Grain-Free Cherry-Chocolate Chip Scones
Please forgive the lack of picture here. Our camera has decided to “pursue other opportunities” as a paperweight, so we are in the market for a new one. Luckily Costco is having a good price on a higher-quality camera, so perhaps the next generation of blog photos will look a bit more professional! One can only hope…..but back to the scones. If there ever were a more picture-perfect breakfast, I haven’t seen one in a while. One that was delicious, nourishing, and grain-free at least! Read on…. Read the rest of this entry »
Grain-Free Waffles!
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! Read the rest of this entry »
Kale Chips: The Nutrient-Dense Potato Chip Stand-In
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! Read the rest of this entry »
Thrifty Fasting (Grain-Free!)
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: Read the rest of this entry »
Low Carb & Lenten: Main Dish Salad
Lent is a beautiful, cleansing time of year, both spirtually and physically. Although I am a strong advocate of red meat and good-quality dairy, I do believe that our bodies can benefit, short term, from a break. During past Lenten periods, I always defaulted to lots of beans,rice, soy, and pasta. Well, I now know that that food doesn’t love me back, so I’ve tried to find nourishing (and thrifty) ways to keep the fast and also eat what my body needs! Read the rest of this entry »
Day 4:Pantry Cleanout Pot Roast
I tell ya, this eating from the freezer and pantry thing is really fun! Maybe it’s because I’m finally enjoying the bounty of meats purchased months ago on major sale or finding creative uses for random root vegetables at the bottom of my veggie bin, or those last few Cajun walnuts given in a Christmas basket (thanks, Cathy!). It’s the odds and ends that sometimes come together to make the best meals…. Read the rest of this entry »
Homemade Bone Broth: Maximum Nutrition for Pennies
Day 2 of the Fridge and Pantry Cleanout was pretty minimal, as we were away all day receiving the hospitality of my dear in-laws who graciously served us lunch and dinner. Breakfast was grain-free granola (a perfect “clean the pantry” kind of breakfast!) with raw milk.
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!
Day 1 FPC: Plum Chicken with Cabbage
Happy New Year everyone!!!!
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.
Marinated Eggplant Chips
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!
Matsoni: The Counterculteral Yogurt
Last week, as you may know, we were running the Cultures for Health giveaway for 3 starter cultures of your choice! In honor of my giveaway, I wanted to reflect on why investing in a starter culture is an easy, no-fuss way to add more nutrition and less cost to your life!
Matsoni is what I call a “counterculture” because it doesn’t need to be incubated in order to culture, as most traditional yogurts do. Although, to be fair to history and regionality, it seems to me that most of the yogurts that need to be “incubated” to remain at a constant temp of about 90-100 degrees–these yogurts actually hail from the parts of the world that have temperatures that are fairly constantly in that range! All that’s to say that I don’t think Nature intended for much fancy equipment in order to culture milk.
The Matsoni is perfectly happy at around 70 degrees to culture within 12-24 hours. I made my first batch this week and here is what I love about it:
1) No need to incubate (already explained above!) so no expensive equipment or hassle required. Just add the starter, and do nothing until about 12 hours later when it’s ready!
2) You can transform regular pastuerized store-bought milk into an enzyme-rich treat!I actually cultured a quart of half & half and got a really creamy, mild, delicious and thick yogurt! If you strain this just a little bit, you end up with delicious, probiotic-rich cream cheese (raw cheesecake anyone? Or perhaps a smoked salmon-cream cheese roll up?)
3) It saves money! Organic yogurt can cost up to $5.00 per quart. You can buy an entire half-gallon of organic milk for about the much, which means you can make your own for half the price. By adding your culture week after week you can eventually pay for the price of the culture with the savings.
4) Did I mention it was easy? College students could keep this going in their dorm (bootleg a quart or two of whole milk from the cafeteria and culture it in your dorm room!!!), busy moms can quickly and easily make a batch in about 2 minutes and forget about it until the next day. No heating milk, cooling it to just the right temperature, then configuring some way to keep it warm, etc. No adding skim milk powder or gelatin to thicken it, because it thickens right up (especially when you add cream or half & half).
5) The taste and texture are amazing, even my husband liked it! This is reason enough to stick with Matsoni. I’ve tried kefir, fil mjolk, and regular yogurt and the taste is just too “off” for my husband. I recently make the Indian cucumber yogurt dip called raitaand my husband raved about it. My kids love the Matsoni mixed with fruit sauce (just boiled down blueberries or peaches; no sugar added) for a fun and easy “fruit on the bottom” breakfast. The texture (especially when using half and half) is thick and pudding-like and once the culture is set (about 12-18 hours for me) there was absolutely no “runniness” to it.
If you missed my recent contest to win your own yogurt culture, there’s good news. Thursday, September 17th I’ll be announcing the winner for the contest along with a special coupon code for discounts at Cultures for Health. This offer is limited, so check in when I announce the winner so you can get the deal!
This is what Works for Me when it comes to Organic & Thrifty Real Food!
