The Paleo Mama

Homegrown and Handmade

Nutrition

Natural Way to Heart Health

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Wow!  I am honored that my wife, Jackie, has given me the opportunity to talk about my experience with taking charge of my healthcare and finding my natural way to heart health!

Well, she didn’t need to persuade me much, I am a sucker for her and will do most anything she asks.

My Story of Genetic High Cholesterol:

So, let’s first start the story about my family, because this plays a HUGE role in your health.  I am not talking about how you were raised or even what you ate.  (Although, those are important!).  What I am saying is that your GENETICS play a huge role in your health.

For me, I am from Mediterranean descent, mainly Italy and other areas (according to 23andme).  With that being said, I discovered my capability to have high cholesterol.  

My father passed away from a myocardial infarction (MI), aka heart attack at the age of 56!  Yes, you read that right, 56!  Well, I was still in college at the time – actually playing a video game when I got the call from my next-door neighbor.  Found out, my father was rushed to the hospital where they tried multiple times for at least 20 minutes to resuscitate him.  Unfortunately, his time drew near.

It seemed that the drive home, which was only about 1 and a half hours away, took years to get there.  Once there, I saw my father’s body and I realized I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye.

But, he did leave me with some wisdom: that although there are footsteps to follow with him, my health was a footstep that I would avoid in how he lived.

Overcoming Genetic High Cholesterol Naturally with the Paleo Diet

So, fast-forward a decade later.  I am a Paleo eating, essential oil witchcraft using, herbal remedy taking, correct supplement using follower of natural health.  Oh yeah, I am also a certified Physician Assistant, although I say that because I have had the opportunity to learn and practice medicine which has validated all of the personal decisions I have made regarding my health.

If you are a person struggling from cholesterol issues or other cardiovascular issues: THERE IS HOPE!  What I need you to do is realize that time is not on our side.  What I mean is that it is imperative that you change for the better NOW, not later, because we do not want to change when it is too late.  That was the case for my father; he went years not paying attention to his diet, staying active, or other positive choices.  He did start losing weight, but within 6 months, he was deceased.

That is the sobering truth.

Where to Start:

So, where to start?  Well, your nutrition is foundational.  We really are the old mantra of “we are what we eat.”  It is true now more than ever.  We put “foods” into our bodies with little understanding of how that food was raised or practices in place to get it to the marketplace.  Additionally, the pesticide generation of farmers are finding out the hardline costs of their own practices the hard way: by paying out money for lawsuits.

But – what else did I do?

Enter, The Paleo Cardiologist, Dr. Jack Wolfson.  He is the author of The Paleo Cardiologist: The Natural Way to Heart Health.  He is also a board-certified Cardiologist and half of the team, The Drs. Wolfson.  Yes, you read that right: he has a partner in his journey.  That partner is his wife, a practicing Chiropractor that helped Dr. Jack realize the importance of natural and preventative health.

Dr. Wolfson’s book changed me.  It is 17 chapters of great value, providing the real rationales about common misconceptions about heart health and management here in the United States.  Ultimately, we pay too much money for medications and unnecessary procedures.  He finishes his book with a list of great supplements to consider for health and his recommendations for blood labs to consider as well.

I took notes during ALL 17 chapters.  I spoke with my physician and started looking really hard into my health.  And after 3-5 years, I can tell you that I have never felt better.  At 40, I feel like I am in my teens again (yes, Jackie will still tell you how immature I can be).  My focus is vastly improved, I have trimmed in weight, and most importantly, I don’t get winded playing with my children!

If you are interested in listening to a podcast I did with Dr. Wolfson, then click here!

Let me share with you 5 changes that I made starting in my journey:

  • Get your lab numbers and dive into what they mean (highest priority)
  • Then, start some supplements and practices that will benefit your health!
  • Eat clean foods and healthy meats (buy organic whenever possible or from a local farmer – ask them what they’re practices are!)
  • Get outside, get plenty of sun and great sleep!
  • Drink clean, fresh water daily
  • Have an accountability partner!

I highly recommend getting your mind wrapped around natural health and taking charge to improve it!

You have nothing to lose, everything to gain.  Your family, friends, and others are depending on you: live the live that you have always desired!

Here’s to your best health,

Frank

How to Make a Collagen Matcha Latte Recipe

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There’s something about the chill in the air that makes me want to make my daily Collagen Matcha Latte recipe, sit down in our living room (which I recently won a year-long debate about why we should move our TV out of our living room…score!), read a book under a fluffy blanket, turn on the fireplace, and sip on the green, frothy, matcha ecstasy (I kid you not). 

This Collagen Matcha Latte recipe has become part of my daily rituals. I’ve posted about it many times on my Instagram page and figured it was time to share this recipe I have been keeping all to myself like a big block of Lily’s chocolate. 

What is Matcha?

Matcha tea —the green powdered tea imported from Japan—is all the craze right now, and rightly so. 

  • It relaxes you without making you sleepy.
  • It delivers caffeine into the bloodstream in a much more measured way than coffee.
  • Its caffeine effects last up to 4-6 hours, compared to coffee’s high and then quick crash.
  • There is evidence that it has some weight loss benefits.

There’s “a latte” of this Collage Matcha Latte recipe to go around. If you haven’t ever tried adding collagen to your drinks and smoothies, then let me convince you of this (new-ish) superfood that is taking over the Google trends. 

What is Collagen?

Collagen, the most abundant protein in the body is made of long chain amino acids. This protein is only found in animals. Even in humans from skin to blood vessels. The highest concentration is found in bones and connective tissue. 

Collagen is what makes our hair and nails strong, makes our skin bounce back and it even repairs the gut lining. Unfortunately, with age, the naturally occurring collagen in our bodies begins to decline. This is why we get wrinkly! 

Fortunately, quality collagen supplements are ever so popular and making them quite easy to purchase. The collagen supplements come in a powder form. Made from the bones and connective tissue of pastured animals. They are completely tasteless, which is why you can get away with adding it to your coffee or your new collagen matcha latte tea!

What is the difference between collagen and gelatin?

Collagen and gelatin supplements come from the same place. The gelatin however will gel liquids, while collagen is water soluble. The reason for this is that the collagen proteins are further broken down so they dissolve in cold fluid. That is why collagen supplements often say hydrolyzed collagen and/or collagen peptides. 

Benefits of collagen?

Supplementing with collagen has many benefits that include stronger and healthier hair, nails and skin. More importantly collagen proteins and amino acids heal and patch up leak gut, contributing to better overall health. 

Collagen is a fantastic source of protein too, with about 11g of protein per scoop. This allergen friendly, unflavored, unscented, clean protein supplement can be added to smoothies, soups, coffee and even tea!

Try adding in 2 scoops of collagen to your daily routine and see what benefits you experience! 

And you’re welcome 🙂 

Collagen Matcha Latte Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces steamed water
  • 1 teaspoon matcha powder
  • 5-10 drops liquid stevia  
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon coconut or MCT oil (if you have never added coconut oil or MCT oil to your hot beverages, then start by adding 1 teaspoon to avoid digestive discomfort)
  • 1 tablespoon grass fed butter or ghee (same tip here! Start with 1 teaspoon) 
  • 2 scoops collagen 

Instructions: 

  1. Heat 12 ounces water until steaming, not boiling. 
  2. Combine the hot water, matcha, stevia, cinnamon, coconut oil and butter in a blender. 
  3. Blend until frothy, lower the power and add in the collagen, blend for another 10 seconds until dissolved. 
  4. Sip, enjoy, and be sure to share this Collagen Matcha Latte Recipe with your friends and family! 

Collagen Matcha Latte
Serves 1
A delicious frothy matcha latte that includes Collagen, one of the best superfoods for your health!
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Prep Time
5 min
Prep Time
5 min
Ingredients
  1. 12 ounces steamed water
  2. 1 teaspoon matcha powder
  3. 20 drops liquid stevia
  4. 1 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon
  5. 1 tablespoon coconut or MCT oil
  6. 1 tablespoon grass fed butter
  7. 2 scoops collagen
Instructions
  1. Heat 12 ounces water until steaming, not boiling.
  2. Combine the hot water, matcha, stevia, cinnamon, coconut oil and butter in a blender.
  3. Blend until frothy, lower the power and add in the collagen, blend for another 10 seconds until dissolved.
  4. Sip, enjoy!
Notes
  1. Tips: If you have never added healthy fats to your hot beverages, start by just adding 1 teaspoon of each and then increase.
The Paleo Mama https://thepaleomama.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

American Guinea Hogs – The Perfect Homestead Pig

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Our homestead just would not be complete without our herd of American Guinea Hogs. We added them to our farm soon after we purchased a beautiful 10+ acres near the Blue Ridge Mountains. The former owners had also raised hogs, so the farm came ready-made with pasture and facilities for our hogs.

We love our heritage pig called the American Guinea Hog. It was the homestead hog of choice in southern states during the 1800s. But just ten or fifteen years ago it was almost extinct in the United States. Because homesteaders like us have been anxious to keep this breed alive, today it is enjoying renewed popularity.

I want to introduce you to the wonderful potential of adding these hogs to your own homestead. There are some very important reasons the American Guinea Hog is a perfect choice for today’s homesteaders.

Its Size and Temperament Suit the Smaller Homestead

piggie4

Adult American Guinea Hogs range in height from 22 to 27 inches tall, and 46 to 56 inches long. Fully adult hogs range from 150 to 300 pounds, depending on sex, frame, and body condition. They are really good looking with their small, upright ears, rather short snouts, and forward facing eyes. Most American Guinea Hogs have medium to long coarse, bristled black hair.

These sweet piggies have such friendly temperaments. They love the attentions their farmer people friends give to them, and really enjoy a belly rub or a back scratch. They are easy to handle and docile as long as their needs are being met. They make really excellent mothers, and even the boars tolerate the little ones well and often show affection toward their little ones.

They are prolific breeders! We began with a small herd of 3 females and 1 boar. Within a year we had a lively herd of thirteen or more, with more little piggies on the way.

American Guinea Hogs Feed and Water Requirements

American Guinea Hogs love a grassy pasture where they can forage to their heart’s content. They gobble up grass and weeds as voraciously as you and I might eat a delicious chocolate brownie! They just want a lush pasture with clover or other weeds along with grubs and insects for minerals, plus any table scraps you have for them, some quality hay in winter, and clean water to drink.

We have been blessed on our homestead by being able to partner with nearby organic farmers who will allow us to have their produce that may be unable to be sold because it’s not quite perfect, or slightly wilted, or overharvested. We also add our own table scraps, fermented vegetables, and plenty of leftover milk whey from our own raw milk after we separate the cream and make butter and cheese. In addition, especially in the winter months when their pasture lies dormant, we provide a premixed, non-GMO, soy-free feed for them. AGH eat roughly 4 percent of their weight daily, for instance, a 150-pound pig will require 5 to 6 pounds of high-calorie feed each day. Each pig needs 3 to 5 gallons of clean, fresh water daily. Lactating sows will need an additional 1 to 2 gallons each day. 

You don’t need anything fancy to throw the feed in. We just dump the feed onto the ground and they clean it up perfectly! 

The biggest challenge is weight control—they put on weight more easily than other breeds. Overly heavy pigs will have fertility issues, and eventual joint problems and lameness. Monitoring their food intake is important to keep them healthy and content.

American Guinea Hogs Space and Birthing Requirements

Our agroforestry pasture provides plenty of green grassy areas, which extend up the side of our mountain into the trees and shrubs that give added nourishment from soil minerals and grubs and insects. If you don’t have much acreage available for pigs to forage in, you will need to practice rotational grazing. 

piggie3

We provide separate areas for birthing mothers and their little piggies with a farrowing house, and another area with the boar house where big daddy can rest while mama and babies get life started well. Most of the time, the mama pigs prefer to make their own birthing nests despite the fact we have a beautiful farrowing house made for them. Our females-in-labor will wander up the side of the mountain and create a comfortable nest to give birth in. All of our females give birth unassisted and without us even knowing. We usually find them the next day or morning feeding their babies in an excluded area of our forest and we plenty of exercise getting Mama and babies moved back down the mountain into the farrowing house.

However the herd loves to be altogether whenever possible. It’s so much fun watching them interrelate and enjoy each other. Of course there is a bit of competition for top spot at the slop bucket when it is full!

Guinea hogs adapt well to both cold and hot climates. They handle cold weather well—but only if they have a place to stay dry and out of the elements. They like deep straw bedding, and will keep their bedding areas clean. They need effective fencing to keep them in their special places. We use electric fencing, which has worked well for us.

Pastured Pork, Lard, and Charcuterie Production

These AGH provide excellent pastured pork. Pastured AGH have meat with a beautiful, earthy flavor. Their meat has higher levels of omega-3 fats, which are essential for us human caretakers. Chefs and charcuterie artists prefer to cook with this breed.

Most heritage AGH breeders believe it is the genetics that make the meat taste so good. The marbling, and intramuscular fat hasn’t been bred out of these special hogs. However, the taste comes largely from the way they are raised. If raised slowly, outdoors on great free range pasture, they are getting exercise, finding minerals in the soil, and enjoying fresh air and clean water. They are living without stress, and that all adds up to wonderful, flavorful meat.

Butchering and Processing

Butchering is easiest in winter, and may influence at what age you butcher. At 6 months of age you probably have a pig weighing about 60 pounds, with a 50 percent carcass weight. By 1 year of age, your pig probably weighs about 120 pounds, with 60 pounds of carcass. AGH reach their full size at about 2 to 3 years of age, topping out at 200 to 300 pounds.

One thing that is important to know – you don’t have to do the butchering yourself if you don’t want to. We send our larger livestock (cows, pigs, sheep) off to be butchered and processed. It’s something we have decided to do for right now since we are raising so many different types of animals and we find it easier for someone else to do this job for us. 

If you do decide to do this, just talk to your meat processor and make sure they know how to work with American Guinea Hog meat. Make sure you save all the bones and organs and get all the fatback so you can make lard. AGH are considered a “lard breed” because they have an exceptional amount of lard on their bodies. 

And if you do want some charcuterie cuts, make sure you discuss that with them too. 

American Guinea Hog Resources

Our farm is just getting a good start in the growing up of American Guinea Hogs. But we hope to be able to provide others with their own AGH to raise, and with some of the delicious pastured pork we will be able to provide from our own herd.

I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.

—Winston Churchill

If you think American Guinea hogs may be a good choice for your needs, here are some great resources that we recommend for learning more about this fabulous breed. 

• The Livestock Conservancy
• American Guinea Hog Association

Books

• Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat and Pork by Adam Danforth
• Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing  
• Homegrown Pork by Sue Weaver
• Ethical Meat Handbook by Meredith Leigh
• Storey’s Guide to Raising Pigs by Kelly Klober

American Guinea Hogs

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

Sustainable Food – What, Why, and How

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One of this year’s hottest trends in food is changing our eating habits to a more sustainable food. In the last couple years we’ve seen huge corporations making recalls of unsafe packaged foods, like:

  • The recall of Blue Bell’s entire product line, which could be tainted with the Listeria bacteria.
  • Tyson’s recall of more than 132,000 pounds of fully cooked chicken nuggets that could have been contaminated with hard plastic.
  • Costco’s recall of its popular chicken salad because of the e.coli bacteria in it.
  • Lunchables ham and cracker stackables recall due to mislabeled allergens.
  • Target and Walmart’s recall of frozen veggies because of a potential listeria contamination.

With good reason, consumers have begun to understand the relationship between the food they eat and how it was produced. I want to look more closely at ways we can be certain that the food we choose to eat is of the highest quality. We want to eat sustainable food, which has been defined as:

“I like to say that sustainable agriculture is a production system that’s good for the environment and for people, that’s humane to animals and to food and farm workers, that supports thriving rural and urban communities. In other words, it’s the production of food, fiber, or other plant or animal products using techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities, and animal welfare. It’s a way of food production that generates abundance while ensuring future generations can do the same.”[1]

To put it more simply…we want to eat food that we can vouch for. We want to know who grew it, that it grew in organic soil, with natural, safe, organic practices. We want it to be economical, safe, healthy, and freshly harvested when it reaches us. And we want it to promote better physical health for us and better ecological health for our land.

I want to look closer in this blog post at ways we can begin to give our families a more sustainable diet.

Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.

Why Eat Sustainable Food?

american guinea hogYou may wonder why learning to eat more sustainably really matters. There seems to be so many things we’ve done already to eat healthier food. We’ve tried to limit the amount of processed foods we buy so we can eliminate toxins, chemicals, and GMOs from our diets. We started concentrating on shopping the foods around the outside shelves in our supermarkets, rather than the inside aisles where heavily processed foods are found. We’ve begun to concentrate on buying organic foods whenever possible, even though they are often more expensive. We’ve even started buying some of our food at local farmer’s markets and food co-ops. Is the even deeper step into sustainable eating really all that important?

It is, and here is why. Sustainable eating is about more than just ourselves—it is also about the foods that are going to be available to our children and grandchildren, about the earth, and its ability to produce safe, healthy, food for the generations to come.

  • Most of the food in our grocery stores is the product of unsustainable farming. It is ever more increasingly destroying soil, contaminating water, and causing disease outbreaks.
  • Animal products are raised purely for profit, without regard for the proper care and health of those animals.
  • Our farmers are being paid by the government to monocrop—which is growing a single crop year after year on the same land, which damages the soil, depleting it of nutrients and requiring it to be heavily dependent on pesticides and artificial fertilizers.
  • Food is transported great distances, which uses large amounts of non-renewable resources, and greatly reduces the freshness of our food by the time it reaches us.

How Do We Begin Eating Sustainable Food?

We do this for our children!

So, how do we take that deeper step—move toward a more sustainable diet for our families? Here are ten steps you can take to eat healthier, shop smarter, and find great tasting sustainable food in your area:

  1. Educate yourself—do some research, talk to others, spend a little time learning about the food you are eating.
  2. Shop sustainable—don’t try to change everything overnight. Start with one item that you commit to buying organically, or at a local farmer’s market. (Find local sources here.)
  3. Ask questions—were pesticides used? What were the animals fed? How were they raised? What fertilizers were used on the plants?
  4. Eat seasonal—buy locally grown fruits and vegetables when they are in season.
  5. Grow your own—nothing tastes better than food you grow yourself, whether it be herbs on a windowsill, pots of food on a sunny patio, or an entire backyard garden.
  6. Cook—relearn (or learn) the joy of cooking. You can find great recipes online.
  7. Take back the tap—bottled water causes a lot of problems, from plastic leaching into the water to major environmental problems. Pledge to reduce your consumption of bottled water.
  8. Spread the word—help to educate others about the problems with industrial agriculture and the benefits of sustainable food.
  9. Enjoy—fresh, healthy, sustainable food from your local farmer simply tastes better.[2]

Like so many things in life, eating sustainably starts with baby steps. You don’t have to change everything all at once. When you start to feel overwhelmed, focus on just one or two things. For example, if you can’t always afford to buy sustainably raised meat, find ways to serve meat less often. Plan your weekly meals in advance, and shop with a list so you don’t overbuy. Begin to cook in bulk and freeze the leftovers for lunches or when you are short on time. Just start!

Making plans for our 2017 garden!
Making plans for our 2017 garden!

Help Me Find Time for Meal Preparation

In our fast-paced modern lives we seem to have less and less time for planning and cooking meals at home. For many, a steady diet of fast foods or prepared processed grocery store foods has become a way of life.

Don’t let time be the main reason you don’t eat more sustainably. There are many ways we can learn to simplify meal preparation. Some of these include.[3]

  1. Sign up for Real Plans – It’s my favorite meal planning website and you can customize your meal plan to what you like and don’t like.  Click here to read more about Real Plans. 
  2. Make one-pot meals—one-pot cooking methods are simple and healthy. They can be steamed, sautéed, stewed or baked. Here’s my favorite book on one-pot meals. 
  3. Crock pot cooking—slow cookers can cook your meals for you while you are away from home during the day. There is little upfront preparation, and the end result gives you healthy, tasty food.
  4. Pressure cooker meals—one of the best kitchen appliance inventions for me has been my Instant Pot. Foods cook in a fraction of the time, and they are a healthier way to cook because water-soluble vitamins and minerals are retained better than in regular pot. This is my favorite Instant Pot cookbook. 
  5. Freezer-based meals—a well-stocked and managed freezer will help you plan delicious, balanced meals efficiently. You can take better advantage of special prices on food throughout the year, which allows you to stretch your budget. And one weekend of cooking can give you enough meals for nearly a whole month. There are many online sites to help you plan some freezer meals, including Once a Month meals! 

With just a little bit of effort, you will soon be a pro at providing your family with healthy, delicious meals made the sustainable way!

This magical, marvelous food on our plate, this sustenance we absorb, has a story to tell. It has a journey. It leaves a footprint. It leaves a legacy. To eat with reckless abandon, without conscience, without knowledge; folks, this ain’t normal.

—Joel Salatin

Can You Share a Couple Recipes?

I’m so glad you asked, because I love being able to pass on the recipes that have enabled me to provide our family with healthy, delicious, fresh and sustainable meals. We are so privileged to be able to homestead and grow and raise so much of our own food supplies. Let me share a couple recipes that you can use with your own family’s move to a more sustainable diet. These recipes are not so much specific ingredients as they are taking advantage of locally available fresh ingredients that can make a very tasty meal.

Breakfast Frittata

We’ve become experts in my home of creating delicious, healthy breakfast frittatas from whatever we have freshly harvested from our own gardens or from the local farmer’s market in our neighborhood. Here are some guidelines for you to get creating your own fantastic breakfast frittatas.

Ingredients

Here are some ideas for fresh ingredients you may be able to use

  • 4-5 fresh, pastured eggs (our free range chickens keep us supplied with delicious, fresh eggs every day.)
  • ½ cup or so of whatever herbs are fresh in your garden (parsley, basil, chives, mint, thyme, etc.)
  • Fresh bacon or sausage (found at your local farmer’s markets and supplied by organic farmers in your area who are raising pastured pigs)
  • 2-3 handfuls of freshly harvested spinach, kale, or other greens
  • 1-2 cups of freshly harvested veggies (peppers, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, mushrooms)
  • Your choice of shredded cheese (I often have my homemade cheeses to use)
  • 1 Tbsp or so of farm-fresh butter (Holly, my Jersey cow, helps us out here)
  • ½ cup of fresh cream if needed
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Melt your butter in a large pan and add your veggies, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes. Whisk your eggs together with your cream, and stir in about half of your shredded cheese. Spread your sautéed veggies in your pre-greased pan (we love bacon fat for this). Pour your egg mixture over the top and bake for about 30 minutes. Just before serving, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, and broil if desired until browned. ENJOY!

Slow Cooker Chicken Vegetable Soup

Fresh chicken vegetable soup make with sustainable veggies and farm-fresh chicken is another easy meal to create for your family. If you have leftover turkey from your Thanksgiving dinner, it is even better! Here’s some ideas to get you cooking.

Ingredients

Here are some suggested ingredients for your soup

  • Freshly made chicken bone broth (follow my recipe here)
  • Cut-up chicken (if desired, use an antibiotic-free rotissiere chicken from a grocery  store)
  • 2-3 diced carrots
  • 2-3 diced potatoes
  • 2-3 stalks of celery
  • Diced onion
  • Diced tomatoes
  • Fresh kale or spinach
  • 2-3 minced garlic cloves
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Add all your ingredients except greens to a large slow cooker, and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours. Add the greens in for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Serve hot. This delicious home-made soup can be frozen in single-serve servings if desired.

Grilled Grass-fed Meats

Our family is fortunate enough to have the magic twosome for healthy grilling—our own harvested grassfed beef and poultry, and our own grillmaster, my husband, Frank. We have had so many delicious grilled meats since he got his own Green Egg for Christmas a couple years ago. Grilling is one of the best ways to cook your fresh, grass-fed meats. Just remember these simple rules:

  • Be careful not to overcook your meet. Grass-fed meat requires less time to grill than grain-fed meat.
  • It is best grilled medium rare to medium.
  • Check the internal temperature in the thickest part. At 145-155 degrees farenheit it will be medium-rare to medium.
  • Let the meat rest a few minutes after grilling to redistribute the juices inside.
  • Don’t forget that freshly harvested vegetables are also so tasty when grilled. Just brush them with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and grill.

Get Started

So, what was that reason why you haven’t started moving your family toward a more sustainable diet? Eating this way may take a bit more effort, but the rewards—for your family and their future—are just too big to pass up.

I love and trust, Real Plans meal planning service. You can pick what kind of diet you eat (traditional, paleo, vegetarian, etc) and the meal plans are seasonal and use real food ingredients. CLICK HERE to learn more about Real Plans! 

He who knows what sweets and virtues are in the ground, the waters, the plants, the heavens, and how to come at these enchantments, is the rich and royal man.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sustainable Food

Sources

  1. https://www.simplebites.net/10-tips-for-sustainable-eating/
  2. https://www.sustainabletable.org/568/do-you-have-to-eat-100-local-sustainable-and-organic
  3. https://eartheasy.com/eat_simplify_meal_preparation.html
  4. https://www.simplebites.net/10-tips-for-sustainable-eating/

 

[1] Anna Lappe, author and sustainable food advocate, in: https://www.marthastewart.com/1076115/beyond-organic-just-what-sustainable-food

[2] Information included in these ten steps adapted from: https://www.gracelinks.org/media/pdf/ten_steps_to_eating_sustainable_ho_20090416.pdf

[3] This section adapted from: https://eartheasy.com/eat_simplify_meal_preparation.html