In my experience as a nutritional therapist (and in my own experience as a mother) I have seen overwhelming clinical evidence to support the hypothesis that the diets we begin with set the stage for our health for the rest of our lives.  There is one common thread among all of my most chronically ill clients.  They were all fed formula as children, and started on first foods that were nutrient depleted, which set the stage for all kinds of metabolism problems throughout the childhood and teen years.

Now, I will be the first to tell you that just because you cannot breastfeed, it doesn’t mean you can’t undo the damage caused by formula.  First of all, you can switch your baby from commercial formula to a homemade raw goat’s milk formula that is highly nutritious, easier to digest, and full of live probiotics and enzymes that the body needs (of which commercial formula is devoid).  You can read about my son’s amazing story with raw goat’s milk formula.  I plan to blog more about the goat’s milk formula and FAQs related to that very soon, as I get several e-mails a week related to that!

If circumstances prevent you from making your own formula, that’s okay too.  My daughter (who is older than Jonathan) was on commercial formula for a year and unfortunately I didn’t know any other alternative at the time.  While we did have to really do a lot of work to reverse the effects on her digestive system, (thank you LORD for the GAPS diet and Nutritional Balancing), after 5 years we are finally seeing some really great results and improvements.   So there is ALWAYS hope, and kids can turn around fast.  But I believe that the window of time is critical because once puberty and adolescence hits, the nutritional deficiencies can really begin to manifest. 

So, what can one do right now to begin to nourish the body and get off to a great start, regardless of whether you were able to give your child commercial formula, homemade, or breastmilk?

First of all, it’s vitally important to understand that all children are born fast oxidizers.  The oxidation rate explains the metabolism, and since babies are growing so fast, they demand lots of fats in the diet.  Breastmilk (ideally, although not all breastmilk is the same quality) has the ideal proportion of fats, carbohydrates, and protein.  In an ideal world, if we could breastfeed, we would keep kids on breastmilk for as long as possible (up to 3 years or more) since it is the perfect food, and it changes and adjusts to perfectly suit the child.  If you can do this, that is GREAT.  Do whatever you can to nurse as long as possible.

Unfortunately, for many of you who find your way to my blog, you were unable to breastfeed for very long if at all, and so this is simply not an option.  And I totally understand and grieve with you about this.  But God was able to turn my grief of not being able to fully breastfeed my kids into a passion.  He lead me down a path that showed me that yes, you CAN nourish your children, NO MATTER WHAT!!!  But the reality is, we need to be serious about working against a nutritional deficit because, let’s face it, breastmilk is best.  But I’m here to tell you that you CAN have vibrantly healthy children who have not been able to be fully breastfeed!  My kids are living proof!  (And obviously, there is more to nourishment than food.  Your love, your intention, and the low-stress environment you can create for your children goes a LONG way towards their healing and nourishment!)

Before we go further, I want to demystify the “Nourishing My Kids is Too Expensive” excuse.  I want to encourage you to be creative and to be a good steward of your finances, and stewardship means first and formost, providing your children and family with nourishing foods.  Sacrifices do need to be made for this to happen.  Americans pay the smallest percentage of their income on food.  Around the world, many people live to eat.  If you think about it, the earliest Nomads and Native peoples of every culture built their lives around nourishment.  That doesn’t mean you “worship your stomach” or make an “idol out of food”.  God is the giver of all good things.  Food is one of those things.  Sacrificing–whatever that means for you, whether it’s growing more of your own food, or spending more money on organic produce or raw milk and living with a smaller house or less of a wardrobe– is a gift of love for your family. That is what life is all about.  Sacrifical love.  We offer these things on the alter of our lives. 

Obviously we can take this too far and we can be tempted to make an idol out of food.  But nourishing our children and families doesn’t have to be expensive. 

{Forgive me as I switch gears again.}

Understanding your babies metabolism will help you be guided towards the right choices.

Obviously babies are growing and developing at a rapid rate and need food throughout the day.  AGAIN, I will state clearly that breastmilk is best and ideally all that is needed for the first 2 years of life, IDEALLY.  So my recommendations here are to augment a diet that consists mainly of breastmilk OR a quality homemade formula or simply raw milk. 

{Ok, I need to digress again real quick:}

Why do I emphasize raw milk so much?  Pastuerized milk is basically not even a food, in my opinion.  Here are the top 3 reasons why not to even bother with it:

1) Pasteurization denatures the proteins making them unrecognizable to the body and therefore potentially allergy-producing.

2) Homogenization and pasteurization oxidizes the fats making them very unhealthy.

3) Pasteurization kills the live probiotics and enzymes (such as lactase) that allows the body to self-digest the proteins and sugars in the milk, causing more stress on the body.

There are other reasons, of course, like the Vitamin A Palmitate and Vitmin D2 that is added to the milk.  The problems with pasteurization are beyond the scope of this article. But you can read all about the TRUTH about raw milk on the Real Milk website.

Bottom line? If you want to feed your children milk, look into finding a good raw source.  Most all raw dairy farms are small scale operations, and they take utmost care because they know their customers (who all buy farm-direct) will trace any problems directly back to them.  Farmers know they have an obligation to use the cleanest practices for their customers.  All the farmers that I know (and I do know a few!) drink the milk themselves.  Never buy from a farmer who won’t drink his own milk raw!  Our family has been drinking raw milk for over 3 years now and there has never been a single problem in terms of “food poisoning”.  I even purchased my own milking goats last spring because I realized that it would be more economical for me (and a friend who I partnered with) to just milk our own, and it’s not that difficult to keep it clean and sanitary.  So I don’t merely say this as a customer. I say this as a dairy goat “farmer” myself!!!!

{OK, step off soapbox}

So with breastmilk or a good raw milk formula as a foundation, how do we augment an older baby/toddler’s diet?

When to start solid foods really varies based on the individual baby.  A good rule of thumb is that when you sense your older baby (6 months +) just needs something “more” shortly after a feeding, then it might be time to introduce solid foods, if well tolerated.

1. First of all, with FAT.  Here are some great finger foods you can provide for your child:

*Chunks of grass-fed butter cut into little bit sized pieces. (Kerrygold is grassfed, and is cheapest at Trader Joe’s…you can follow that link to see what I love and hate about TJ’s!)

*Mashed ripe avocado.

*Full-fat, plain, whole milk yogurt.  Trader Joe’s organic European style yogurt is great. 

*Full-fat, plain kefir (you can read all about this on my Kefir for Kids post!)

*Sardines (this are full of great omega-3 fats.  If you get them introduced to these early, they will love them!) You can mash them and mix them with a good quality sour cream and make it more of a puree.

*Steamed and pureed veggies (green beans, peas, squash, sweet potatoes) mixed with a little cream or butter.

*Pureed liver pate (BUT ONLY ONLY ONLY if you can get really good, organic livers from a trusted source).

*Fish eggs (roe or caviar).  Good luck finding these; online mail order is your best bet.  Fish roe is nutrient density at its core, and you can fine affordable caviar, believe it or not.  These are full of brain-building nutrients and were prized by traditional cultures for growing children and pregnant and nursing mothers.  You can purchased Dried Tuna Roe and use it as a condiment to sprinkle on dishes in place of salt.  Or you can serve fresh salmon roe (an affordable choice from Marky’s Caviar online)  Remember that nutrient density is the key. It’s quality, not quantity. So you don’t need a lot of it!

*Egg yolks from pastured, free-range hens.  The yolks should be soft-cooked so as to enhance digestion.

*Meats: Dark meats are best, as they contain the most fats, vitamins, and minerals.  And the good news is that thighs and drumsticks are the cheapest usually!  A nice, tender pot roast or lamb roast is also great.  I do not recommend pork products, as they can harbor parisites even when cooked.

But what about cereals, crackers, and juices? 

I do not believe that these have a place in a young babies diet.  First of all, babies do not produce salivary amylase (the enzyme responsible for digesting starches) until they have their 2 year molars.  Crackers and cereals (even Cheerios) are mostly full of refined flour, and are “enriched” with vitamins that are not the most bioavailable.  They are an unbalanced food and are not suitable for fast oxidizers at all. They don’t really nourish and are certainly not nutrient-dense. It’s like heating the house with paper instead of logs. It works, sort of, but eventually it gets very inefficient, and over time can really unbalance the body nutritionally. 

Juices are way too sugary and really serve no purpose in the diet either. If necessary, you can add a little to “flavor” plain water if your child has already been introduced to juice.  Fresh vegetable juice like carrot juice, on the other hand, is a great choice for little ones; about 3-4 oz. per day.  Unfortunately, babies lack the ability to really convert much of the beta-carotene in carrots into a usable form, but carrot juice is a good source of bioavailable calcium.

What about fruit?

Yes, this is the most difficult one to give up.  I believe that fruit is God’s candy, and we should view it as candy.  Feed it to your baby as much as you would feed your baby candy.  If you would not feed your baby candy, then don’t feed fruit.  Yes, fruit is way more nutritious than candy in terms of minerals, but most modern fruit is full of sugar and should still be consumed in moderation.  Unfortunately, fruits do not contain body-building nutrients and therefore, for optimal health, should be given as a dessert and in moderation.  Fruits obviously are amazing gifts from God, full of enzymes and nutrients. Please don’t misunderstand.  But I believe fruit should be eaten in season and in moderation as a treat after all of the more nutrient-dense foods have been consumed.

Obviously, I take a pretty firm stand in a lot of ways on childhood nutrition.  If what I’m saying totally doesn’t work for you, then that’s totally fine. I don’t judge you. I am simply sharing what I have observed from both personal and clinical experience, as will as through my nutritional studies.  For some additional information that goes much deeper into the Foundation of My Children’s Nutrition Philosophy, you may visit the Weston A Price Foundation Website’s Feeding Babies and Children section and also the website of Dr. Larry Wilson, MD, who has worked with many children and families over the past 30 years developing scientific nutritional programs based on the above dietary principles:  Dr. Wilson’s Article on Feeding Children and Babies.

If you would like to begin to make changes but need some more personalized guidance in this journey, I offer an extremely discounted package for babies. I have such a heart for helping babies (especially those of the dear mamas who tried hard to breastfeed, but couldn’t) get on the right start nutritionally, and I use hair analysis to put together a specific nutritional program to balance your child’s physiology and offer support with meal suggestions and general moral support.  Please inquire by e-mailing carriethienes [at] nwholisticnutrition [dot] com with the Subject Heading “Baby Nutrition”.

Smile! YOU CAN DO THIS.  You are not alone, and you will find help in this journey, and the answers will come when we seek them out of love for our children.  This has been my experience, and may you be blessed in your journey to nourish your family in an organic and thrifty way!

Waffles have got to be the hardest thing to give up when you go off of grains, but no longer!  I’ve been experimenting with grain-free waffles for a while, but it’s really hard to find a good texture and taste that works.  But I think I’ve landed on a winner!Angela, a friend of mine (whom I met through this blog!) is the amazing mother of two children on the GAPS diet.  She shared this recipe with me, inspired by one found at Mark’s Daily Apple, another great grain-free blog!

These waffles are a great protein-rich way to start the day, with good fats and a negligible amount of carbohydrates.  Top with fresh sliced fruit, butter, a little whipped cream…..or just eat plain!

Grain-Free Waffles
-Makes 4 Waffles-
(Adapted from Mark’s Daily Apple)

4 eggs
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup coconut milk (full fat) or dary milk

1. Scramble the eggs. 

2. Add the vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, honey, and milk.

3. Add the coconut flour and mix until there are no more lumps.

4. Pour into hot waffle iron and cook for about 5 minutes, until done.

5. Enjoy!

*These freeze well; make a large batch on Sunday or Saturday and have quick, grab-and-go frozen breakfasts throughout the week!

Sorry for the poor quality picture!

There was a time when I thought kale was just a decoration for salad bars.  Who knew it was such a nutritious green (is there any other kind?) with so much versatility.  The challege, of course, is getting kale to appeal to wee ones, or anyone else with greenophobia.   What follows is a delicious, low-carb, nourishing snack reminiscent of potato chips!

It was a total coincidence that the famed Gluten-Free Girl recently posted her thoughts on kale chips around the same time I began this blog post. As I was about to write this post, I found her recipe and thought I would halt the presses, and do more recipe development from her inspiration. 

My version differs quite signficantly; she uses slick Italian Lacinato Kale, I use regular garden-variety kale (both work!). I have not tried using Red Russian Kale, and I’m not sure the texture would hold up quite as well. If you try it, let me know.  Lacinato Kale is sleek and firm, and easy to work with.  Our CSA share last week happened to be drowning in several varieties of regular “salad bar” kale, and it worked great.

Many kale chip recipes around the ‘net (and there are many!) use olive oil as their fat of choice.  I have tried olive oil and it certainly does the job, however after researching more about vegetable oils, I am not recommending using olive oil to cook at high temperatures. Olive oil is best used in salad dressings or for drizzling on to vegetables.  You can get by with low heat sauteeing, but even that is questionabe in my mind. The trouble is, the fat molecules in olive oil are monosaturates and polysaturates, which are much less stable in high heat.  The best fat for cooking at high heat is saturatd fat: butter, coconut oil, poultry fat, or bacon drippings.  You can even use a blend of saturated fat with a bit of olive oil, as the saturated fat helps stablize the mono- and poly-unsaturated fats in the olive oil.

These chips are flavored with salt, pepper, nutritional food yeast, and garlic powder.  Nutritional yeast is a great flavoring that also contains many B-vitamins and other essenial nutrients. 

Kale is a low-calorie, high fiber, nutrient-rich green. It is extremely high in beta-carotene and vitamin K. For more reasons than you ever needed to eat kale, go here.

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale (lacinato or curly leaf, purple or green)
2 T bacon grease, or coconut oil
1 T olive oil (optional; if omitting, add 1 more T of coconut oil)
1 T nutritional yeast
1/2 t garlic powder
sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350. Rinse kale under running water to remove all grit and dirt.  Spin in a salad spinner or shake well to remove excess water.

2. Remove kale from stalks and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Place in a large bowl, and toss with melted oils/drippings and seasonings.  NOTE: Depending upon the size of your bunch of kale, you may need to adjust the amount of oil.You don’t want the kale too soggy; just slightly “dressed” as in a salad dressing.

3.  Place kale into a large roasting pan in a thin layers.

4. Place in oven and roast for about 20 minutes, checking and stirring every 5 minutes.  Kale will be done when it is crispy and bright green.

5. Remove from oven, let cool briefly, and enjoy!  These are tasty and addictive! Enjoy!

We have come past the middle-mark of Lent, the days are getting longer. Spring is certanly in the air and all around us.  The world is renewing; apple blossoms and tulips open forth and the old, dead leaves and branches of winter are suddenly transfigured in green.  I love spring.  Lent can often be thought of as a time of depravation, especially at this point in the fast…and perhaps, if you’re like me, you’ve slipped up a little bit and had a bite or two of meat (or whatever it was you were fasting from!).

Well, there are a little over 2 weeks left, and if you’re tired of spending gobs of money on shrimp and scallops (oh, the irony!) to try and stay low-carb and nutrient dense, then I have some ideas for keeping the fast in a thrify, ultra-simple way:

This past weekend I stumbled upon an inspiring quote about fasting:

“fasting in a larger context, means to abstain from that which is toxic to mind, body, and soul.  A way to understand this is that fasting s the elimination of physical, emotional, and menta toxins from our organism, rather than simply cutting down or stopping food intake. Fasting for spiritual purposes usually involves some degree of removal of oneself from worldy responsibilities. It can mean complete silence and social isolation during the fast which can be a great revival to those of us who have been putting our energy outward.”  -Dr. Gabriel Cousens, MD

I also love the idea that fasting for spiritual reasons literally allows our lower, digestive energies to be released and move up into the heart, where our focus and energy should always remain.  As a devout “ortho-foodie”, I must confess this can be a core struggle for me.  With that in mind, I decided to take this week and really do a liquid fast with one meal per day. 

I will share my favorite list of ideas for healthy liquid fasting and simple, thrifty meals.  I don’t advocate imposing this on small children or unwilling spouses, however.  I’ve found that by not worrying about what I’m going to eat at each meal that’s “kosher” for Lent, I can allow my energy to focus on that which my children need to eat (which usually involves lots of eggs, dairy, and meat) and I just drink my liquids or eat very simple meals. Here are my thrifty meals during the fast:

Liquids

*Fresh juices in the blender or vita-mix: 1 avocado, a few handfuls of fresh greens such as dandelions, turnip, collards, or kale, 1/2 of an apple, 2-3 cups of filtered water, juice of 1 lemon, and a 1/2 cup of  berries.  This is a little bland and somewhat bitter, but I’m going for low sugar. Very filling and cleansing.

*Green Tea or Herbal Tea with a spoonful of melted coconut oil to provide nourishing fats and help regulate metabolism.  Herbs to consider drinking in the springtime include dandelion root, nettle leaf, peppermint, or your favorite!  Green tea is especially high in antioxidant and has calming properties that cancel out the effects of the caffiene to some extent.  During the day, when I’m feeling the need for something warm and filling, I turn to tea with coconut oil instead of food first.

*Kombucha is one of my favorite cleansing drinks, made by fermenting sweet tea.  Kombucha totally curbs my hunger cravings, provides energy and vitality, and is a great liver detoxifier.  Kombucha can be made very simply at home for about $0.50 per gallon.  Check out my resources page to invest in a starter and get brewing! If you prefer to purchase kombucha, Fred Meyer(a Kroger affliate in the NW) has them on sale 2/$5 this week!

*Miso Broth: My hubby makes the absolute best simple, miso soup in the world. He begins with a hefty tablespoon of miso, 1/4 tsp of  thai red curry paste, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and some seaweed flakes.  He places the ingredients into a bowl and pours boiling water over all.  This is pure comfort food, and mineral-rich, low carb comfort food at that!

*Master Cleanse Lemonade- Take 8 oz of filtered water and add the juice of 1-2 lemons.  Add 1/4 tsp. of cayenne pepper and 1 tsp. of Grade B maple syrup (or more to taste).  This is said to be very helpful for liver congestion and has even helped people to shed some unwanted pounds!

Sensible Dinners:

To break the “fast” (either in the morning or evening, or to bookend the days) I chose simply prepared, in-season vegetables such as asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, or squashes and either roast the veggies and eat them alone, or cook them in a soup.

I’ve also been doing a lot with navy beans and lentils.  Sprouted, especially, these GAPS-friendly legumes can be eating lightly steamed on salads, in soups, or pureed and cooked as “patties”.  But I especially enjoy a simple soup of navy beans, garlic, and wilted greens. Laden, of course, with my favorite spices and chopped seasonal veggies. 

Here are some other simple ideas:

*Roasted Vegetables: Seasonal veggies are always the cheapest, and frozen works just fine too. I love to toss cauliflower or asparagus with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast and roast in the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes.  The kids LOVE it and devour their veggies when made this way!

*Simple salad: I love to take lettuce and top it with creamy chunks of avocado and sprinkle with baby shrimp. I also top it with a bit of my homemade PurpleKraut (available to Portland area folks to order!)

*Almonds or Pistachios with Raw Veggies and Hummus:  Nuts alone can be a simple meal for me, but with some fresh raw veggies (carrots, peppers, celery, etc.) dipped in a lima-bean hummus (if you’re on the GAPS diet, otherwise the traditional will do, just substitute cooked lima beans for garbanzos).

*Apples and Nut Butter: Is a delicious and simple meal or even dessert, due to the extra sweetness.

*Sauteed Scallops with Garlic and Green Beans is utterly simple and delicious.

*Shredded Veggie Stir-FryThis involves simply shredding cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, and onions and whatever else suits your fancy and sauteing in a bit of oil and herbs of choice. I even add a few Tablespoons of hummus to make it “creamy”. 

What are your favorite simple, real-food Lenten meals that you can fix easily without much stress? 

Low Carb & Lenten Main Dish Salad
Serves 2

Ingredients:
organic lettuce or baby greens (sales and coupons abound for these, more about this tomorrow!)  ($0.50)
1/2 cup of non-starchy veggie (cucumbers, bell peppers, red onions, whatever you want!)  ($0.25)
1/2 an avocado, cubed   ($0.50)
1/2 cup of olives              ($0.50)
1/4 cup of sunflower seeds or chopped nuts   ($0.10)
1/4 cup of cooked, tiny bay shrimp    ($0.50)
1/4 cup of cooked navy beans, cooked from dry             ($0.25)
1-2 TBS of lacto-fermented vegetables (pictured here is my “PurpleKraut”).   ($0.25)
1 TBS of homemade balsamic vinaigrette (optional, see recipe below)   ($0.50)

Layer all ingredients in order listed above in a salad bowl. Toss to coat.  This is surprisingly filling and delicious!

Total Cost: $3.35

Balsamic Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, smashed (optional)
1 TBS flaxseed oil

Mix all ingredients together.

This post has been a part of Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and $5 Dinner Challenge!

So this post is meant to inspire those who think a healthy, low-carb, gluten-free, nourishing meal costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time.   This meal had all of the health in none of the time and hardly any cost.

I estimate that this is basically a $5.00 dinner because I took an $8.00 roast and split it in half. I plan to use the rest of the meat at the end of the week for “barbecue beef”.  I probably used a little over a dollar’s worth of produce; a few handfuls of arugula for a side salad, a burdock root and a few carrots, some onions, celery, and assorted spices. 

On the salad I plopped some herbed chevre (a deal at Grocery Outlet) and a few Cajun walnuts that were part of a homemade gift basket.  I added some coleslaw leftovers (a deliciously simple blend of sliced apples, red onions, green cabbage, homemade mayo, and a touch of pomegranate vinegar) which thankfully keep for a while in the fridge!

The roasted veggies were simply burdock root (think parsnip) and carrots cut into small cubes, tossed with dried thyme, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  This could have been added to the pot roast, but I wanted a more crisp-tender flavor, so I threw them in during the afternoon.  If you needed advanced prep, consider cutting all the veggies and mixing the herbs/spices in advance and so they would be ready to throw in right when you get home.  I convection-roasted them for about 30 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes or so.  They turned out deliciously crispy on the outside, tender on the inside!

The roast was a spur-of-the-moment creation based on what I had on hand, which I threw into the crockpot in the morning:

 1) I sliced two onions and covered the base of the crockpot with the onions.

2) I added the rump roast, to which I had inserted about 8 peeled garlic cloves into random slits I made with my knife.

3) I generously covered the roast with dried basil, 21-seasoning mix from Costco, dried leeks, sea salt, and pepper.

4) On top of all that, I drizzled pomegranate molasses (something I got in a gift basket last year). I’m told that this is a great stand-in for Worcheshire sauce. 

5) Over the whole thing, I poured about a cup of homemade beef broth.

6) I cooked it on low for about 8 hours, and after 7 hours I shredded the meet with a fork, added about 8 sticks of celery and let it cook another hour.

Afterthoughts:

This made the entire house smell like heaven today. The kids devoured their meat and my son loved the roasted veggies (my daughter needs to avoid starch, and thankfully she naturally does!).  My daughter did eat an arugula salad, which kind of shocked me!  There are plenty of leftovers with this meal and I plan to take the pan juices (with all the onions/leeks/garlic flavors) and blend them up with some tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, dijon mustard, and a hint of chipotle powder to make a BBQ sauce to serve on the leftovers Saturday night.

I must say, this meal is grain-free, low-glycemic (as long as you go easy on the roasted veggies, keep them to 15% of your meal), nourishing and not too spendy!  And I promise when you eat this way, you start to go longer between meals, not needing snacks for 4-5 hours (seriously) and feeling satisfied for longer periods of time.  Ultimately, that saves money in the long run!

This post is being shared with the good folks at “Tempt my Tummy Tuesday“.

Subscription update:  I am in the process of getting automatic, normal subscription options on this blog. Until then, if you’d like to receive old-fashioned e-mail updates, send me a note at carrie [at] organicthrifty [dot] com.

Yesterday, however, I was so excited to “harvest” 10 quarts of bone broth made from 100% grassfed cow bones. After 72 hours simmering on the stove, it was finally time.  I always like to have an amply supply of ready-made beef bone or chicken broth on tap for making soups and sauces.

Why Broth?

According to Sally Fallon’s article called Broth is Beautiful:

Science validates what our grandmothers knew. Rich homemade chicken broths help cure colds. Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons–stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.

Many of us are mineral-deficient, and the mineral supplements we take are not very bio-available.   Broth is not only super nutritious, it’s so cheap and simple to make!  It’s amazing what a difference in flavor cooking in broth produces!

Bone broth also contains gelatin, which Sally Fallon further expounds on in her article:

“Although gelatin is not a complete protein, containing only the amino acids arginine and glycine in large amounts, it acts as a protein sparer, helping the poor stretch a few morsels of meat into a complete meal. During the siege of Paris, when vegetables and meat were scarce, a doctor named Guerard put his patients on gelatin bouillon with some added fat and they survived in good health.”

To read the rest of the article, go here.

As for the price breakdown, I have a source for beef bones locally and can get them for $0.50 per lb!!!  I use 1-2 lbs of bones at a time, along with the “ends” of the celery hearts (you know, the part you always throw away), a few carrots, and 2 large onions. Oh, and I always throw in a sheet of kelp (the see vegetable) which they say adds lots of additional trace minerals.  I put it all into an 8 gallon stock pot and simmer for about 3 days.

Upon harvest, I estimate that I easily obtained about 3 gallons of beef broth, and I spent maybe $1.50 at the most for 3 gallonsof broth!  This is mineral-rich, flavor-rich broth adds so much bioavailable nutrition, and enables me to stretch my meals endlessly almost.  What better way to utilize some unappealing leftovers then to mix them with delicious bone broth?  Better yet, is there any more inspiring way to clean out the pantry than to create your own soup?

Here are a few tips for making Thrifty Bone Broth:

1) Find a source of grass-fed beef, preferably farm direct, and ask about bones. Often butchers just throw these big bones away, so you might score a really good deal!  You’re looking for large femur and knuckle bones. 

2) Ask your butcher at Whole Foods or other health food store if they can order bones for you. These often come at a very fair price.

3) Save any ribs or bones from steaks that you eat in the freezer. Continue to add meat scraps until you have enough to make broth. This goes for chicken bones as well (note: I never by boneless chicken anymore; not only is it more expensive, but you don’t get the double-bonus of bones to make into broth at the end!)

4) Same with veggies; start saving the “butts” of your celery, carrot shavings/tops, and random pieces of veggies that can become a “stock kit” in your freezer.

5) When cooking your broth, assemble all ingredients in a pot with water.  Add 1-2 TBS of vinegar and let it sit, unheated, for 30 minutes to an hour. The vinegar, being acidic, acts to draw the minerals out of the bones so that they are released into the broth and bioavailale!

6) Once you begin cooking, you will see “scum” form at the top of the broth. Gently skim this off. These are the impurities rising from the cooking process.

So, for Day 2 of my Fridge and Pantry Cleanout I essentially filled my fridge and freezer even more with a stash of bone broth…..but I utilized a bunch of veggies that were going bad for the broth, as well as some onions from the pantry, as well as a couple pounds of bones.  I still have a huge box of bones in my freezer….I estimate these will get me through half the year at least, but we’ll see!

Tune in tomorrow to see what the menu plan for the week is, as I plan to cook from only what’s in the fridge, pantry, and freezer this week!

As promised, I’m declaring the entire month of January a “Fridge and Pantry Cleanout” month whereby every meal will be formulated from stuff I have on hand in the fridge, freezer, other freezer, storage shed, or pantry.  I just finished my proposed menu plan for the week, and I’ve gotta say, I think I’m going to be able to easily make it through the month of January (possibly February too) easily without buying much of anything.

My rules for No-Spend January are:

1) Use everything I have on hand to create all of our meal plans.

2) No going out to eat (unless we have a gift card, or it’s our anniversary—January 13th).

3) There is a $10 spending allowance per week for fresh produce, household items, and eggs. Oh, and maybe organic cream. The husband can’t live without that!  But since we have a winter CSA and a good stockpile of household items (I make lots of cleaners and stuff) we should really only be spending our weekly money on eggs & cream.  Alas, I do not yet have a hen or a cow :( 

4) Post a “before and after” picture of the meal I created, the recipe, and approximate cost breakdown (if appropriate) and how the family liked it.

5) All meals contain real food and are grain-free and have a macro-nutrient ratio of 30/30/40 (protein/fat/unrefined carbs).

So today, I started out by building a meal around something that’s been hanging around the depths of my fridge for about a year and a half. Back in fall 2008, a friend and I went to a local orchard to pick plums for $.80/lb.  I picked a lot of plums.  I dehydrated many of them, ate a lot fresh, and experimented with lacto-fermentation for about 2-3 quarts of them.  Well, I have to be honest that after lacto-fermenting them, they lost all appeal for me. I just wasn’t interested in trying them! But they’ve been on my conscience for several months now, and it was finally time to use them.

I also had a nice pack of organic, free-range Trader Joe’s drumsticks in the freezer (the dear daughter’s absolute favorite) and I thought I would build on the “Asian plum chicken theme”.  It turned out that my trusty Better Homes & Gardens cookbook had a recipe that was easily adaptable.

Plum Chicken with Cabbage
serves 8

1 package of 6 organic, free-range chicken drumsticks ($4.35)
1 onion, sliced into rings ($0.25)
2 cups of pitted, lacto-fermented (or canned) plums ($0.20)
1/8 cup of unpasteurized nama shoyu (aka soy sauce) ($0.25)
4 garlic cloves ($0.10)
1 ” piece of fresh ginger ($0.05)
1-2 Tablespoons of raw honey ($0.25)
1/2 tsp five spice powder ($0.05)
2 cups of shredded savoy cabbage ($0.50)
1 cup chopped celery ($0.25)
lacto-fermented ginger carrots, for garnish ($0.25)

Total : ~$6.50

For this meal only: $3.25

In a 6 quart crock pot, place the sliced onions.  Top with the drumsticks (mine were frozen). Meanwhile, in blender, blend the plums, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and five spice powder.  Pour over the chicken.  Cook for about 6 hours on low (or at least that’s what I did).  Add shredded cabbage and celery and cook for 30 minutes until veggies are slightly tender but not completely limp.  Serve with lacto-fermented ginger carrots and pass the hoisin sauce (we happened to have a little left from a long time ago that was still good).

The Outcome:

Very good! My 4 year old gobbled up the chicken but ignored the cabbage. We had a friend who cleaned his plate and enjoyed it, and I thought it was a very tasty, refreshing meal (as did my husband). And, I have two large pyrex bowls leftover, which will provide for two more meals for us this next week. So overall, I would say $6.50 for 3 meals makes this meal officially a “$5.00 dinner”, even with using organic, free-range chicken. This would have tasted great sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and scallions (which I didn’t have).  The chicken is really flavorful and falls right off the bone, which makes it easy to “stretch” the chicken further.  My daughter was the only one who insisted on having her own drumstick.

Leftover suggestions: Wrap with a lettuce leaf for Asian-inspired lettuce wraps, add to chicken broth for an Asian-inspired chicken soup.

Some thoughts: For a family of 4 plus 1 male guest, this meal made plenty with leftovers.  I think it’s so nice and satisfying to know that you can use high quality, organic ingredients and eat a filling, grain-free, low carb meal!  The dark meat of the drumsticks has more fat (which is a good thing; it will fill you up!) and also contains more minerals. It’s also the thriftiest part of an organic, free-range chicken to buy. This meal would obviously be way cheaper with conventional chicken, but knowing what I know about how these chickens are raised, I prefer organic. I figure that the extra money I pay is providing more nutrients (organic, free-range meat has more omega-3s than conventional and more nutrients as well) which means that ultimately I’m eating less calories to consume the nutrients I need. 

Thus concludes Day One of the Fridge and Pantry Cleanout. Join me tomorrow as I piece together another meal from the “fragments”…I press on until I can reach all the way into the back of my fridge, freezer, pantry, and storage shed!

If you’d like to “subscribe” to this blog, I have a ghetto way of doing it: You e-mail me: carrie [at] organicthrifty [dot] com and ask me to add you to my subscription list. You’ll get an e-mail whenever a new post is up. Or you can follow on twitter! 

Also: Do you have any delicious, filling ways of cooking Butternut Squash or Pumpkin that are Grain-Free? I have enough in storage to last me till kingdom come and need some inspiration!  E-mail me (see above) if you have any ideas!

I’m not sure what it is about the crispy, crunchy taste of something slightly salty and flavorful, but it’s something I still have a weakness for. Since going grain-free, our “cracker and chip” options are few, but whenever possible I love to transform an otherwise bland vegetable into something delicious and enticing for my kids!

Eggplant chips may not sound all that appeaing, but trust me: you’ve never had eggplant like this before!  This is a rather time-consuming labor of love, but SO WORTH IT! These eggplant chips begin as thinly sliced eggplant– about 1/4 of an inch.  They are brushed with a marinade of your choice (I used the Cilantro Marinade in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon) and then broiled for 10 minutes; 5 minutes per side (watch them!!!).

After all the slices have been broiled, they are transferred to a dehydrator OR cooked at the lowest possible temperature in the oven for several hours so they can become dry and crisp.  So tasty and convenient for packing into kids’ school lunches, and so healthy!

By the way, here’s the gist of what I do for the Cilantro Marinade:

Cilantro Marinade:

1 bunch of cilantro
3-5 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt (0r more to taste)
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Blend all of these ingredients in your food processor to form a paste.  Brush both sides of sliced eggplant with marinade mixture. Proceed with “recipe” above.

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making a marinade, I suppose just a brush of olive oil, salt & pepper, and some garlic (powder?) sprinkled on the eggplant before they enter the oven would be delicious.

At any rate, these won’t last long in your kitchen and even the biggest skeptics will be won over.  The great thing about these chips is that they are rather sturdy, so don’t be afraid to served them with your favorite dip!

This post is a part of “Tempt My Tummy Tuesday” over at Blessed by Grace!

Nothing has baffled me more as a mother than observing the prevalance of eczema among children.  Thankfully, eczema is not one of the many issues my children have had to deal with, but I have witnessed so many other families battle with this mysterious disorder.  Growing up, my mother always had chronic eczema all over her hands, and I watched as the itching and burning affected her constantly.  I also watched as prescription cream after cream failed to cure her of this disorder. Over the years, I have been very interested in nutritional support and natural ways of healing eczema. What follows are a few insights into nutritional healing for eczema.

Eczema is basically an immune response of the skin.  Plain and simple. Conventional medicine says “the cause is unknown”, but that is misleading.   While “causes” are very hard to scientifically prove, by definition, medicine has been able to identify various “triggers” for eczema.  Environmental toxins, food allergies (themselves also an auto-immune response), and stress and just a few of the known triggers for eczema.

Let’s dig a little deeper into this.  When the body begins to have an auto-immune response, it’s because it’s being attacked from the inside.  What I mean by this is that the integrity of the “machine” has been compromised; and in this case that machine is our gut.  Spanning a surface area larger than a tennis court, our gut is the organ most vital to our immune health. Teeming with beneficial bacteria whose job is to convert our food into usable vitamins and minerals, a healthy gut is critical for optimal nourishment.

According to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, pediatric neuorlogist and nutritionist, and author of Gut and Psychology Syndrome,

Apart from taking a direct part in nourishing the body, beneficial bacteria in the gut act as the housekeepers for the digestive tract. They coat the entire surface of the gut protecting it from invaders and toxins by providing a natural barrier and producing a lot of anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal substances. At the same time they provide the gut lining with nourishment. It is estimated that 60 – 70% of energy, the gut lining derives, is from the activity of bacteria, which live on it. So, it is no surprise that when the gut flora is abnormal the digestive tract itself cannot be healthy. Source

So, it turns out that without beneficial bacteria, our bodies are not producing optimal amounts of vitamins and minerals, and it turns out that some of those vitamins are crucial for eczema support.  It’s no wonder that eczema often doesn’t exist in a vaccuum; often there are several other symptoms that accompany eczema that all have their roots in what is known as “gut dysbiosis” (which, bascially, means your gut flora are out of balance.)

I’ve been fascinated by Dr. Campbell-McBride’s work for a few years now (her GAPS diet has been miracle-working for my family) and so I’ve known an understood the crucial role of beneficial gut flora.  But since I’ve been studying to be a Nutritional Therapist , I’m reading lots and lots and I came across an interesting thing I hadn’t known with regards to infant eczema:
 
Biotin (vitamin B-7) is deficient in infants who have eczema.  According to Dr. Elson Haas monumental work, Staying Healthy with Nutrition (2nd edition), it is very difficult to get biotin from food alone. Luckily, our friendly intestional bacteria produce plenty of it.  Plenty, that is, as long as we don’t have gut dysbiosis.
 

The Path to Infant Gut Dysbiosis

Campbell-McBride explains:

A typical modern mother was probably not breast fed when she was a baby, because she was born in 60s or 70s when breast-feeding went out of fashion. Why is it important? Because it is well known that bottle fed babies develop completely different gut flora to the breast fed babies. This compromised gut flora in a bottle fed baby later on predisposes her to many health problems. Having acquired compromised gut flora from the start, a typical modern mum had quite a few courses of antibiotics in her childhood and youth for various infections. It is a well known fact that antibiotics have a serious damaging effect on the gut flora, because they wipe out the beneficial strains of bacteria in the gut. At the age of 16 and sometimes even earlier the modern mum was put on a contraceptive pill, which she took for quite a few years before starting a family. Contraceptive pills have a devastating effect on the beneficial (good) bacteria in the gut. One of the major functions of the good bacteria in the gut flora is controlling about 500 different known to science species of pathogenic (bad) and opportunistic microbes. When the beneficial bacteria get destroyed the opportunists get a special opportunity to grow into large colonies and occupy large areas of the digestive tract. A modern diet of processed and fast foods provides perfect nourishment for these pathogens and that is a typical diet a modern mum had as a child and a young adult. As a result of all these factors a modern mum has seriously compromised gut flora by the time she is ready to have children. [Ibid]

Depressing?  Oh, that’s just the beginning, because the baby hasn’t even been born yet!

Now, assuming you were breastfeed, never took antibiotics as a kid, and never took the pill, then that’s very good…and as long as you had a childbirth that is natural and without the use of antibiotics (you better be Strep-B negative), AND are able to breastfeed, your child has a fighting chance at good gut health.

The path is narrow….but there is hope!

By taking the steps NOW to reverse gut dysbiosis, you can do so much for your child (even if they don’t have any “signs” of it) in terms of immune and metal health.  Basically, the GAPS diet is the diet for reversing gut dysbiosis.  So if you or someone you love is suffering from eczema, this diet cuts right to the “cause” of eczema. 

Read these success stories regarding the GAPS diet and Eczema.

In addition to the GAPS protocol, you might consider asking your natural health care practitioner about vitamin B-7 supplementation.  I never knew this until recently, but biotin deficiency occurs when sulfa-containing antibiotics are given (as they kill B-7 producing bacteria in the gut).  Well that would have been nice to have been told by the pharmacist back when I was giving my daughter prophylactic antibiotics daily for a year due to kidney reflux!

(Side note on antibiotics: They totally have their important place in medicine and they were certainly the only option for my daughter at the time.  A diet which includes fermented, raw, and enzyme-rich  foods and proper nutritional supplements during the course of antibiotics is crucial for the body to remain in balace.)
 
 So, in summary, here are some final thoughts on nutritional and natural support for eczema:
 
1) Reverse gut dysbiosis (see my resources page for some wonderful GAPS resources)  

2) Rule out any food allergies (if you are breastfeeding, this would mean you would have to do an elimination diet; the biggest culprits being gluten (wheat, oats, barley, rye) and casein (milk protein).  
 
3) Supplement with a child-safe probiotic.  Again, see my resources page for specifc brands. Not all probiotics are created equal, and on the resource page you’ll find a link to Dr. McBride’s own formulation. There are no side effects (except perhaps die-off symptoms), and these are simply the friendly bacteria that inhabit a healthy gut. Recommended for infants and children . Please use a probiotic under the provision of your natural health care practitioner!
 
4)Take additional biotin. Lactating females need 35 mcg per day, according to Dr. Elson Haas, and 30 mcg is sufficient for adult men and women. Consider taking  an entire B-complex of good quality and proven absorbancy to provide B-vitamins while the gut heals.
 
5)Take plenty of EFAs (essential fatty acids) like Black Current Seed oil: The good fatty acids in BCS oil can hydrate and lubricate the skin. Can be applied topically or taken internally. A good Cod Liver Oil supplement is essential for all, as it supplies the best, most natural source of vitamins A and D, which are also crucial for immune system support, healthy skin, and lots of other stuff!  The best cod liver oil is the fermented liquid kind, which is a bit expensive, but you only use a small amount each day so it actually lasts a long time. It can also be applied topically (if you don’t mind smelling like fish!!) But it should be taken my mom and can be given in a dropper to baby.  (Again, see the resources page for my favorite CLO).

6)Use a good-quality, natural, topical oil for relief.  I just became aware of the Homestead Company’s eczema relief oil!! It’s guarenteed or your money back, and it’s only $5.75!!! Right now, she’s running a special for Organic & Thrifty readers. She’s giving 15% off your entire purchase and free shipping on orders over $25!  Check out my resources page for details on this great product and company! Coconut oil is also very effective (so my mom’s found!!!!).

The Bottom Line:

The bad news is, eczema is a prevalent disorder that causes pain and discomfort to SO many people every day, and pharmaceuticals don’t cure it.  We live in a polluted world and we enter the world with nutritional deficits and gut dysbiosis.  It almost seems hopeless and insurmountable.

But the good news is that there is healing!  Dr. Campbell-McBride has done the hard work and has paved the way to help us understand the root causes for eczema and many other disorders.  Gut dysbiosis can be reversed and fortunately, there are many, many high-quality nutritional supplements available to provide the body what it needs to heal.

If you or someone you know is suffering from eczema, please consider sharing this information with them and refer them to a local Nutritional Therapy Practitioner who can continue to guide them within the context of this information I’ve shared with you today.

This post has been a contribution to Real Food Wednesday and Works for Me Wednesday.