (I used Redmond's) in 2 cups of room temperature r.o. water and stir well.  

Dissolve the contents of the starter culture pouch in 1 cup of room temperature water and let the solution sit for no more than 10 minutes!!!!!  This is how the culture is activated.

      
After your 10 minutes have passed stir the solution and pour over the top of your cabbage.  Also stir the salt/water mixture and pour it over the top of the cabbage and stir like crazy!  You can use your washed hands or you can use a large spoon and mix for 10 minutes.  You want to make sure the solution and salt water are all over your cabbage in order for fermentation to be effective.

After your cabbage is covered in the salt water and culture solution begin packing the cabbage into your glass container.  Using your sauerkraut pounder to remove air bubbles and fit almost an entire head of cabbage into your 1/2 gallon glass jar.  I seriously couldn't believe how much cabbage I could fit into 1 jar!

Allow the juice to cover the cabbage, leaving a space of 1 inch of air above the juice.  Place your glass weights on top of the cabbage to keep the cabbage submerged at all times.  Place your pickle pro fermenting lid (with rubber seal on first) on top of your glass jar.  Seal it tightly with a canning ring.  Remove the top of the airlock, add reverse osmosis or filtered water to the fill line.  Replace the top of the airlock.  And voila!  The fermenting process starts immediately!!! 

I only had 2 pickle pros so I just added a plastic canning lid to the quart jar.  The only rule that is different for a regular plastic lid verses the pickle pro is that you do not tighten the regular lid until the end of fermentation, which is 10 days.

Store the glass containers at room temperature for 7 to 14 days.  This time is required for bacteria to start to grow from the starter.  

At the end of your 7-14 days (I went the full 14 days) place your glass containers in a refrigerator or a cool room for 6-8 weeks (40 degrees F or 4 degrees C).  The longer you let the sauerkraut ferment, the tastier it will be.  You can eat the sauerkraut at the end of your 14 days but I want the full flavor so we are going 6-8 weeks.  And there is a mellowing period that is achieved the longer you wait which gives you better tasting sauerkraut.  Note:  Make sure you are marking these dates on a calendar so you know when to check your sauerkraut.

At the end of the 6-8 weeks you can repack the sauerkraut in smaller containers, vacuum seal packs or freeze for long term storage.  


Now for the hardest part............ waiting.  :-)  I will post when I open and try my sauerkraut.  I can't wait!

Happy fermenting!!

*Other vegetables that can be fermented include beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips, black or daikon radish.

And I highly recommend you visit www.caldwelllbiofermentation.com which is a great website.  And I huge thank you to Fermenti Artisan for giving me my first lesson in fermenting.  

I Have a Love-Hate Relationship

I have a love-hate relationship with coffee.  I love to drink coffee.  Coffee hates me.

After I drink it I have this nauseous sensation that doesn't leave for at least half of a day.  It's one of those relationships where as I am sipping my coffee I am thoroughly enjoying every sip.  Then when I have finished the cup (or sometimes even before I have finished) I have the thought that goes a little something like this........."WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!"  Can any of you relate?  The reason??  Caffeine increases stomach acids levels.  Even decaf.

The Healthy Home Economist wrote a blog post a while ago about the effects caffeine has on us.  After I read that I was OK with the fact that coffee and I don't have a great relationship.  Even though I only drink decaf.  Decaf coffee still has enough caffeine in it to upset my stomach.  It is a GREAT article if you are a caffeine lover and even if you're not, read it here.  (P.S. Have I told you how much I love Sarah Pope, who is The Healthy Home Economist?  I do.   ;-) )

So, I found this little love....

Teeccino Maya Herbal Coffee.  It is USDA organic, naturally caffeine free and non acidic herbal coffee.  The one I bought was Chocolate Organic.  They describe it as a "velvety chocolate with a hint of heat from chilies."  They use carob, which is caffeine free.  It does have some organic cocoa in it, so it has to have a small amount of caffeine.  But my tummy can tell you, it can't be much.

I think I bought this at Whole Foods, so you can buy it here on Amazon or even at EarthFare, I would imagine.  On Amazon it is $12.38 for 1 11 oz bags or $24.00 for 3 bags, which equates to $8.00 per bag.  I think I paid somewhere around $9.00 at Whole Foods for 1 bag.  I also bought my tea infuser here, that I obviously use for coffee.  :-)  And I LOVE it!

It is delicious.  I added a little coconut sugar and raw milk to mine this morning.  And the great part for me is, when I get distracted from my hot "coffee" and I go back to it ice cold...it is still delish!  ;-)  (Hey I was proud of myself, I had 1 load of laundry done, living room and kitchen floors vacuumed and kitchen mopped by 9 a.m.  What?!?  ;-) )

And for those of you who want to detox away from you coffee addiction, this is a great substitute for you coffee.  They even make the comment on the package that says "Kick the caffeine habit in 2 weeks!  Begin brewing 3/4 coffee to 1/4 Teeccino.  Gradually decrease coffee and increase Teeccino until you are caffeine-free!"  

The side of the bag give you instructions on all the different ways to brew and what amounts you need.

Soooo.....GO GET SOME!  :-)

Here are additional coffee substitute ideas from...once again...Sarah Pope, The Healthy Home Economist.  

Aldi and Organic

I am elated to write this post!

Aldi is now carrying ORGANIC!  Today was the 1st day and of course I had to go and check it out.  I used to shop at Aldi when I first stopped working outside of the house to become a stay at home mom.  We reeeally missed my income and one effort to compensate was to shop at Aldi's.

Then after some time, we started to buy and eat organic and Aldi had nothing for me in the organic area.  So, we slowly left Aldi and went to Meijer.

Now I am thrilled to find out (Thank you Tammy!!) that Aldi has a new line called "Simply Nature."  And most of it is organic.  Still read your labels though.  Just because it says organic doesn't mean it is healthy for you and me.  And some of the Simply Nature is "natural" which DOES NOT mean organic.  Natural is just a pretty word for this still may have pesticides in it.

But as far as cheese and frozen fruit goes, Aldi's gets 2 thumbs up from me.  Here's why....

First, I could not believe that Aldi carries KerryGold.  When I can't find cheese made from raw milk KerryGold is my second in line (they also have amazing butter that I buy at Costco).  All KerryGold cheese and butter is made in Ireland from cows who are only grass fed.  Aldi carries two KerryGold cheeses.  One is 7oz of Blarney Castle for $1.99 (which is a smooth and mild Gouda) and the second is a 7oz Dubliner cheese with Irish Stout for $3.99(oh how I used to love Guinness!).  I can't wait to try both of them.  (Meijer sells a KerryGold cheddar and I believe it is $5.99 for 7oz).

Then, I still can't believe this one!  Aldi carries an 8oz block of Simply Nature Sharp Raw Milk Cheddar Cheese that is also organic for $3.49!  WHAT!?  Heaven.  And we had it for lunch today, it is delicious (kids did not care for it but I thought it was divine).  I am sure they will not complain when it is melted down for their cheese quesadillas.  :-)

On to the frozen fruit.  I usually buy my organic frozen fruit from Meijer.  Not any longer.  First, they are no longer carrying organic blueberries and second Aldi has Meijer beat hands down on price.  

Meijer sells a 10oz bag of organic frozen strawberries for $3.99.  Aldi has a 12oz bag of organic frozen strawberries for $2.39!!  Rock on!!  We use organic strawberries in our Kombucha and Christmas Jam, so this is going to save us a ton!  Aldi's organic frozen blueberries are $3.49 for 12oz.

I also splurged and bought the kids some frozen organic fruit bars for $2.69 (4 per box).  Ingredients do include organic sugar, guar gum and xanthan gum.  Fyi.  

They also carry organic yogurt (dairy has to be bought organic or don't eat it!!), pasta sauce, spaghetti, linguine, string cheese, olive oil, apple juice and chicken broth.  Comment below if you want specific prices or look at their ad online.

I also bought a jar of spaghetti sauce, chicken broth (I always have some on hand if I run out of my homemade broth) and string cheese to try.

Here is a "chart" for those of you who like charts.  :-)


                                                                                       Aldi                      Meijer
KerryGold Dubliner Cheese w/ Irish Stout 7oz              $3.99
KerryGold Blarney Castle Cheese (gouda) 7oz            $1.99
Organic Raw Sharp Cheddar 8oz                                  $3.49
Organic Frozen Strawberries                                         $2.39 (12oz)         $3.99 (10oz)
Organic Frozen Blueberries                                           $3.49
Organic Frozen Red Raspberries                                                                $3.79 (10oz)

Happy shopping!

Make It and Eat It Now Cereal

I am eating this as I type.  It was the easiest and quite possibly one of the most delicious breakfasts I have prepared, and it is raw (which means super healthy and good for you).  Got 3 minutes?  Then you can make a VERY healthy breakfast cereal for you and your family.  

Make It and Eat It Now Cereal
Organic apple (I used honeycrisp...our favorite! Any will work)
Soaked and dried almonds (can use anything here cashews, pecans anything soaked)
Organic Cinnamon
Raw milk or coconut milk (no soy...ever!)

Chop up your apple, place in a bowl.  Chop up your almonds, place in bowl.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and pour milk over the top.  Use as much or as little of the 4 ingredients you want.  And eat.  :-)  Soooooo, good!!!

Gonna admit, my 3 year old spit it out.  He is eating the other half of the apple right now, by itself, and seems quite happy though.  Lol

*Recipe from Nicholas Johnson who posted this as a comment on Just Eat Foods FaceBook page.  Don't know ya Nicholas, but a HUGE THANK YOU!!!  :-)

Honey Lemon Ginger Sore Throat Mix

Beautiful!

Well, as we all know, it's that time of year again...sore throat, cough, fever, runny nose...and of course the sharing of all of these things at school and at home.

We had "Run 1" a couple of weeks ago.  Everyone got it except for me.  (Thanks to my Kombucha, lack of sugar and new way of eating that is.  :-)  )

This is a simple, beautiful and oh so delish remedy for sore throat.  Thank you to my friend Tammy for sharing this recipe.  :-)

Honey Lemon Ginger Sore Throat Mix
Organic lemon slices (wash and dry well. slice as thin as you can) I used almost 2 whole lemons.
Organic ginger (I used 2 1 inch pieces for a pint glass jar)
Organic unheated, raw honey
Glass jar

Slice your lemons leaving the rind on the slices.  Place into a glass jar.  Use the back of a spoon to scrape the peel off of your ginger, slice your ginger with the grain (going against the grain is more difficult, but it is prettier that way).  Place ginger in glass jar with lemon slices.


Pour honey over the top of the lemons and ginger.  Use a butter knife to move lemons and ginger around so that honey covers everything.

Let sit in refrigerator for at least 2-3 days before eating/drinking.

When you feel a sore throat coming on, remove glass jar from refrigerator and place a healthy tablespoon full in a coffee cup and pour warm (NOT hot or boiling water) over the mix and stir.  Sip. 

You can store this in the refrigerator for 2-3 months (honey is a natural preservative).

Let me know what you think.  :-)

Notes:
-You will will notice the honey actually dissolves the lemons and ginger and sort of makes a  marmalade looking mix.  Pretty cool.       

-You do not want to use hot or boiling water as this will kill all the good stuff in honey.

-This would make a great gift too!

Enjoy!

*I saw this recipe here.  And my mom says this recipe has been around for years.  :-)

Soooo Good Waffles

I forgot to take a pic of it before I over half way devoured it. Lol

I am always looking for a delicious and healthy waffle.  Guess what?  I found one.  Here it is.  My kids loved them!

Waffles
1 1/4 c freshly ground spelt or homemade all purpose (half whole wheat and half barley) I used my homemade all purpose this time
Clabbered raw milk, plain organic yogurt and water or org buttermilk(I used clabbered raw)
2 free range eggs
2 tablespoons grade b maple syrup
Pinch of sea salt (Celtic or Redmonds)
Butter (Kerrygold, RAW or organic)

12-24 hours before you want to eat your waffles place the flour in a glass bowl.  Pour enough clabbered milk, stirring slowly (or organic buttermilk or a combination of plain organic yogurt and water) into the flour to just make it nice and moist.  Cover with a cheesecloth or white unbleached kitchen towel and secure with a rubber band.  Let glass bowl with wet flour set out on your countertop for 12-24 hours.

When you want to prepare your waffles, plug in your waffle maker, remove the cheesecloth from your glass bowl.  Stir in eggs, maple syrup and sea salt.  Then add enough additional clabbered milk, buttermilk or raw milk to achieve the consistency you want for waffles.  You want your waffle batter to be thicker than a pancake batter, keep in mind.

Place butter on a wooden spoon or knife and butter your waffle iron.  Pour batter into iron. My batter was way toooooo thin this morning so I had to cook mine for a loooong time.  

Keep in mind this recipe is not a "win 1st place at a beauty pageant" type of waffle recipe.  And your waffles may not come out as firm as you are used to feeling....but let me tell you, it received a blue ribbon from this judge on flavor!  :-)

And also, I am not proud that I use a teflon waffle maker, not proud at all, but it is what we have right now. :-(

**Always use the ratio of...for every 1/2 cup water use 1 tbsp yogurt when soaking grains or flour.  And ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS soak your grains and flour for 12-24 hours before eating them.

Adapted from Kitchen Stewardship An AWESOME blog!