The Paleo Mama

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Explant Surgery — My Breast Implants Were Poisoning Me

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It’s no secret that on June 23, 2017 I underwent surgery to have my breast implants removed. Over 10 years ago, way before living natural was on my radar, I did what millions of other women do, and I had breast augmentation. Don’t you ever wish you could just slap your 20 year old self for some choices that she made? 

I assume that some choices we make lead us to tell our story to others so that they don’t make the same mistakes. So here I am. Bearing my chest to all of you and sharing something that’s a little personal. 

So here’s my breast implant story and why I had them removed. 

I fell into the trap. You know the one that nearly 2 million men and women fall into every year. I wanted to be “proportionate” and as a 5’10 woman with a full size A breast, I felt like I needed some help in that department. 

I do remember hearing the risks (1), but they, literally, went in one ear and out the other. Fast forward 11 years, and here I am, 11 years older, wondering if I should change out my breast implants. I knew that implants weren’t lifetime devices and I just figured I would get new ones when the time came. Well, the time came in 2017, and as a more educated, natural woman, I did my research this time. 

You’ll never believe what I discovered. 

I discovered that millions of women were having issues with their implants such as: mold growing in their implants and leaking out into their body (watch this video), extreme fatigue and brain fog,  Lyme Disease, strange mood and anxiety issues, and even cancer,  And these were women who had saline filled implants and silicone filled breast implants…oh and gummy bear implants too (I kid you not). 

Hello Breast Implant Illness.

That is the term that these women were all using. I remember my jaw dropping. I remember feeling helpless and feeling completely trapped with a monster inside my breast. Actually, I felt like a ticking time bomb. I felt lucky. 

I had some of these issues, but nothing “drastic”: brain fog, signs of toxicity, and constant issues with my skin. 

Some other symptoms of Breast Implant Illness are depression, panic attack, chest pain, radiating pain down the arm, chronic fatigue and an increased risk that women with breast implants will commit suicide. Y’all…this is serious, so I must talk about my story. 

I made the decision to do what THOUSANDS of other women were doing….

Explant Surgery.

Once I found a safe haven with these other women, I started learning about how they were removing their breast implants. It was pretty drastic, if you ask me, but their life was on the line. MY LIFE WAS ON THE LINE. 

Explant surgery is where you have your breast implants removed and you don’t replace them. You go back to your beautiful, God-given body and you heal from Breast Implant Illness. 

But, a word of caution, you really should find a Plastic Surgeon that can perform an explant surgery, Capsulectomy, En Bloc all at the same time. 

You know that scar tissue that forms around the implant? Yea that’s the body’s immune response to a foreign object being put in the body and it’s the body’s way of fighting it….constantly. Your body is fighting your implants 24/7. Proper removal of your implants, as quickly as possible, is the first step to your recovery. Here’s some tips I have for those who want to remove their implants. 

How to Have a Safe Explant Surgery:

A En Bloc/Capsulectomy Implant Removal
  1. Find a Plastic Surgeon that is qualified in removing implants En Bloc (in a manner that does not contaminate you) and with a Total Capsulectomy (remove all capsule tissue). Here’s a list of Surgeons that I recommend. I, personally, went to Dr. Ghazi in Atlanta, GA and 100% recommend him. He was amazing, never questioned my decision to remove my implants, and never tried to talk me into replacing them. 
  2. Check with your health insurance company and see if they will cover it. Mine didn’t, but lots of women are able to get it covered, especially if you have a doctor who agrees that your breast implants are making you sick. Many deny it…especially plastic surgeons. 
  3. After surgery, you will want to eat nourishing foods to heal your body and foods that support detoxification. 
  4. For more support, join this Facebook group. I, honestly, wouldn’t have done this without the support of this group. You will need all the support you can get! I’m here for you too. Feel free to email me at any time (jackie(at)ritzessentials(dot)com. 

Seaweed Kelp — is it the new kale?

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Well, I’m guessing that many of you thought, “Yuck,” when you read today’s blog title. That’s what I thought too, until I tried it, and it’s become sort of standard fare around here now. Especially as an item to send in my daughter’s lunchbox. She loves “Nori,” which is kelp seaweed that comes in thin sheets, and can be found in most Asian grocery stores. Seaweed Kelp is also the thin paper-like dark green wrapping the keeps pieces of sushi neatly contained. Sushi is something else that my family loves—and has been known to indulge in!

But many of you have probably not put seaweed on your food menus yet. According to Food and Wellness trends for 2016, seaweed came in as the number 1 trend last year! The health and wellness website, well+Good has predicted that it will take over kale’s spot in the top trends. So if seaweed kelp is becoming the new kale, I think it’s time we took a closer look at it. We’ll look at three things:

  1. Exactly what is seaweed kelp?
  2. How is seaweed being used in food planning?
  3. How can I use seaweed in my home meals?

1. Exactly What Is Seaweed Kelp?

Seaweed kelp is a marine vegetable, and it has been an important food, fuel, and fertilizer since ancient times. It’s heavy on nutrition, light on empty calories, and it comes with many superfood benefits. Let me list some of those benefits so you can see the huge amount of nutrition that can be gained from humble seaweed.

  • Good source of iodine (our body doesn’t produce iodine but we need it in order to make thyroid hormones.)
  • It has antioxidant, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties
  • It is useful for regulating estrogen
  • It contains vitamins A, C, and all the B’s
  • It contains calcium, magnesium, iron, fiber, amino acids, and good fats

 So you can see why many are calling seaweed kelp a superfood, and predicting that kelp is the new kale. But it’s not only important for the nutrition it contains, but also for how is works to improve our health.

  • Studies have shown that it may help to improve digestion and reduce fat absorption.
  • Other studies suggest that it has anticancer, antiviral, and anticoagulant properties.

Seaweed is fairly easy to farm, and is super-sustainable. It grows quickly, as much as 5-10 inches a day. It doesn’t consume any of the ocean’s natural resources as it grows, doesn’t need any pesticides of fertilizer, and is easily harvested. I wish those qualities were present in all of the vegetables I’m trying to grow!

2. How Is Seaweed Kelp Being Used in Food Planning

There are several types of seaweed (sea vegetables) that are nutritious and useful to our health. Nori is one of them, and most likely you’ve seen that one in your sushi rolls. But other types of seaweed include dulse, which can be sprinkled on food to add nutrients, and wakame, which is used to make Japanese miso soup.

But seaweed is no longer just used in America for sushi. Chefs are incorporating this sea vegetable in many new and tasty dishes. Here are just a few ways you might find seaweed offered in your restaurant menu.

  1. Seaweed butter—Chef are offering seaweed butter as a great spread for their homemake sourdough biscuits and bread.
  2. Seaweed beignets—restaurants focusing on unique specialties have added these airy, seaweed and tofu little deep-fried nuggets served with a dab of tasty sauce.
  3. Kelp-noodle dishes—many other chefs are serving sea palm or kelp noodles in menu dishes from Pad Thai, in soups and salads, and in specialty casserole type dishes.
  4. Sugar kelp fettucine—one delicious sounding pasta dish served in restaurants uses Maine seaweed is a fettucine dish that includes mushrooms and spring onions.

There are many other seaweed dishes showing up in restaurants across the nation. It is used in breads, added to burgers, infused with dairy products, and even prepared as a substitute for bacon (dulse tastes like bacon).

It is still in the experimental stage for many chefs. Chefs are pairing it with fish or meat dishes, or adding it to vegetarian dishes as added protein. It is showing up in every menu course, even in desserts. It is packed with protein and nutrients, is easy to work with, easily stored, as doesn’t cause food allergies. It’s wonderful flavor kick is one of the main reasons so many chefs have started using it—driving this humble sea plant to the number one trend in food circles.

3. How Can I Use Seaweed Kelp in My Home Meals

If you are like me, it’s always just a bit intimidating to start using a new ingredient in my cooking. But by now, I’ve tried—and liked—so many new foods in the last five years that I’ve taken on the C’mon, you can do it! mantra when I’m trying something else new.

So here are a couple of tips to help you get started using seaweed with your family.

  • Go shopping—you can buy seaweed at many Asian markets, and in the ethnic aisles of many supermarkets. Dried versions are easiest to find, including three of the most common types: Nori, Kombu, and Wakame. Start with Nori sheets which you can find in most grocery stores and in with different spices!
  • Get cooking—some of the best ways to start cooking with seaweed are: add it to your meat braises, mix it into marinades, blend it with softened butter, make it the star of your salad (try using miso dressing on it), serve it as a crunchy snack, and add it to soups you would normally add a green like spinach or kale to. You can even make homemade sushi with it. I’ve done that several times, and we really love our sushi.
  • Get sprinkling —Use this Kelp Granule salt alternative and sprinkle it on all your foods! I love it on my eggs in the morning!

Sample recipes using seaweed kelp

  1. Stirred into a Smoothie or fresh squeezed juice—Mix about ¼ tsp. in per serving. You can find a delicious Superfood Smoothie recipe here.
  2. Mix it into a salad dressing—Add a maximum of about ¼ tsp. per serving when making your dressing. Both dulse and kelp are tasty with a simple olive oil and vinegar dressing. You can find a more complex Seaweed Salad Dressing here.
  3. Blend it into your favorite dip—Add  1-2 tsps to this delicious Cilantro Pesto recipe.
  4. Mix it with spices as a seasoning—Try mixing a little kelp powder as a salt substitute to cayenne, garlic, parsley, rosemary, thyme, turmeric, or cumin blended seasoning.
  5. Add it to soups and stews—Kelp can add a spark of flavor to stocks, soups, and stews. Sprinkle in about a tablespoon or so just before you serve. Try this delicious sounding Coconut Soup with Kelp Noodles and Shrimp.
  6. Roll em’ up —Take your regular nitrate-free lunchmeat and some vegetables and make Paleo Nori Rolls!
  7. Make some sushi — Spread some avocado on the Nori Sheet, add some smoked salmon, cucumber and spices. Try this Paleo Sushi recipe.  

Get Started

This information has given you some ways to sneak seaweed kelp into your diet more often. Go on and give it a try. We did, and I am committed to finding new and unique ways to add this healthy superfood to my family’s menu.

If you don’t want to cook with it you can also use Kelp Granules and sprinkle them on your foods. This is a delicious salt alternative for those who are on a low sodium diet. 

“I thought seaweed was hippy, globetrotting stuff but our ancestors ate seaweed. It’s got a load of iodine and it’s the most nutritious vegetable in the world… It’s like dynamite—fiber, nutrients, all the minerals, aids digestion—unbelievable.”

—Jamie Oliver

Sources

  1. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-25249/seaweed-is-the-new-kale-a-doctor-explains.html
  2. https://www.foods4betterhealth.com/is-kelp-the-new-kale-seaweed-harvesting-growing-across-u-s-13950

Why Beets are One of the Best Foods You Can Eat

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Beets? If you are like me, this is one vegetable that I seldom even thought about. I can’t remember ever eating it as a kid. My mother says that her mother forced beets on her so many times that she was determined to never eat them again when she grew up! But today beets, both the root vegetable and the greens, are one of the hottest trends in food circles. They were the highlight in both the January 2016 issue of Good Housekeeping and of Bon Appetit. There are more than 1,500 recipes for beets on Food.com. And there are plenty of blurbs about beets on both Pinterest and Twitter. Restaurants are adding beets to their menus across the nation. In the last couple of years, 903 new products using beets have been introduced to the market.[1]

So maybe it’s time we took a closer look at the humble beet! Let’s consider their health benefits and see just why we should be eating beets. Then we’ll consider some of the different ways we can add beets to our menu.

Health Benefits of Beets

Beets have a wide range of benefits because of their nutritional content, including vitamins, mineral, and organic compounds like:

  • Carotenoids
  • Dietary fiber
  • Vitamin C
  • Magnesium
  • Iron
  • Copper
  • Phosphorus
  • Beneficial flavonoids

They are very low in calories and have no cholesterol, but they do have the highest sugar content of all vegetables. Here are some of the specific benefits they provide:

  • Beets fight cancer—the high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatories can reduce the risk of cancer. Betacyanin, the source of their bright red color, helps defend cells against harmful carcinogens. The unique fiber found in beets has been linked to lower colon cancer risk.
  • Beets lower the risk of heart disease—drinking beet juice has been reported to be able to help lower blood pressure in a matter of hours. The nitrates in beets are converted to nitric oxide, which helps to relax and dilate your blood vessels, improve blood flow, and thereby lower blood pressure.
  • Beets reduce the risk of dementia—the nitric acid produced by beets helps to increase blood flow, including to your brain. Tests done on older adults showed that after eating a high-nitrate diet that included beet juice, the adults had greater blood flow to their frontal lobes.
  • Beets boost eye health—the tops of beets, the beet greens, are a good source of lutein, which helps to protect the eyes from age-related problems like macular degeneration and cataracts. The phytochemicals in beets can help to improve overall eye health and nerve tissues.
  • Beets combat constipation—because beets are chock full of fiber, they help to keep the digestive system running smoothly.[2]

Other benefits include:

  • Reduce birth defects
  • Good for liver health
  • Prevents respiratory problems
  • Known as an aphrodisiac
  • Boost energy levels
  • Speed healing of wounds

There are many other health benefits to beets, so I highly recommend that you do some of your own research to see how they may be able to benefit your own specific health needs.

How to Select and Store Beets

Using freshly harvested beets.

If you are going to use real harvested beets here are some hints for finest the best beets to buy.

Choose small or medium-sized beets with firm roots, smooth skins, and a deep red color.

  1. Avoid beets with spots, bruises, or soft wet areas.
  2. Look for beets with fresh, tender, and bright green tops.
  3. Cut most of the tops off, leaving about 2 inches to prevent the roots from bleeding.
  4. Store unwashed beets in a plastic bag from which you have squeezed the air. They will keep up to 3 weeks.
  5. Store the unwashed greens in a plastic bag with the air squeezed out. They will only keep about 3-4 days.

Buying beets products

Many beet products are being marketed during this beet trend. I recommend that  you determine that any beet products you use are organic and free of additives and chemicals. Here are a few that I would recommend.

As you can see, there just is no reason for you not to test out my Better with Beets suggestion.

Preparing Beets for Your Menu

I want to give you some suggestions for how you can get some healthy beets in your diet. There are so many ways to use them, and I suggest you just schedule a beet for 7 days week where you try several of these suggestions.

  1. Cooking raw beets—Some of the nutrients in beets can be destroyed by heat, so it is recommended that you steam beets for 15 minutes to maximize their nutrition and flavor. If you wait to peel them after steaming, you can rub the skin off with a paper towel Note: Wear kitchen gloves!
  2. Adding raw beets to salads or soups—simply grate the amount of beets you want to use for a healthy and colorful addition to salads and soups.
  3. Beet Greens Side Dish—Beet greens are a tasty side dish, served similar to the way you would serve Swiss Chard or Kale.
  4. Add beet rounds to sandwiches—great with goat cheese or in a Reuben.
  5. Prepare pickled beets—pickled or fermented food are so good for us.
  6. Add them to certain dessert dishes for extra deliciousness—beets can be the secret ingredient to bakery items and even ice cream. (Stay tuned for a dessert recipe.)
  7. Learn to make Borscht—it is a recipe that has been passed down for hundreds of years and the authentic way to serve beets. It really is delicious, so try it for yourself.

These are just a few of the ways to serve beets. I’ve tried a few recipes, and I plan to try more. Let me share some of my favorite recipes with you.

Better with Beet Recipes

Refrigerator Pickled Beets

These pickled beets are so delicious and really easy to make. Fermented foods are full of probiotics (good bacteria), which help us to assimilate the nutrients better. It stimulates stomach acid, helping the digestive process. And fermented foods last forever in the fridge.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh beets
  • 1 small red onion
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cups apple cider vinegar
  • ½ cups water
  • 1 TBSP honey
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black peppercorns

Instructions

To prepare the beets, trim greens and root ends. Wash the beets thoroughly using a soft scrub brush, place in a pot and cover with water by about an inch. Bring to a boil over high heat then lower the heat and simmer for 35 to 45 minutes or until beets are easily pierced with a fork. Remove from heat, drain and rinse with cold water. Peel the beets. Using a mandolin or sharp knife, thinly slice the beets. Arrange the beet slices in alternating layers with the onion slices in a 1-quart canning jar and set aside. In a small saucepan, place the vinegar, water, salt, honey, black peppercorns and bay leaves and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and pour over beets leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Let cool completely. Screw on lid and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours before serving.[3]

Mashed Beets

Mashed beets would be a great way to introduce this trendy vegetable to your family. They are delicious, creamy and perfectly seasoned. Remember that if  you do not want red hands, you will want to wear rubber gloves while preparing these.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 beets, cleaned and peeled, and cut in 1-inch pieces
  • ¼ to ½ cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 TBSP melted butter
  • ½ cup finely diced fresh parsley
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

You could either boil or roast the beets.  If you boil them, just throw them in a pot of boiling water and cook until soft.  If you choose to roast, lay the beets across an oiled cookie tray and bake at 450 degrees until soft (roughly 30 min). Once the beets are softened, transfer them to a mixing bowl. Add the milk gradually while you mash the beets, tasting as you go. Immersion blender, mixer, or food processor will do. Add the butter and parsley and continue to mix. Season with salt and pepper and adjust the dairy components if desired.[4]

These mashed beets are delicious with poultry and fish.

Luscious Beet Brownies

These beetroot brownies are not only delicious—they are also healthy for you. And they are easy to make.

Ingredients

  • 5 oz. dark chocolate, 72% or higher cocoa content
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • ⅓ cup raw honey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup blanched almond flour
  • 2 TBSP coconut flour
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp sale
  • 2 cooked beets, pureed (or use organic canned beets)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees °F. Grease an 8×8 pan with coconut oil, then dust with blanched almond flour. Set aside. In a double boiler, gently melt the chocolate. (If you don’t have a double boiler then fill a skillet with a few inches of water and set a small pot in the water, place over very low heat.) Add the coconut oil and raw honey. Mix until fully combined. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In small bowl combine the eggs, vanilla and almond extracts. Add the cooled chocolate mixture. In a medium bowl combine almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Pour in the wet ingredients and mix until fully combined. Mix in the pureed beets. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until fully set. Cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before cutting. *Tip: Use a serrated, plastic knife to cut your brownies — this makes it less likely to crumble.[5] 

More Favorite Beet Recipes

 

So—Get Eating Those Beets

I hope you’ve been able to see that there are a lot of good reasons to be eating your beets! Try some of the suggestions in my blog, or do your own research to find a recipe that sounds good to you. With so many good health benefits, it’s no wonder that the humble beet has skyrocketed to being one of the top ten trends in the food arena. So try it—you’ll like it.

“The beet must be uprooted.”

—Roland Freisler

Sources

  1. https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/01/25/beets-health-benefits.aspx.
  2. https://www.fullcircle.com/goodfoodlife/2012/05/10/6-health-benefits-of-eating-beets/.
  3. https://www.rd.com/health/conditions/beets-health-benefits/
  4. https://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49

[1] https://www.fona.com/sites/default/files/Beet%20Flavor%20Insight%200216.pdf

[2] These five Health Benefits are adapted from: https://www.rd.com/health/conditions/beets-health-benefits/.

[3] https://paleogrubs.com/quick-pickled-beets

[4] https://paleoparamedic.wordpress.com/2014/03/25/mashed-beets/

[5] https://blog.paleohacks.com/luscious-beet-brownie-recipe/

How to Make Ghee

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OK, I confess to being a gal with several love affairs going right now! There is my love affair with the soft, tiny new heritage Jacob’s lambs just born on our farm. There’s my love affair with essential oils, and my love for Esme, my Great Pyrenes guardian dog. None of these love affairs come even close to my love for my husband, my family, and my Lord, but there is one that has sneaked up pretty close right now—it’s my love for my homemade, delicious GHEE. I can’t keep all this buttery goodness to myself, so today I’m going to show you how to make ghee!

What is Ghee

Ghee butter

If you haven’t started using Ghee, you haven’t started living! Yeah, I know, that’s an exaggeration, but not a real big one. What is Ghee? Known best as clarified butter, ghee is 100 percent butterfat, which you end up with when you remove the milk solids, and water from unsalted butter.

Ghee has been around for ages, but was used mostly in Indian food. But it’s becoming more and more popular, especially with people making a commitment to eating only healthy, real food and those who have become a part of the natural living community.

I want to introduce you to the benefits of using ghee—other than its rich, delicious nutty butter taste—and tell you how you can use Ghee in your own kitchen, including how to make it yourself.

Oh and before I forget, I have a new recipe book called, The Home Apothecary: Home Crafted Recipes Using Herbs and Essential Oils, and in it I have 3 amazing ghee recipes! 

The Benefits of Ghee

There are many reasons to incorporate Ghee into your healthy eating plan. There are several important health benefits to Ghee, including the following:

  • Ghee can be used by lactose-intolerant people because it is lactose free. The process of creating ghee removes lactose—a sugar found in milk—and leaves a pure butter oil
  • Casein, the protein part of milk, also produces allergies for many people. However when you make ghee, the milk solids containing both lactose and casein float to the top, where they can be removed.
  • Unlike butter, which cannot be used as a cooking oil because of its low smoke point, ghee is highly heat-stable for sautéing and baking.
  • The dairy products of grass-fed beef are excellent sources of many vitamins, including vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential for hormone balance, liver health, fertility and stamina. The vitamin A content of ghee is even higher than that in milk, since it is stored mainly in the butterfat.
  • Ghee is a good source of cholesterol.
  • Ghee provides vitamin K2, which is the vitamin that allows calcium to get into your bones. Calcium requires the fatty acids in ghee for absorption.

These are very good reasons for using ghee. Of course the fact that ghee is like butter on steroids says it all for me.

Fat gives things flavor.

—Julia Child

How to Use Ghee in Your Kitchen

Personally, for me at this point, it’s much harder to find reasons not to use ghee. My family loves ghee, and uses it for so many things. Although I have been making butter from our daily supply of raw wonderful milk from Holly, our Jersey milk cow, recently I have been skipping butter and going right for making ghee. My kids love it on our warm, home-made toast. I put it in my morning coffee every morning. At this point I reach for my ghee before I even reach for my butter.

But, you may just be starting to add ghee to your diet, so let me give you some very good ways you can incorporate ghee into your healthy eating routine.

  • Because ghee has the smoke point of oil, it is the ideal fat to use for sautéing, deep-frying, and grilling.
  •  Use ghee in place of butter as a spread on bread and toast.
  • Add it to your steamed vegetables
  • Put a spoonful of it on your freshly grilled steak.
  • Try adding it to your morning coffee. This is called bulletproof coffee, and you can find more information about this here.
  • Use it in any recipe that calls for cooking oil.
  • Use it in place of coconut oil or other oils for baking.

Here’s a quick snack idea for making your kids a tasty afternoon snack. Slice a slightly unripe banana (1/2-inch slices), fry the slices in ghee, turning them carefully to avoid mashing them, until they are golden brown, then sprinkle them with cinnamon and serve to your waiting snackers.

How to Make Ghee in Your Own Kitchen

how to make ghee

For people who are just beginning to use ghee, it can seem to be pretty costly. It’s usually only found in specialty stores or Indian stores, or online, often with added shipping costs, it can become a budget buster.

Making your own Ghee at home can be much easier than you think, and relatively affordable. I want to help you learn how to make it for yourself.

Equipment you will need

Your ingredients

You will need the best quality, organic, unsalted butter from grass-fed cows that you can find. I recommend Kerrygold Butter, which you can buy at Costco, and sometimes at Wal-Mart or Aldi. Of course what would be even better would be if you can get your hands on some wonderful raw milk from local grass-fed cattle.

How much butter you need will depend on how much ghee you want to end up with. One pound of butter will usually fill a 1-pint Mason jar almost full.

How to make ghee

Steps to take

  • Cut your butter into one-inch squares and add it to your saucepan over medium heat. Stir every few minutes.
  • As your butter melts, a thick, white foam will start to form at the surface.
  • Once your butter begins to simmer, turn the heat down to medium-low.
  • Let the butter simmer (no stirring) and you will soon see bubbles form. The foam will get thinner and the bubbles will become bigger and clearer.
  • The milk solids will begin to curdle. If they stick to the side of the pan, scrap them so they can sink to the bottom. As the milk solids settle to the bottom, the butter will begin to turn a nice golden brown.
  • Watch your butter carefully at this stage. When it begins to foam for a second time, your ghee is ready to be strained. You should be able to see through your butter at this point and most the milk solids would have fallen to the bottom of your pot. Do not let the milk solids to turn too dark. I wait for a little caramelization of the milk solids which makes the ghee taste “nutty”. 
  • Take it off the heat and let the foam settle for a few seconds. Then pour your ghee into your sieve which you have covered with several layers of cheesecloth.
  • Discard the milk solids left in the cheesecloth or give to pigs 🙂 .
  • Once your ghee has fully strained, you can transfer it into your waiting mason jars.

That’s it…you now have your own supply of liquid gold. If for some reason you want to use ghee, but do not want to try to make your own, I highly recommend this ghee.

Making Ghee in Your Crock Pot

Making ghee in your crock pot can be pretty simple and fast. Just place your pound of butter in the crock pot, and cook it on low for 2-3 hours. Leave the lid slightly ajar so steam can escape.

Once you see that the milk solids have settled to the bottom of the crock pot you can pour the ghee into a sieve with cheesecloth just like you do when making it is a saucepan.

Get Started

I can just about guarantee that one you start using ghee, you will never reach for the butter first again.

Life isn’t life without real butter.

—A. D. Posey

Heirloom Plants – More Than Tomatoes

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Heirloom ingredients are making a comeback and not just in the produce aisle. Prized for flavors and traits that have been preserved for centuries, these “old-world” edibles are popping up in all kinds of packaged goods. Even better than that, homesteaders and heritage farmers around the nation are choosing to grow their own heirloom plants —and that means more than just tomatoes.

If you’ve followed me for any time, you know that our Gather Heritage Farm is committed to raising heritage animals, and heirloom plants and vegetables. I oohed and aahed over my wonderful garden plot of 10 different kinds of heritage tomato plants this last summer. But my gardens have been filled with more than just heirloom tomato plants this year—and I’m already planning on many more next year. I firmly believe that heritage animals and heirloom plants are the seeds of yesterday that will build a better tomorrow.

I want to introduce you to some of heirloom plants and vegetables that have become important to raise for many homesteaders and organic farmers around our nation. Let me begin with a simple definition of what an heirloom plant really is.

In short, heirloom is a designation for produce that hasn’t been crossbred with any other varieties for several generations (how many is a matter of debate, but at least 50 years tends to be a good rule of thumb) and hasn’t been genetically modified. Heritage is essentially the same thing, but for birds and animals. Plenty of people use the terms interchangeably [including me].[1]

Why Grow Heirloom Plants?

Growing heirloom plants is really more than just a trend—for many it’s a cause, a passion, and even considered a revolution by some. There are many reasons for this decision by many, including these:

  1. A desire to preserve and cherish seeds from generations past, sometimes within our own families. I don’t have seeds from my own ancestors’ gardens (I sure wish I did), but I cherish the 75 year-old seeds I now have from a San Marzano tomato that my 94 year old neighbor handed me when I invited him to share Thanksgiving dinner with us last year. He brought these tomato seeds home to his wife when he was serving in Italy during World War 2. 
  2. There are some very practical reasons to use heirloom seeds. They possess a hardiness, disease and pest resistance that has grown over the generations of their existence, which makes them impervious to the things that kill our evolved, improved and genetically modified vegetables in big box supermarkets today.
  3. Another reason to grow heirloom plants is their adaptability to both climate and soil conditions. They have adapted to growing conditions and developed disease resistance over a long period of time. These are highly sought-after traits to us homesteaders and organic gardeners!
  4. However, there is another reason also—an aesthetic one! Give me the imperfectly colored, soft and squishy look of one of my UglyRipe tomatoes any day over the hard, flavorless, plastic tomatoes you buy in stores!
  5. The most important reason for growing heirloom plants and vegetables is the desire to preserve their biodiversity (the existence of a wide variety of the vegetables and plants). For example, one website lists 28 different types of heirloom tomatoes.[2] Things are different in the modern improved world of vegetables. As commercial growers have concentrated on perfecting just a few plants of any one type, many others varieties have gone extinct. The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership estimates that 60,000 -100,000 plant species today are threatened with extinction.[3]

Every gardener raising heirloom plants has his or her own reasons for doing so. Frank and I raise heritage animals and heirloom plants because it allows us to help preserve essential genetic traits, things like self-sufficiency, foraging ability, maternal instincts, and resistance to diseases and parasites. We believe that these plants and breeds store a wealth of genetic resources that are important for tomorrow.

You rarely get satisfaction sitting in an easy chair. If you work in a garden on the other hand, and it yields beautiful tomatoes, that’s a good feeling.

—Dan Buettner

What Types of Heirloom
Vegetables Are Available?

Many heirloom vegetables never make it to a seed catalog or become a food consumed by the average public consumer. These plants have been handed down by families, and often their spread goes no further than to a few family friends. Many heirloom vegetables look nothing like their improved counterpart in today’s supermarkets. But many heirloom plants and seeds are now becoming highly sought for by homesteaders and organic farmers. So I want to list a few of the heirloom vegetables that, although probably a bit strange looking and sounding, are available in online specialty websites.

  • Magenta Sunset Chard—this is a beautiful species with dark green, almost flat leaves, and a magenta stalk.
  • Dragon Tongue Bush Bean—it is a Dutch heirloom that has striking purple stripes mottled over a bright yellow color. They have a unique, clean, vibrant flavor.
  • Weebee Little Pumpkins—these miniature pumpkins can easily fit into the palm of your hand. They have a sweet flavor, and are the perfect size for tea light candles.
  • Sweet Chocolate Peppers—these peppers turn from green to a rich chocolate color as they ripen. They are very sweet in taste, and are a wonderful addition to salads.
  • Violetta Italia Cauliflower—these ae stunning, large, bright purple cauliflowers. They are delicious raw, cooked, or steamed.
  • White Scallop Squash—these are similar to the golden patty pan squash I had in my garden this year. They have a clean white color and a great taste. They can withstand most squash bugs and vine borers.
  • Blue Hopi Corn—this is a dark blue, almost black variety of corn. It is an heirloom from the Hopi Native Americans who ate it as a staple food for thousands of years.
  • Purple Majesty Potato—it has a bright royal purple color on both the outside and the inside. It makes very interesting purple mashed potatoes or purple chips.[4]

These are just a few of the kinds of heirloom vegetables you can find available in specialty seed outlets. I absolutely love and recommend Sow True Seed. This organic seed outlet is local to me but they do ship! Their seeds are ALWAYS open pollinated, non-GMO, and non-hybrid. 

Why Not Consider Raising
Your Own Heirloom Veggies?

tomatoesforme

I encourage you to help preserve these awesome, generations-old, heirloom plants and vegetables. Not all heirlooms have the same wonderful flavor and hardiness if grown outside of their area of origin, so be sure you get some advice from your local gardeners as to which heirlooms are best suited for your region. It may even be possible to get some special seeds from heirloom growers in your area.

We have gotten our entire family involved in gardening and understanding the importance of heirloom plants. Gardening is a perfect family activity, and teaches cooperation and responsibility. Heirloom vegetables have amazing flavors—flavors of times past when food still tasted the way our grandparents remember. Why would you choose to eat flavorless foods if you can enjoy heirloom flavors?

Heirloom seeds aren’t just about gardening. Throughout the centuries they have been intricately linked with medicine, love, romance, exploration, discovery, and poisons. They have been part of history, science, cooking, literature, fairy tales, genetics, and wildlife. They are wrapped up in farming, travel, state fairs, archeology, philosophy, and so much more. When you plant heirloom seeds remember where they’ve been. Keep them going.

—Lynn Coulter, Gardening With Heirloom Seeds[5]

Now the Best—Cooking with
Heirloom Vegetables

Once you’ve tasted something made with the unparalleled flavor of heirloom veggies, I’m betting you will never go back to the boring supermarket flavors. I want to encourage you with a couple of great recipes—buy the heirloom veggie and try these recipes…you’ll definitely want more!

Heirloom Tomato Basil Caprese Salad

This is soooo good! And it requires no cooking, can be made in under 5 minutes, and really looks impressive when you serve it. See for yourself.

Ingredients

  • 2-3 heirloom tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick (I recommend a ripe freshly picked one from the garden!)
  • A big ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced thin (I use my homemade mozzarella, but you buy yours at the real cheese counter in your store, or from a farmer’s market
  • Handful of fresh basil
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic dressing
  • Sea Salt

Directions

Arrange sliced tomatoes and cheese on a big plate, overlapping each one slightly. Sprinkle with salt, and let it sit a minute or so to get the juices going. Tear up a few leaves of basil and spread over the top. Drizzle balsamic and olive oil on top.

Mashed Purple Majesty Potatoes

You’ve probably seen these purple potatoes in your supermarket. They have begun appearing more and more. I highly recommend that you purchase them from a reputable organic, heirloom gardener if at all possible. Try making these purple mashed potatoes and watch your family chomp them down.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. purple majesty potatoes, washed
  • 3-4 minced shallots (or green onions)
  • 3-4 TBSP heavy cream (I use our raw milk cream)
  • Fresh parsley
  • Sea salt
  • White or Black pepper

Directions

Cook your potatoes in a large pot of heavily salted water until tender, about 15-18 minutes. If desired you can peel them while still warm, but we prefer to leave the skins on. Gently mash the potatoes, leaving this a little bit chunky. Fold in the shallots, salt and pepper and heavy cream (use only what you need to get the consistency you desire). Finish with a few sprinkles of fresh parsley.  Serve while still warm.

Get Started

Take the time to do your own research and determine what heirloom vegetables you would like to grow. If you do not live on a farm, you can grow heirloom tomatoes in a bit pot sitting in a sunny spot on your patio. Once you taste the flavor of these cherished heirloom veggies, you will want to grow more. Find a local, organic seed supplier or consider purchasing from my favorite seeds supplier! Now is the time to request your free catalog and start planning your spring and summer garden! 

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.

— Alfred Austin

Heirloom Plants pin

Sources

  1. https://www.planetnatural.com/heirloom-vegetables/
  2. https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/national/what-are-heirloom-vegetables-heritage-breeds
  3. https://www.planetnatural.com/heirloom-vegetables/

[1] https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/national/what-are-heirloom-vegetables-heritage-breeds

[2] https://www.greenmarketrecipes.com/tomatoes/types_of_heirloom_tomatoes.htm

[3] https://www.planetnatural.com/heirloom-vegetables/

[4] https://listverse.com/2011/11/11/20-heirloom-vegetables/

[5] https://amzn.to/2eVVXks

Fermented Superfoods

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Whether shoppers are seeking gut health or go-for-it flavor, fermented foods and probiotics are growing like good bacteria—and they’re not just for hippies anymore. Probiotic foods have become more popular due to studies that show they can benefit both the digestive and immune systems, and fermented and pickled foods are at the top of the trend. Fermentation involves using a food’s naturally-occurring yeasts, bacteria, and other microbes to break it down. That’s how cabbage becomes sauerkraut, grapes become wine, and cucumbers become pickles.

Over the past year or so, I’ve blogged several times about fermented foods that I have tried—and loved. For example:

I want to take a closer look at the trend of fermented foods. If they’ve reached top dog status in health and wellness circles, then it’s time we learned a bit more about them.

Why Eat Fermented Foods?

Fermented foods have been used as medicine throughout history. Chinese workers ate acid-fermented vegetables while building the Great Wall of China. The Japanese have had Kimchi as part of their daily menu for centuries. The Romans used sauerkraut to treat and prevent intestinal infections. Captain Cook used sauerkraut and lime juice to prevent scurvy on his three-year journey around the world. Many African cultures use acid-fermentation to preserve gruels made from corn and sorghum.

It was once thought that the main purpose of fermentation and pickling was food preservation. People in my grandmother’s generation did a lot of it. I remember my mother talking about jars of sauerkraut in the cellar, and a crock of pickled pig’s feet (yes, yuck!) always available on the bottom shelf of the cupboard. But today we have recognized the danger of the unhealthy bacteria that is present in our bodies—and the health problems it can cause. Fermented foods are rich in good bacteria, and act as natural probiotics to support digestive health and balance bacteria in our bodies.

Fermented foods, as a group, are highly nutritious and digestible. Fermentation pre-digests foods, making nutrients more bioavailable, or easier for the body to absorb, and in many cases fermentation generates additional nutrients or removes anti-nutrients or toxins

—Sandor Katz, The Art of Fermentation

With more and more fermented food cropping up in the supermarkets and local farmers’ markets, let me suggest 5 good reasons why we should be eating more of them.

  1. You can’t digest your food alone. Good bacteria is what helps to break down what your body can’t do on its own.
  2. The good bacteria fight the bad—and usually win. We swallow disease-causing bacteria every day. But we don’t always get sick from it because the good bacteria in our body fights off the bad.
  3. Good bacteria helps your body produce many fat-soluble vitamins, including Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, and K.
  4. In order for your body to be healthy it needs balance between the bad bacteria that is problematic to your health, and the good bacteria that becomes the probiotic to allow the balance to set in.
  5. Good bacteria helps to restore your gut health after taking antibiotics. That’s a prime time for eating fermented foods because antibiotics destroy both the bad and good bacteria.[1]

Fermented food contain live cultures, which are tiny organisms in our intestines that help digest fiber, and protect us from carcinogens and other disease-related toxins.

What Are Some of the
Fermented Foods Available?

There are many different kinds of fermented foods available today. Many vegetables are great fermented, and it’s a great way to preserve your fresh harvest. Let me list 8 of the healthiest food and vegetables that you might want to try.

  1. Yogurt—this is the most consumed fermented dairy product in the United States today. But choose your yogurt carefully. Look for four things: it comes from goat or sheep milk, it’s grass-fed, it’s organic, and it doesn’t contain sugar. If you make your own (the best option), I recommend this yogurt culture.
  2. Sauerkraut—traditional sauerkraut is one of the best-known fermented foods. It is prepared from water, salt, and cabbage. Be sure to purchase raw sauerkraut, or make it yourself (recipe to follow below). I recommend this raw sauerkraut.
  3. Kombucha—made from tea, clean water, sugar, yeast and bacteria, Kombucha has become extremely popular in the last few years. After fermenting it becomes carbonated, and is a great substitute for the less-healthy soda you may consume. It is fun and easy to make yourself (see my blog) for the recipe I use to make it. I recommend this Kombucha culture scoby starter.
  4. Kefir—this is a fermented milk product (cow, goat, or sheep milk) and tastes just about like liquid yogurt. If you are choosing to drink kefir, make sure it’s organic and not loaded with sugar. If you make your own kefir, I recommend this kefir starter.
  5. Kimchi—you’ve probably tasted Kimchi at some point when you were eating Asian food. It is a spicy fermented cabbage, dating back to the 7th century. You can make your own Kimchi (recipe recommended).
  6. Pickles—we are all familiar with pickles. As a kid growing up, we knew there was always a huge jar of dill pickles in our refrigerator for snacking. When you buy pickles, choose a food manufacturer that uses organic products and ferments it the old fashion way. 
  7. Miso—you’ve probably seen and even ate miso soup when you were eating oriental food. It is created by fermenting. Because it is made from soy, which in most American products is a GMO product, many avoid it altogether. But miso is made from fermented sources of soy, which yields a completely different set of nutrients. Stick to organically grown fermented soy products like miso, tempeh or natto.
  8. Raw Cheese—raw milk cheeses are made with milk that has not been pasteurized. Goat milk, sheep milk, or A2 cow’s milk (milk containing beta-casein, found only in Jersey, Asian and African cows) produce soft cheeses high in probiotics. These cheeses can include: Mozzarella, Havarti, Baby Swiss, Sharp Cheddar, Colby, and Pepper Jack. But NOTE: You won’t find them in the same aisle with sliced sandwich cheeses and pre-shredded cheese (with wood pulp). Look in the imported European cheeses counter. I make our own raw cheeses, using this mesophilic cheese culture.

Can I Make My Own Fermented Foods?

Absolutely! That’s one of my main reasons for writing this blog. I love it when we can keep up with the latest health and wellness trends by making our own products. There are many websites that can help you get started, including this one. I currently make several fermented foods, including sauerkraut, kombucha, sourdough bread, and my most recent love, Fire Cider. I want to share a couple of my recipes with you.

Kombucha

Kombucha is an ancient elixir that has a history of starting in China and, somehow, made its way over here to America. It is a sort of “tea” that is infused by fermentation with beneficial bacteria, probiotics, and yeast and is great for your gut and overall health. It is made from either using black or green tea, and some herbal teas, some sugar (which the yeast feeds on), and lots of patience.

Why do I drink it? Well, first of all, I’m cheap. I am a self-proclaimed cheapo and the cost of probiotics is just ridiculous. The cost to make a gallon of Kombucha is around $1! The cost to buy a 16 ounce bottle of Kombucha from a health food store is $4! The cost to buy a bottle of probiotics is $40! Hmmm, tough decision but I’ll stick with my cheap Kombucha!

You can find my easy, 6-step method for making Kombucha here.

Sauerkraut

I don’t think you can find better sauerkraut than that prepared by Germans for centuries before this. We have a German restaurant here in Asheville, North Carolina that serves the best sauerkraut I’ve ever tasted. But you can make your own, just as I do, by following an easy recipe passed down from Germany.

You will use shredded cabbage, juniper berries, caraway seeds, yellow mustard seeds, pickling salt, and filtered water. You can find the recipe, which is the one I use, here.

Eat Some Fermented Food Every Day

Fermented and cultured foods are a wonderful source of probiotic bacteria needed to support good health. Here are some simple ways you can add some to your menu every day.

Breakfast

Have some kefir to start your day.

Add some fermented salsa to your scrambled eggs.

Lunch

Enjoy some chopped pickles in your salad, tuna, or ham salad sandwiches.

Use fermented mayo instead of store-bought mayo.

Dinner

Make sauerkraut one of your evening side dishes.

Try making your own Italian dressing with kombucha.

Snacks

Have a slice of sourdough bread with some kefir dill spread.

Serve a kefir soft-serve ice cream for dessert.

So now you have some of the tools you need to get started adding fermented foods to your diet. Experiment with many, and do your own research to find the ones you like best. Most of all—GET STARTED!

To ferment your own food is to lodge a small but eloquent protest – on behalf of the senses and the microbes – against the homogenization of flavors and food experiences now rolling like a great, undifferentiated lawn across the globe.

—Michael Pollan

Fermented Superfoods Pin

Sources

  1. https://www.drdavidwilliams.com/gut-health-and-the-benefits-of-traditional-fermented-foods/
  2. https://draxe.com/fermented-foods/
  3. https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/the-9-best-fermented-foods-for-your-gut/

[1] https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/diet/reasons-eat-more-fermented-foods/