Beet Kvass

We all know BEETS are good for us, but there has got to be an easier and more enjoyable way of eating them.  Beet kvass is it!!  This superfood elixir can be enjoyed alone or in a smoothy, gazpacho, or with sparkling water.  

Kvass is so easy and INEXPENSIVE to make.  This recipe results in a dark and fizzy tonic with not only the many benefits of beets, but, also, the probiotic value of any naturally fermented beverage or food.

So, what makes beets so good for us? 

• Rich in antioxidants and B vitamins
• Good for circulation and producing bile
• Purify the blood
• Good for liver health
• Especially good for relieving constipation

Ingredients: 2 beets, 1 Tbl sea salt, and filtered water

You will also need a gallon-sized mason/ball jar (I used two quart-sized jars)

Chop beets into 1/2 inch pieces.  I made mine with the skin on, but you can cut it off, if you wish.

Place in jars.

Add sea salt to gallon jar (I distributed salt evenly between my two quart jars).

Fill to top (leave about an inch) with water.

Screw on tops, and leave at room temperature to ferment for 1 - 1.5 weeks.  Keep out of direct sunlight (I place a couple of dishtowels over mine).  Taste to determine if ready... liquid should not taste as sweet.

Tomato and Hemp Summer Salad

This salad is VEGAN and gluten free (duh), y'all!!!  Whoo hoo :)

1 organic, fresh, delicious, TOMATO, chopped
1/4 cup OLIVES, sliced (or more if you are addicted like me!)
1-2 ARTICHOKE hearts (I like to buy in the jarred kind)
1/2 AVOCADO, sliced
any other veggies or herbs you think would be delicious
GREENS
2 Tbls HEMP SEEDS, shelled
1 Tbl raw COCONUT SPREAD/BUTTER drizzled on top
1 Tbl OLIVE OIL drizzles

This salad has it all!  Great protein in the hemp (especially good for athletes), as well as the avocado.  MORE than enough healthy fat (my favorite part).  Not to mention, all the kick butt nutrients in the veggies :)

Go Make it Yourself!

Obviously, I would LOVE for all of you to prepare 100% of your snacks, meals, and beverages from scratch, BUT, since I live here in the real world with the rest of you, I know that this is a tall order.  I prepare about 90% of my own food/beverages from scratch.  This means soups, granola bars, bakery, fermented foods, and beverages such as kombucha, "sports drinks", etc.  To live this way requires either a live in chef OR foresight (I use the latter).

Think of your kitchen as a deli or a restaurant.  When the owner of a deli sees he or she is running low on chicken salad, soup (frozen or not), bakery, etc, then more is made.  Not just after the inventory is totally depleted, but BEFORE.  Take into account, schedules, holidays, budgets, etc when considering how much prepared food - your "inventory"- you will need in a week/month/etc.

I usually like to plan 2 or 3 recipes a week, and make them all on Saturday or Sunday.  I make waaaayyy more than I need, cook, cut into serving sizes, and freeze.  Voila!!  TV dinners that are healthy, homemade, and budget savvy.

FASCINATING excerpt from Michael Pollan's new book Cooked...

Since the 1970's, Sister Noella who is a Benedictine nun has been making raw cheese on the abbey farm. This is not just any cheese; but one of France’s most prized cheeses: Saint- Nectaire. It is a semi-solid, fungal ripened cheese made from raw milk that has been the pride of France's Auvergne region since the seventeenth century.

The problem is, Sister Noella’s abbey is in Connecticut, and according to the FDA, raw cheese is illegal. The FDA indicates that cheese must be made in a sterile environment in stainless steel containers.

According to Sister Noella, on the other hand, Saint-Nectaire must be made in an ancient wooded barrel and stirred with a wooden spoon (her particular spoon boasts a carved cross on the paddle). In short, nothing about her cheese room was sterile or ever could be, and the FDA took notice.

So, in her thirties, Sister Noella went back to school to get a Ph.D. in microbiology in hopes that she could prove to the FDA that her cheese is safe.

Ph.D. in tow, she made two batches of cheese. The first she made in sterile stainless steel containers with pasteurized milk, while the second batch mimicked her original method: unsterile room with an unsterile barrel and unsterile spoon and, of course, raw milk.

Here’s the clincher: into both batches, she introduced a significant amount of E. coli - a toxic bacteria.

Once the cheeses were ready for consumption, she tested them for bacteria levels. The cheese made in sterile containers had high levels of E. coli, while the cheese made in the wooden barrel had next to none.

Interestingly, we all have E. coli in our gut from time to time. In a healthy gut with lots of good microbes, the introduction of E. coli will rally the good bugs to knock out the pathogens. In Sister Noella's wooden barrel, the good bacteria hidden in the old crevices of the wood outperformed the bad bugs.

Since then, the FDA has left her alone to continue making her raw, unsterile cheese.

Source:
Pollan M. Cooked. A Natural History of Transformation. Penguin Press. New York. 2013

Homemade Candy Bars

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, lightly packed 
3 tablespoons coconut oil 
1 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
Pinch of sea salt 
1 3oz. bar dark chocolate (70% or higher), chopped like this one

In a food processor, process the shredded coconut, coconut oil, honey, vanilla extract, and salt until it forms a thick paste, about 2-3 minutes or until it holds together when pressed into palm.

 

Drop the coconut mixture by the tablespoon onto parchment paper. Form each ball into squares (or whatever shape you want).  Press almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, cherries, etc. (all optional) on top. Freeze the coconut for 15-30 minutes, or until solid.

Melt the chopped chocolate in double boiler (or in sauce pot placed on top of a different sauce pot of simmering water) stirring constantly until chocolate is fully melted.   If it isn’t fully melted or starting to burn, they won’t look good.

Place coconut shape onto fork and roll around in melted chocolate. 

Place in fridge/freezer to set.  ENJOY!!!

Make Your OWN Nut Butters!

Ingredients:
2 cups raw nuts (preferably soaked and dehydrated) 
½ tsp sea salt 

Method:
Place ingredients into food processor and run on high for 3-5 minutes until the nuts turn into butter. 
Store your nut butter in an air tight container in the refrigerator, where it will keep for about 2 weeks.

Key Lime Pie-Petites

Grain free, Dairy free, Gluten free, LOW sugar

Crust

·       ¾ cup raw hazelnuts (preferably soaked and dehydrated)

·       1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

·       8 dates, pitted

·       1/8 tsp of sea salt

Lime Filling

·       1 cup cashew butter (or make your own - click here)

·       ½ cup coconut oil, melted

·       ½ cup fresh lime juice

·       1-2 Tbs honey, raw unprocessed

·       ½ tsp vanilla extract

·       1/8 tsp sea salt

·       lime zest for garnish (optional)

1.     Line 2 muffin tins with muffin liners (if you have mini muffin tins with mini liners, use those)

2.     Place all crust ingredients into food processor and blend until broken down into coarse flour consistency

3.     Spoon 2 tsps of crust mixture into each liner and press down firmly.

4.     Place into freezer for 10 minutes

5.     In medium bowl, stir filling ingredients (except lime zest) until completely combined.

6.     Remove crust-filled liners from freezer and spoon 1 Tbs of lemon mixture into each one.

7.     Garnish with lime zest, and place back into freezer for at least 30 mins. 
8.     Store in fridge or. freezer

 (seen here with lemon zest)