Keeper of the Home » Nutrition

Upcoming: Four Families are Going to Get a Real Food Makeover!

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:00:05 +0000

Image by Nina Matthews Photography

**Update- I have had a huge response- thank you so much everyone! I won't be accepting any more email applications for this, but will be choosing from those who have already contacted me!**

Is your family trying to make healthy changes towards real, whole foods and in need of some direction? Do you know that changes need to be made but you're unsure of what to do first or where to start?

This April, I am planning to take the different scenarios and circumstances of 4 different families. I want to help each of them by offering very practical, tangible suggestions to keep them moving on the road towards greater health and stewardship of their bodies by improving what they eat!

I will spend a bit of time getting to know each family through email and will then offer suggestions in areas like:

Changing their shopping habits
Choosing a few specific foods to get rid of or add to how they currently eat
Knowing which would be the most beneficial next steps that the could make
Ideas for menu planning and types of meals to include
Any other tips I have that might help to make these changes stick!

Each week in April I will share about one family, giving you some background so that you can understand who they are and where their health and eating habits are currently at. Then I will share my suggestions for them- nothing fancy and long-winded, just simple, practical and hopefully helpful ideas!

My goal is to not only help these specific families, but to offer all of you some direction and suggestions for wherever you might be at in your real foods journey. By reading my recommendations for others in similar situations, you may glean some takeaway ideas for your own family, and I pray that will be the case!

If your family is interested in being considered as one of the four families to receive a Real Food Makeover, please email me and include in your subject "Real Food Makeover". Due to time constraints and the need to keep my family first, I will only be contacting those families that I have selected to be featured on my blog, but thank you to everyone in advance for putting yourself out there by applying and for pursuing more ways that you can serve your family and honor the Lord!

What types of suggestions and tips would be most helpful to your own family in your journey towards real, nourishing, whole foods?

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The GAPS Diet: One Mom’s Experience

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:00:26 +0000

Blended vegetable soup- the basis of the GAPS intro diet!

Image by Qfamily

After all the GAPS diet talk last week (what it is and why we're doing it), I thought it would be good to hear from a mom who has just recently started doing the diet with her children, and the amazing (and fast!) results that she has seen. Rene and I met a few weeks ago when we roomed together at Blissdom, and this frugal, real-food loving mama and I have become quick friends! Here are her thoughts the GAPS diet so far:

_____________________________________

My three year old was diagnosed with asthma a few weeks ago. We have started her on her medicines. However, I also wanted to see if there was something that we could change in our diet that would improve her symptoms so that hopefully she will not need as much medication in the future.

I roomed with Stephanie at Blissdom, and she was reading about the GAPS diet. I decided that it couldn’t hurt anything to try it, and we all started eating the foods on this diet. We had previously been eating almost all organic food and following Nourishing Traditions.

So, I started my family on this diet. I am pregnant, so I made sure to add a few additional foods to my personal diet so that I would not detox too rapidly. My eleven year old understood why we were on the diet, and was very willing to eat these foods to support her sister.

My three year old, with asthma, was not too sure about it, and my one year old will eat anything. However, I am also not being quite as strict with my one year old because we are still in the process of just introducing her to various solid foods.

I was very surprised to see the immediate results of this diet. I did not expect to see any big changes, for a long time. However, I was really surprised. The second day of the diet, my three year old only needed her daily inhaler. She had been using her emergency inhaler several times a day previously.

However, the real shock was actually with my eleven year old. She has had skin problems since she was two. She has very dry skin, keratitis, and discoloration on her legs, arms and hips.

On the second day of the diet, her skin was noticeably less dry, had no bumps or discoloration on her hips and thighs. By the end of the week, her skin was almost entirely cleared up! We have treated her skin off and on since she was three using different medications and creams, and have never had good results. Her skin today looks like it did when she was two.

More work but it's worth it

Before you rush out to start this diet however, I will say, the diet requires a lot of preparation. I am used to planning my meals an hour or two ahead and then throwing a quick meal together unless I am soaking grains for that meal. With the fewer foods that we are eating, my meals require much more planning and I have to really think about my purchases.

I am actually planning on writing out my meal plans for a month this week, so that it will be easier to prepare our meals. However, the extra work seems like it is definitely worth it, considering the results that I have seen.

I have also noticed an incredible behavioral change in my children when they are on the diet. Outbursts of anger have been reduced and their ability to focus on tasks for longer periods of time has increased.

My three year old actually went off her diet yesterday because of the processed foods served at church, and she ate twice at church yesterday. She has needed the emergency inhaler three times today, which she had not needed since two days after I started the diet.

Starting off

To start off the diet, I made two different types of soup. A savory soup with root vegetables, and a sweeter soup with acorn squash and butternut squash. Both have a bone marrow base. And we have basically been eating marrow soup three meals a day, with whey added in.

I will say that the repetitiveness of these meals at the beginning is a challenge, but for us, well worth it for the results, and we will be able to add in more foods later. My daughters like egg drop soup, so I have been adding some egg to the soup as well as a few vegetables. We have also had egg casserole, meat and veggies from the crockpot, and even homemade applesauce.

It will be interesting to see what happens when we move on to the next phase of the diet, but right now, I am totally sold on this diet after seeing the immense changes in my children's physiological and behavioral health.

Rene is the wife to a great guy, homeschooling mother of three with another on the way. She loves to save money, cook and garden. You can find her at her blog, Budget Saving Mom.

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The GAPS Diet: Why Our Family is Doing It

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:00:11 +0000

Yesterday I shared about what the GAPS diet is. If you missed it, I would suggest going back and reading that post first.

If you try to eat so well, why does your family need to do the GAPS diet?

No one has asked me this yet, but I can well imagine that this is the question in many of your minds,and it is an extremely legitimate question!

As I've shard before, my journey into nutrition and natural living did not come about just because I loved being healthy, but rather because I was an incredibly un-healthy person.

I started out after a diagnosis of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), a serious hormonal/reproductive disorder. I used to suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, as well as being lactose intolerant, and would often experience severe episodes of cramping and pain. I also spent about a year and a half on birth control pills before marriage (and before I knew better), and have probably taken antibiotics more than 25 times throughout my life.

I began to get healthy before I started having my children, but not much before, and I was really only just baby-stepping my way towards health back then. Though my efforts have made a tremendous difference (my PCOS is greatly diminished, the IBS and lactose intolerance are gone, and I generally feel 110% better than I used to), I know that I haven't solved all of the damage that was done in the first 20-something years of my life.

From generation to generation

In Gut and Psychology Syndrome Dr. Campbell-McBride says this:

"...When I ask questions about the health of a child's grandparents, particularly on the mother's side, it becomes obvious that we have generations of people with compromised gut flora. This damage becomes deeper in every generation. The era of antibiotics, contraceptive pill, breast feeding going out of fashion, and drastic changes in diet have all contributed to this phenomenon. Doctors have known for centuries that unhealthy parents produce unhealthy children. Mother's body is a home for the growing baby for nine months and a source of nourishment and care for months after the birth...

...As far as science knows an unborn baby is sterile. Its body has no bacteria, viruses or fungi living in it. When the time of birth comes, as the baby goes through the birth canal, it gets its first dose of microbes. Its skin, eyes, mucous membranes in the mouth and nose acquire their first microflora. Through swallowing liquids in the mother's v****a the baby's digestive system gets its first population of bacteria, viruses and fungi."

Can you see that whatever imbalances and level of compromised health is in the mother's body when her children are in utero and then breastfeeding will be passed on to her children?

This isn't a guilt trip and it shouldn't be condemning. Many of us didn't grow up knowing any better than what we have done, and we are in so many regards a product of our society and culture. Please don't hear me laying a burden upon mothers for what they have passed on to their children.

Image by peasap

Rising to the challenge in the now...

I am taking this as a challenge to myself to see what can I do about it now, through God's grace. The past is the past. But I want to give my children every chance to grow up without such a heavy toll on their gut flora, and thus on their overall health!

I have seen in our children the signs of a compromised gut. All three of them have dealt with eczema fairly extensively. The two older ones have shown some tummy troubles from time to time, stools with undigested food in them, mild constipation, etc. Our baby dealt with colic this summer.

Something I have never really discussed on my blog (mostly because I am concerned about the backlash that I will receive) is the fact that our 2 1/2 year old son was showing some signs of developmental delays (motor and speech), as well as some behavioral activities that were similar to those of children in the autism spectrum. Immediately after a Candida/detoxifying diet to deal with his eczema about a year ago, those behaviors almost disappeared and his development suddenly took off, especially his language.

Please don't hear me saying that he had autism and was healed- that just isn't what I'm saying at all. I am simply sharing what I observed in his development and behavior, and the change that took place, and that I have seen enough evidence for me to believe that there is a connection.

All this to say that between my children, my own past of poor gut health, and my husband's battle with recurrent heartburn and other current health challenges, as well as all the chemotherapy drugs and antibiotics that he received during cancer treatments 2 1/2 years ago, I think we have many reasons to be interested in pressing the "reset" button.

Where to go from here

Is any of this striking a cord with you? Do you see your own health or your family's health in what I am talking about?

I have a guest post coming from a mom who has recently had great success with GAPS for her children. I will be also sharing from time to time as our family follows the GAPS diet, though I cannot begin to cover it nearly as extensively as has already been done on the internet.

Here is a gathering of some of the best resources that I have found for doing the GAPS diet:

GAPS Diet and Gut Health- from Kelly the Kitchen Kop. She has written multiple posts with much valuable information, and has many other excellent resource links
How the GAPS Diet is Helping Our Family- a guest post at Cheeseslave.
Starting GAPS and Modifying GAPS to Work For Us- both from Cara at Health, Home, Happiness
The GAPS Diet- I think this is the official website, and it has many excellent resources including detailed information for starting to implement the diet, as well as an online store where you can purchase the recommended Bio-Kult probiotics (I also just noticed that these probiotics are available from Amazon
as well)
Gut and Psychology Syndrome- more info on the diet, as well as another place to purchase the probiotics
The GAPS diet Yahoo Group- I will soon be joining this group, to have a place to share what we're doing and give/receive support and help from others who are also doing the diet.
More from Cheeseslave- several other posts, and her own update as she implements the GAPS diet for her husband

If you really want to do this, I highly recommend purchasing the actual book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome. It's a little bit pricey, but I'm so glad that I actually have it as it has explained everything in so much more detail and also offers a lot of recipes and suggestions for implementing the diet.

I know that I'm going to receive a flood of comments on some of the things that I've shared in this post. Please, keep it respectful, keep it clean, keep it kind. I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it. However, I am fully open to polite disagreement and big girl words. Thanks, all!

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The GAPS Diet: What It Is and Why You Might Consider Doing It

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:00:20 +0000

Do you or any of your family members regularly experience common digestive complaints, such as heartburn (reflux), indigestion, bloating, cramping, constipation, or diarrhea? Do any of you suffer from eczema, asthma, dyslexia, or depression? Have your children received labels such as autism, ADD or ADHD? Do you wonder if there is a common link between any of these these things?

Two weeks ago, I received a book that I had been wanting to order for a long time. I began reading it during a plane ride to Nashville, and I quickly realized that I did not want to put this book down.

I have been studying health and nutrition for about 7 years. Over the course of those years, I have read a lot of books. Scoured a lot of websites. Tried a lot of different diets.

Some resources have been more helpful than others. A few, such as What the Bible Says About Healthy Living, The Maker's Diet, and Nourishing Traditions have rocked my world. Several of the diets that we have tried have resulted in truly amazing and quantifiable results in my health, my husband's health, and especially in our children's health.

So when I say that a nutrition/health book has blown me away, that's really saying something. Can I just say that I have been blown away by Gut and Psychology Syndrome, by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride?

The best way that I know how to put it is that it has taken all of the incredible, valuable information that has resounded strongly with me over these past 7 years, and pulled it together in a way that made so much sense. It had me nodding my head emphatically with every page I turned.

So what is the basic premise of the GAPS diet?

I absolutely love the way that Cara phrased it recently,

"It's almost like setting the 'reset button' on your gut flora after a lifetime of antibiotics and toxins."

That is truly what the GAPS diet is all about. It is not about a bit of a "fix", or making some improvements in the way that our digestive system functions. It is so much more than that. Rather, it is about completely pulling back from all those things that exacerbate our already over-loaded, tired, lethargic, toxin-ridden, out-of-balance and damaged system, so that our gut can truly heal.

Image by hansel5569

What does the GAPS diet address?

Here is a brief list of some of the symptoms and disorders that are very often related to the gut, and that have been greatly impacted by the GAPS diet:

ADD, ADHD, learning disabilities, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, asthma, bed wetting, thrush, finicky eaters, chronic ear infections, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, type-1 diabetes, chronic cystitis (bladder infection), colic & eczema.

Kelly the Kitchen Kop has actually put together quite a few fantastic posts on GAPS, one of which has a more detailed list of conditions and/or symptoms that are related to a dysfunctional gut. I would really recommend checking it out.

GAPS includes three main principles:

1) Healing the gut- By avoiding all foods that irritate it, and by consuming only foods that will nourish and heal it.

2) Repopulating the gut with beneficial bacteria- This is done by avoiding all foods that feed opportunistic (bad) bacteria/gut flora. As well, high quality probiotic supplements are used to actively repopulate the gut while all this cleansing/starving of the bad bacteria is taking place.

3) Getting rid of toxins- This happens in a number of ways. By limiting the diet to only foods that can be easily digested and eliminated, by strengthening the gut and the beneficial bacteria so that they can deal with toxins thoroughly, and by fresh juicing to speed up the elimination of toxins.

Detoxifying is one of the most crucial benefits of the GAPS diet. When there is an overgrowth of yeast, bad bacteria, fungi, parasites and anything else that stems from gut dysbiosis (an unhealthy, improperly functioning intestinal tract), myriads of dangerous toxins are produced. These toxins are able to alter brain chemistry, cause auto-immune reactions, severely hamper immunity against infections and more. To better understand how the gut and the immune system are connected, see this excellent post on Gut Health 101.

In a nutshell, "Through her research, [Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride] has determined a distinct correlation between unhealthy intestinal flora, poor digestion and toxicity from chemicals created by undigested foods, which can severely affect brain chemistry." (Source- Weston A. Price Foundation book review).

I do have to note that it's not a quick fix diet. If I think too long and hard about what we are about to embark on, I start to feel a bit of anxiety. The diet can take anywhere from several months up to 2 years, depending on the severity of your symptoms and how your body responds to the healing work that is happening.

Right now, I am focusing myself on the benefits of this diet and on the health that I so greatly desire for my family to have, and that makes it feel absolutely worth it as I prepare for us to begin the diet!

I feel like I've left out so much valuable information... there is so much to the Gut and Psychology Syndrome, and the reasons why we should address it by doing a diet like this. Tomorrow, I will continue to share about why our family has decided to do it, as well as give you some great resources to help you start looking into it more for yourself.

Do you think that your family has physical symptoms and complaints that are related to gut health? What would hold you back from doing a diet like this?

(And if you've already done GAPS yourself, I would LOVE to hear from your experience with it!)

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Taking the Mystery Out of Creme Fraiche (What It Is and How to Make It)

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:00:40 +0000

I love to say it. Creme Fraiche (pronounced "crem fresh").

There's something so gourmet and cultured sounding about it (no pun intended!), and yet it is one of the simplest types of cultured dairy that you can make. Basically, creme fraiche is cultured cream. It's that simple.

For some reason I held off trying it out for a long time. I was so happy to discover that creme fraiche is actually ridiculously easy to make. After I tried it for the first time, I couldn't believe it had taken me so long to give it a go.

Why I like to make my own Creme Fraiche:

It just tastes so good and adds such a wonderful touch to my meals.
It provides us with extra enzymes to help us digest our meals, especially those with meat or grains in them. Another easy way to get more cultured/fermented foods in our diet!
Even the organic sour cream I buy at the store contains stabilizers and thickeners (skim milk powder, tapioca starch, guar gum, carageenan), rather than just relying on bacterial cultures to do all the thickening work. Those ingredients just aren't necessary. I'd rather stick to the simplest list of ingredients possible.
It can be more cost effective than purchasing organic sour cream, even when made with organic or raw, grass-fed dairy (depending on the cost of what's available to you).
For those who can get an abundance of raw milk, you can make a product infinitely more nutritious than what is sold in any store!

Here's how you do it:

Start with a glass pint jar. Add about 1-2 Tbsp of cultured buttermilk to the bottom of it. I used store-bought, but if you like to make your own, that would work just fine as well.

Fill the rest of the jar up with heavy cream/whipping cream. If you like to skim yours off of your raw milk, more power to you. We don't get enough raw milk that I'm willing to give up all that cream that makes it so lovely. I usually prefer to use organic cream or another local brand that raises their cows better, but this time I was stuck with the regular store stuff. Even with regular store cream, it's still so much better than buying sour cream with all the stuff that they put in it.

I use plastic screw lids that are made to fit canning jars, and let it sit out on my counter for 24-36 hours until thickened and mildly sour-smelling. I like to write on the lids with a wipe-able marker so that it's obvious what's in them. The jar should sit in a somewhat warmer place in your kitchen. For me, that's the corner counter beside my stove. Another good place is the top of the fridge.

Another helpful thing to do is to write the day that it needs to be transferred to the fridge so that you don't lose track of how long it has been sitting out for. Mine says Jan.6 so that my mother-in-law knew when to put it in the fridge while I was away at Blissdom.

Oops, guess we ate most of the jar before I remembered to take a picture! It's hard to tell, but the consistency is somewhere between cream and sour cream. Slightly pourable, but definitely thickened. The taste is deliciously but mildly sour. One thing I have found is that the consistency begins a little bit more liquidy and then thickens up slightly once it's been in the fridge.

We love to add our creme fraiche to soups for extra enzymes, on top of any type of Mexican food, with our scrambled eggs (with fresh salsa it's a knockout breakfast), with potatoes or sweet potatoes, or almost anything else we can come up with. With my kids, it seems that creme fraiche is the new ketchup!

What types of cultured dairy does your family regularly eat? Which of those have you tried making yourself?

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A Simple Plan for Healthy Food: The GNOWFGLINS Fundamentals eCourse

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:00:15 +0000

Edit: Wardeh just sent me a link to watch a video sneak peak! Learn how to make Soaked Muffins and get a feel for what this eCourse will be like. Let Wardeh show you how to make soaked muffins!

Image by Elena Ho

All those who read Nourishing Traditions for the first time and felt entirely overwhelmed, raise your hand!

(Yes, that's my hand raised along with all of yours!)

If there's one thing that I hear over and over again from the women that visit this site, it is that they want to learn how to eat and live healthier, but they often don't know how to start or feel daunted by all the information that's out there and the new skills that need to be acquired. What on earth is kefir? How do you make fermented veggies? Why don't my soaked flour baked goods turn out well? How do I use some of these whole foods ingredients? And why are some of these extra steps and different preparation procedures necessary in the first place?

Have you ever just wished for another woman to step into your kitchen and show you step-by-step how to prepare real, whole, nourishing foods? No more frustration, no more wasted time and ingredients, no more recipe flops. Just simple instruction on how to make regular foods that your family will want to eat.

I have to tell you ladies that I am just beyond excited to tell you about this incredible

**You should know that I am an affiliate of this eCourse and will receive some financial compensation for each person who signs up for the course through my links. However, I have also previewed the course myself and can tell you with 100% honesty that I would not be giving the course such a glowing review if I was not thoroughly impressed with it and sure that it would be helpful for many of my readers.

Registration is taking place from now until February 22 and space is limited, so you'll want to look into the course quickly. It will run for the next 5 months (15 weeks), and so the next one will not begin for another 6 months.

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Real Food Bloggers Face-Off

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:48:28 +0000

I'm home from Blissdom... completely exhausted (but it was worth it), brain absolutely buzzing with ideas and inspiration for my blog, and absolutely thrilled to be back together with my family whom I adore. I promise that just as soon as I'm able to pull it together, I will give you the rundown off my trip and the conference!

I don't have a post for y'all today, but instead I want to direct you on over to Kitchen Stewardship. For the past month or so, Katie has been putting out an absolutely stellar series called the Real Food Face-Off. She has compiled answers from over 20 bloggers, I believe, all of whom would consider themselves to be Real Food/Nourishing Food bloggers. If you have ever wanted to know a bit more about what makes us "real foodies" tick, more about how we eat, why we eat the way we do, what we struggle with, etc. then I think you will love this series! If you're looking for more real food resources and blogs to follow, you've never seen a better grouping of these fantastic women whom I am honored to work alongside in our little niche of the blogosphere.

Today, Katie is featuring yours truly along with Carrie from Organic and Thrifty. Come on over and read our Real Food Face-Off!:

Real Food Face-Off: Keeper of the Home vs. Organic and Thrifty

While you're over there, why don't you take a look around and get to know Katie and her blog a bit? She's been blogging for a year and I am continually amazed to see how much she has poured into her site in that short time, making it a truly wonderful resource. She's fun, spunky, loves her family, is a bit of a mad scientist, works well in her petite kitchen, and has become a sweet friend. When you visit, leave her a comment introducing herself and tell her I said hi!

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Eating More Nutrient-Dense Foods (Yes, I Really Tried Fish Eggs)

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:00:54 +0000

It's difficult to read Weston A. Price's book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, without having a sudden urge to bolt to the store for some fish eggs and liver.

No, really. It is. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not.

After spending more than a week devouring this fascinating book full of Dr. Price's nutritional research and investigations into exactly what it was that made native, isolated populations eating traditional foods so very healthy, I was inspired. These traditional people valued fish eggs (among many other foods, like organ meats, shellfish, milk and cream from pastured cows, etc.) because they are rich in fat-soluble vitamins A and D, as well as many other nutrients especially minerals. I decided that if they valued them so highly, perhaps I should at least give them a shot!

I tried looking for them in the seafood section of my regular grocery store, but when I asked the staff there they just said "nooooo...", gave me a look that said "did you know that you're really strange?" and I realized I'd need to go outside of my regular stomping grounds. I asked a friend and she suggested trying an Asian market- of course! Why didn't I think of that?

Abbie and I went out on a little shopping "date" to our favorite, nearby Korean grocery store. I've gone there before to buy seaweed paper and coconut sugar. I had never thought of going there for seafood, but now I intend to go back once a month for that very purpose! Not only did I find my precious fish eggs, but I also found several other types of fish at excellent prices.

You can see up above the fish eggs, or roe, that I chose. There were 3 varieties, and I really had no idea what was what. I chose these Flying Fish Roe because the sweet man behind the fish counter said they were good. Sure, I figured. Why not? Fish eggs are fish eggs, aren't they? I'm sure they all taste, umm... fishy (which is just fine with me).

A little unsure, I brought my treasure home (which I couldn't believe how cheaply I had gotten, by the way) and sat there looking at it for a little while. Exactly what does one do with fish eggs?

Here's my attempt at gourmet. Ryvita crackers, with homemade raw cream cheese, and little fish eggies sprinkled on top. Pretty, isn't it?

And the verdict? Edible, but maybe we need to keep looking for a better way to get these little babies down. The slightly sour cream cheese didn't mesh well with the odd sweetness of the eggs. I'm in definite need of ideas and inspiration!

(On a side note, my husband just came into the office, laughed at my post title, and informed me that I have, in fact, eaten fish eggs before. In Japan. Certain kinds of maki or rolled sushi have roe added to them. Guess I forgot, or at least they weren't that memorable. So perhaps making sushi rolls and adding fish eggs is in my near future?)

Tell me... have you tried fish eggs? Thoughts? Ideas for getting them down? What other nutrient-dense but uncommon foods have you eaten lately?

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Valuing the Nutritional Wisdom of Past Generations

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:58:03 +0000

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One of my sets of grandparents hails from Newfoundland, Canada (that's on the East coast, in the Maritimes). This particular Papa used to work on a fishing boat in the Pacific Ocean after they moved to the Vancouver, BC area, many years ago. Though many of the things that I grew up on were not so healthy, one of the nutritional highlights of my childhood was a whole lot of fish. Fresh fish. Amazing fish. And thankfully, I became a lifelong eater of these incredibly nutritionally-dense creatures.

Last night, we were over at my Nana and Papa's for dinner, where they served us (what else?) delicious sockeye salmon steaks. For some reason or other, I asked them whether they took Cod Liver Oil as children.

My Papa immediately answered "Oh by heavens, yes!" (Try, if you will, to imagine that said quickly, in a thick rogue accent, not too dissimilar from Irish. His Newfie accent is still strong as ever!)

He went on to tell me about how along the fishing wharfs, the livers from the large Atlantic cod would be put into barrels. The livers themselves and any other impurities would sink to the bottom, and the cod liver oil would rise up the the top, perfectly clear and absolutely nourishing. As children, they were expected to take spoonfuls, which they diligently did, while plugging their noses. This was the real stuff, after all. No frou-frou lemon or orange or cocoa flavoring that we're so lucky to enjoy. (Yes, I do know that enjoy is too strong of a word to associate with cod liver oil!)

As we finished up our delicious dinner, my 5 year old started to get full. I encouraged her to forget the rest of her broccoli and rice, and instead finish up as much as she could of that wholesome sockeye salmon. I was pleased to see that my grandparents agreed with my choice, that such a nutrient-dense food like salmon was more important than a few more bites of broccoli.

If we want to learn more about the ways that people have kept themselves strong and healthy, and free from so many of the chronic and degenerative disorders of our current culture, we need to learn from the wisdom of past generations. That includes eating those traditional foods that were favored and valued for their nutritional composition, like liver and farm fresh eggs and fish and clean raw milk.

So what are you waiting for? Go take your cod liver oil, and I won't tell if you pinch your nose when you do it (or sneak a few chocolate chips like we do in our home). Your body will thank you.

(And speaking of past generations and nutrient-dense food, I'm really looking forward to sharing what I've been learning as I read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston Price! Coming up soon!)

Do you agree that the traditional foods of past generations far surpassed ours in nutritional wisdom? Do you try to make these foods a part of your diet? Why or why not?

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Making Your Own Sprouted Grain Flour

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:00:45 +0000

Ever wonder how you can get around the need to soak the flour for baked goods, when you're baking something that just doesn't lend itself to soaking? Or what about when you're short on time and need to bake something to fill a need, but just don't have the time for soaking?

Enter sprouted grain flour.

I've noticed that there are now companies beginning to sell flour made of grain that has already been sprouted! What a fantastic idea! The only problem? It costs more than organic, whole grain flours or grains and I'm just too much of a frugal gal to plunk down my grocery money on it.

Instead, let me show you just how easy it is to make yourself...

1) Start with whole grains (wheat/kamut/spelt/rye/barley, you name it- as long as it's the berry or whole kernel, it will work). Put several cups of the dry grain into a large bowl, and then fill the bowl with water, covering the grain by at least several inches. Cover and let it sit for about 6-12 hours, and overnight is an ideal time to do it. (Sorry, forgot to take a picture, but this is self-explanatory, no? Bowl, grains, water, done.)

2) The next day, drain the grains into a colander or strainer. Give them a good rinse under running water (but not too long, remember?). Put the colander over a bowl or plate to catch the extra dripping water. Cover with a clean dish towel.

3) For about 2-3 days, rinse and shake the grains around twice a day (morning and night), or 3 times a day if it's particularly warm/dry in your house. The point is to not let the grains dry out.

4) Once they have small tails (and mine are a bit longer than necessary- I sort of forgot about them!)) you can give them a final rinse, shake them off well, and then spread them on mesh trays and put in the dehydrator. (If you don't have a dehydrator, I think that you could probably dry them out in the oven with the oven light on- but not turned on, as this would cook them. I'm not sure how long it would take, but probably a full day- has anyone tried this? If you don't have a dehydrator, it's worth it to find even a cheap one from a thrift store or garage sale!) I like to put mine at about 120 degrees F and it takes about half a day for them to dry completely. They need to be absolutely dry because otherwise you will not be able to grind them (they'll clog up your machine).

5) Once grains are completely dry, then can now be stored in your pantry in an air-tight container. Or if you like, you can grind them right away and keep the freshly ground flour in the fridge (to use up within a week or two) or in the freezer for longer storage (several months).

OR, you can just use them right away to make all sorts of scrumptious Christmas goodies! Sprouted flour can be used just like regular whole grain flour in any of your recipes, but the phytates have already been dealt with through the sprouting process!

Think I need to go check out the Healthy Holiday Eats and Sweets Carnival and find me some Christmas cookies to make... or maybe these Sprouted Spelt and Maple Shortbread... the options are endless!

Does anyone else make their own sprouted grain flour? How do you do it? What types of things do you (or would you) use this flour for?

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