Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

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This past weekend I made chocolate peanut butter ice cream for my boyfriend, since he loves it so much! First I made homemade soaked peanut butter. It really takes no time at all with a good food processor. I try to soak all my nuts and seeds ahead of time to have them on hand for recipes. The difference in the way I made peanuts versus other nuts is I roasted them at a higher temperature in the oven instead of dehydrating them. I have tried dehydrating them before and I find I do not like the taste, so I stick with the traditional way of roasting peanuts.

Ingredients

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3 pastured egg yolks

3 cups raw grass fed cream

1/2 cup grade B maple syrup

1 tbsp organic vanilla extract

1/4 cup organic cocoa powder

1 cup soaked peanut butter (room temperature)

Directions

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1. Wash eggs in warm soapy water

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2. Separate egg yolks from whites. Save the whites for macaroons or another recipe! Whip egg yolks until they become like a thick custard consistency.

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3. Add raw cream, maple syrup and vanilla extract to egg yolk mixture. Mix together.

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4. Add peanut butter and mix well. It is important that the peanut butter is room temperature in this step so it is easier to incorporate into the mix. The peanut butter can also be added last after everything is mixed in or added into the ice cream maker 1/2 – 3/4 of the way through the mixing/freezing process.

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5. Add cocoa powder and mix well so that all the lumps are properly incorporated.

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6. After all ingredients are incorporated, pour into ice cream maker. I typically set mine to 30-40 minutes and it is perfect! Follow the directions on your ice cream maker to be sure.

7. Scoop into a glass or stainless steel container and freeze. Enjoy a bowl!

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Homemade Peanut Butter

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I decided to make homemade peanut butter the other day. I was in the process of making peanut butter chocolate ice cream for my boyfriend (post to come soon!). I really wanted to do something special for him and he loves this ice cream. His favorite peanut butter is Peter Pan, but I could not bring myself to use this peanut butter with hydrogenated oils so I decided to try to make a good tasting homemade version.

Ingredients

2 cups soaked peanuts

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 – 3/4 cup melted coconut oil

2 tbsp organic sugar or maple syrup

Directions

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Put peanuts and sea salt into food processor or blender and process until it turns into peanut butter. While the food processor is running, melt coconut oil in a saucepan. Once peanuts have turned into a smooth peanut butter, add melted coconut oil and sugar. Transfer to a glass container and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

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Eliminating Vegetable Oil

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Butter vs Margarine

If you are new to eating real food, one of the best and first changes you can make is to eliminate vegetable oils, spreads and margarine. These highly processed oils can only be made in a factory. It is not possible to make them in your kitchen. I have not purchased these items since I changed my way of eating. I know how harmful they can be to your health. I also noticed how sensitive I am to consuming these oils. If I consume them by accident at a restaurant, I will experience some form of gastric distress, bloating, develop a headache and will start to smell it coming out of my skin.

I have to eat out a lot since I travel for my job and I do not have access to a kitchen. I have learned a lot of tricks to eating healthy while dining out. Every time I order my food, I ask the waiter if the food is cooked in vegetable oil. If it is a nicer restaurant, they either cook the dish in olive oil or it is baked or grilled. Sometimes the dish may already be cooked in butter. The olive oil may not be 100% olive oil because sometimes it is a blend of canola or vegetable oil. Do not assume when you see the word butter on a menu that the restaurant is using real butter. They could very well be using fake butter or margarine. I came across this situation today at lunch. My colleagues and I decided to eat at Jason’s Deli. One of the options I determined was safe for me to eat was the “Pollo Mexicano” potato. Luckily, I decided to read the description carefully. Here is the description from their online menu:

“Natural, grilled chicken breast, cheddar, sour cream, natural buttery blend, southwest spices and pico de gallo.”

Jason's Deli Pollo Mexicano Potato

The phrase “natural buttery blend” stuck out to me and my first thought was, they probably mean margarine. I asked the person taking my order at the counter if they use real butter. She said that they did, but I was not yet convinced. She asked the cook and he seemed to think that it was butter. She told me she would ask the manager and it turns out I was right. It was margarine. I asked her if they had real butter in the kitchen and she said no. I told her to please leave off the “natural buttery blend,” and I did not need to make any more changes to my order. What I find funny about this particular potato dish is that it is full of cheese and sour cream. What is the point of using margarine when you have a bunch of full fat dairy on the potato anyway??

This situation happens a lot when I go out to eat. It is very frustrating to me. It is obviously not the cashier or waiter’s fault. It is frustrating to me that almost everywhere I go, it is hard to find good fats and extremely difficult to avoid the bad oils and fats. Have we as Americans become so fat phobic that in many restaurants they don’t even have butter in the kitchen? Consumption of vegetable oils are the true cause of heart disease and many other health conditions in the US. When are we going to realize that removing animal fats from our diets and replacing them with fake oils and spreads only made us fatter and more unhealthy?

We can vote with our wallets. Make a pledge that you will never buy margarine, vegetable oil, canola oil, or any other industrial oil again that can only be made in a factory. When you eat at a restaurant, always ask the waiter to use a healthy fat instead of a spray or oil. Watch out for sauces and dressings you order because they most likely contain soybean or canola oils in them. If we as consumers start demanding for change, companies and restaurants will hear us and we will be able to bring back good fats.

 

Source: http://www.jasonsdeli.com/system/files/private/menus/jasons_deli_gluten_sensitive_menu_1.pdf

Re-Introducing Grains

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Grains

I have begun re-introducing the first recommended grains by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride when transitioning off the GAPS diet. I have introduced fermented buckwheat and fermented quinoa.

I would like to share with you the delicious recipes I have tried. I introduced buckwheat first and tried Chris Kresser’s sourdough buckwheat pancakes. My wonderful sweet boyfriend (also my camera man) made these for me :) . Here is the recipe if you would like to try it: http://chriskresser.com/heavenly-sourdough-buckwheat-pancakes. It is very simple to make, it just takes a little planning and waiting. By the end of day 2 of fermentation, the dough is bubbling!! This means that it is “alive!” Most of the food Americans eat is “dead.” It is important that all of us eat fermented foods for good health. The pancakes were cooked in coconut oil and were topped with maple syrup. I washed them down with a tall glass of raw milk.

Buckwheat pancakes with a glass of raw milk!

Buckwheat pancakes with a glass of raw milk!

Last week I begin introducing fermented quinoa. Here is what you need to do:

  1. Pour 1 cup organic quinoa into a glass bowl or jar and cover with filtered water
  2. Add 1 tbsp acidic medium such as raw apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt, whey or kefir (I used apple cider vinegar)
  3. Cover and let sit for 12 to 24 hours (I let mine sit for about 36 since I forgot about it, but it is even better since it fermented for a longer period of time)
  4. Strain liquid and rinse with filtered water until the water runs clear (I noticed before and after straining my grains were crackling – I think this is another sign they are “alive.” I also noticed I had sprouts coming out of many of the grains!)
  5. Put grains into pot and add 1 cup of filtered water and a pinch of unrefined sea salt.
  6. Bring to a boil then set heat to low, cover the pot and let it simmer for 15 minutes. At the end of this time you should see holes in the quinoa, like when you cook rice and it is ready. Let sit for 5 minutes.
  7. Serve or incorporate into another recipe.
Organic quinoa

Organic quinoa

Here are a couple ways how I enjoyed my quinoa:

Quinoa “oatmeal”:

  • Add some grass fed butter on top of the hot quinoa
  • Cover quinoa with raw cream
  • 1-2 tbsp grade B or very dark maple syrup
  • 1-2 tsp organic cinnamon
  • Dash of nutmeg

Quinoa n’ Eggs Hash:

  1. Add butter or healthy saturated fat or oil of choice to hot pan.
  2. Whisk 2 pastured eggs in a bowl and add to hot pan with cooked quinoa.
  3. Add unrefined sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic and any other spice of choice to pan.
  4. Cook everything until eggs are no longer runny.
  5. Optional: add other vegetables like carrots, onions, garlic, green onions, etc. Let the sky be your limit!
  6. Enjoy!

It is hard to say which of these recipes I enjoyed more. The quinoa was almost like eating oatmeal again, and I loved the creaminess, the sweetness of the maples syrup and the spice of cinnamon. The quinoa n’ eggs hash was also great because it was a more satisfying breakfast than just fried eggs.

Remember when eating grains, beans, nuts and seeds, it is vital to soak, sprout and/or ferment them to enjoy the benefits of maximum nutrition and nutrient absorption. Grains especially have a plethora of anti-nutrients in them. Preparing these plant foods traditionally will ensure that we absorb the nutrients the plants offer. This week I plan on introducing fermented millet. Watch for a post on my experience with introducing it and a recipe!

Transitioning off the GAPS Diet

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Potatoes

I am currently transitioning off the GAPS diet! I cannot express how excited I am about this. I have been strictly following the program for one year. This is actually twice as long as I expected to be on it. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride says that GAPS patients need to adhere to the diet for at least 1 1/2 to 2 years. Sometimes life gets in the way. It is also important to listen to cues from your body.

For the past couple of months, I have been suffering from low energy levels and feeling tired most of the day. I may not get the recommended 9-10 hours of sleep every night, but I do try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night. I am trying to do better than this and setting a bedtime for myself to get between 8-9 hours of sleep even on work nights. This is more of a challenge for me since I work longer hours when I am traveling. Fitting in dinner along with other activities makes it difficult to get much more sleep. Despite getting an adequate amount of sleep on most nights, I feel dead tired during the day. I feel like a zombie, just going through the motions. I started to wonder if something is really wrong with me.

When I first began the diet, I thought that GAPS is the answer to most health problems and most people are what Dr. Campbell-McBride refers to as “GAPS patients.” I have since changed my mind and have decided that it is not the solution to every health ailment and that it may actually harm some people.

I began researching to see if other people how low energy on the GAPS diet. It turns out I am not alone. Other people have had the same complaints as me. Dr. Thomas Cowan has worked with such people and has recommended they add soaked or fermented grains back into their diet. The GAPS diet is not a low carb diet. It is based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), so certain carbohydrate foods are restricted. Foods higher in carbohydrates allowed on the diet include, but are not limited to: lentils, white navy beans, lima beans, fruit, any kind of squash, and certain root vegetables like celeriac, carrots and beets. If one or some of these foods are not included with every meal, the GAPS diet can become unintentionally low carb.

When people start restricting one of the three macronutrients (fat, protein, carbohydrates), they eventually run into issues. I can personally attest to this as I have restricted any one of them at some point. Before I started making changes to my diet, I was eating a very low protein and low fat diet. This attributed to a number of health problems I developed. More recently, I have been restricting my carbohydrates and as a result I was fatigued most of the time. Traditional cultures around the world have a wide variety of diets. One thing they all have in common is they do not eat refined carbohydrates, sugar and highly processed vegetable oils. Their foods are far more nutrient dense than modernized cultures around the world. Some of the cultures are very high in carbohydrates and some are very low. What they do right is they eat what is local and available to them. They do not intentionally restrict any food group (and I am talking about real food, of course!).

My plan was to transition off the diet in a couple weeks. My energy levels were so low that I did not think I could make it another day without some non-GAPS legal food. I ran across the street to the local grocery store and bought the best quality ice cream with the least ingredients I could find. I settled with the Talenti brand Tahitian vanilla bean gelato. After eating the entire pint, I felt like a new person! I had much more energy than just an hour before. I did the same thing for the next couple of days. I would not recommend this as a regular practice as the cream and milk are not grassfed, organic or raw and the sugar is not organic. However, it gave me the energy I needed to make it through the rest of the week without digestive distress.

Once I made it back home, I introduced fermented potatoes with my meals. I did not seem to have any symptoms from introducing this food. The past couple days I have eaten potato skins with all kind of goodness in them: pulled pork, bacon, sour cream, cheddar cheese and green onions. I did not suffer from any digestive distress, they gave me tons of energy and made me happy, of course :) .

I am going to introduce fermented buckwheat next and make pancakes. Once I know I can tolerate these, I will introduce fermented quinoa and millet, as Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends when coming off the diet. I cannot wait to eat real sourdough bread! When I was at my local Weston A. Price chapter conference a few weeks ago, I tried a few bites of different sourdough breads and I did not suffer from any of my regular digestive symptoms. I believe this is one more sign my body was giving me that I am ready for other foods.

When I first began the GAPS diet, I thought it was the answer to just about every modern health problem. I have since changed my mind. Some people need grains and other carbohydrates in order to thrive. I belive I am one of those people. I remember when I was on the paleo diet before starting GAPS, I was eating sweet potatoes, potatoes, drinking raw goat’s milk and cheese, occasionally indulging with sushi, rice and gluten free pizza. I had a ton of energy then, even when I got little sleep. Cravings have been plaguing me for a while for potatoes, white rice, cream, milk and real sourdough bread. After reflecting on this, I think my body was trying to tell me that I needed these foods to provide me the energy and nutrients I need.

Here is one thing I want you to take away: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!! God designed our bodies to tell us when something is not working. No matter what diet advice you hear (and there is a lot out there, so no wonder it is confusing!), do your own research, pray, reflect, and listen to the signs your body is giving you.

Take Baby Steps

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Chicken broth with banana GAPS pancakes

If you are just learning about a traditional foods diet, it may seem pretty intidimating. The key to transitioning to eating real foods is taking baby steps. I started implementing changes about 2 years ago. It has taken me years to get to where I am now. Remember that it is better to make one small change than no change at all. Some people like to dive in head first and make all their changes at once. Other people, like myself, take time to adjust to changes. I am going to make suggestions of how you can take baby steps in your transition to real food.

Replace Industrial Oils with Healthy Fats

I believe this is the best change anyone can make to their diet. Industrial oils like cottonseed, canola, soybean and corn are not only highly processed, but are heat sensitive. These oils make up a large portion of the American food system and contribute to heart disease and many other modern diseases. It is best to stick to traditional cooking fats such as tallow, lard, duck fat, coconut oil, butter, ghee and palm oil. These fats are heat stable and have much higher smoke points than other oils. Olive, avocado and nut oils should be eaten raw.

Eat Whole Foods

Ideally, you should remove all processed foods from your diet and eat whole, unprocessed foods made at home. This is not always possible for everyone. Try to remove one food at a time and replace it with healthier fruits, vegetables, grass fed meats, wild caught seafood, raw dairy, nuts, seeds and properly prepared grains and legumes. One great change to make would be to replace the store bought extruded grain cereals with a healthier breakfast of pastured bacon and eggs cooked in a healthy fat, or with soaked oatmeal. You could even make a small change like giving up soda and replacing it with healthy fermented beverages like kombucha, water kefir, beet kvass and milk kefir. These beverages can be made at home and they are inexpensive to make.

Buy Grass Fed Meat and Wild Caught Fish

The price tag can appear high when switching to grass fed meat and wild caught fish. The cost up front is higher most of the time, but it is less expensive in the long run. Less will be spent in medical costs and you will feel much healthier. Healthy animal proteins and fats have a higher Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio than factory farmed meats and farm raised fish.

Buy Organic When Possible

Try to buy organic produce and with as many foods as your budget will allow. If you are on a limited budget, stick to the clean 15 and avoid the dirty dozen here: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/. Buying locally from a trusted farmer is a great way of buying healthy foods without hurting your budget. The key is buying foods that are in season and trying to make meals with what is available to you locally.

These are some simple and important changes you can make on your journey to health. What other changes are easy to make for someone new to traditional foods?

How to Make Kombucha

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Original culture is on the bottom and the "baby" is on top

Original culture is on the bottom and the “baby” is on top

Recipe:

1 cup organic sugar

3 quarts filtered water

2 tbsp loose leaf tea or 2-4 bags tea (green, black and red or a combination are fine)

1 cup kombucha starter from previous batch

1 SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast)

Directions:

Bring 3 quarts water to a boil. Add 1 cup sugar and stir to dissolve. Remove from heat and add loose leaf or bagged tea. Let the tea cool down completely. Pour tea on top of SCOBY culture in a glass jar or container. Pour 1 cup of starter liquid from a previous batch on top. Cover lid with a clean towel and secure with a rubber band. Leave on counter for 7-10 days and it is ready to drink! Remember to save a cup of starter for your next batch.

***The only safe container to use to brew and to drink kombucha is glass. The kombucha culture may leech chemicals from other containers used such as plastic or aluminum.

 

How to Make Raw Milk Yogurt

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Recipe

1/2 gallon grass fed raw milk

6 tbsp previous batch raw milk yogurt

Directions

Heat up milk in pan gently so as not to scald the milk. Stir periodically. Watch the temperature closely. Heat up to 100° (no more than 105° to preserve the enzymes). *While heating up milk, heat water in a separate pot to approximately 100°. Stir yogurt in with a little bit of the milk so it does not clump together. Pour the mixture into the remainder of the milk and stir well. Pour into glass mason jars. Put mason jars into a small cooler and fill up with the hot water up to the neck of the mason jars. Close the cooler and leave for 8-12 hours. You may also use a dehydrator to make the yogurt. Just set the dehydrator to 100-110°. After this time period, your yogurt is ready to eat!

***For a thicker yogurt like Greek yogurt, pour finished yogurt into the middle of a tea towel. Tie with a rubber band to secure and place over a glass bowl for the liquid whey to drain. If you let all the liquid drain, cream cheese is left in the tea towel.

Healthy Packaged Foods and Healthy Body Care

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Healthy snacks with non-toxic body care.

Healthy snacks with non-toxic body care.

This week before I hit the road I picked up some items from my local health food store. I was looking for healthy snacks to bring along in case I run into a bad food situation. I also happened to come across some body care items that are not only non-toxic, but easily portable. 

Jennie's macaroon cookies, Justin's Peanut Butter packs, Go Raw Pizza Flax Snax, Wild Planet Sardines, Wild Planet Wild Albacore Tuna, Bragg's Organic Sea Kelp Delight Seasoning and Sunja's Kimchi!

Jennie’s macaroon cookies, Justin’s Peanut Butter packs, Go Raw Pizza Flax Snax, Wild Planet Sardines, Wild Planet Wild Albacore Tuna, Bragg’s Organic Sea Kelp Delight Seasoning and Sunja’s Kimchi!

I have been trying the Go Raw products for a while now. I stuck to a more savory flavor because I try to keep my sugar content low in my diet. They have many other great flavors that taste like sweet very crunchy cookies. The pizza flavor is pretty good, but it does not taste close to pizza. Justin’s Peanut Butter packets are great for a quick protein fix. They also sell almond butter packets.

 Wild Planet has great canned seafood. They sell wild caught tuna, salmon, shrimp, dungeness crab and sardines. Their fish are 100% sustainably caught, have low amounts of mercury and high amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids. Their canned sardines have no detectable amounts of BPA in the container. However, when they tested the tuna cans, they found the cans had low detectable amounts of BPA. They are in the process of doing more testing to find the material that has no detectable amounts of BPA. To find out more, please read the statement by their president and founder here: http://www.wildplanetfoods.com/pdf/media/press/WildPlanetBPAStatement7_16_12.pdf I decided to buy macaroons because they temporarily stave off my hunger. I thought the only ingredients were egg whites, honey and coconut. It turns out they have real cane sugar too. Bummer! I thought it was strange how incredibly sweet they were with just honey after biting into one. I looked more closely at the label and discovered the rest of the ingredient list. This is not the worst thing I could have eaten, but after going so long without sugar, it was way too sweet for my taste! Sunja’s Kimchi is my favorite kimchi by far! But then again, it has a lot of garlic flavor and I am part Italian :) As soon as I take a bite, I can feel it settling my stomach. Don’t be afraid to try it – I tried it when I was younger and was disgusted with it. Once I started eating traditional foods, I decided to try this brand and give it another shot. I instantly got hooked! I think finding a good brand or recipe is important. Bragg’s Organic Sea Kelp Delight Seasoning is a great way of seasoning your food when eating out or traveling, especially if you have food allergies like me. I find many times when I order a dish at a restaurant “gluten free” and without sauces or dressings, the food can be bland. Not only does the seasoning add great flavor, but it has kelp as the first ingredient! Using it even occasionally is a good way of ensuring you are getting iodine in your diet. This is one of my staples I am keeping with me on the road.  

Shampoo bar, Avalon Organics conditioner and cocoa butter moisturizing stick

Shampoo bar, Avalon Organics conditioner and cocoa butter moisturizing stick

I have heard about using a shampoo bar to wash your hair, but have not tried it until a few days ago. The great thing about this bar is it is made the traditional way and it will not strip your hair its natural oils. Another benefit for the traveler is it is a solid. You do not have to think about another liquid to bring on the plane with you!

I usually only shampoo my hair a couple times a week and do not use conditioner too often. After I started swimming at the hotel pool, I noticed my hair and skin were getting really dry. I decided it was time for me to buy a conditioner for me to use while traveling. It took me a while to find a product that I completely approved of the ingredients list. I settled with Avalon Organics conditioner. It is very creamy and is non-toxic.

Lastly, I happened to come across a cocoa butter stick. It was near the makeup section of the store. I had never heard of this product and was pretty interested in it once I discovered it. The only ingredient is the name of the product itself: cocoa butter. It is literally a stick of cocoa butter. It is similar to a chap-stick tube. I now keep it in my purse at all times. It is great because the skin on my hands started getting dry in the winter climate where I have been traveling. I stopped using conventional lotion a while ago because of the parabens, phthalates and other chemicals found in it. This product is a great solution to dry hands without the cost of using regular lotion. It is inexpensive and a little goes a long way. I also can travel with it anywhere because it is not a liquid.

I hope you have found these product reviews helpful. What food and beauty products do you recommend to take on the road?

Access to Free Video Presentations – The Healthy Life Summit

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Healthy Life summit

Starting March 24th through March 30th, there will be free access to 35 online video presentations. I highly recommend trying to listen to at least one presentation. I have listened in to the Healthy Mouth Summit and the Real Food Summits last year. The speakers range from doctors, health experts, bloggers to farmers.

These are great presentations to listen to, especially if you are just getting started with eating real food. If you would like to understand the science behind why certain traditional foods are needed for your body, this is is a great place to discover more information.

The presenters include Sally Fallon, president of the Weston Price Foundation; Liz Wolfe of Cave Girl Eats; Chris Kresser; Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms; Dr. Kaayla Daniel of The Whole Soy Story; Sarah Pope, The Healthy Home Economist; and many other great speakers!

Go and sign up today to reserve your place!

http://villagegreennetwork.com/healthy-life-summit/