Make Healthier Choices

Helping people Make Healthier Choices about real-food choices for optimal heath.

Archives for September 2015

Wood Conditioner – Great for Cutting Boards

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Wood Conditioner Recipe Renegade

 

I love this conditioner for my wooden cutting boards – three simple ingredients and easy to make. Even though the rosemary essential oil is antibacterial, I never use my wooden boards for meats. I also don’t use wooden cutting boards that I’ve treated with this conditioner for anything I plan to ferment, like cabbage for sauerkraut. Rosemary Essential Oil is antibacterial and can impede the fermentation process by killing the good bacteria.

Wood Conditioner
 
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Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In small stainless-steel pot, on low heat, warm walnut oil and beeswax until beeswax is melted.
  2. Remove from burner and add Améo rosemary essential oil.
  3. Pour into glass jar and let cool completely before using.
  4. With a soft cloth, rub a small amount into cutting board and let sit for 5 minutes.
  5. Polish with a second soft cloth.

Looking for clinical-grade essential oils (essential oils that contain the same constituents as those used in clinical studies)? Please check out Ameo.com. Email me with any questions at lynn at makehealthierchoices dot com.

Are You Still Eating Wheat? Facebook Inspiration

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Go back to: Are You Still Eating Wheat?

Facebook Inspiration:

I was inspired to write a long-overdue article about wheat because a recipe ended up in my Facebook news feed touting as “healthy,” and I didn’t agree. You can read the article here: Are You Still Eating Wheat?

It was posted by a diabetic friend. Perhaps, if I had seen it posted by a non-diabetic friend, I might have ignored it and moved on. The picture with this so-called “healthy” recipe showed white (not whole-wheat and not that whole wheat would make it healthier), bow-tie pasta, broccoli, and chicken in some sort of white sauce. It looked delicious, but then again, any picture of something made with white pasta would not only look delicious, it would also elicit a dopamine response in my brain!

My exact words were, “This looks delicious, but it’s far from healthy. There is no nutritional value in wheat pasta and wheat is about as unhealthy as you can get!” Okay, I’ll admit I shouldn’t have said, “no nutritional value in wheat pasta.” I should have said, “minute amount of nutritional value on its way to the table, but no nutritional value once it’s eaten!”

This is the first response I got: “Lynn: Where do you get your info from??? Here are the facts about wheat pasta!! And its “nutritional” value: 1) It is unprocessed whole wheat, which means its natural fiber, germ, and bran remain intact. 2) The fiber keeps your digestive system healthy and reduces cholesterol. 3) It contains iron & folic acid. 4) Since it is WHOLE grain, it is complex carbs like selenium (protects cells & immune system), potassium (important in neuron, brain, and nerve function, and in influencing osmotic balance between cells and the interstitial fluid, and in preventing muscle contraction, preventing hypokalemia). Magnesium (builds strong bones and muscle function). 5) The B-Vitamin (speeds up metabolism). The USDA recommends more than 50% of grains that are consumed should be WHOLE grains…which includes wheat pasta!!!!”

So first, I’d like to say the picture was of white pasta, not caramel-colored-made-to-look-like-whole-wheat pasta, but aside from that:

  1. Whole-wheat pasta is NOT “unprocessed whole wheat…fiber, germ, and bran remain intact.” If the fiber, germ, and bran were intact, it would be wheat berries, not pasta. Wheat berries are the whole, natural form of wheat. Pasta is made from highly processed flour and much of the nutrition has been removed.
  2. I’ll agree that fiber is necessary to help keep a digestive system healthy, although I don’t agree wheat is necessarily a good place from which to get that fiber.
  3. You can read at the end of this article what happens to the iron contained in wheat. Folic acid is the synthetic version of folate. If something has “folic acid” listed as an ingredient, it means it was added to “enrich” the product. Folic acid can cause significant problems for some people. Synthetic vitamins can cause health issues and are an entirely different debate.
  4. Although I agree the vitamins/minerals you mention are necessary for a human body to function properly, I’m not so sure these are all found in pasta. Especially magnesium—which scientists agree is no longer in our food chain since it’s been depleted from our soils.
  5. Again, sorry. Pasta IS NOT a WHOLE GRAIN. I think the USDA may have missed something about grains—perhaps 100% of grains we eat should simply be WHOLE GRAINS, not processed crap.

Go to the article here: Are You Still Eating Wheat?

This is my favorite flour, since it does actually contain nutrition!
 

Congrats to Julie Dutton! (Sweepstakes is closed.)

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Congratulations, Julie Dutton, for winning this $25 Visa Gift Card!!!

Sorry – this sweepstakes is closed.

$25 Visa Gift Card MHC Recipe Renegade

Kombucha Kandy

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What to do with all those leftover SCOBYs? How about Kombucha Kandy? Kombucha Kandy (candy) isn’t made from Kombucha, it’s made from the Kombucha SCOBY. Don’t expect the Kombucha Kandy to have probiotics, as they will die off when heated. Probiotics (good bacteria) can not withstand high heat. Go here to learn more about the Kombucha-making process.

Kombucha Kandy 3 Recipe Renegade

Kombucha Kandy
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • 3 Cups Kombucha SCOBYs cut into 1" pieces
  • ½ Cup Evaporated Cane Juice
  • 2 Tablespoons Muscovado
  • 1 Tablespoon Evaporated Cane Juice
Instructions
  1. Place cut pieces of SCOBY in colander or strainer; let drain for 20 minutes to remove liquid.
  2. Place SCOBYs and sugar in stainless steel pot on stovetop.
  3. On medium high, bring to a soft boil. Be careful, this will be HOT!
  4. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
  5. Remove from burner and let sit until completely cooled, stirring occasionally to help heat escape.
  6. Spoon onto dehydrator tray.
  7. Sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon Evaporated Cane Juice.
  8. Dehydrate at 155° for about 18 to 24 hours.
  9. Kandy/candy will remain "gummy" and sticky.
Notes
PLEASE BE CAREFUL! When heated, this mixture will become EXTREMELY HOT!!!

Kombucha Kandy in dehydrator

I made my newest batch with 12 cups of SCOBY – YIKES! I knew I had saved a lot of SCOBYs, but was surprised to see just how many I had saved! These will stick to the dehydrator trays. For my next batch I’ll try spraying or basting the trays with coconut oil. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Free e-Books

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Free e-books are only free for a limited time!

Please be certain to check price before clicking on BUY.

 

 

Step by Step Soap Making: Material – Techniques – Recipes by Josephine Simon

Step by Step Soap Making

 

Easy Homemade Body Scrub Recipes: Complete Body Scrub Solutions by Amelia D’Souza

Homemade body scrubs

Healthy Juicing: 33 Delicious Juicing Recipes For Detox and Weight Loss (Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Low Cholesterol, Vegan Diet, Vegan Juicing Recipes, Healthy eating, Healthy, Cast Iron)

Healthy Juicing 33 Delicious juicing Recipes


 

The 40 Best Quick and Easy Juice Recipes by Jem Friar

40 Juice Recipes

A Handbook of Health by Wood Hutchinson:

A Handbook of Health

 

Christmas Stories And Legends by Various Authors:

Christmas Stories and Legends

40 TOP QUINOA RECIPES FOR WEIGHT LOSS By Jenny Allan:

40 Top Quinoa Recipes for Weight Loss

If you’re looking for How to Correctly Cook Quinoa, click HERE.

Clean Food Diet:

Essential Oils for Sleep: The Ultimate Beginners Guide To Cure Insomnia And Get Deeper Sleep with Essential Oils:

Essential Oils Sleep

 


 

Salads to Go:
Salads to Go
Free e-book – available free for a limited time only!!! PLEASE: After adding to your cart, check the price before clicking “BUY.”

 

Sauerkraut

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Fermenting was a lost art that is making a comeback. Although it was intimidating when I first tried fermenting, I quickly learned how easy it is. What a great, inexpensive way to populate the gut with probiotics  (good bacteria and yeast). Sauerkraut fermenting is an anaerobic (without oxygen) process as opposed to Kombucha and Milk Kefir which are aerobic (with oxygen) processes.

Sauerkraut Recipe Renegade

 

With any fermentation process, it is important to keep out pathogens. I typically use a paper towel or dishcloth with a rubber band around the jar for aerobic ferments and an airlock for anaerobic ferments. The airlock allows gases to escape and does not allow pathogens into the ferment. If not using an airlock for anaerobic ferments, yeasts and molds can easily enter the ferment. Personally, I’d rather not have to worry about figuring out if that weird growth on top is a safe-to-eat yeast or a dangerous mold. If a dangerous mold grows on top, the entire ferment needs to find its way to the garbage. For the low price of an airlock today, I’d rather play it safe!

If you don’t have time to make your own, try this one from Amazon: Organic Hamptons Brine Artisinal Sauerkraut Classic

I adapted this recipe from Nourishing Traditions cookbook by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig.

 

Sauerkraut
 
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Sauerkraut - Fermented Cabbage
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 Tablespoon Celtic Salt or Himalayan Salt
  • ¼ Cup Liquid Whey (strained from yogurt or cheese NOT powder)
  • Cored and Shredded Small Cabbage
  • Water (without chlorine or fluoride)
Instructions
  1. Remove outer leaves of cabbage and set aside.
  2. Shred cabbage and place in large plastic bowl.
  3. Sprinkle salt over cabbage.
  4. Using a wooden pounder (tamper, stomper), pound cabbage. (A mallet-type meat tenderizer will also work for this step.)
  5. Let sit for one hour to release juices.
  6. Tightly stuff cabbage and juice into 2-quart mason jar, using pounder to tamp down.
  7. Cover with saved cabbage leaf.
  8. Add liquid whey.
  9. Add un-chlorinated, un-fluoridated water to within a few inches of the top.
  10. Add weight.
  11. Fill with clean un-chlorinated, un-fluoridated water leaving one inch of air space on top.
  12. Cover with lid that has airlock.
  13. Sit on counter top (place towel or tray underneath in case it leaks) and allow to ferment for 4 days.
  14. Store in refrigerator.
  15. NOTE: If whey is not available, add 1 extra tablespoon of salt. DO NOT USE POWDERED WHEY!

Along with the whey, salt, cabbage, and water, supplies I like to use for fermenting are: pounder, large plastic bowl, glass (non-lead) vessel(s) to hold about 2 quarts cabbage (about one head of cabbage), a weight to hold the cabbage down under the water, and airlock lid. Patience is required—4 days is minimum, and it’s said to be best after storing in refrigerator for 6 months.

The only items I recall my mom using for fermenting when I was a kid were a crock, a plate, and a clean rock for holding the plate/cabbage under the water. She also fermented in the basement, which I’m sure probably contained lots of mold. There are some molds that are okay and can be skimmed off and other molds that require the entire ferment be thrown out. Honestly, I’d rather not need to learn the difference—I’d rather simply use an airlock. It’s not necessary, but I sure feel better using one.  (If you’re a do-it-your-self type, it’s possible to add an airlock to most any plastic or metal lid.) Scroll down below the recipe to see my supplies.

I find it’s easier to shred the cabbage cutting it into strips with a sharp knife rather than a food processor.Salted Cabbage Recipe Renegade

I don’t remember where my first recipe came from, but I couldn’t eat it. The recipe didn’t use whey, so the salt was doubled. It also called for juniper berries. I’m not a fan of anything juniper (I should have known to leave them out) and I love salt, but the sauerkraut turned out way too salty! When less salt is used, because whey is substituted, it’s much more palatable in my humble opinion.

Below are my fermenting supplies. I place the small jar (right side up) on top of the cabbage leaf to help keep the cabbage under the water. The solid cover is for after the cabbage becomes sauerkraut:

Fermenting Supplies Recipe RenegadeIf liquid whey from home-made yogurt is not available, it is possible to use store-bought yogurt. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee there will be live cultures in *commercial yogurt. If possible, find someone who makes yogurt or cheese and beg for liquid whey!

*According to world-renowned food formulator, Russ Bianchi’s January 12, 2013 blog post, “Yogurt is complete JUNK FOOD, full of harmful acids, sugars, fake color and flavors, genetically modified starches, colloids, gums, preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers, with non-absorbable nutrients or fortification because it is cooked to at least 238 degrees F for a dwell period defined by USDA regulations that KILLS any alleged benefit of nutrient value!”