In the Kitchen - Homemade Honey Wheat Bread

Why bake bread when you can buy it at the store?  Good question!  I used to wonder the same thing until I really started to look at the ingredients on the labels of bread.  Commercial breads contain preservatives so they can sit on your counter for days, many contain high fructose corn syrup, many contain soy oils or other oils that I did not want to ingest, and most of them contain ingredients I cannot pronounce.

But NOTHING compares to the aroma and experience of baking fresh bread in the oven and having the first piece warm with apple butter or butter!  Then if you keep this loaf in the refrigerator and have a serrated knife, it will last a good long time and you will know your family is eating the best!  Don't you love the consistency of fresh homemade bread as opposed to that spongy pre-sliced loaf bought in the store?  I know my family does!  This recipe is loved by adults and children and has a great flavor.. it is tried and true!  Even Journey loves this bread so it has passed the picky kid test!

I do make some additions or substitutions on occasion in my recipe.  Most of the time I use a higher proportion of wheat flour to white flour than the recipe calls for.  It makes it a little denser but is still wonderful!

I also break mine into 2 loaves in slightly bigger loaf pans and extend the cooking time by 5 minutes or so. 

You can add some additional great nutrition to this bread too.  Try substituting 1/3 cup of flaxmeal for some of the flour or adding seeds like sunflower seeds or others to the recipe.  You could even use a bit of oatmeal instead of some of the white flour.   I usually try a recipe once just the way it is and then make notes to make changes later in my second and subsequent batches.

But definitely try this one out!  It freezes well and it is a winner every time!

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

	Prep Time: 20 Minutes	Ready In: 3 Hours
	Cook Time: 30 Minutes	Servings: 36

Ingredients:

3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast 1/3 cup honey 5 cups bread flour

3 tablespoons butter, melted or coconut oil 1/3 cup honey 1 tablespoon salt 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

1.	In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
2.	Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
3.	Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
4.	Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely      If 2 loaves bake for 30-35 minutes

Organic Gardening - with Rhubarb

This year I had a horrible time with my tomato crop.  My tomatoes were infested by a little white fly called...   white fly.   LOL.  These were spread to my garden from some of my indoor plants and it just so happened those little white flies LOVE tomatoes and squash.  My crop was ruined very early in the season.  The white flies basically prevent the fruits from maturing or ripening and eventually kill the plant.  I tried EVERYTHING to get rid of them.. all out war!  First with organic methods and then eventually with sprays that I am ashamed I used.  They all did nothing on the war against the white flies.  I finally learned that only a hard freeze can kill them.  They hate this climate!  So I give thanks to God that I live in Iowa and I am praying for a hard freeze this year. 

What does this have to do with Rhubarb?  Well let me tell you what I learned about rhubarb.  I inherited a rhubarb plant from my mother-in-law's estate ( that plus fabric and yarn.. go figure).  I transplanted it in the yard just a couple of weeks ago after the temps outside cooled down enough for the poor little thing to live. 

Now mind you again, I am a city girl and have never eaten rhubarb before so I had to research what you can do with this food.  During my research I discovered that rhubarb leaves are poisonous to humans.  They contain oxalic acid, which in large quantities will cause kidney failure.  I was happy to find out that it would take eating about 11 pounds of toxic rhubarb leaves to kill the average person but also alarmed to find that this oxalic acid exists in many other of the vegetables we eat in smaller quantities... so it can't be that bad!

The beautiful thing about oxalic acid is that it aphids and pests do not like it.. it poisons them too.  There is a recipe for making an organic bug killer out of boiling rhubarb leaves.  I wish I would have known that when battling those wicked white flies and I might have had more tomatoes canned this year!

So as some of the transplanted rhubarb did not make it (some did, some didn't), I harvested the dying leaves and boiled them in a pot on the stove.

Not only does that look icky, it left the house with the most awful pungent odor that I had to open a screen window and air it out.  When Mike got home that day from errands he said "now that is a new smell"... I think that was "nice guy" for "hope you are not going too feed me whatever you have been cooking today".  I busted a gut with that one but not consider once feeding him 11 pounds of rhubarb leaves.  LOL

When the leaves had boiled for 20 minutes, I removed them and threw them on the compost (safe) but reserved and cooled the icky brown water.  I put it in an old re-used mild gallon jug with some soap shavings and will use that next spring to spray on plants with bugs.  I think it will work.  I made sure to mark the milk carton with "Rhubarb Poison" but I don't think the smell of that junk would allow anyone to ingest it.  It now sits in my garage ready for next summer and another unwanted pest invasion!

So every spring when you are picking those beautiful stalks of rhubarb to eat, reserve the leaves for an organic pest control solution!  Just be sure you boil them on a nice day so you can open the windows!

Foraging in Suburbia - Garage Sales/Flea Markets

Funny thing about "stuff".  I used to think I needed all the new and best gadgets.  Maybe it was just that I had a good job, a steady paycheck and I thought I should spend it every 2 weeks.  That quickly changed when I lost my great job and now live very carefully.  It is not that we are cheap.  We are THOUGHTFUL about spending.  Knowing how fragile one's financial situation can be first hand has made us re-think our priorities.

I don't want you to think I don't want "stuff".  On my wishlist is a weaving loom, a morter and pestle, a popcorn maker for the family room, new flooring in my family room, and lots of other stuff that I someday I want to have.  My priorities have changed though since I am home more than away and with all the cooking I do, there have been many new recent items on my wishlist that I have had to wait for or shop for wisely.  It is no longer about new clothes or shoes or Victoria Secret lotion and perfumes.  Now it seems to be different items I am looking for to help me live a better life. 

Here are the most recent things I have found in the last month through Craigslist, garage sales, goodwill, etc.

I wanted a way to shred and chop and process foods without grating my knuckles (another story for another day).  I looked at Bed Bath and Beyond, Younkers, Kohls, Target, basically all over and only found a food processor (at a price ticket of $200 or so).  In waiting and watching I found a Griscer Deluxe Food slicer with 7 different blades on ebay and got the bid for $20 (this is a vintage stainless steel manual crank tool that currently sells for about $200 new). I love it!  Right after that I found an older model large bowl food processor (for other kinds of jobs like making homemade fruit/yogurt ice cream) at a garage sale for $5.00.  I was so excited!  Now I can process any food in the kitchen with the right tool and my total cost was $35 (shipping included). 

I also found myself doing a lot of canning as a new suburban pioneer.  I was using a water bath method for canning with an old stock pot that was cumbersome.  I was pricing pressure canners at the stores and again, they were over $100 for a nice one.  Then I stumbled upon a great pressure canner at a garage sale for $25 (it was only used one season, had instructions and the original box).  Along with the pressure canner the lady threw in 60 Quart size ball jars!  Those Ball jars alone would have cost me $40 so I thought that was a great deal! 

Today I went foraging, thinking about a way to grind my new little acorns into acorn flour.  I was focusing on looking for a coffee grinder of sorts and the second garage sale I hit, I found a wonderful deluxe Mr. Coffee coffee grinder for $5.00.  BINGO ~ SCORE!!! 

It seems that when I have a positive attitude, some patience, an open eye and mind, and a little faith, what I need or want falls into my lap.  I am mentored by a lovely woman who taught me "You get what you think about".  So in ending, make sure your thoughts remain on good things, positive outcomes, your own worthiness, and don't forget FAITH.  When we believe something will happen it has a much higher likelihood that it will happen just that way.  And hold on to your money...  there is not really any reason to have things.. ... they won't make you happy.  Surround yourself with the right people and the right mindset and happiness comes without things attached. 

HAPPY FORAGING!!!!!!!!

In the Kitchen - Eat the Seeds too!

I have never thought I was a fan of squash.  Really...   the only squash I ever ate was a baked acorn squash but it had to be FILLED with butter and brown sugar for me to eat it. 

Now Fareway had squash on sale for 48 cents a pound last week so I bought a butternut squash to try.  Yesterday I cooked the butternut squash into the most delicious mashed squash dish.  It was like mashed potatoes but uber-healthy...a yellow vegetable that I could almost feel my body thank me for giving it.  It had some butter, some sour cream, real maple syrup, and squash.  I still have some left in the refrigerator for today's meal!  I made Journey eat a serving and I can tell she is a modern child of this century because once she knew it was a vegetable, her immediate response was "I don't like it".  Are you kidding me?  It was FANTASTIC!  I still made her eat a serving, which she did.. she is such a good kid!

Anyway, about the seeds.  Since I plan to have a HUGE garden next year in my little back yard behind the orchard (Mike is hoping to be able to retire from his grass-mowing services soon), I have started saving seeds from things I want to grow.  So I carefully removed the seeds from the butternut squash and dried them a little on a paper towel.  I have a couple dozen of them drying now in the window sill for replanting next spring but I still had some left.

So I roasted them!  Because I wanted to roast them in a low temp oven to preserve the nutrition and natural oils in them, it took several hours in 150 degrees last night.  I first coated them with a little olive oil and salt and when they were roasted crunchy before bed last night, we tasted them and they are delicious!!  A new snack!  Or a new nut!  (so far a much better experiment than the acorns).  Here is my creation:

Now that they are dry I could keep them in one of my little glass canisters on the counter or in a ziplock but I bet they won't last too long!   So the rest of this winter,  I will be roasting all seeds from pumpkins, squash, well just about everything edible.  ;) 

Foraging - Acorns, the Experiment - Part One

So I have to tell you this story.  I was visiting my sister last week and discovered "nuts" all over her ground.  I asked her what they were (no, I never paid attention to an acorn before, believe it or not).  The answer was acorns, to which I promptly asked "can you eat them".  She said "NO - they are poison".  I did a quick google search on my smart phone and discovered that people do, indeed, eat acorns so I picked up 1/2 a bucket of the best looking ones and took them home to figure the next steps out.   I have to insert now that a true pioneer woman probably did not have Google on their phone and I don't know how they were so smart to know what to forage without it.  But that is why I am so lucky to be a Suburban Pioneer.

After a considerable amount of research into eating acorns this is what I discovered.  People all over eat them after removing the bitter tannins from them through a soaking method.  They eat them as nuts and they grind them into an acorn flour to cook with.  Acorns are very nutritious, organic, and FREE, and since I bake a lot with nuts, I began to process these acorns.

First I put all my raw little acorns in a bucket of water.  The "good" ones sink and the "bad" ones float. 

I had about 1/2 sinkers so I soaked them for a little while and then laid them out between 2 abandoned screens outside to dry thoroughly.

I have to tell you right now about bugs.  Little icky worms LOVE acorns and apparently they grow in them from the inside out.  You need a strong stomach to crack very many of the little nuts unless you LOVE worms.  Every 20 or so acorns had a little grub worm inside.   Extra protein?  I THINK NOT!  I am hoping that the ones with the worms floated and I threw them out!

Now to soak the tannins from acorn nuts, you must crack them first (not too tough except for the gross worms) and remove the nutmeat.  It is a kind of white and looks kind of tasty... but don't eat it yet.. it is bitter and makes you spit it in the sink.  There were several methods suggested for soaking the tannins from your nuts.   They included burying them in mud for a season, putting them in a bag in a running stream for a long time, putting a bag of them in your toilet tank to get "rinsed with every flush", soaking them in cold water for several days or boiling them several times in succession until the water ran clear.  Tannins appear to leave the nuts in the water and turn your water kind of brown when you soak them. 

So without a running creek outside my back door, and not trusting the mud bury idea, I considered the toilet tank but finally decided on the cold water soak for several days on the sink.  The boiling water idea sounded quicker but apparently if you do it wrong you can "lock" the tannins in forever, making them bitter.  Here are my nuts soaking.

Now this is Part One of the Acorns posts because I have not had success with this experiment yet.  We did soak a few for about 18 hours and then dehydrate them to dry them and the result so far has been less than palatable.  The dehydrated acorns are brown, unappetizing to look at, tough to chew, and pretty bitter yet.  I would guess I did not soak enough of the tannins from them so I am not too eager to eat them.

So Part Two of the Acorns Experiment will come in a few days when I determine the ultimate success or failure of this project.  In the meantime, I don't recommend picking up acorns yet.. but if you do, store the acorns in something that doesn't allow the worms to escape into your house.  I don't think they are harmful but they are not welcome on my kitchen counter!

The Orchard in the Suburbs

I know many of you know that I am on this adventure to eat as healthy as possible.. I shop organic whenever I can but as you have probably noticed, organic costs more money and I am also challenged to be as frugal as possible and extend our grocery dollars.  So the dilemma continues.  After picking 200 pounds of apples last month from a neighbor's tree, we decided to invest in our own orchard in our little back yard.

We bought 8 fruit trees to put in our yard and I have been researching and studying what to do to make sure they are healthy and thrive to bear us fruit.  I can't imagine how awesome it will be to go to my own backyard and pick a ripe Fuji Apple, Honey Crisp Apple, Bartlett Pear, Anjou Pear, Frost Peach, Polly Peach, Lapins Cherry, or Royalton Cherry from the tree.  I will know it is organic, fresh, and healthy!!

Here is a picture of our little trees in our suburban back yard.  We have a fenced yard so hope to keep most critters from them but already today I had to run to Menards and buy those little white plastic tree protectors because some critter has been gnawing the bark from the bottoms, close to the ground.  They are a little close together so I hope to learn a lot about pruning before they get too big but what adventure would it be if I already knew everything?  FAR FROM IT!

You can see the six of them to the south of the deck and there are 2 more to the north of the deck.   We have not mulched them yet before winter and I was told to put a balanced fertilizer on them right after all the leaves fall off this fall and again in the spring.  They will hopefully have enough sun and I give them a deep watering twice a week.  The rest is up to mother nature. 

The swingset in the middle of the yard is about shot and my daughter is done playing on it, as she is growing up fast, so we have decided to by grape vines and grow them on the swingset like a trellis.  Should be interesting. I will share that adventure next summer!

So if you would say a prayer for my little trees please!  I really know very little about growing any kind of tree so I need all the help I can get! 

In the Kitchen - My Yogurt Making Day

Everyone knows that Yogurt is healthy for you, right?  I bought some yogurt a few weeks ago and was reveling in my healthy choice when my husband asked me if I had read the ingredients.  "No", I replied with a sick sense in my stomach.  When I read the ingredients I discovered sugar, preservatives, artificial flavors, and Milk Protein Solids (that is just junk leftover from milk pasteurization and not even food)...  I didn't even want to eat it anymore.  Not to mention that it had about as many calories as my ice cream does... Are you KIDDING ME?

I did some research online and discovered that you can make yogurt and even easily make the Greek style yogurt that I love so much.. thick and creamy!  Here is how I make my own yogurt now...  I made some today and took some pictures.  The only ingredient in this are MILK and YOGURT CULTURE... REALLY!!

First of all I buy organic whole milk.  I believe in getting as close to nature as I can in my food... so I want milk with some good fat in it and nutrition.. and organic is important to me in my food when I can accomplish it.  So organic whole milk makes a good rich thick yogurt but it can be done with 2% or skim, it will just be a bit thinner end product.

This requires a double boiler but since I don't have one I have fashioned one with 2 pans.. one fits nicely inside the other.  Heat the desired amount of milk to 185 degrees in the double boiler.  Use a cheap candy thermometer ($3.99 at Fareway) to watch the temp and make sure to stir occasionally.

Once the milk is at 185 degrees, I remove it from the heat and let it cool down to 110 degrees.  I remove the inside pot and place it on the counter and stir occasionally to cool it, watching the thermometer.  When it reads about 110 degrees I add 2 or so tablespoons of plain yogurt culture to the warm milk and thoroughly stir it in.  You can use regular plain yogurt from the store OR freeze 2 tablespoons of yogurt from the last batch you made but make sure you bring it to room temp before adding it to your warm milk.

You will need 7 hours for the next step, but it can involve doing nothing to the pan so this step can occur overnight or while you get a bunch of other stuff done!!   Place the warm pan of culture and milk on top of a heating pad (I put my heating pad on a wooden cutting board).  Cover the pan with a clean dishtowel and leave it alone.  It is tempting to stir it occasionally and it still works out fine if you do.  I set the heating pad to medium or high heat to keep the milk at the right temp for the whole 7 hours.

Once the time is up, take a look under the dish towel and you will find yogurt!!  Then it is time to cool it in the refrigerator.  I find this yogurt a little thin for my taste so I strain this cooling yogurt through a cheesecloth while it is in the refrigerator.  It only takes less than an hour for the whey to drain off and leave behind a thick creamy, Greek style yogurt in the cheesecloth.

The whey that drains into the bowl is thin milky liquid but is packed with live yogurt culture and protein so I don't waste that.  I use it in baking or use it in my morning protein shake for added nutritional punch!  Just keep it in the fridge until ready to use it or you could freeze that portion.

The thick yogurt that collects in the cheesecloth (which lines a colander) can be kind of scraped off the cheesecloth into another bowl and stored in the refrigerator (just make sure you freeze your 2 tablespoons for your next batch before you eat it all or flavor it further).

You can wash out and hang your cheesecloth to air dry somewhere and re-use it over and over too... never waste when you can re-use!

Now for flavor!  Plain yogurt is not exactly a delicacy to my taste buds!  I mix in vanilla, cinnamon, fruits, nuts, etc to make it yummy.   I also use it in place of ice cream on desserts.  I have made salad dressing from plain yogurt.  In fact I will put a YUMMY low fat salad dressing recipe at the end of this blog post as a bonus!  You can also make "ice cream" by mixing your plain or vanilla flavored yogurt in the magic bullet, blender, or food processor with some frozen fruit!  Blend well and eat right away and it is delicious!  As soon as I grow some of my own peaches, I am going to freeze one and try peach "ice cream"!  MMMMM   ...   can't wait.  So have fun, get healthier, and make your own yogurt!  I make a quart at a time!

Bonus:

Cucumber Salad Dressing

• 1/2 cucumber, peeled
• 3/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 5 fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 3 ice cubes

Preparation:

Process all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. 

( I did not use the ice cubes and I added a little dill and a few spices for extra flavor but talk about a guilt-free topping for your greens!!)

Nutrition - Sugars/Flax/GREAT Recipes

I don't know how many of you are trying to eat healthier, or if you have children, but I can tell you that if you are dealing with someone with a sweet tooth or feeding children, your challenge is even bigger in terms of keeping items in the house that they WILL eat but will also be good for them!  

Protein is the absolute BEST way to start anyone's day.  Feeding carbohydrates to a child on the way to school does not give them the appropriate brain food.  The brain chemicals needed for a sharp mind and concentration all start with amino acids.  Our bodies form them for us but without the proper building blocks, we are deficient.  I am talking about brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, gaba, etc.  Starting your day and your child's day with a good dose of protein should be your goal... the carbs are just a little extra energy food.

Sugars are another issue entirely!  If you or your children have a trained sweet tooth, it will take some energy to turn that around and it is tough.  It is worth it though.  Take high fructose corn syrup for example.  If you read the labels of most prepared foods, it is high in the ingredient list.  Why?  Not because it is the best ingredient but because it is a sweet by-product and cheap to produce!  It has been shown in studies of mice that ingest HFCS that they cannot run the mazes as well as the mice that have not ingested HFCS.  Even the mice that were previously able to navigate through the maze FORGET their way after ingesting this sweet syrup.  That is kind of scary to me.  Again, it made me pause to think that what I was allowing my daughter, Journey, to eat could negatively affect her!

So the result of all this, you ask?   I have been working really hard to find things to substitute in our diets that are not pre-packaged, and do not contain HFCS in the ingredients.  Pretty much that means that in my house, I bake everything from scratch.  I have not made our own ketchup yet but I intend on even making that!!  We have not touched the Pure Cane Sugar either.  I use combinations of honey, a little agave, brown rice syrup, molasses, and Stevia to sweeten our baked goods and foods. 

We have a BIG HIT recipe in our house I found recently for ENERGY BALLS.  They make great snacks and have all wholesome ingredients in them.. check this out:

No Bake Energy Balls

1 cup oatmeal

½ cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

½ cup flaxseed

2 scoops protein powder

1 tsp vanilla

combine .. roll into balls and chill

These are really popular at our house.  I use organic whey protein for the protein powder and the rest is just plain yummy and good for you!  Journey calls it CANDY and I love when she eats it.

Flaxseed - you will find that in almost every recipe that I make or bake.  I make sure it is ground (you can buy flaxseed meal in the store by the flour or flax seeds and grind your own) and I put some in everything in place of some of the flour and some of the fat!  The 2 main benefits of flaxseed is for FIBER (known for regularity and weight loss support) and OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS!  The mice I discussed above that ate HFCS and could not make it through the maze anymore seemed to do better when given OMEGA 3 supplementation.  (still not as well as the group of mice that did not eat HFCS) So the Omegas protect the brain from damage by other sources.  It is no wonder that fish is considered brain food.  LOL... I am ALL FOR protecting our brains and giving us the best fighting chance in this life.  

SECRETLY HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CAKE because we all deserve a little treat sometimes I found this recipe and it is absolutely DELICIOUS!   I fed this to my picky family for Mike's birthday cake and it was a HUGE HIT.  They had no idea it was healthy for them.  It is so sweet and so moist that I found a newly acquired love of zucchini and have decided to grow it in my garden next year!!

Secretly Healthy Chocolate Cake
I got the idea from Baltic Maid's zucchini brownies 

1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar ( I used ½ cup honey plus a splash of molasses)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup applesauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup shredded zucchini (carrots would also work)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350º. (If using honey, reduce baking temperature down to 325)
Combine the flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the applesauce, egg, vanilla, and zucchini and chocolate chips and mix just until combined.
Pour into a well greased and floured bundt cake pan and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I have also used this same batter and poured into greased and floured doughnut shaped baking pan, making doughnuts that are sweet, delicious, and nutritious!

Optional toppings ideas:
I glazed it with about 1/4 of a cup of powdered sugar mixed with about a teaspoon of milk and then I topped that with a few tablespoons of warmed up Nutella. It would be good dusted with powdered sugar too, or with whipped cream, or even plain.

Frugal - Saving money on laundry while staying healthy

Your skin is the largest organ in your body! Everything put against or on your skin is absorbed. We are surrounded by toxic chemical substances in our lotions, soaps, perfumes, cleansers, and household chemicals. Laundry products are among the worst offenders for chemicals that remain in our clothes, which remain against our skin all day. A year or so ago, I discovered that I could replace fabric softener sheets (one of the worst toxic offenders) with rubber or wool dryer balls that help prevent static and soften clothes in the dryer without residue. I use the dryer balls sold by Norwex and have loved them. And since they are reusable, I save money there on my laundry!
Then I bought a front loading washer, as my old one wore out. Not being one to read directions, I began using my new washer. It took a few months but an odor started accumulating in my washer. There seemed no way to remove it and then it started permeating my clothes. A bit of research later (I actually then read the washer manual), I discovered that laundry soaps accumulate in my washer and leave a residue that grows molds and bacteria and it STINKS! Now how did soap have residue if it is meant to clean? And how does it grow icky things if it is soap? That got me wondering so I did a lot of cleaning of my washer and a lot more research!
What I found out was that laundry soaps are not good for us, our washers, or our clothes! It was just a few weeks ago that I solved this problem when I ran across a new way to wash clothes. I found the SmartKlean Laundry Ball. ordered one and began to use it. In just a few uses of my washer ball, the smell left my washer! My clothes were clean, they did not have any smell, and the were even softer after washing and drying than they were when I used detergent.

This SmartKlean laundry ball impressed me with the following features that were good for my family and my budget: I don't need to use any detergent! (The ball is filled with ceramic beads and a magnet that changes the pH and molecular structure of the water to allow the water alone to clean the fibers of my clothes) It is safer for my family's skin because the detergent residue is not left in the clothes and against our skin. It is safe for the environment because no soap residue is washed back into our sewer system. It is gentler on my washer, extending the life of the washer by preventing the clogged pipes and growing icky things in it. YUCK! And it saves me money! One washer ball lasts for 365 loads of laundry, which for my family of three is about a year's worth! Plus the ball works in cold water (hot is not recommended) so I save energy costs! The last feature would be great too if I could figure out how to work my front loading machine. LOL (maybe I should read the manual again).. you don't need a rinse cycle with the laundry ball because there is no soap to rinse out.
The retail cost of my laundry ball is only $45 for those 365 loads of clothes, which averages just less that 12.4 cents per load! If you want to find out how to get one of these to try for yourself, send me an email or comment on this blog and I will reply to all comments!

Foraging - The Neighbor's Apple Trees

When I think back on our ancestors I think about how they lived in little log cabins and had an expanse of land and someone at some point explained to them which plants were safe to eat, which plants were to be used as medicine, and how to properly prepare food to eat. Wow... that never was in my upbringing. I was taught to drive to the grocery store, fill my cart with cheetos, pasta, and microwave dinners, and head home to my handy microwave to eat. Even as a nurse, I did not connect my health to the food I was trained to eat. I understand it now, 50 years later and ultimately 100 pounds lighter! The food we are currently eating in suburbia is killing us slowly but surely... but it can be made so "cheaply". Guess why? Because it is really not food at all! Think about our ancestors eating from the land. Meat from grass fed animals, milk from the same animals, wheat from the fields, fruit and vegetables from the land. Now that was a balanced diet. While they did die prematurely from infections and disease, they did not suffer from an obesity epidemic, rampant diabetes, heart disease, cancers, crippling auto-immune diseases, etc, at the rate we are seeing now. I believe it is largely related to the contamination of our "food" supply, water supply, air, and even many of the common practice we have developed in order to become civilized and live the good life. Soo... back to nature... In my recent quest to live as close to nature as the city will allow me to do, I have begun more gardening of food, shopping differently in the grocery stores, canning, dehydrating, eating more organically, and removing all the pre-packaged food from my family's diet. But I will tell you that this can get a bit expensive. Are we worth it? Absolutely! Although it has forced me to become more creative and less wasteful in my life. Back to foraging. I live in a cul-de-sac in a suburb in Des Moines. I walk the neighborhoods on occasion to get a little exercise and many times take my 11 year old daughter on walks with me. A few months ago, we were about 4 blocks away, when I almost tripped on the sidewalk... over an apple. Now being a city girl by nature, I could not figure out how the apple got on the sidewalk until my daughter pointed up and said "look, an apple tree". OMG.. I rarely have even seen an apple tree in the "wild".. but indeed it has shiny red apples hanging all over it. Upon further inspection, there were lots of apples in various stages of decay all over the yard. I walked on by in wonder.... The next day I made her return to the house with me so she could nonchalantly pick up one of the apples so we could bring it home and taste it. Yes, I made her do it. I did not want to get caught stealing someone's apples and I figured she would be more easily forgiven. We were not caught. We rushed home with our prize to taste and lo and behold, it was a GREAT apple. I was skeptical about the success of the next plan but had to try it. I made her return with me a third night with the intention of knocking on the door of the house with the apples. Of course I took the cowardly road when the garage door was open and his phone number was right there on a magnetic sign on the back of his pickup truck advertising his business. We took note and rushed home. You guessed it! The next day I called the number and told the man that I was a neighbor and his apple trees were very nice. I then asked him if he picked them because they were all over his yard. He responded that he had no use for the apples so they were a nuisance to him. MANNA FROM HEAVEN! I offered to come pick them and clean up his yard and he agreed. It was a family affair. Mike and I don't know how to properly pick apples but we drove over there with a couple of buckets and a ladder and got to picking. Even with 2 buckets FULL there were many more we could not reach. We shook the trees, chased apples down the driveway, got hit in the head with apples, and generally got a great workout for 2 days cleaning up all his apples. I would say we reached about 200 pounds of free apples by the time we were done. Can I mention here that I am sick of apples? LOL I spent weeks processing all those apples and battling gnats in my kitchen. We have an endless supply of applesauce, apple butter, dried apples, and canned apples for pies. I made a dozen apple dumplings and we have eaten tons of fresh apples. THEN I discovered that they make a device called an apple picker. It looks like this:

This is definitely on my wish list for next year's apple picking season!! See, I told you I was new at this pioneering thing! There is so much to learn.

In the Kitchen - Sprouting Nuts

"Nuts and Berries".. Forever known to be the food of many civilizations and the forager's paradise. Filled with healthy fats, proteins, and many essential vitamins and minerals, there are a variety of nuts on the market to choose from.
Did you know that the commercially roasted variety are not as healthy for you as they could be? Roasted nuts in oven temperatures of over 170 degrees will cause the good heart healthy fats in nuts to break down, in some cases drastically reducing the good Omega 3 fats and can release free radicals that can actually cause tiny injuries in your arterial walls, leading to more plaque and cardiac disease. Most commercially roasted nuts are done in high temperature environments.
There are also enzyme inhibitors in raw nuts. These inhibitors are what prevents the nut (a seed) from germinating on the shelf (the wrong conditions). These enzyme inhibitors also inhibit the natural enzymes in your gut from doing the job they are intended to do.. which is digest and utilize the nutrients in your food. These enzyme inhibitors combined with tannins found in most nuts are what can cause some people to have gastrointestinal issues when eating nuts.
But there is a way to have your nuts and eat them too! I love to snack on nuts and use them in baking. If you visit a "health food" store like Whole Foods you will find a premium nut for sale there called "Sprouted nut". I was intrigued by this new food so I did some research for myself and began sprouting my own raw nuts. Here is a picture of some nuts sprouting on my counter.

I start with whole (or at least large pieces) of raw nuts. I love cashews, walnuts, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds to name the ones I have sprouted thus far. When I get the nuts home I place them in a jar and rinse them several times with cool water. Once rinsed, I leave them in cool salted water for many hours, soaking them. Rinse them every 8 hours or so and replace the water in which they soak. Once they have soaked for an adequate amount of time, you can roast them in a very low temperature oven or dehydrate them to remove the moisture.
What will this accomplish, you ask? You will be surprised at how very dirty and brown your water becomes as you rinse and soak your nuts. This is due to the tannins getting leached out while the nut is soaking. This also allows the nut seed to think it is about to germinate and releases the enzyme inhibitors. Now instead of inhibitors, the nuts are filled with healthy living enzymes and they become smoother, cleaner, milder flavored, and much better for your health and digestion. By refraining from heating them above 170 degrees, you also preserve the good heart-healthy fats and all nutrients in the nuts.
You may notice after soaking them for 6 + hours that some of them become "swollen" at their pointy little ends or even begin to look as if they have grown a little appendage. This is normal and even desirable, as it means the germination process is begun and the little nut has once again become a "live" nutritious food.
Everyone who has come to my home recently has tried my sprouted nuts and LOVED the mild smooth clean flavor that they have. It is easy to sprout nuts and much better for you to do it! That may be why they sell for over $15 per pound at the health stores.
One final note on sprouting nuts is when sprouting cashews. Cashews should not soak more than 6 hours... other nuts can soak for much longer and it seems the longer you soak them the better they taste. The other nuts I have soaked have been soaked around 12- 18 hours before roasting or dehydrating. Just make sure they are completely dry and crunchy before storage so that they keep well. They keep longest in the freezer but also can be kept in the refrigerator for freshness. I keep mine right on the counter in glass jars for easy access to healthy snacking because they don't stay around for too long!