Crystal going traditional

Eat Fat Lose Fat

2009-08-16T12:31:00.003-04:00

Like most Americans, I want to lose weight, so I picked up the book, Eat Fat, Lose Fat. This book is by the same authors as Nourishing Traditions, and uses the principles of Traditional Cooking to help you lose weight. The book uses a lot of coconut products, because of the health and possible metabolism raising powers of Lauric Acid, which is the main Acid in Coconut oil. You start off on a 2500 calorie a day plan for 2 weeks, and if you don't lose any weight in the first 2 weeks, you go down to 2000 calories a day. You take a 1-2 Tablespoons of Coconut oil 20 minutes prior to eating, which is supposed to help you feel full faster and longer, and only eat 3 meals a day, no snacks.

I started today with Phase 1, the 2500 cal/day plan. I have eaten breakfast and lunch according to the plan. So far the food has been pretty good, I feel a little bit hungry, but not starving by any means. My only complaint so far is the expense of the food, I'm hoping it gets a little better now that I have purchased a few things like spices and oils that are expensive but last a long time. I hope to keep on the plan for the full 2 weeks, and see how things go.

Don't throw that away!

2009-08-11T13:46:00.002-04:00

I am hanging out with Little Man, while Bug naps, and watching Barefoot Contessa. Ina is making cucumber salad, and she has drained the "water" off of her yogurt and then instructs us to "toss it, because we don't need it" Don't throw that away! Its whey, and is wonderfully valuable for soaking grains and rice, and making lacto-fermented vegetables and condiments.

Creamy Cucumber Salad- Barefoot Contessa

SERVES 8

Ingredients

4-5 hothouse cucumbers, thinly sliced (4 pounds)
2 small red onions, thinly sliced in half rounds
kosher salt
4 cups plain yogurt
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/2 cup minced fresh dill
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Mix the cucumbers, red onions, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt in a bowl. Pour them into a colander and suspend it over a bowl. Wrap the bowl and colander with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to drain for at least 4 hours or overnight. Discard the liquid that collects in the bowl.
Pour the yogurt into a sieve lined with a paper towel and suspend it over another bowl. Wrap the bowl and sieve in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Discard the liquid that collects in the second bowl.
When the cucumbers are ready, roll them up in paper towels or a kitchen towel and press the towel lightly to remove most of the liquid. Place the cucumbers and yogurt in a large bowl with the sour cream, vinegar, dill, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper. Toss well and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and serve chilled.

On a rainy day

2009-08-10T08:41:00.002-04:00

There is nothing like a fresh baked loaf of bread and homemade soup. Since I made up my dough yesterday, the bread part was easy. I cut off a piece, shaped it and let it rest. Then I had to find a soup recipe that I could make with ingredients we had on hand, which was no easy task since we just got back from vacation. I knew I had seen a cream of vegetable soup in one of my books that I wanted to try, but I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, so I improvised and came up with:

Potato Carrot soup:

1/4 cup butter
1 cup carrots, chopped
3 baking potatoes, cut in to pieces (leave skins on, that is where most of the nutrition is)
6 cups chicken broth (I think it needed a little milk to make it more creamy, next time I want to try 3 cups milk, 3 cups broth)
a few sprigs of tarragon or thyme
8 oz. sour cream

Melt the butter over low heat and cook the carrots in the butter until soft, about 30 minutes (if you like onion, you can chop up an onion and cook it with the carrots), add potatoes and broth (or milk) and turn up the heat to high and bring to a rapid boil, skim the foam off the top, add your sprigs of fresh herbs, put the lid on the pot and lower the heat to low. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the herb sprigs and blend soup with an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender. Stir sour cream in off of the heat and serve with grated cheddar cheese to taste.

In true Crystal side-trackism

2009-08-08T19:30:00.003-04:00

Is that a word? It is now. I don't know if its ADD or Mommy brain, but I can't just do one thing at a time. Both kids were content, so I decided to throw together some bread dough (more on that in a little bit) Well, I couldn't find the measuring cup to measure the water, so I checked the dishwasher, the dishes in the dishwasher were clean, so I started putting them away. While I was putting away dishes, I noticed that I had left a cast iron skillet dirty after melting butter in it, so I turned on the burner, to melt the butter so I could clean it. I found my measuring cup and stuck my water in the microwave to heat it up, finished unloading the dishwasher, and started loading it again, notice my skillet is smoking, so take care of that, and back to loading the dishwasher. By that time my kids had found me and Little man was trying to climb in the dishwasher as usual, and Bug was trying to be a little mama and "help" as much as a 2 year old can help. So here I am writing this post, and my bread is still just some water in the measuring cup

More about the bread. I found this bread recipe on a forum that I frequent, and I was intrigued. Its kind of a cheater sourdough, but requires very little effort and the outcome is Amazing. I made it once with unbleached flour, and this time around I'm going to make do a combo of whole wheat and unbleached. Since the dough sits for awhile I think it should be enough to neutralize the phytic acid. The scientist in me would love to do a study to see if and how long this type of dough needs, but for now I'm just going to worry about actually getting the ingredients in the bowl and making the dough

Kutztown Folk Festival

2009-07-17T13:14:00.003-04:00

On Friday July 3rd we went the Kutztown Folf Festival. I was really excited to go the festival and see all of the demonstrations and have a nice celebrating our PA Dutch heritage. Well between all the vendors, two small children, and a huge crowd, we didn't get to see very much, but we had a great time, and next year we go during the week to avoid crowds

A little about the Festival
" Nine days of wholesome family fun with a distinctive Pennsylvania Dutch flavor awaits visitors at the Kutztown Folk Festival June 27 – July 5, 2009 at the Kutztown Fairgrounds.

Now in its 60^th year, the Kutztown Folk Festival is the oldest, continuing folklife festival in America. It is one of the largest too, and in 2008 drew well over 135,000 visitors. In addition, it is one of the most celebrated festivals in the nation. Among many honors, the festival has been twice selected as one of America’s Top 100 events by the American Bus Association, and was named by the Washington Post as one of three “must see” festivals in the region.

“There is so much to do at the 2009 Festival. There is literally something for everyone, including our famous folklore programs, the huge quilt show, folk art and crafts, music, dancing and entertainment running continuously on six stages, an expanded program of children’s activities and, of course, the best Pennsylvania Dutch food anywhere,” according to Festival Executive Director Dave Fooks. "

I, of course, had to stop and watch the glass-blowing demonstration. I really want to learn how to blow glass.

Then we took Bug to watch a puppet show

and of course we visited the petting zoo

Bug shows off her handmade bonnet

Daddy took her to get some food for the animals

Little Man wanted to pet some animals, too.

Falling Off the Wagon

2009-07-08T13:22:00.004-04:00

Its been busy in our house lately and it been hot, and I've been returning to my dear processed foods for quick and easy meals. I'm horrible at planning in advance, and remembering to soak my grains, beans, and rice. We've also been eating out too much again. I have some plans as to how I'm going to get back into the routine and soon we are going to getting raw milk. We found a dairy nearby, and I hope to visit there tomorrow. I also found a new method for bread, that I want to try out.
I thoroughly enjoyed having fresh baked bread all week. The recipe made 3 loaves, and we gave one to our neighbor. With the rest I made cinnamon toast for breakfast, we had some slices with our meals, and I made all time favorite breakfast, eggs in a basket. Delicious, and so much better on home baked bread.
For those of you that don't know how to make an egg in a basket, its simple. First you preheat your pan, non-stick or cast iron, whatever floats your fancy to medium-high. I use a non-stick for now, but have a cast-iron pan that needs some TLC, but that's another post. While your pan is preheating, take a slice of bread and cut a circle in the center. My dad always used a shot glass, but baby bottles are a good diameter as well. Melt a chunk of butter in the pan, about a half tablespoon. Place the piece of bread and circle cut out in the pan. Crack an egg in the center of the piece of bread. Cook until the white starts to get opaque and flip, and cook just until brown. Serve with the toasted circle of bread for dipping. My dad used to take a 2nd piece of bread and make more circles, so I would have extra dipping toast. Yum
The last 1/4 or so of the last loaf was getting hard, so I made croutons out of that. I slice the bread into half inch cubes, and tossed with olive oil until just coated, and added some garlic seasoning mix, then baked at 425 for about 15 minutes, giving them a toss every 5 minutes.

Nothing beats the smell of homemade bread baking

2009-06-29T09:11:00.002-04:00

I'm so amazed at how my sourdough turned out. I was really nervous about the whole process. How can you put flour and water in a bowl and have it turn into the base for a loaf of bread. By day 5 of the process, it started to smell like bread dough, and I was getting excited. Yesterday I took the sourdough starter and followed the recipe for Cheater sourdough bread from Nourishing Traditions. It needs to rise longer than regular bread, so it was 930 until it finally got in the oven, and 1030 until we got our first taste. There is nothing like warm bread straight from the oven, still warm enough for the butter to melt on it. There are few things that I will tweak when I make it again, but it really wasn't that difficult. The bread was moist and cake-y, so I don't think I kneaded it enough, and I could have added more water while making the starter. The directions in the book are kind of vague. She just says to add water until the consistency is soupy. All in all I'm pretty proud of my first attempt at real sourdough bread. Bug and I had cinnamon toast with it this morning. Yum!

Falafel (fried green mess), Sourdough Status, and Ginger Carrots

2009-06-26T11:21:00.004-04:00

I loooooooove Mediterranean food, so of course one of the first recipes I wanted to try out of Nourishing Traditions was Falafel. They tasted wonderful, but it was just one disaster in my kitchen after another. The recipe recommends dividing the recipe in fourths and processing 1/4 at a time in the food processor. Well I have a nifty Quad Blade food processor, so I decided to dump it all in and give it a go. The lid to the Quad Blade broke the first time I tried to use it, so my husband has to jury rig it to get it to work, no big deal. So I get it all chopped up and put it in the fridge for an hour to set up. Then the trouble begins. Last night was just a bad night for me in the kitchen. The falafel was crumbling as I tried to fry them, I burnt my fingers getting them out of the oil, I cut my finger slicing cucumbers, and the food processor died while I was trying to make sauce. They tasted good, though, which is all that matters. Bug, refused to eat it, but little man couldn't get it in fast enough.

As for my sourdough. I thought I'd update you all on how this is going. I started it last Sunday, and it takes 7 days. At first it smelled like a wet field, but now it has a distinct sourdough smell to it. The book calls it a "wine-like aroma" It does sort of resemble wine. I was really nervous about how this was going to turn out, but now I'm optomistic. I'll post more on Sunday after I bake it.

Last Sunday I also started lacto-fermented Ginger Carrots. They were finished on Wednesday. When I first tasted them they were very sour, but they mellowed out quite a bit after going in the fridge. You are supposed to eat lacto-fermented vegetables as a condiment, so this jar is going to last forever.

White Pizza

2009-06-24T12:50:00.001-04:00

This is my recipe for White Pizza. We eat White Pizza in our house because Little man is sensitive to tomatoes and garlic. This recipe is easy peasy, and is a fall-back when we don't have anything planned.
Ingredients:
Prepared Pizza Crust (see note)
1 cup Ricotta Cheese (I'm going to try it with Yogurt cream cheese to see how it gets, but I usually use Ricotta)
Fresh Spinach ( I don't measure, just heap as much on top as I can, maybe 2 cups)
Whatever other toppings you like, I like artichoke hearts and black olives.
1-2 cups fresh mozzarella cheese shredded

Spread the Ricotta chese on the prepared pizza crust, then pile spinach on top and sprinkle with the rest of the toppings, and finish with the mozzarella cheese and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350. I bake directly on the rack, but you can use a pizza stone if you have one.

Note: I've been using a boboli pizza crust, They have a whole wheat option but I haven't checked the ingredients on it. Eventually I would like to make my own pizza dough. If you make your own dough, Shape your dough into a 14" circle and bake for about 8 minutes until the crust is just lightly golden. Then proceed with the above directions.

An interesting note about spinach - Spinach contains Oxalic Acid, which can prevent calcium absorbtion, but Oxalic Acid is neutralized during cooking. Don't let this keep you from eating Spinach, just eat it cooked rather than raw. Spinach has many nutrients, and is easily obtained, it should be a staple in our diet

Food Allergies

2009-06-23T09:49:00.000-04:00

I first stumbled upon the concept of traditional eating when our Doctor suggested that I avoid milk to see if helped Bug, who was refusing to nurse. Apparently the proteins in dairy products are very hard to digest and they can be irritating to immature digestive systems. I found that raw milk has enzymes in it to help break down these proteins. I decided to avoid milk all together at that time, and Bug seemed to do better once I finally got it all out my system.
All was well, so we thought until I let her chew on a whole apple at 11 months. Within a few hours her face was bright red. We were perplexed as she had been eating apple products since 6 months with no problems. So we stopped feeding her apples but the rash didn't go away. The next thing we eliminated was her latex pacifiers and finally someone told us that banana allergies and apple allergies were sometimes related. So we eliminated bananas, and the rash went away, and she started sleeping through the night!
Around 20 months she had another reaction, this time to soy, and our family doctor did some muscle testing to see what her allergies actually were. Her list was Dairy, Soy, Peanuts, Bananas, Apples, Apricots, Pineapple, Latex and Tomato. She recently outgrew the Dairy allergy, but all of the others remain.
I believe avoidance is the best course of action for food allergies. We were blessed that none of her allergies reactions were severe, but we every time she had something from her list she would be up in the middle of the night. The wonderful thing about a traditional diet is allergens can be easily avoided. Nourishing Traditions discourages the use of Soy unless it is naturally fermented, so and ingredient that is hard to avoid in a modern diet is very easily omitted from a traditional diet. While, whey protein from dairy products is used for soaking grains, and legumes, this can be replaced by lemon juice or vinegar yielding the same results.

For sources of raw milk in your area check out Real Milk

Salmon and Rice

2009-06-22T18:50:00.001-04:00

Dinner tonight was Baked Salmon, Rice, and steamed carrots. I soaked the rice for 7 hours in water and whey, and dumped it into my rice maker because I destroy brown rice when I try and cook it. The recipe also called for some butter and salt. It was the most tender brown rice I have ever had. That recipe is definitely a keeper. I was thrilled to find wild caught salmon at Aldi's for 6.49! It came from China, which I am not thrilled with, but I'm pretty sure, wild is always better than farm, no mater where it comes from. The salmon was just baked in the oven with lemon and butter, and I made up a quick lemon butter dill sauce for it. I definately can get used to eating like this.
Before we went about the rest of the evening, I transfered my sourdough in the making to a new bowl and added some flour and water to it. I'm skeptical as to how this is going to turn out. Right now it smells like a wet field, but it has 6 more days to work its magic so we shall see. I also started soaking some more oatmeal for breakfast tomorrow. I used lemon juice this time instead of whey, so I'm excited to see how it turns out.

First Day

2009-06-22T14:51:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I prepared by starting my Sourdough, making Yogurt Cream Cheese, and collecting the whey for soaking, and making Ginger carrots. I also soaked some steel cut oatmeal in water and whey overnight. All of the recipes can be found in Nourishing Traditions (NT).
This morning I heated up the oatmeal that I prepared last night. I was pleasant surprised to find that it smelled wonderful, I was expecting it to smell sour like yogurt. It didn't taste much different than conventionally prepared yogurt, although I am not used to the texture of steel cut oats. Bug must have liked it because she kept asking for more and ate almost half my bowl, and she had already eaten her breakfast. After breakfast I started soaking some brown rice for dinner tonight in water with whey added.
For a snack we had Wasa Toast with the Yogurt Cream Cheese. The cream cheese was a little sour, but no bad. I've made this 3 times now, I found the recipe in another cook book as well, and to think I tossed the nutritious whey before!. The first time I made it it worked fine, the second time it didn't turn out at all, and this time it worked, but the taste is a little off. I may just have to get used to it. Wasa toast was recommended in NT, and I found it on sale at my Supermarket, so I figured I'd try it. The ingredients are pleasantly surprising, and I can see why it was recomended:
Whole grain rye flour sourdough, water, whole grain wheat flour, whole grain out flour, whole grain barley flour, oat kernels, yeast, oat flakes, malt extract,and diglycerides(all natural emulsifiers) salt.

What and Why?

2009-06-21T21:22:00.000-04:00

What are traditional foods and why have I decided to feed my family a traditional diet.

Traditional foods are food prepared in a manner similar to the way our ancestors prepared foods. They are foods consumed in their natural state and prepared using traditional methods such lacto-fermentation, and soaking and fermenting grains and legumes before consumption. Butter, lard, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Coconut Oil are used rather than margarine, vegetable oils.

Why?
The health benefits are plenty. Consuming food that is traditionally prepared allows the body to use the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that occur naturally and are much more easily digested and used than their processed counterparts.

Food consumes raw contain delicate enzymes that are destroyed by heat, while soaking and fermenting grains rids them of compounds that inhibit digestion, and again makes nutrients more available to the body.

From the Weston A Price Foundation Principles of Healthy Eating Brochure:

"What's Wrong With "Politically Correct" Nutrition?

"Avoid saturated fats."
Saturated fats play many important roles in the body. They provide integrity to the cell wall, promote the body's use of essential fatty acids, enhance the immune system, protect the liver and contribute to strong bones. The lungs and the kidneys cannot work without saturated fat. Saturated fats do not cause heart disease. In fact, saturated fats are the preferred food for the heart. Because your body needs saturated fats, it makes them out of carbohydrates and excess protein when there are not enough in the diet.

"Limit cholesterol."
Dietary cholesterol contributes to the strength of the intestinal wall and helps babies and children develop a healthy brain and nervous system. Foods that contain cholesterol also provide many other important nutrients. Only oxidized cholesterol, found in most powdered milk and powdered eggs, contributes to heart disease. Powdered milk is added to 1% and 2% milk.

"Use more polyunsaturated oils."
Polyunsaturates in more than small amounts contribute to cancer, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, learning disabilities, intestinal problems and premature aging. Large amounts of polyunsaturated fats are new to the human diet, due to the modern use of commercial liquid vegetable oils. Even olive oil, a monounsaturated fat considered to be healthy, can cause imbalances at the cellular level if consumed in large amounts.

"Avoid red meat."
Red meat is a rich source of nutrients that protect the heart and nervous system; these include vitamins B12 and B6, zinc, phosphorus, carnitine and coenzyme-Q10.

"Cut back on eggs."
Eggs are nature's perfect food, providing excellent protein, the gamut of vitamins and important fatty acids that contribute to the health of the brain and nervous system. Americans had less heart disease when they ate more eggs. Egg substitutes cause rapid death in test animals.

"Restrict salt."
Salt is crucial to digestion and assimilation. Salt is also necessary for the development and function of the nervous system.

"Eat lean meat and drink lowfat milk."
Lean meat and lowfat milk lack fat-soluble vitamins needed to assimilate the protein and minerals in meat and milk. Consumption of lowfat foods can lead to depletion of vitamin A and D reserves.

"Limit fat consumption to 30 percent of calories."
Thirty percent calories as fat is too low for most people, leading to low blood sugar and fatigue. Traditional diets contained 30 percent to 80 percent of calories as healthy fats, mostly of animal origin.

"Eat 6-11 servings of grains per day."
Most grain products are made from white flour, which is devoid of nutrients. Additives in white flour can cause vitamin deficiencies. Whole grain products can cause mineral deficiencies and intestinal problems unless properly prepared.

"Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day."
Fruits and vegetables receive an average of 10 applications of pesticides, from seed to storage. Consumers should seek out organic produce. Quality counts!

"Eat more soy foods."
Modern soy foods block mineral absorption, inhibit protein digestion, depress thyroid function and contain potent carcinogens."

Going Traditional?

2009-06-21T13:22:00.001-04:00

It was awhile ago when I was first introduced into traditional eating on a forum. It intrigued me. I have always believed that we should be eating food as close to the way God made it as possible, but we like to eat out, and processed food just tastes so good. I found a copy of Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions" at Salvation Army for $1.99, and I picked it up. I'm planning on slowly easing into a diet of as many whole and traditional foods as possible. Right now I'm making yogurt cream cheese and whey, and I plan to get some sourdough starter started today as well.