The Whole Soy Story

After a visit to a homeopathic doctor in 2008, I discovered that I am soy intolerant, a diagnosis that has changed my life in many ways.*  I used to be a sushi addict and my mouth still waters at the idea of a spicy tuna roll dipped in soy sauce, but then I remember the days following my sushi binges and how the soy sauce would leave me curled in the fetal position on the floor of my bathroom, writhing around in pain. 

I also was a vegetarian for nearly ten years prior to this diagnosis.  I lived off of tofu burgers and veggies shreds.  As soon as I learned that the soy was making me sick, I had to completely change my lifestyle and begin eating meat again.

A few months prior to my diagnosis, it was also discovered that my older son, Gabriel, had a soy allergy.  His first bottle of soy-based formula caused a severe allergic reaction.

Because of this our home has been soy-free for nearly two years, except for a couple of foods that my husband enjoys to have around as snacks.  Gabriel and I are also unable to eat food that has been prepared at restaurants, because the only items on the majority of menus that do not contain a soy product are plain fruits and veggies that haven't touched the grill (which is usually covered in either margarine or soybean oil).

It is estimated that nearly 70% of the foods on our supermarket shelves contain soy.  It has become filler that is used in just about everything, because it is cheap.  But what's even worse is that over 60% of the soybean crop in the United States is genetically modified.

One day Adam heard a news story that linked soy to hormone imbalances in men, specifically that eating high levels of soy causes men to produce more estrogen, leading to a whole host of health problems.  That was the final straw - all of the negative information I had been hearing about soy made me want to learn more about why it is considered a "healthy" food in our culture.

I finished reading The Whole Soy Story by Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN and I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the food.  The book gives a background on how this crop that historically was used as a cover crop to enrich soil, became part of a health-food craze in America. It also breaks down all of the health concerns about eating soy.  I recommend the book for anyone interested in learning why you shouldn't be consuming this food in the amounts that we find in the average American's diet.

I just wanted to highlight some of the interesting things I learned while reading the book:

The study that really made soy a healthy food in America showed that the Japanese (who eat 30 times the soy we eat) have lower rates of breast, uterine and prostate cancer.  What the media coverage of this study failed to also tell us is that the Japanese have higher rates of esophageal, stomach, pancreatic and liver cancers.  Asians also do not eat soy in the ways we eat it.  They leave the soybean intact in fermented products like miso, tempeh and natto. 


The FDA approves soy protein as a heart healthy food but it is also found on their "Poisonous Plant Database."


Soybean oil is a mosquito repellant.  It actually kills the mosquito, which makes you wonder what it does to your insides.


People who eat ground meat with textured soy protein extenders (this is what is served to our children in school) lose 61% (at a 3:1 ratio) and 53% (at a 2:1 ratio) of their ability to absorb the iron from the meat.


Here are all of the toxins and antinutrients that soy contains: 

• allergens
• goitrogens - cause thyroid damage
• lectins - cause immune system reactions and play a role in allergic reactions because they destroy intestinal mucosa.
• oligosaccharides - cause bloating and gas
• oxalates - prevent the absorption of calcium and linked to kidney stones
• phytates - leads to poor growth and anemia.  Levels are higher in soy than in any other food.
• isoflavones - cause reproductive damage
• protease inhibitors - cause gastric distress, poor protein digestion, cancer, and damage to the pancreas.  Many foods contain them (grains, nuts, seeds, some veggies, etc.), but cooking deactivates them.  They are at higher levels in soybeans (and even higher in GM beans) and are more resistant to neutralization through cooking.

The scariest information to read was about soy-based formula:

• The isoflavones in the formula effect hormones and can cause developmental problems in the reproductive system.  They also put children at an increased risk of thyroid problems (hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroid disease). 
• Infants fed soy formula also produce more gas (CH4 and H2S), which has been linked to intestinal disorders, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease. 
• Scientists have suggested expensive techniques that would neutralize the phytates in formula, but the industry prefers to go the cheaper route and enrich the formula with zinc, iron and calcium to compensate.  They are required by law to do this. 
• Iron absorption from soy formula is 27%.  It is 65% in breast milk, 60% in whey formula and 46% in casein formula.

Something I learned from the author's website - "The Israeli Health Ministry has issued a health advisory warning that infants should not use soy formula. So have the British Dietetic Association, the New Zealand Health Ministry, and the Swiss Federal Health Service."

Soy lectin may contribute to Type 1 Juvenile Onset Diabetes because it destroys pancreatic cells that secrete insulin.

Asian monks used to eat high levels of soy because it was known to lower their libido.

I have also read before that animals that are fed diets high in soy fail to thrive and show signs of malnutrition.  They also have a shorter lifespan and produce less offspring. 

When I put all of this information together, it's a no-brainer for me.  It's yet another reason to make sure the food I am feeding my family isn't processed and is prepared properly (soaked, cooked properly, etc.).  Since cutting out soy from my diet, I have not had a major flare-up of my Crohn's Disease and have been able to stay off of toxic drugs like Prednisone.  I think I now know why!

If you are interested in learning more about soybeans, I suggest reading this book!

-Jessica

I was not contacted by anyone to review this book.  I just enjoyed it and wanted to share some information with my readers.

*Diagnosis made through IgE fecal test.

How To Make Homemade Mayo

If you're like me, you probably have a lot of Easter eggs left over from the holiday and you aren't really sure what to do with them.  Egg salad is always the obvious choice, but using mayonnaise is so unhealthy.  Here are the ingredients in common types of mayo and other salad dressings.

Hellman's Real Mayonnaise Ingredients: soybean oil, water, whole eggs and egg yolks, vinegar, salt, sugar, lemon juice, natural flavors, and calcium disodium EDTA.

Soybean oil is the worst type of oil for you.  Surely the types that contain olive oil are better for you, right?

Hellman's Olive Oil Mayonnaise Ingredients:  water, oils (soybean oil, extra virgin olive oil), vinegar, whole eggs and egg yolks, modified corn starch, sugar, salt, lemon juice, (sorbic acid, calcium disodium EDTA), xanthan gum, citric acid, natural flavors, oleoresin paprika, beta carotene.

What about salad dressings?

Miracle Whip Ingredients:  water, soybean oil, vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, modified food starch, eggs, salt, mustard flour, artificial color, potassium sorbate as a preservative, paprika, spice, natural flavor, dried garlic.

And the soy-free alternatives?


Hain's Safflower Mayonnaise Ingredients:  expeller pressed safflower oil, whole eggs, grain vinegar, water, egg yolks, sea salt, dehydrated cane juice, spice, lemon juice concentrate, honey, d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate (Vitamin E), rosemary extractives, natural flavor, paprika extractives.

They are full of sugar, emulsifiers, coloring agents, preservatives, and chelating agents, as well as the mysterious "natural flavors".  Yuck!  Calcium disodium EDTA has to regulated by the FDA to only be used in certain amounts, because it is a toxin.  Why would we want that in our food?

When making salads I like to make my own mayo.  This recipe tastes great in things like potato salad and egg salad, but does not spread well on sandwiches.


Homemade Blender Mayo

1 egg
2 T lemon juice or vinegar
2 t paprika
2 t dry mustard
2 t salt
2 t honey
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Add all of the ingredients except the olive oil to a blender or food processor and start.  Slowly add the olive oil as the ingredients are blending.


Egg Salad Recipe

For my egg salad I doubled the recipe and used apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice. 












Add your eggs.



Add chopped veggies and stir.



Serve on homemade sourdough bread.




Enjoy!

-Jess

Healthcare Solutions

I never thought I would get political on this blog, but I promise it is relevant.  As I'm sure most Americans are aware, the healthcare bill passed last night.  I don't care what side of the issue you stand on - that isn't my point in this post.  Most people agree that something needs to be done, we just all disagree about when and how to do it.

I was up until a little after midnight - I just couldn't relax after listening to the live debate through CSPAN radio as I worked at the computer.  I tried to sleep, but just kept thinking about how completely backwards we are in terms of healthcare as a society.

I've used the analogy before - I often view Western medicine as a quick fix.  It's something that treats the symptoms and makes us comfortable for the time being, but rarely gets to the root of the problem.  Therefore, our symptoms keep returning and requiring more "medicine".  I feel that this is what we are doing by approaching the healthcare issue with the idea that government can somehow solve it with a quick fix.  We can't throw money at this issue and improve the health of our citizens.  That's just treating the symptoms.

Alternative medicine, holistic medicine, ayurvedic medicine, etc. - these are all ways to improve your health by looking at the root of the problem.  For example, you go to the doctor for headaches.  Most doctors in America will give you some pills to help with the pain and may run a few tests to see what could be causing it.  When they do narrow it down to a diagnosis, they generally give you more pills.  What alternative medicine would do is a take a look at your entire system to see what is actually causing that "diagnosis" that the doctor gave you - is it something you're eating, your sleep patterns, something environmental, the way you deal with stress, etc.  Once you can pinpoint the root, you can treat that and the symptoms will naturally go away.

Western medicine may be faster, but it's usually a temporary fix.  Other therapies will take hard work and time, but usually offer a permanent fix.  Unfortunately, we Americans like instant gratification.

Our nation needs a permanent fix.

It's time for us to stop being victims and take PERSONAL responsibililty for our health.  It's not our doctors' job to take care of our health.  It's not our insurance companies' jobs to take care of our health.  It's definitely not the government's job to take care of our health.  We are ultimately the only ones who can and should be doing it.

America spends more money on healthcare than any other nation in the world.  You would think that would make us the healthiest nation, but it doesn't.  There are at least 30-40 other nations that have a higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality rates.  Why?

We don't take care of ourselves - we feed ourselves trash.  We live sedentary lifestyles.  We take pills for every little ache and pain, which only causes more aches and pains through side effects.

And we don't take care of our environment - we fill our homes and bodies with toxic chemicals that just make us sicker.  We eat sickly food that was treated inhumanely.

The majority of patients that doctors now see have problems that are a direct result of lifestyle choices.  The only way we can fix that is to change our lifestyles.

Friends, the time for us to take back the responsibility for our healthcare is now.  Our first line of defense is our families.  Childhood obesity, ADD, Autism, and many other problems are on the rise.  We can do something about it. 

Let's stop feeding our children processed junk food and fast food that is polluting their bodies with neurotoxins.  Instead, let's teach them about real, living food - teach them where it comes from, how it grows, and how it "works" inside our bodies.

Let's stop letting our children sit in front of the computer and television screens.  Instead, let's get them outside in the fresh air and show them how good exercise will make their minds and bodies feel.  Let's keep their little minds active and entertained.

Let's stop polluting the places we live with toxic chemicals.  Instead, let's create a safe environment for them to play in, with clean air.  Let's leave them and their children an Earth that is healthy.

Let's all start trusting our bodies.  The human body is capable of healing itself in amazing ways if we just give it the opportunity to do it.  We don't need pills to solve every little problem.

We can do this!  We can solve the healthcare crisis if we are willing to sacrifice some of the modern conveniences that we have come to rely on as a society.  Remember, the harder the work - the greater the reward.

My thoughts on the health of America can be summed up by this Bible verse -

Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.    Proverbs 12:24

How To Make Your Own Compost Bin

First, you may be wondering why I am talking about composting on my wellness blog.  Well, gardening is the easiest and cheapest way to ensure you are getting local, in-season, organic produce.  I'm a novice gardener and am learning as I go, so I thought I would share my journey with you guys. 

Composting is something I have always wanted to do, but have never really known where to start.  You can find a ton of information on the Internet about the topic, and everyone seems to have their own method for doing it.  After doing a little research, I decided that you can't really mess it up too badly, so I'd just do whatever seemed right for us.

Adam and I are currently planning our garden for the year and as we were seed shopping we saw some nice compost bins for sale (for over $100).  But as I looked at them I told Adam that we could make something similar out of a Rubbermaid bin for free at home.

My first idea was to use a regular Rubbermaid bin, but then I realized that we had some of the larger ones on wheels that would be easier to drag around the yard once the compost is finished.

Here is what I used.

I had Adam drill some holes in the bottom that would be big enough to let worms and other creepy-crawlies in, and also drain the excess water out.

A compost bin needs to allow air to escape, because methane can build up and cause an explosion inside the bin.  Luckily, the handles of this bin have some air holes (you can see them on the above picture on the left side), but I also had Adam drill some small holes on the lid.

Now my container was ready to fill.

I filled it 2/3 of the way full with dry, "brown" materials - shredded paper, leaves, wood chips, dried stuff from my landscaping, etc.  You can also include sawdust, straw, cardboard, newspaper and other similar items in this layer. 

Unfortunately, the only tree we have on our property (besides evergreens) is an oak tree, and their leaves aren't supposed to be the best for composting.  They will work, but are pretty acidic and will take longer to compost.  But, I went ahead and tried it with them.

Once I filled the bin, I covered it with water until everything was saturated well, but not swimming.

I created a "wet" container that will live at the edge of my back patio.  At the end of every day, I will dump the contents of the glass container in my kitchen where I will keep my "green" materials into this bin.

Items that are considered "green" materials include - food scraps (anything but animal-byproducts and processed foods), coffee grinds/filters, tea bags, hair (animal and human), egg shells, grass clippings, etc.

A few months ago, I found a box of cabbage in my garage that I had forgotten about.  It was obviously rotten, but I knew I was going to compost this year, so I kept it in a sealed container in the garage (gross, I know).  This rotten cabbage, along with some coffee grinds, food scraps, and a generous helping of Max the dog's hair, became our first wet contribution to the compost bin.

I put it in the compost bin and watered it down again.

Yum, right?!

Finally, I added a thin layer of garden soil to top it off and watered again.

It has been covered and now has a home in the back of the house, right next to a water source.

See the pitch fork in the corner?  That is the only tool I'll need from now on.  Once a week I will open my bin and "turn" the contents by basically stirring them with the pitch fork.  Every 5-6 weeks, I will add another layer of "brown" materials from the yard, "green" materials from my wet bin, and soil from the garden to keep it going.

Hopefully, in 2-6 months we'll have some lovely compost.  The microbes and other fun things that live in the soil will feast on my "stew" and increase the temperature of my bin.  This will cause everything to decay and create a lovely product for my garden beds.  The more often I "turn" my compost, the faster this should happen.

Not only does this save me money and decrease the amount of waste I am sending to the dump, but it guarantees me organic compost and will help me provide healthy, nutritious produce for my family this year!

-Jess

How To Make Homemade Sourdough Bread

What are the advantages of sourdough bread?

• Sourdough bread is easier to digest because of the lactic acid created in the fermentation process.
• The soaking that is a part of making sourdough bread decreases phytate content, which allows for better nutrient absorption.
• It causes a lower spike in blood sugar than any other type of bread.
• It does not spoil as easily as bread made from brewers yeast because its acetic acid retards mold growth.
• It tastes DELICIOUS!

Your first step is to make a sourdough starter.

My recipe came from Nourishing Traditions.  It yields 3 quarts of starter.

I took 2 cups of rye flour and 2 cups of filtered water and mixed them together in a large bowl.  Then, I covered the soupy mixture with a double layer of cheesecloth and secured it with a rubber band.

You can see my bowl in this picture (note that my kitchen counters have become a "laboratory" for soaking and sprouting).

For the next 7 days, I transferred my soupy mixture to a different bowl each day and added one cup of rye flour and another cup of filtered water.  I would then mix it and put the cheesecloth back on top.

During the week, the cheesecloth allowed good bacteria (lactobacilli) and airborne fungus (wild yeast) to enter my soupy mix, causing it to froth and bubble.  After about 3 days it began to smell badly, but by the end of the week it smelled like wine.

This is what it looked like after 7 days.

At this point, it was ready to be used for making bread.

A sourdough starter is a living thing that needs to be cared for just like any other living thing.  If you aren't going to use it right away, you can store it in the fridge or freezer.  Just make sure that you "feed" the starter with one cup of flour/water at least once a week and allow oxygen to get to it.

Starters make a wonderful gift for friends and family - just give them a few cups and tell them to feed it every day until they build up their supply.

The taste of your starter and it's ability to leaven bread will get better with age, so be patient and don't give up if your first batch of bread doesn't taste perfect!

Note:  many websites will tell you that you shouldn't use metal bowls or utensils for your starter.  I used a stainless steel bowl for mine and did not have a problem.  Everything I've read says that anything other than stainless steel is not advised, but essentially the "no metal rule" is a myth.

Now you are ready to make your bread.

Once again, I used the Nourishing Traditions recipe.

I used 2 quarts of my starter (needs to be at room temperature) and added 2 1/2 tablespoons of sea salt and 1 cup cold filtered water.

Mix it until the salt dissolves.  Then, start mixing your flour (you will add 13 cups in all).  I used whole wheat.

Halfway through you will need to add another 1/2 cup cold filtered water and start mixing with your hands.




















Then, knead the dough for about 15 minutes.  This will be a workout, BELIEVE me!  My arms were sore afterwards. 
























Section your dough into your loaf sizes.  I made five medium-sized loafs.

Grease your loaf pans.  I used coconut oil because of Gabe's dairy allergy.

Form your loaves and put them in their pans.

Make sure to add some slices to the tops of your loaves.

Then cover your loaves and let them rise.

Leavening time will depend on the age and quality of your starter - the older the starter, the shorter the time.  Some starters may take as little as a few hours, but other may take a day or longer.  Remember that your dough will not spoil, because the fermentation process protects it.

I let mine rise for 19 hours and this is what they looked like afterwards.

Bake at 350 for an hour and your bread is done!

I sliced several of my loaves and froze them.  This will make it easy to grab a few pieces as needed for toast.

Enjoy!

-Jess

Q&A: High Fructose Corn Syrup

I was wondering if you have ever tried doing a high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) free diet. I recently saw a youtube video called "Sugar: The Bitter Truth". It's really long and kind of boring, but it scared me away from HFCS. I've been thinking about trying to do a HFCS free diet, but I've noticed it's in just about everything we have. Have you tried this? Have any tips?

My Views on Sugar

I limit the amount of sugar that I consume for many reasons.  Sugar consumption leads to obesity, heart attacks, artery disease, tooth decay, diabetes, metabolic issues, concentration issues, fertility problems, and upsets the balance of the endocrine and nervous systems. 

Our ancestors did not consume sugar in the same ways we do and our bodies were not designed to consume it in large quantities.  In the past, natural sweeteners were used sparingly to sweeten foods and desserts were viewed as a treat reserved only for special occasions.  But now, the average American consumes more than 22 teaspoons of sugar per DAY (mainly from beverages like soft drinks) and many children and teenagers consume almost double that amount.

If you shop in the grocery store and consume mostly processed foods, you can pretty much guarantee that everything you eat has some type of sweetener in it.  Our taste buds have grown so accustomed to tasting it, that we hardly recognize exactly how sweet our foods are.

And here is the problem with the way we consume sugar in our society - most of our sugary foods (like soft drinks and candy) do not contain fat.  Fat slows the sugar from entering our blood stream in a rush and stimulating insulin and hormone production.  Our "high carb/low fat" diets are literally killing us.  In fact, we should be doing the opposite - consuming higher levels of healthy fats and less carbohydrates.

As a rule for myself, I avoid refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, and even some "natural" sweeteners.  The only sugars I consume are fruits, raw honey, and unrefined maple syrup.  Occasionally I will crave a soft drink or a cookie with sugar, but I reserve those foods for special occasions and do not keep them in the house for myself.

This year for Lent I gave up sugar (except fruit) - honey and maple syrup included - and have not intentionally consumed it for over a month now.  For the first four days my body crashed.  I was irritable, tired, and hungry all of the time.  We forget that sugar is actually a drug (an addictive one) that affects not only your blood sugar, but also your brain chemistry.

But once I made it past those first four days, I noticed that my energy levels started to increase and my mind felt clearer than normal.  After a few weeks more, my appetite started to decrease and I now don't feel the need to snack as much.  My body no longer craves those foods throughout the day.

So, you're probably wondering - what can a person eat if they avoid sugar completely?  Here was my food intake yesterday:

Breakfast - 2 slices of raisin toast with butter and 2 scrambled free-range eggs mixed with chopped spinach.

Snack - some almonds and a few apple slices

Lunch - canned tuna mixed with olive oil and salt/pepper, and a few slices of cheese on homemade bread

Snack - a banana and some pumpkin seeds

Dinner - chuck roast (with the broth used as a condiment for dipping), okra breaded in spelt flour and fried in olive oil, and a bowl of grapes

Snack - 3 pieces of cheese and a slice of homemade toast with butter

My beverages most days consist of unsweetened hot and iced teas, water, and fruit smoothies.

The hardest part about going sugar-free is not having condiments with your foods.  Most store-bought condiments contain HFCS - ketchup, barbecue sauce, taco sauce, salad dressings, mayo, salsa, etc.  In order to have condiments with your food if you are going to go sugar-free, you have to make your own.  If you are just trying to eliminate HFCS from your diet, most organic brands of condiments contain organic sugar or other sweeteners.  They are a little more expensive, but worth it in my opinion - just use a little less to make up for the cost.

Other ways to avoid HFCS and sugars:

• Make your own jams and jellies, or buy the brands labeled "no sugar added".  Fruit is sweet enough; it doesn't need more sugar to taste good on bread. 
• Make sure your fruit juice has no added sugar.  Many juices can contain as much, if not more sugar than a can of soda.
• Make your own salad dressings.  My favorite recipe is a mixture of virgin olive oil, lemon juice, a squeeze of raw honey, garlic, salt, pepper, and any herbs I am in the mood for (dill, sage, rosemary, etc.)
• Buy plain peanut butter.  The average brand of peanut butter contains more than one type of sugar - HFCS, molasses, honey AND sugar.  Usually when you eat peanut butter, you are spreading it on bread with jelly, which is sweet enough.  You don't need added sugar in your peanut butter.
• Bake your own bread.  You can even substitute raw honey for sugar in most bread recipes to avoid refined sugars.  Or even better, make some homemade sourdough without any sweeteners at all.
• Always read your labels and buy unsweetened/plain when available.  You can always add a little honey or sugar to your food if it needs it, but you rarely need the amount that is in the sweetened versions of foods (for example: applesauce and yogurt).
• Don't buy canned fruit.  Aside from the fact that the lining of the cans is toxic, most of the fruits are soaked in syrup.
• Cook your food at home.  Nearly everything you eat at a restaurant contains HFCS and sugar.
• Avoid buying processed foods that say "sugar free".  The sugar in these foods has usually been replaced with artificial sweeteners, which are just as bad for you as HFCS.
• Watch your processed meats.  Most of them contain sweeteners.

What is the difference between a natural sweetener and a refined sweetener?  Which ones are the best for me?

The following are natural sweeteners. This means they are the least processed and they contain more vitamins and minerals. Use these if you have a sweet tooth!

• Raw Honey
• Unrefined Maple Syrup
• Agave Nectar
• Date Sugar
• Sorghum Syrup
• Barley Malt Syrup
• Fruit

The following are natural sweeteners that should be avoided for various reasons.

• Concentrated Fruit Juices - They are composed mainly of fructose in levels so concentrated that your body is unable to regulate blood sugar properly.
• Raw, Natural, Turbinado, Sucanat, and Florida Crystals - They upset your body chemistry and are refined, which removes most of the nutrients.
• Brown Rice Syrup - The rice is cooked with enzymes, which are many times genetically modified.
• Stevia - It is a calorie-free, herbal substitute that does not affect blood sugar. Although it has many medicinal uses, including the treatment of heartburn, its safety is still questionable.
• Molasses - A byproduct of the processing of sugar cane with a strong taste and moderate sweetness. If it comes from sugar cane grown in the right type of soil, it can contain especially high levels of iron, calcium, zinc, copper and chromium.

The following are refined sweeteners that should be avoided.

• White Sugar (sucrose) - has little, if any, nutritional value
• Brown Sugar
• Refined maple syrup - formaldehyde is used in the production.
• Corn syrup - is usually genetically modified.
• Fructose - causes deleterious effects, especially in small children
• Glucose
• Dextrin - made by boiling corn starch with acid
• Dextrose
• Processed honey
• Maltodextrin

The following are artificial sweeteners, which have been linked to headaches, gastro-intestinal problems, panic attacks, depression, nervous system disorders (specifically fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis), male infertility, cell damage, and cancer (specifically bladder and reproductive organs).  NEVER EAT THESE!

• Aspartame - linked to cancer of the reproductive organs.
• Saccharin - linked to bladder cancer
• Mannitol
• Sorbitol - labeled to warn of nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.
• Xylitol
• Splenda (sucralose) - a chlorocarbon (contains chlorine) linked to organ, genetic and reproductive damage. Lab rats show a 40% shrinkage in thymus gland (foundation of immune system) when given Splenda.

Here's the bottom line!

Avoiding sugar is easy to do if you are willing to put in a little hard work first.  Your body is going to have to detox and it is going to be uncomfortable for a few days or even weeks.  But, once you get past the initial withdrawal, you will start to feel so good that you'll realize a soda isn't worth it.  Your taste buds will also change and most of the foods you once thought tasted good will become too sweet for you.

Make your own food and read your labels.  And as always - everything in moderation.  You're not going to die if you eat a cookie or drink a soda every now and then, but when you eat them day after day your body and brain become addicted and the sugar begins to get every system in your body out of whack.  Stick to natural sweeteners and use them in moderation.

-Jess

Sources

"Exactly What Is Splenda? .: Ask Dr. Hull." Dr. Janet Starr Hull, PhD, CN - Website. Web. 11 Sept. 2009. .

"Substitute Natural Sweeteners for Artificial Sweeteners." Body Cleansing / Detox Plan and Natural Cures. Web. 11 Sept. 2009. .

"Top 10 Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners." Nutrition Supplements News. Web. 11 Sept. 2009. .

Q&A: 10 Steps To Save Money On Organic Food

I was curious about buying organic. I'm assuming you do. If so, could you write a post about it? I looked but didn't find one. I do want to eat organically, but it's so expensive, and where I live it's about a 30 minute drive to find organic foods.

I love this question! I get asked this quite often. Here is a list I created to help answer it:

Ten Steps To Save Money On Organic Food

Step One: Analyze Your Budget

Take a month and track everything you spend money on - I mean EVERYTHING down to the soda from the vending machine to the bottled water at the gas station. At the end of the month, take a look at your expenditures and categorize them into the following areas: bills, groceries, gas, entertainment, other food, and miscellaneous.

Doing this is eye-opening for the average American. If you are anything like I was when I did this last year, you will notice that you spend way more than you thought you did on random food outside of the home (my biggest expenses were drinks from the vending machine at work and tea at the local coffee shop).

Take an honest look at your budget and ask yourself, "Is eating organic food really important to me?" If it is, then ask yourself what you are willing to do without in order to afford the added expense. Our family does without cable and expensive cell phone plans. We haven't gone out to eat at a restaurant in almost two years and we do not go on expensive vacations. These are things that we do in order to eat the way we do. Our health is just a huge priority for us.

Step Two: Prioritize

Now that you have squeezed some extra room into your budget for organic foods, you need to decide what is most important for you.

For many people it is produce - most people try to avoid the Dirty Dozen (peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, grapes, spinach, lettuce, and potatoes) and only buy them when they are organic. This is because these foods tend to have the highest levels of contamination from pesticides.

The Clean Fifteen (onion, avocado, sweet corn, pineapple, mango, asparagus, sweet peas, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, papaya, watermelon, broccoli, tomato, and sweet potato) have the lowest levels of contamination, so you can get away with not buying organic.

Here is a full list of contamination levels of common fruits and veggies.

Other people prefer to spend their limited budget on pastured meat or eggs, or dairy products that do not contain antibiotics or hormones. You have to decide what is most important for you and focus on trying to find the best deals on those foods.

Our family tries to avoid the dirty dozen and will only eat pastured meat and eggs. We prefer raw milk, but when I run out and have to buy at the grocery store, I refuse to spend $5 on a carton of ultra-pasteurized, organic milk. I prefer to buy the non-organic milk that says it is free of hormones and antibiotics, and isn't ultra-pasteurized. It costs half as much and tastes much better to me.

Step Three: Try To Grow Your Own

Obviously, not everyone lives on a farm and is able to raise their own animals or milk their own cows, but we can take the foods that are most expensive in the store or that we like to eat the most and try to cut costs by growing them ourselves.

I posted last year about a family who lives in the middle of Los Angeles and created their own urban homestead. If they are able to love almost entirely off of 1/4 acre in the middle of the city, just imagine what some of us could do who have even more land!

If you live in a neighborhood that has strict laws about growing gardens or having animals, you may want to look into edible landscaping. You could remove all of your decorative flowerbeds and instead plant fresh herbs, edible flowers, fruit trees, berry bushes, etc. in place of them. You could also plant vegetables in pots and place them on your back deck or near a window inside of your home.

Some neighborhoods will even allow you to have backyard chickens as pets, so long as you don't have any roosters (they are a bit too loud).

The more you grow yourself, the more money you save.

Step Four: Stop Buying Processed Foods

Processed organic foods are a joke. Do we really need organic brownies? Organic cookies? Organic frozen burritos? Just because they say "organic" it doesn't make them healthy.

I will admit that if given a choice between a regular frozen burrito or an organic one, I would probably choose the organic one because I can usually pronounce all of the ingredients. But when you buy processed foods you are paying for convenience.

If you are going to buy processed organics, you can find some coupons here.

These organic processed foods cost nearly twice as much, sometimes more, than their non-organic equivalents. For example, there are some very popular brands of organic salad dressings that you can buy at major grocery chains for around $5 per bottle. Their non-organic equivalents are less than half that. But even the non-organic brand is too expensive when you consider how little it would cost to make it yourself, which brings me to...

Step Five: Start making food from scratch

I used to be obsessed with Amy's brand organic soups until one day I realized that for the amount of money I spent on one $4 can of lentil soup I could buy enough bulk lentils to make soup for our entire family.

Now I pretty much make everything from scratch - soups, noodles, burritos, breads - you name it. It saves so much money - of course, you have to factor in the amount of time spent cooking and decide whether or not it is worth the money saved.

But this goes hand-in-hand with step two - what are your priorities? Take a look at how you spend your free time and see if there are ways you could squeeze out an extra half an hour a day to make some homemade crackers or to juice your own apples. You'd be amazed at how much free time you have in a day - you just have to decide how you want to spend it.

You could also ask for some labor-saving appliances as gifts on your next holiday. A bread-maker will do everything for you - mix, knead, bake - and it will only take you five minutes to throw your fresh, organic ingredients into it each morning. Other items like juicers, dehydrators, canning supplies, food processors, gardening tools, etc. will help you save time.

Step Six: Start going directly to the source

The closest Whole Foods or Trader Joe's to where I live is almost an hour away. Not only would I spend a fortune in gas driving there to shop every week, but the food there is ridiculously overpriced.

But my other option where I live (in the middle of nowhere) is a small health food store that also has very high prices. I used to go to that store to buy my meat and then one day I noticed that the name on the package was local. Why not just drive to the farm and save some money?

So that's what I started doing. We now get our raw milk, eggs, meat and a majority of our produce from farmers in our area. There are so many benefits to doing this - you save money, you get to see the health of the animals, you get to learn about how the farm operates and whether or not it truly is organic, you get to keep your money in your community, etc.

Many people feel lost and don't know where to start looking for local sources of organic foods. Here is what I suggest - first, start going to your local farmer's market. If you're not sure when and where it is, contact your city (township, village, etc.) officials and ask who you need to speak with. The person in charge of the farmer's market may even be able to give you the names of some of the vendors to start your search.

Next, ask around at your local health food store (or other places that healthy people seem to be). Ask the owners where they get their meat, eggs, or milk from. My local store even has bulletin boards with information available about local sources for many foods.

You can also get involved in community supported agriculture and find a co-op near you. This way you can get cheap, fresh, organic produce practically delivered to your front door every week.

Finally, start attending your local chapter meetings of the Weston A. Price foundation. This organization has so much information to give to you and many times they hold mini-farmer's markets at the meetings so you can purchase organic foods at a good price. This is an excellent source for raw milk products.

Step Seven: Buy In-Season

I posted about the benefits of eating in-season produce last year. If I need to buy a food that is out of season and I have a choice between frozen and fresh, I generally buy frozen, because I know it was probably picked when it was riper (and it costs much less).

There is a reason why those organic mangoes cost so much in Ohio in the middle of February - they don't grow anywhere near here in this climate. When you buy out of season not only are you sacrificing the nutrient content of your produce, but you are basically paying extra to have the food shipped to the store. Instead, start purchasing only the foods that are in-season (do a google search to find out which seasonal foods grow near you).

Buy as much produce as you can when it is in season and then learn how to preserve it for the winter months, which brings me to...

Step Eight: Learn how to preserve your food

When something is on sale, buy a bunch and either can it, freeze it, or dehydrate it. This will cut down on your winter grocery bills and is also the only way you can guarantee that the produce you are eating in the winter was picked fresh and is local.

Frozen fruits don't taste very good once they are thawed if you are going to eat them plain, but they are wonderful in smoothies, desserts, and as purees/sauces.

We like to use a dehydrator to dry out all of our fresh herbs and save them for later use. You can also make your own homemade fruit leather with the dehydrator.

Step Nine: Buy in bulk

It's always cheaper when you buy more. At my farmer's market, many vendors offer deals when you buy in bulk (buy your apples by the bushel and they cost less than by the pound, etc.).

I have found that buying my meat in "bulk" makes it much cheaper. We purchase a half-beef every 9 months or so and we have calculated that it works out to be around $18/week for our pastured, all organic-meat (2 adults/2 children eating beef 3 times per week). That is comparable to what we would spend on non-organic beef in the grocery store if we bought on a weekly basis.

There are also farms out there, like this one, that offer organic foods in bulk at very reasonable prices. I used to order from this company, with a group of people, and get all of my dry goods for very cheap. We did it in a group because there are minimum amounts required for delivery. Once a month our group would place orders and one of the group members would pick up our orders and be responsible for separating them out. It was work for the person in charge, but it saved a lot of money.

Step Ten: Eat less/Waste less

According to this source, Americans throw out an average of 1400 calories per person every single day. Think about how many times you let that bag of lettuce go bad before you toss it, or let the milk spoil before anyone drinks it. If you factor the amount of money you spend on food that gets thrown away every month, I bet you could put a small dent in your organic grocery bill.

Instead of throwing things away, learn to preserve your produce before it gets a chance to go bad. If you buy more apples than you plan on using in a week, try making some applesauce with the rest. If your milk is spoiled, learn to make cheeses and other dairy products from it. If you make too much food and have leftovers, instead of letting them sit in the fridge for a few days and go bad, try freezing them for later use.

Learn to use everything so that you don't have to waste it. For example, when you buy a large broiler chicken, don't discard the carcass and drippings after you cut away the meat. The drippings can be frozen and used for gravies at a later date. Place the carcass in a crock pot or oven with some water and make your own homemade broth that can be used for a soup. I've seen organic, free-range chicken broth for $4 in the grocery store. Why would you pay that when you could get it for free from one dinner's worth of "waste"?

So there you have it. If you learn to do these things, you can significantly reduce your organic grocery bill. I'm not going to lie, eating organic for cheap is A LOT more work, but remember, buying processed foods is expensive because it is convenient. I have found that once I moved into an organic "mindset" I started taking pleasure in the work - the preserving, the cooking, and now the gardening. What used to be a chore has now become a hobby in which I can even involve my children.

It is also important to remember that every little bit counts. It would be nearly impossible to eliminate every single but of exposure to pesticides and toxins in your environment. We all try to do the best we can. Find what foods are most important for you and start with those. Eventually you will find ways to cut back your bills so you can afford other foods.

When my family started eating this way we were spending over a thousand dollars EACH MONTH on our grocery bills. I am happy to say that I now spend an average of $600 per month (we eat every meal at home) on a family of four on a diet that is almost completely organic and the extra work has become such a part of my routine that I don't feel like I am missing out on anything by putting forth the extra energy.

Good luck on your organic adventure!

-Jessica

Nitrates/Nitrites

I first heard about nitrates when I was pregnant with David. Prior to that point I never worried about what was in processed meats, because I had been a vegetarian for nearly a decade. When I started eating meat again I knew I would need to read up on the food restrictions for pregnant women that my doctor was recommending.

I remembered hearing that doctors want you to limit the consumption of lunch meat while pregnant because it could possibly contain listeriosis (an infection caused by bacteria) and that you should always heat your lunch meat in the microwave. As I researched further I realized that listeriosis wasn't the only concern with processed meats, but that nitrates and nitrites were equally dangerous.

I adopted a policy when I became pregnant with my first son - if it is unsafe for my unborn child, it is probably unsafe for me even when I'm not pregnant. Thinking this way has changed everything from the way I clean my house to the drugs I am willing to take to the foods I choose to put into my body.

What are nitrates/nitrites? What is the difference?

Nitrates are the salts of nitric acid. Nitrites are the salts of nitrous acid.

Sodium nitrate is found naturally in green, leafy vegetables. The reason it is used as a food preservative is because it is antimicrobial. Other uses for sodium nitrate - used in the production of fireworks, instant cold packs, fertilizer, pottery, and rocket fuel; used to treat waste water.

Sodium nitrite is a preservative, but is also used because it helps keep the color of the food from changing over time. Other uses for sodium nitrite - used in the production of fabric dyes, rubber, and metal coatings; used as an antidote for cyanide poisoning.

What foods contain nitrates/nitrites?

Bacon, ham, frankfurters, lunch meats, smoked fish, corned beef, etc. Basically any of the meat you find in the deli area at the grocery store.

Leafy greens can have high levels of nitrites when they are commercially grown, especially when fertilizers with high levels of nitrogen are used.

Nitrates form in cooked vegetables during storage. It is suggested that you avoid consuming reheated vegetables (especially green veggies).

Why should I care about nitrates? The FDA says they're safe in moderation.

The FDA believes that small amounts do not pose a risk, but advises that pregnant women and infants do not consume foods containing this additive. In fact, the USDA does not allow foods marketed to babies, infants and toddlers to contain nitrates or nitrites. This is because the consumption of nitrates can lead to methemoglobinemia in babies, children, and even some adults that are susceptible (those with inherited mutations, certain vegans/vegetarians with insufficient stomach acid, people with food allergies, asthmatics, etc.).

Study after study has shown that when animals are exposed to high levels of the food additive, they are more likely to develop cancers (especially of the esophagus, stomach, large intestine, bladder and lungs).

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is an FDA watchdog agency that rates food additives for safety, giving each additive one of the following rankings: safe, cut back, caution, certain people should avoid, and avoid (unsafe in amounts consumed or is very poorly tested and not worth any risk). Sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate are given an "AVOID" ranking - here is why:

"Adding nitrite to food can lead to the formation of small amounts of potent cancer-causing chemicals (nitrosamines), particularly in fried bacon. Nitrite, which also occurs in saliva and forms from nitrate in several vegetables, can undergo the same chemical reaction in the stomach. Companies now add ascorbic acid or erythorbic acid to bacon to inhibit nitrosamine formation, a measure that has greatly reduced the problem. While nitrite and nitrate cause only a small risk, they are still worth avoiding.

Several studies have linked consumption of cured meat and nitrite by children, pregnant women, and adults with various types of cancer. Although those studies have not yet proven that eating nitrite in bacon, sausage, and ham causes cancer in humans, pregnant women would be prudent to avoid those products.

The meat industry justifies its use of nitrite and nitrate by claiming that it prevents the growth of bacteria that cause botulism poisoning. That’s true, but freezing and refrigeration could also do that, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has developed a safe method using lactic-acid-producing bacteria. The use of nitrite and nitrate has decreased greatly over the decades, because of refrigeration and restrictions on the amounts used. The meat industry could do the public’s health a favor by cutting back even further. Because nitrite is used primarily in fatty, salty foods, consumers have important nutritional reasons for avoiding nitrite-preserved foods."

"But I love bacon. I couldn't live without it!"

I hear you loud and clear. I didn't eat meat for nearly ten years and the first "meat" I decided to consume once I made the decision to become a carnivore again was bacon. A life without bacon just sounds sad.

Prior to the use of these food additives, people preserved their meats through salt curing, smoking, and lacto-fermenting. In fact, you can still find brands that practice these methods (if you're willing to pay a little extra for them).

We try to purchase most of our meats through local farmers, but one of our favorite grocery store brands is Applegate Farms. We enjoy their Natural Sunday Bacon. I even feel safe saving the grease from this bacon for other uses in the kitchen. Gabe loves their Natural Hot Dogs and I feel safe giving them to him as an occasional treat. Both of these products are organic, antibiotic/hormone-free and vegetarian-fed. I prefer buying meat that is pastured, but when you're in a traditional grocery store you sometimes have to settle.

If you're looking for lunch meats, Hormel Natural Choice brands do not contain nitrates/nitrates or MSG. Even large chain stores sell this product.

You don't have to give up your favorite foods to avoid these potentially dangerous food additives. There are so many choices out there for you!

-Jessica

**I have not been paid by any of the companies mentioned above to promote their products. These are just products that I feed to my family.**

Sources:

Fallon, Sally. Nourishing traditions the cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition and the diet dictocrats.
Washington, DC: NewTrends Pub., 1999. Print.

"Food Additives ~ CSPIs Food Safety." Center for Science in the Public Interest. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. .

"Nitrate -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. .

All Eggs Are Not Created Equal

I wrote last September about food labels and what they actually mean. In that post I discussed the different labels for eggs:

Certified Organic - The chickens are required to have outdoor access, but there is no regulation concerning the length of time and conditions. The birds must be fed a vegetarian diet, without pesticides and hormones. A third party verifies compliance.

Free Range - This usually means the birds are kept in a barn or warehouse uncaged and have some outdoor access. This label tells you nothing about the diet of the bird. There is no USDA standard, therefore a third party does not verify compliance.

Cage-Free/Free-Roaming - The same as free range, except the chickens usually do not have outdoor access.

Vegetarian-Fed - The chickens are fed a vegetarian diet, not necessarily organic. There are no restrictions on the living conditions of the bird.

Natural - Essentially, this means nothing.

Fertile - The hens lived with roosters. This label tells you nothing about the diet of the birds.

Omega-3 Enriched - The birds are fed a diet enriched with things like flaxseed and algae.

In this post I would like to show you the physical differences between most store-bought eggs and those that are from chickens that were allowed to roam free and eat their natural diet.

The following picture shows an Eggland's Best egg on the left. The carton says the egg is "all natural", "farm fresh", and "vegetarian fed", but says nothing about the living conditions of the bird from which it came. The egg on the right is fertile and comes from a local farmer, whose birds roam free and eat a diet of bugs, greens, and animal dung, as well as organic, non-GMO feed.



Have you ever wondered why some eggs are white and some are brown? White eggs come from white chickens and brown eggs come from brown chickens. Contrary to popular belief, brown eggs are not any more "natural" or healthy for you than white ones.

In the following picture you can see the difference in the color of the yolks (The Eggland's Best egg is on the left and the free-range egg is on the right).



As you can see, free range yolks are usually a deeper shade of orange. This is due to the birds' diets. And you can definitely taste the difference!

But color and taste are not the only differences between these eggs. The eggs from chickens that are allowed to eat on pasture have:

• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more Vitamin A
• twice the omega 3
• 3 times more Vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

If you are worried about price, you can actually get free range eggs from a local farmer for much cheaper than the store-bought organic brands that claim to be free-range. A dozen Eggland's Best Free-Range Organic eggs cost nearly $5 at my local grocery store, but we purchase our eggs from a farmer for $3.

If you still aren't convinced that you should be switching to pastured eggs yet, you may want to also consider the lives of the animals. Many times the eggs in the grocery store come from birds that have been living their entire lives in a small cage not even big enough for them to stand. These birds are pumped full of antibiotics and hormones so that they can be healthy enough to lay eggs (eggs that are obviously of an inferior quality due to the fact that the hens are so sickly). Their diets consist of genetically-modified grains and corn, and sometimes they are even fed other chickens or animals. Without ever seeing sunlight or feeling the earth beneath them, they produce egg after egg until they eventually die due to their poor health and living conditions.

Why support such an inhumane practice when you can get healthier eggs, for much cheaper, and from hens that are able to live their lives in the open air doing what they were meant to do? Check your local health food store, Farmer's Market, or Weston A. Price meetings to find a source for healthy, nutritious, humane, free-range eggs.

-Jessica

Source:

"Meet Real Free-Range Eggs." Organic Gardening, Modern Homesteading, Renewable Energy, Green Homes, Do it Yourself – MOTHER EARTH NEWS. Web. 12 Feb. 2010.

Treat Your Skin With Oatmeal

My sons have very sensitive skin. We are constantly battling hives, eczema, diaper rashes and other irritations. Lately I have found oatmeal baths to be one of the best remedies - it is natural, cheap, and easy to use.

Putting oatmeal in your bath water is one of those folk remedies known to heal things like bug bites/stings, sunburns, psoriasis, rashes, chicken pox, and many other common skin problems.

Here is why oatmeal helps soothe skin:

• The saponins (the coating of the oat) act as a natural cleanser by absorbing dirt and oil, normalizing your skin's pH balance. In plants, saponins protect against fungi and microbes (the avenacins in the oats are also antifungal). Although you don't want to consume the saponins in your oatmeal (this is why you soak them), they are believed to be beneficial helping to heal skin irritation.


• The phenols and flavanoids in the oats provide UV protection and fight free radicals. These are ingredients you often see added to anti-aging creams.


• Oatmeal also contains Vitamin E, which helps fight inflammation.

How to prepare an oatmeal bath

You are supposed to grind your oats into a powder so that when water is added, they are evenly dispersed and do not just simply sink to the bottom of the tub. This ground oatmeal is called colloidal oatmeal.

I use a method that saves me a step. Simply take either the leg on an old pair of hose or one of your trouser socks and fill it with whole oats. You can use this as an oatmeal "teabag" in the tub.



Colloidal simply means "gelatinous". By taking my bag of oatmeal and squeezing it, I can feel a "gluelike" residue filling the tub.

Once I have steeped the bag in the water long enough that the water looks cloudy, I then take the actual bag and rub it over the rash, making sure to squeeze the "juice" from the oats directly over it.

Your skin will feel slimy to the touch when you are done, but don't rinse off before you leave the tub. The residue will help protect your skin.

After you are done with the bag of oatmeal, just squeeze out the oats, turn it inside out and rinse. You can reuse the hosiery over and over again.

What about the oatmeal bath products sold in stores?

Aveeno products are the most common oatmeal-based products and actually score well on the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. The ingredients in the Soothing Baby Bath Treatment are: mineral oil, laureth-4, calcium silicate, and colloidal oatmeal. The only questionable ingredient is the laureth-4, which is actually a skin and eye irritant (it seems silly to treat your skin with something that will irritate it).

Why purchase a product with extra ingredients that may not be helping you, when you can use the real thing for much cheaper?

-Jessica

How To Make Homemade Cottage Cheese

Not only does making your own cottage cheese save you money, but look at the number of unnecessary ingredients you eliminate.

Ingredients in store-bought cottage cheese (I used Horizon Organic brand as an example): Organic Pasteurized and Cultured Skim Milk, Organic Milk, Organic Cream, Organic Nonfat Milk, Salt, Tri-Calcium Phosphate, Locust Bean Gum, Carrageenan, Microbial Enzyme (Non-Animal, Rennetless)Live and Active Cultures: L. Acidophilus and B. Bifidus.

Ingredients in homemade raw milk cottage cheese: Milk.

Additives like xanthan gum and locust bean gum have been linked to gastro-intestinal and respiratory problems, while carrageenan is thought to cause ulcers and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis). If these studies are true, it's a good thing the store-bought cottage cheese contains active cultures (that are added to replace the natural ones killed during pasteurization) to help repair all of the damage it is doing.

How to make cottage cheese from raw milk

The process I use for making cottage cheese from raw milk is very similar to the process for making cream cheese, but instead of starting with yogurt, I simply leave the raw milk out on the counter for several days and allow the curds and whey to separate on their own. Remember, this will only work with raw milk, which contains the beneficial bacteria that is normally killed during the pasteurization process. Pasteurized milk spoils when it is not kept cool.

Here is what my milk looked like after 5 days on my kitchen counter:



Once you can see that your curds and whey have separated, simply strain it using cheesecloth or a dishtowel until you reach the desired consistency. If you strain it longer, you will get cream cheese.



Once you have reached the desired texture, simply salt to taste.



Save the whey to use for lacto-fermenting or to make some ricotta cheese.

How to make cottage cheese from pasteurized milk

I have never actually tried the following methods, but I was given the recipes by one of Adam's patients, who says she has the best luck with recipe 2. You would not want to try recipe 1 with raw milk, because the heat would kill all of the beneficial bacteria.

Recipe 1:
Boil one gallon of milk. Add 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar and stir. The milk will immediately curdle. After it cools, pour it through a colander and add cream until you reach your desired consistency. Salt to taste.


Recipe 2:
Heat 2 gallons of fresh milk until it is barely lukewarm (do not heat past 110 with raw milk). Add 1/4 tablet rennet (if using junket rennet add 1/2-whole) dissolved in 1/4 c. water. Let it stand until firm and then cut into small curds. Heat the curds until warm (100 - 106) for 5 minutes and be careful not to let them mat together. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Salt to taste and add a little fresh milk or cream.

-Jessica

Q&A: Sesame Oil

This question was asked in response to my post about olive oil.

Where does sesame oil fit in? Is it worse than those on your list?

I've been using an unrefined, expeller-pressed sesame oil for med heat (up to 350). The more I look into this oil, I'm finding that it's a really bad thing that it's in a clear bottle and isn't refrigerated. It's been in the cupboard for over a month (opened). Is it rancid? Should I just toss it?

According to Nourishing Traditions, sesame oil is very similar to peanut oil in composition. Because it contains high amounts of Vitamin E and antioxidants, it does not become rancid easily. These special antioxidants aren't effected by heat either, which would make you think it is good for cooking.

But, there are dangers associated with the use of sesame oil, and other similar oils that are high in omega-6 linoleic acid (peanut, safflower, corn, sunflower, soybean and cottonseed oils) and research is showing that too much in your diet may be bad for you. This same research suggests that heating the omega-6 oils is also bad.

Omega-6 can actually be really good for you if it is combined with the proper amounts of omega-3 (ratio of O-6 to O-3 should be somewhere between 3:1 and 1:1), however most of these omega-6 oils contain very little omega-3. Eating the improper ratio of these acids can lead to arthritis, heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer and inflammation. Unfortunately over 70% of the food in our grocery stores contain these types of oils.

The bottom line: if you're going to use sesame oil, or other omega-6 oils, use them sparingly and never when heated.

Sources:

"The Danger Of Too Much Omega-6 EnergyFanatics.Com." EnergyFanatics.Com - Physical Emotional Mental and Spiritual Energy. Web. 15 Jan. 2010. .

Fallon, Sally. Nourishing traditions the cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition and the diet dictocrats. Washington, DC: NewTrends Pub., 1999. Print.

Vinegar

I have always said that if I was stuck on a deserted island and could only pack one item to bring with me, I would probably pick vinegar. Not only is it edible, and would be a wonderful addition to the vegetable diet I would probably be eating on the island, but it can be used for a variety of medicinal, cleaning and grooming purposes.

What is vinegar?

Vinegar is made from the fermentation of ethanol (sources are usually wine, cider, beer or other fermented liquids), which produces acetic acid.

What is the difference between the different types of vinegar?

-Balsamic vinegar comes from fermented white grapes and is the most expensive and usually the best quality vinegar. This is because it is aged longer than other types of vinegars. It has a sweeter taste and thicker texture, and is usually used in salad dressings or as a dipping sauce for breads.

-Red and white wine vinegars come from wine or champagne and are usually used for salad dressings and marinades.

-Apple cider vinegar obviously comes from cider and has a mild taste. It is also good for salad dressings.

-Rice vinegar comes from rice and has less acidity than other forms of vinegar. It is used in many Asian foods.

-Malt vinegar comes from barley and is commonly used on potatoes and fried fish.

-Distilled white vinegar comes from grain alcohol and has a very unpleasant taste, making it more popular as a cleaning agent. It is rarely used in food.

In what ways does our family use vinegar?

Cooking

• I make many homemade salad dressings using mostly balsamic and apple cider vinegars.
• We always have malt vinegar on our potatoes.
• Adam loves to make homemade sushi with rice vinegar in his rice (it makes it stickier).
• Vinegar is also used in our kitchen for fermenting and pickling.
• Whenever I have non-organic fruit that has a visible residue (especially with apples), I make sure to soak them in a vinegar wash.
  

Cleaning - I gave up on commercial cleaners when I was pregnant with Gabriel. I had read somewhere that pregnant women shouldn't use harsh cleaners, especially bleach, while pregnant and figured that if it wasn't good for my unborn child it probably wasn't good for anyone. We replaced all of our household cleaners with either vinegar, baking soda, or a combination of the two. Not only does the vinegar disinfect (kills 99% of bacteria, 82% of mold, and 80% of germs/virsuses), but it also neutralizes odors and removes mineral deposits. We use it to:

• clean carpet messes by covering the area with baking soda, letting it dry, vacuuming the dry soda and then spraying the area with straight vinegar.
• shine windows.
• sanitize toys and other surfaces the children touch, like high chairs and changing tables.
• remove residue from kitchen appliances.
• clean tubs and countertops. I like to use straight distilled white vinegar for these chores, but some people prefer to dilute it with water. Using it with baking soda (to scrub the surface) is really effective.
  

Laundry

• I add a cup of distilled white vinegar to my load of cloth diapers to help disinfect.
• Vinegar also can replace liquid fabric softener in your laundry, because it reduces static cling. Don't worry, you can't smell the vinegar afterwards.

Grooming

• Spraying your hair with vinegar before you get out of the shower will help get rid of some of the build-up in your hair (the same way it removes build-up in household appliances) and make it shinier.
• Some people use vinegar as a deodorant, but I have not had luck with it.

Medicine

• Whenever I have a mystery rash, I cover it with a little vinegar. This helps dry out the rash.
• It can also take the sting out of big bites.
• Although I have never used it in this way, I have read that vinegar can also be useful in treating jellyfish stings.
• Adam swears by his apple cider drink. Whenever he feels like he needs a quick detoxification, he will add two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to a glass of water and drink it.
• Vinegar has been proven to lower cholesterol.
• It removes warts.
• You can clear up ear infections by rinsing the ear with a vinegar solution.
  

Gardening - Vinegar can be used as a weed killer. Just be careful - after cleaning out my son's kiddie pool with vinegar in my front yard last summer, I noticed that it killed all the grass in the area.

I don't know what I would do without these products in my home. They are a natural alternative to many harmful chemicals and I feel safer knowing that my cleaning closet contains items that will not poison my children if they were to come in contact with them.

-Jessica

Sources:

"All About Vinegars - Vinegar Types - Using Vinegar in Cooking and Baking." Busy Cooks Quick and Easy Cooking and Recipes. Web. 30 Dec. 2009. http://busycooks.about.com/od/quicktips/qt/vinegartips.htm.

"Vinegar -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 30 Dec. 2009. ..

"Vinegar Kills Bacteria, Mold and Germs Healthy and Green Living." Care2 - largest online community for healthy and green living, human rights and animal welfare. Web. 30 Dec. 2009. .