Make Healthier Choices

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

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Fall-Off-The-Bone Spareribs with Rib Rub

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Fall-Off-The-Bone Spareribs with Rib Rub
 
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Either pork or beef ribs can be used for this recipe. They are delicious and literally fall off the bone.
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Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Rub ribs with olive oil and set aside.
    Make rib rub: In small bowl, combine Muscovado (or brown sugar), garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Stir until well mixed.
  2. Completely cover ribs with rub mixture, rubbing it into the ribs.
  3. Wrap ribs in a large piece of **heavy-duty foil (about 28" x 18") and seal the edges.
  4. Refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
  5. Bake in covered grill over *indirect medium heat (275°) for 2 hours.
  6. While ribs are cooking, make this Barbeque Sauce.
  7. When ribs are finished baking, put a small amount of barbeque sauce into a cup or bowl to use for basting.
  8. Cook remaining sauce on stovetop or grill over low heat for about 20 minutes.
  9. Baste ribs with uncooked Barbeque Sauce and place on direct medium heat on grill, cooking for about ten minutes on each side.
  10. Throw out remaining sauce that was used for basting.

    *Indirect heat - light one side of the grill and place the ribs on the opposite side. This creates an oven for baking.


    **As a rule, I no longer use aluminum foil, but I've not yet found a good substitute for this recipe.

 

Barbeque Sauce

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This recipe makes a decent amount of barbeque sauce.

BBQ Sauce Recipe Renegade

 

Barbeque Sauce
 
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Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients in food processor or Vitamix and process until onion is completely blended.

  2. Put a small amount of sauce in a cup and baste meat as it cooks. After basting, throw out remaining sauce in cup (that was used with the raw meat.)

  3. While grilling: Simmer the remaining sauce on the stove top or grill for approximately 15 minutes and use on cooked meat if additional sauce is desired.

 

Chaga Tea

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Chaga mushrooms are adaptogens. If you’ve never heard the term, adaptogens are plants that know what our bodies need. Dr. Fisher explains in the video below, “An adaptogen is a plant that will change a physiological value. Let’s take blood pressure. Suppose you have high blood pressure. By taking a certain adaptogen, it will lower your blood pressure. Let’s say you have low  blood pressure, hypotension. By taking that SAME adaptogen, it will elevate your blood pressure. . . By giving the body what it needs . . . the body can repair itself and the body can function optimally. . . ” How cool is that?

My favorite way to ingest chaga is to make chaga tea (never eat it raw!) and add it, 50/50, to organic black coffee. (I use Vermont Coffee Company’s Decaf.) I especially love to add equal amounts of Chaga and coffee into my Vitamix along with a tablespoon of organic coconut oil  and a tablespoon of organic grass-fed butter, then blend until frothy – YUM!

Chaga Tea
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 oz. dried and chunked Chaga Mushroom (about ½ cup)
  • 32 oz. filtered water
Instructions
  1. Place water and Chaga into a stainless steel or glass pot and measure height.
  2. Bring to a slow boil.
  3. Boil until water has evaporated by ⅓.
  4. When done, Chaga Tea will look like a rich, dark coffee.

  5. Each day, remove the amount of Chaga tea you'd like to drink and replace with fresh water to the boiled-down level. (If you remove 4 oz. of tea, replace with 4 oz. water.)
  6. Bring to a slow boil and boil for about 10 - 15 minutes.
  7. Chaga MUST be boiled each day to prevent mold. If mold occurs - THROW OUT!!!

When I first purchased chaga, a Master Herbalist told me,  “chaga will let you know when its not useful anymore.”  She was right. When finished, the liquid turns almost clear and the chaga is visible at the bottom of the pot. The remaining chaga chunks can be made into a Chaga tincture. More on that later.

My chaga tea sits on my stovetop in a glass pot waiting for me. (CAUTION: The chaga discolored my glass pot.) Each day I remove about 8 to 16 oz. and replace with fresh water. I bring it to a soft boil for about 10 to 12 minutes. IT MUST BE BOILED EACH DAY TO AVOID MOLD!!!

If you’d like to know how to purchase chaga at an exceptional price, please fill out the contact form below and hit “submit.”

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Watch this video to learn more about adaptogens:

 

 

Liquid Nutritionals Photo
Click picture to learn about another adaptogen–moringa oleifera. Email me for information on purchasing at wholesale prices.


 

Kombucha – Second Ferment (2f)

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Kombucha 2f Recipe Renegade

This is the blueberry juice I use for a second ferment:

Blueberry Juice 528 x 684You can find it here on my affiliate link at Amazon.com:

 

 

Kombucha - Second Ferment (2f)
 
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Ingredients
  • Your choice of juice (not containing HFCS), herbs, or fruit and homemade Kombucha
Instructions
  1. I sometimes like to second ferment (2F) my Kombucha. My favorite is ginger. It's the right time to second ferment when the Kombucha is ready to bottle. Never do a second ferment using a SCOBY. Before bottling, place the juice, fruit or herb, at the bottom of bottle, then add Kombucha.

    GINGER - I use one teaspoon of fresh, grated, organic ginger and one teaspoon of organic evaporated cane juice for 64 ounces of Kombucha. I tightly cap bottles and leave on counter overnight (sometimes more in the winter). I then strain into another bottle, tightly cap and place in my refrigerator. It's okay to keep ginger in Kombucha until ready to drink.

    FRUIT JUICE - I use 3 ounces of fruit juice for 64 ounces of Kombucha and tightly cap bottles. I leave on counter overnight (sometimes more in the winter). Then I *'burp' the bottles to allow extra gases to escape and place in my refrigerator.

    *Please remember that if Kombucha, or ANY fermented food, is kept too warm it will continue to ferment and can possibly explode. NEVER, EVER shake a bottle of Kombucha! Kombucha can contain small amounts of alcohol. Please check with your doctor before drinking Kombucha.

 

How to Make Kombucha – Fermented Sweet Tea

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Kombucha Recipe Renegade

Kombucha-Fermented Sweet Tea

PLEASE NOTE: These instructions might seem a bit confusing but they are literally step by step.

SUMMARY

In a nutshell: You’ll be making sweet tea by bringing water to a boil, and carefully adding/stirring in sugar, then adding tea bags. Once this mixture has completely cooled, the tea bags are removed and the tea should be moved to a clean, glass jar. Add the SCOBY, a small amount of Kombucha from your previous batch (optional–this only makes it ferment faster) and secure a clean tea towel or paper towel over the top. The towel is there to keep out bugs, molds, etc., yet let oxygen in.

 

Kombucha
 
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Recipe type: Fermented Beverage
Ingredients
  • 3 Quarts (96 oz.) filtered water (non-chlorinated)
  • 1 Cup Organic Sugar
  • 4 Organic Black Tea bags
  • ½ cup Starter Kombucha (from a previous batch)
  • 1 SCOBY(a/k/a mushroom)
Instructions
  1. Place water into a pot and bring to a boil.
  2. While waiting for water to boil, remove tags and staples from tea bags. (Don't remove the staple from the tea bag. Remove only the one on the tag.)
  3. Tie bags together for easier removal later.
  4. Once water comes to a boil, remove from heat.
  5. Carefully and SLOWLY add sugar; stir. (If sugar is not added slowly, it can cause the water to overflow!!!) Make certain sugar dissolves and does not sit on the bottom of the pot.
  6. Add organic tea bags; push down into water with spoon.
  7. Allow this sweet-tea mixture to completely cool to room temperature.
  8. WAIT UNTIL COOL
  9. When tea mixture is COMPLETELY cooled to touch, remove teabags and discard. (I don't bother to squeeze.)
  10. Put tea into the appropriate-size glass jar.
  11. Add starter Kombucha.
  12. Add the SCOBY.
  13. Tightly cover jar with paper towel, coffee filter, or dish towel and secure with rubber band or string.
  14. Let tea sit in a dark area (or cover with brown paper bag open at both ends).
  15. Fermenting will take about 4 to 10 days depending on temperature. Taste test and/or use pH strip to see if Kombucha is finished fermenting. According to Westonprice.org, glucuronic acid is at its highest at 2.6 pH.
  16. When finished fermenting, bottle Kombucha in glass jars, tightly cap and store in refrigerator.

    NOTE: Room temperature affects fermenting time - it ferments faster in warmer temperature. There will usually be a nice, new SCOBY on top when Kombucha is ready. Save this for the next batch or share with friends. Place SCOBY in a jar with new sweet tea and store, tightly capped, in refrigerator if not immediately reusing.
    Do not allow the SCOBY to touch metal other than stainless steel, and do not store Kombucha or SCOBY in metal or plastic. Kombucha will continue to ferment when not refrigerated and can ferment even while in refrigerator. Kombucha is effervescent and becomes more carbonated when not refrigerated. NEVER shake, and remember that Kombucha can explode. Kombucha can contain a small amount of alcohol. Check with your doctor before drinking or eating any fermented food.

Don’t worry if your jar isn’t quite big enough to hold the tea, starter Kombucha, and SCOBY. It’s okay to drink any leftover sweet tea that dosn’t fit. Make sure you save some finished Kombucha as a starter for the next batch.

Some people ferment their tea much longer than the 4 to 10 days. I personally don’t like how it tastes going any longer than 10 days. Sometimes in the summer, mine will ferment in only 4 days. I’ve made many batches of vinegar! BLECK!

More Information About Kombucha

Click for these links for:

More information about Kombucha.

Different Kombucha Batch Sizes.

How to do a Second Ferment 2f.

 

This is a Great Fermenting Jar:

Tie Tea Bags Together for Easy Removal When Tea is Finished


 Tea Bags

Register for a new account at Swanson Vitamins, where I’ve found the best price for Newman’s Own Organics Royal Organic Black Tea, and receive a free $5 coupon! Click here: Swanson Vitamins

If you know someone who makes Kombucha, ask them if they can spare a SCOBY. A new SCOBY forms each time a new batch is made. SCOBY is an acronym for “Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.”

Lynn’s Onion Dip

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What better way to make onion dip than with healthful, natural ingredients?  Only four ingredients are necessary to make this delicious onion dip.

Onion Dip Recipe Renegade

Lynn's Onion Dip
 
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What better way to make onion dip than with healthful, natural ingredients? Only four ingredients are necessary to make this delicious onion dip.
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Recipe type: Snack
Serves: 1 cup
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, mix all together. Let sit for about 10 minutes. That's it!

    *Optional - Snip chives onto top of dip for a garnish.