Kefir

I had my first experience making my own kefir this week. It went splendidly and I am quite proud of my ability to do more with less! Kefir is an amazing fermented milk product that contains great beneficial bacteria and pro-biotics. Since it is fermented much of the lactose in milk is digested, making it more easily digestible for lactose intolerant people. I enjoy it simply because it is kinda like a super-food and is so good for my digestive system. Remember healthy bacteria in our digestive tract is important, we want it there!

Kefir production requires the use of kefir grains, which are not really grains at all but tiny cauliflower looking like culture. These are submerged in the milk and allowed to sit at room temperature for about 24 hours or until sufficiently fermented to your liking. The grains are then strained out and you have great kefir ready for consumption. I have been enjoying my raw whole milk for my kefir and feel so great drinking this amazingly healthful substance in my smoothies!

My kefir grains!

Fermenting overnight in my cupboard.

Although I could easily buy kefir from the grocery store or even from my new favorite farm store I am still saving much money by making my own. The average price of a quart of kefir in store: $3.50- $4.00
The price I pay for amazing raw whole milk: $4.00/ half gallon. Price for kefir grains: free from a friend! Price of my raw whole milk kefir $2.00/quart. Savings! Plus I get the added bonus of knowing it is super fresh!

Smoothie Love

I love smoothies and I love my new tablecloth. I managed to confiscate such tablecloth from the deepest hiding place in a long lost cabinet shelf at the farm. I'm pretty sure that my grandmother made this tablecloth from sherry-like towel material. It's fabulous and it needed to see the light of day so it's on my table now. Thanks Grandma!

The past couple of weeks have been smoothie heaven for me. These two weeks in my kids classes we have been making two different smoothies. I normally would prepare the same food sampling in all of the classes of a particular curriculum but I decided that 11 classrooms with the same food prep would get boring for me so I decided to try two different smoothie recipes. So the smoothies I've been enjoying with the 2nd graders include:

Power-Up Smoothie 

1 banana

1 1/4 cup Orange Juice

1 1/4 cup frozen mixed berries

1/2 cup silken tofu

Soy-Good Chocolate Banana Smoothie

1 banana- sliced and frozen

1/2 cup silken tofu

1/2 cup soymilk

2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 Tablespoon honey

These have gone over really well with the kids, although initially they freak out about eating tofu. I'll be honest, tofu is not that appetizing to look at plain, but blend it up in a smoothie and you have a great source of added protein that you don't taste at all! 

Now for the smoothies I've been making for myself for breakfast and/or lunch include a random mixture of the following:

• Whole raw milk Yogurt and/or Kefir
• Hemp protein powder
• Flax seed
• Frozen berries
• Splash of OJ
• Kale!

Smoothies are so great because as you can see you can put whatever you want into them. Just be sure to keep the added sugar (including juice) to a minimum.

Field Trip

I went on a FABULOUS field trip recently. It was a gorgeous day to get in my car and take a two hour trip to soak in the sun along the way and experience a whole new category of destination getaway. For some time now I have been wanting to visit a farm that I found online that specializes in what I would call real food. There were beef cattle grazing the pasture right beside the sheep. Additionally, there were chickens in the same pasture that are allowed to range near their chicken tractor that is moved daily. In a more distant pasture there were the dairy cattle, though not being milked at this time of year. This farm was a beautiful system of healthy animals working together with the land to produce clean, healthy, real food. You see what makes this real food in my mind is the fact that these animals are never fed what they weren't created to eat. They were created to eat grasses and their bodies remain healthy when they consume this natural diet.

I came home with several products from my field trip to JaKo, Inc. Some of the most exciting products included yogurt and kefir. While I was in the farm store selecting my products another customer asked me what kefir was. Although I've had it before it's a little difficult to explain, but I told him it was like a more liquid yogurt. Tangy like yogurt but not quite the same consistency. When I got home I decided to do my own official taste test to see what the differences really are. I assumed they tasted the same, and boy are they different! It's still quite difficult to explain but I would almost say that yogurt is sweeter than kefir. Kefir has a definite sourlike tang. They are made with similar cultures but definitely different. I will just have to recommend that you try them both to determine the difference. However, they were both outstanding. I love to have smoothies as meals made with these products.

I was also equally excited for these eggs that I truly knew to be free range eggs. I saw the chickens in the field ranging like they should be. Chickens also were created to forage eating grass, bugs, and whatever else they find. I eat eggs almost everyday in some way, shape, or form. Today it was on top of spaghetti squash sauteed with onion, garlic, venison, carrot mixture. Pretty great with a bit of pesto on top.

If you're ever near Hutchinson, Kansas you must stop and visit JaKo,Inc. This farm family is doing it right and taking an active part in creating quality real food for you and me to eat!

New Adventures

Yesterday I ventured to Manhattan for the annual meeting of People's Grocery. I am an owner of this small cooperative and although I don't get to shop there very often I always spend my moneys worth when I do. The meeting was interesting as it was my first time at such a thing. I even got to bust out some parliamentary procedure skills so we could unanimously elect a board member. We were about to pass out 50 ballots and write the one person that volunteered to serve on it. Thank you FFA/4-H for those basic meeting efficiency skills. I was very excited to meet some new people and share a little bit about myself. I've been listening to lecture after lecture about how to start random conversations with people about my health coaching training. I was able to have a great conversation with a lovely lady that was super interested and also works at the store so I'm hoping to have opened a door there. It's all about networking and marketing!

I ventured to the store after the meeting with a list of random things that I have been meaning to purchase and try. I've been reading a lot of different blogs about the paleolithic lifestyle recently and wanted to try some different recipes that involve coconut flour and/or oil. So I managed to find both of those along with some ingredients to make homemade toothpaste! 

One of my new foods that I picked up in Manhattan includes: Kefir! It's almost like a liquid yogurt packed full of probiotics and healthy gut bacteria. I thought I could drink it straight but realized that may take some getting used to. My breakfast smoothie was fabulous made with: Kefir, pears, cranberries, hemp protein powder, and flax seed.