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8/26/2017 0 Comments Nutrition: LiveRin' It UpWhy is it important to learn ways to sneak this beneficial ingredient into your recipes? Contrary to popular opinion in most people, organ meats are actually very good for the body. The organs in animals are more nutrient dense than the muscles, meaning there are more vitamins and minerals. These parts of the animal do have a different taste and texture than the more common meats eaten, so there are ways to disguise the organ meat in recipes. The easiest way is to simply mix organ meats in with the other meat that you are cooking. Instead of 2 pounds of ground beef, use 1.5 pounds of ground beef with ½ pound of organ meat. The Weston A. Price Foundation recommends eating some kind of organ meat once a week. It is also recommended that you only purchase grass-fed organic meat. The liver is the organ that detoxes and produces vitamins. So, there may be some toxins in the animal’s liver, however, if purchasing organically, the load of toxins should be much lower and the nutrition content should be high. Eating animal liver actually helps your body’s own liver to break nutrients and toxins down. Now that you know the benefits, here’s some ideas of how to incorporate animal organ meat into your diet without causing havoc at the family dinner table.  Beef Stroganoff Ingredients: 1 lb liver/hearts, chopped 2 lbs ground beef 3 TB butter 2 tsp salt 2 cloves garlic 1 lb mushrooms, sliced 2 medium onions, chopped 2-3 cups beef broth 4 oz tomato paste 2 cups plain yogurt  1. Heat a large pot on medium-high heat, adding 1 TB butter to melt. Cook the liver/hearts. Set aside to cool a little.  2. Using same pan, add another TB butter and cook ground beef with onions, garlic, salt and mushrooms. Cook until browned. Turn heat down to simmer, adding extra butter if needed.  Don't forget to stir everything up!
 4. Add the beef broth, tomato paste and yogurt to mixture on stove. Stir up and heat through. *Do not heat too long because you will destroy the healthy bacteria in the yogurt. Serving suggestion: Linguine noodles pair nicely with this dish to help absorb some of the liquid.  “And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, that you may eat and be full.” -Deuteronomy 11:15 Here's another recipe to try: MeatloafIngredients: 1 pound ground beef 1/2 pound ground organ meat 2 eggs 1 cup bread crumbs 1/2 cup cream 1 small onion, chopped 2 tsp dried fresh herbs (your choice) 1 tsp unrefined salt 4 oz organic tomato paste 1. Mix the eggs and bread crumbs with cream. Let this mixture sit for a few minutes. 2. Mix the rest of the ingredients, except for the tomato paste. 3. Form into a loaf and set into your pan. 4. Spread the tomato paste over the top. Optional: To make this dish a meal, cut up some other vegetables such as carrots, mushrooms, and peppers. Arrange around the meatloaf. 5. Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour. This would be a great dish to double and freeze one to enjoy later! Resources:
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To save time in the kitchen, it’s always nice to make more food to save for later. If you happen to be making pancakes, it’s not much more work to double or triple the recipe. Pancakes freeze really well and then they are ready to eat. Whenever you want to eat them, just warm up in the toaster oven. Please don’t use the microwave! See the post here about why we choose not to use this popular kitchen device. This really saves time in the morning for those of you rushing out the door. Pop a few in the toaster while you’re getting ready and in a few minutes, you have hot pancakes ready to eat!  Here’s the recipe that I used: 2 TB butter, plus more for greasing surface 1 cup flour (you can use whichever kind you like) 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 2 TB sugar (I used brown sugar) 1 large egg 1 cup milk (I used raw, unpasteurized whole milk) Optional: toppings - walnuts, chocolate chips, blueberries, etc. Directions: Optional: Preheat oven to 200 degrees to keep extra pancakes warm after cooking if desired.
 5. Heat cooking surface to medium, spread with butter, allowing it time to melt. This prevents the pancakes from sticking. We prefer to use cast iron because of the possible health risks related to using non-stick cookware.  6. Pour batter onto cooking surface and add any toppings desired.
This same freezing idea can be applied to any recipe. See below for a recipe using spelt flour:
Ingredients: 2 cups whole spelt flour 2 TB sugar 1 TB baking powder ¾ tsp salt 1 ¾ cups milk 2 TB unsalted butter, melted 2 tsp vanilla (optional) Directions:
Recipe from King Arthur’s Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook For more information about soaking grains, read this post.
Fermented foods are great for your digestive system. We try to eat fermented foods and/or probiotics with every meal. Examples of fermented foods are: tempeh, miso, sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and kimchi. Bacteria and enzymes that are helpful in digestion will aid your gut in breaking down food. The easiest way to consume bacteria and enzyme rich foods is to make your own, since most products purchased off of shelves have been pasteurized. Pasteurization involves heating foods and liquids up to kill potentially harmful bacteria. The problem is, when heated, the good bacteria are also killed. When making your own, or purchasing, make sure you pay attention to the salt and sugar. The recipe below uses no sugar and very little salt. If you are purchasing from a store, look for the phrase: live cultures and try to find dairy that has not been pasteurized. The availability of these kinds of products can be scarce, depending which state you live in. We found Oksana at a local farmer’s market and she so graciously came to teach us her Russian recipe in person. If you’d rather not go through the laborious work, order hers!
*Try playing around with spices until you find a flavor that your family enjoys.
 Step 2: Combine all ingredients in a large glass bowl, twisting and tearing cabbage as you add it. Any glass container will work, but we found that it is easier with a container that has a flat bottom compared to a rounded bowl. Step 3: Mix ingredients and knead with hands. Step 4: Let it rest. If the cabbage is good, it will juice on its own. You will need enough juice to completely cover the cabbage. If you need to, add distilled water to bring the liquid level higher.
 Step 6: Once cabbage mixture is packed tight and completely covered with water, put a plate over top. This keeps the cabbage from floating to the top of the liquid. Add something heavy to help weigh it down. Cover with a kitchen towel. Every two days, poke with something slender to help any trapped air escape. After poking, press down mixture again with your fist.  Start taste testing after 1-2 weeks. As soon as the sauerkraut is to your liking, put it in the refrigerator. I would recommend transferring to glass mason jars for storage, but that is completely up to you. Refrigeration will stop the fermentation process. Due to the low pH level of this mixture, it keeps a rather long time in the refrigerator. Enjoy! Resources: http://www.nutritionletter.tufts.edu/issues/10_2/current-articles/Discover-the-Digestive-Benefits-of-Fermented-Foods_1383-1.html http://www.eatingwell.com/article/281916/7-must-eat-fermented-foods-for-a-healthy-gut/ http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2006.02963.x/full  All grains and most nuts have phytic acid which blocks the absorption of minerals in the digestive tract. Soaking grains makes minerals available which would otherwise pass straight through the digestive system. Calcium, Magnesium, Copper, Iron, and Zinc are a few examples of minerals released after soaking. By soaking, enzymes break down and neutralize the physic acid, easing the work for your digestive system. Resources used:
Here is the basic recipe that you will follow for soaking grains. You will need to find a resource which states the amount of salt, soaking time, sprouting time, and dehydration time based on what kind of grain you are using. All grains should be soaked prior to consuming.  1. Pour grains into a glass jar.  2. Add salt or whey.  3. Add water until grains are completely covered plus four inches. This allows extra water to be absorbed during the soaking cycle. 4. Stir it up. 5. Let soak for desired time. 6. Drain, discard water, rinse. Place back into jar, shake, rinse again. Rinse three times. *May need to rinse more in the summer, like at lunch and dinner if you soaked overnight.
8. Do this until you see the grain sprouting. 9. Dehydrate using a dehydrator or at a low temperature in your oven. 10. If flour is desired, put soaked and dehydrated grains in a blender and pulse until desired consistency. *Note: the fresher the ground flour, the better. Only do a small amount at a time unless you know that you will be doing a lot of baking. Sprouted and dehydrated grains need to be stored in the refrigerator before and after grinding. TIP: To disguise the whole wheat taste, simply add one tablespoon of orange or pineapple juice to the bread recipe, and adjust the liquid ingredients accordingly.  TIP: When first starting to use soaked grains, gradually get your family used to them. They will not rise as much as unsealed grains. Try doing a 2:1 ratio with two parts unsoaked to one part soaked, then do 1:1. You want to end with 1:2 ration with one part unsoaked and two parts soaked. |
CategoriesAll Bread Class Recap Clean Eating Fermentation Herbs Nutrition Plant Grow Bloom Plants ARE Medicine Sourdough Sourdough Chocolate Chip Muffins Sourdough Pizza Crust Starter Weston A. Price 
AuthorHeather Brooks, Marketing Manager & Blog and Administrative Assistant 
None of these posts have been evaluated by the FDA. They are not intended to cure, treat, or diagnose any disease. As with any medical concerns, always consult your medical professional before trying any of the ideas presented on this blog. All information has been obtained from various sources and personal experiences. |
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