Tag Archives: Be Kind to Your Grains

Where to Start: Limited Time and Budget

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deviled-eggs

Here is a light lunch of deviled eggs with salad and grated beets. Eggs are one of the cheapest and easiest foods to prepare. Just ensure you have a quality source for your eggs.

During the last few weeks, I have had a number of conversations from overwhelmed newcomers to nourishing traditional foods. “What is the best way to save money on nourishing traditional foods? How can I find time to make nourishing meals for my family when I am so busy? Do I need to take supplements?” These are examples of the typical questions. I hope the following posting will help people making the transition to nourishing traditional foods. Remember, you do not have to do it alone. There is a whole community with a vast store of knowledge willing to help.

So, how do you start if you have limited time and a limited budget? The Big Changes will take some planning and organizing on a seasonal basis. These changes are more expensive in the short term but will save a lot money over a year. The Little Changes can be done in the household and require only weekly planning and a regular program of self-education. There is no reason to rush. Learning how to prepare and cook one new recipe a week will get you to nourishing traditional foods in less than a year. All these steps will help improve your family’s health, especially if you cut out all the processed industrial food.

The Big Changes

1. Buy meat, fish and fowl by the whole animal. Don’t buy meat, fish or fowl by the piece at the grocery store. These animals and fish are likely from confinement operations. Find a local source of pastured meat, wild fish, and fowl. Look for wild fish in season and purchase the whole fish. Make sure the animal or fowl has been on pasture its whole life and not in a feedlot or confined. Buy the whole animal and get a full service butcher to cut and wrap the meat into sizes suitable for your family. Get the butcher to give you everything, including parts you do not know how to cook yet. You will need to have a deep freezer to store your meat, fish and fowl. Pastured beef is the best value per pound.

2. Use organic butter, pastured lard and grease. Don’t buy margarine and shortening, even if it is organic. These products may be cheaper but you will pay with your health. If money is an issue use more pastured lard than butter. If you really want to save money, start a grease bucket and save the congealed fat from cooked beef, pork and fowl. You really get something for nothing. Grease is great for high heat cooking and frying. If you are thinking, “What, you want me to eat saturated fat! Are you mad? Haven’t you heard, saturated fat causes heart disease?” Please read Cholesterol: Friend or Foe.

3. Eat pastured eggs. Don’t buy eggs produced in a confinement operation. These eggs are of poor quality, being produced by heavily medicated hens under very stressful conditions. Find a local source of eggs where the hens are allowed freedom to eat bugs, worms and grass. Properly produced eggs are a nourishing, low-cost alternative to meat. Eggs are a great way to start the day and hard-boiled eggs make a great snack.

4. Eat organic or pastured raw cheese and homemade high-fat yoghurt. Try fermenting some foods. Don’t buy pasteurized cheese or commercial low-fat yoghurt. These are ersatz foods and are a shadow of the real thing. Making your yoghurt at home will save money and will enhance digestion. Homemade yoghurt with some frozen seasonal berries makes a delicious snack or dessert. Find a source of local raw cheese. Eating raw cheese is an easy, nutritious snack or addition to a meal. Try making your own fermented foods. It is easy and will save money. Here are some more recipes for fermented foods: dill pickles, kimchi, green tomatoes, horseradish, mustard and live whey culture.

5. Eat vegetables and fruit in season and from a local source. Don’t buy exotic fruits and vegetables out of season. These foods have been shipped halfway around the world and may come from questionable sources. The best part of fruits and vegetables, the phytochemicals, will be mostly lost after such a long journey. Buy local, certified organic or from a producer that follows organic principles. Go to your local farmer’s market and get to know your local producers. Find out if there is a Community Supported Agriculture CSA program in your area. Many of the cheapest vegetables are the most nourishing. Eat plenty of potatoes, broccoli, chard, celery, beets, kale, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, onions, garlic, squash, and lettuce. Grow a few pots of fresh herbs for low-cost garnishing on salads. While in season, consider buying vegetables and fruit in bulk and store for the winter.

6. Buy organic dried foods in bulk from a source you can trust. Don’t waste your money buying small packages of dried goods. You can save money by buying your organic grains, beans, legumes, dried fruits, herbs, and spices in bulk. You will need to find a dark, dry, and cool area of your house to store these foods. Try to buy this season’s harvest whenever possible.

7. Buy organic nuts and seeds in bulk from a source you can trust. Don’t waste your money buying small packages of nuts and seeds. Many of these packaged snacks are old and include numerous unhealthy additives. Try to buy this season’s harvest of nuts and seeds whenever possible. Nuts and seeds store best in the shell but most nuts and seeds are now sold shelled and need to be stored in a freezer. Try to buy this season’s harvest whenever possible to avoid stale products.

8. Put your money into whole foods rather than supplements. Don’t buy that low-cost multi-vitamin found in the drug store. There are many excellent supplements, such as fermented cod liver oil or probiotics, but if your budget is limited, use your money on real food first. Supplements are by their very nature highly processed, thus you will pay more for less. As your diet becomes more nutrient dense, your need for supplements will be reduced. Spend some time learning about superfoods before wasting money on supplements.

9. Eat offal from a pastured animal. Don’t supplement, eat offal! Liver, kidneys, heart, sweetbreads and brains are superfoods. If you are thinking about taking supplements, eat offal first. Offal was prized by most traditional cultures and are a rich source of nutrients.

The Little Changes

10. Make your own salad dressing. Don’t buy bottled salad dressing that is full of rancid vegetable oils, trans fats, and numerous unhealthy additives. For the cost of an average bottle of salad dressing you can make your own from the finest organic ingredients. Once you learn how to make your own dressing it takes a few minutes each week. Here is a recipe for Mustard Seed Dressing, Orange Ginger Dressing and Caesar Dressing. These are three family favorites.

11. Make a large bowl of seasonal mixed greens and vegetables and keep in the fridge for easy salads. Don’t waste your money on pre-mixed salad greens with packages of dressings with unhealthy ingredients. It takes a few minutes twice a week to have a fresh seasonal salad with each meal. Add your homemade salad dressing to the mixed greens just before eating.

12. Make your own bone broth once a week and use in soups, stews or reduction sauces. Don’t buy tetra packs of commercial stock. Don’t use processed bouillon cubes, even organic, which are made from very questionable ingredients. Bone broth is rich in minerals and helps in protein digestion. The congealed fat from bone broth can be used in cooking, which will save money. If you do not know how to make a homemade soups or stews, it is time to learn. Bone broth will make every soup or stew delicious. If you are lost in the kitchen read Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. You can find a copy in the Kamloops Public Library.

13. If you eat grains, beans, and legumes, enjoy them whole with your meals. Don’t buy expensive prepackaged, or canned foods. These foods may be convenient but they do not have the nutrition found in home prepared grains, beans and legumes. Soak overnight and cook the next day. If you are wondering why you need to soak grains read Be Kind to Your Grains. If you are short on time, make a big pot once a week and store the cooked grains, beans and legumes in the fridge for later use. Use cold or re-heat as needed.

14. If you eat grains, make your our breakfast cereal. Don’t buy boxed cold breakfast cereal, even if it is made from organic whole grains. These processed foods are very expensive, difficult to digest, and poor in nutrition. Even the most expensive organic grains will be far cheaper than these heavily processed breakfast cereals. Make your own breakfast cereal with organic whole grains that are soaked overnight before cooking. If you are short on time, make a big pot once and week and store the cooked cereal in the fridge for later use. Heat up a small amount of the cooked cereal in the morning for breakfast. Remember to top with lots of raw cream or butter to help your body utilize the nutrients in the cereal and slow down your insulin response.

15. Make healthy homemade cookies and have frozen fruit for quick snacks. Don’t buy expensive cookies and cake with questionable ingredients. Have some frozen fruit for quick snacks and everyday desserts. Don’t buy those expensive little packages of organic berries from the grocery store. In season, find a local source of organic berries and freeze a year’s supply. Here are some recipes for cookies and cakes: Lemon Coconut Cookies, Chocolate Brownies, Butter Tart Squares, Coconut Almond Bark and Nanaimo Bars. Use these sweet desserts for special occasions.

16. If you eat grains, make healthy homemade bread and crackers. Don’t buy breads and crackers made with rancid flour, rancid vegetable oils, trans fats, and numerous unhealthy additives. The staff-of-life has become a shadow of its former greatness. Grind your own flour from organic whole grains and grow your own sour dough culture. Making bread can be made easier by making bread once a week or by storing a week’s worth of dough in the fridge and bring out a loaves’ worth in the morning before baking. If grinding your own flour is not possible, try sprouting the grain for three days and use a food processor to make a dough from the sprouted grain. For more information about the staff-of-life and the staff-of-death please read Dirty Secrets.

18. If possible, grow your own garden. Don’t worry if all you have is a small patio or windowsill. Start with a small herb garden for parsley, cilantro, thyme, oregano, sage, rosemary and other favorite herbs. Use these fresh herbs on your daily salads. Grow a few tomato plants or peas in pots. It is very satisfying to grow your own food.

19. If you are inclined, get a few hens for fresh eggs and meat. If you have the space consider getting a miniature goat or cow for raw milk. Lobby your government for changes in regulations to promote local food security. Hens will produce eggs and improve your garden fertility. Getting a source of high quality raw dairy is worth the trouble. Raw dairy is one of the most delicious, nourishing foods. Lobby your local, provincial, and federal governments to change laws so we can all can grow healthy food on our properties. This will increase food security for everyone.

20. Invest in your long-term health. Don’t skimp on your food budget. Economize by eating at home and save on meals out. If you are looking for nourishing recipes please see Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD): Recipes which is an index of all the recipes on this website. Cut out all the junk food, even the organic junk food, and use this money to buy high quality whole foods. Eating whole foods will keep you healthy and avoid loses in wages due to sick-time off work. It might even spare your life, by avoiding some dreaded disease. Look through the WAPF Shopping Guide for tips on assessing the quality of your food choices. If you haven’t read 25 Step to Nourishing Traditional Foods, please do so. If you are a visual learner please watch the Wise Tradition Beginner Video Series.

25 Steps to Eating Nourishing Traditional Foods

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pork-eggs

Eating well does not have to cost a fortune. Find quality sources of food and consider growing some food yourself. Cooking your own meals will save money and your health.

  1. Purchase your food as whole ingredients and as close to the original natural state as possible. Avoid processed foods. Avoid all additives, coloring, stabilizers and fillers. Avoid Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). Here is a link to the Non-GMO Shopping Guide. If you are wondering what is wrong with GMOs please see the numerous video presentations by Jeffery Smith on GMOs. Make it a point to understand the system used to process your food. If you cannot understand the process, do not eat the food.
  2. Try to source your food locally. Get to know your farmers and ranchers. Show appreciation for all the work that goes into producing your food. Look for pastured raised or organic. If you are wondering what is so great about pastured raised animals please listen to Jill Eisen, on CBC Ideas program, Have Your Meat and Eat It Too! Find the local suppliers for un-sprayed products. There are many local suppliers which are not certified organic but follow organic principles. Un-sprayed products are usually cheaper than certified organic. Use eatkamloops.org to find local farmers and ranchers. For some guidelines about assessing food quality read WAPF Shopping Guide for Canada.
  3. Eat local foods seasonally. The food has better nutrition and is cheaper. If you would like to eat these foods out of season, find a suitable storage method. Get a large deep freezer and find an area in your home for dried stores. Consider building a root cellar or cold room. For more information read Winter Storage Part I and Winter Storage Part II.
  4. When buying from non-local sources try to buy certified organic. When we can’t talk to the producers about their practices, having a third party certification is a good idea. If certified organic foods are not in the budget, read about The Dirty Dozen and avoid foods with the most contamination.
  5. Consider growing your own food. Use container gardening on small properties or a big garden on larger lots. If labor is an issue, you might be able to trade garden space for labor. Depending on your zoning, you might be able to have laying hens for eggs or a miniature goat for raw milk.
  6. Start a grease bucket. Save all your drippings and fat from roasted meat and fowl. Use the grease for any high heat frying or roasting. For more information read The Grease Bucket – Something from Nothing.
  7. If you eat industrial vegetable oils or foods containing industrial vegetable oil, stop now. For cooking, replace these industrial vegetable oils with your grease bucket, butter, or coconut oil. Save your extra virgin olive oil for salads and uncooked foods. Other cold-pressed oils may be used occasionally in very small amounts. If you have any condition involving inflammation, removing even quality cold-pressed oils may improve your condition.
  8. Make bone broth. Save all your bones from meals and store in the freezer until you have a pot full. Cover the bones with water and add 4T cider vinegar and simmer for 6-24 hours. For more information read Beautiful Bone Broth.
  9. Eat some fermented foods each day or with each meal. Fermented foods improve our digestion. Fermentation can remove anti-nutrients from our food and increase nutrient availability. Fermented foods are not commonly available in the Industrial Food System and must be made at home. For more information read Wild Fermentation.
  10. Start making some fermented foods at home. A good place to start is making yoghurt or kefir. If you do not consume dairy, try making lacto-fermented vegetables or use sourdough for breads and biscuits. Contact eatkamloops.org for free starter cultures. For more information about what starters we have read I Got Culture!
  11. If you eat grains, beans, and legumes, soak them overnight in water, salt and fresh lemon juice before cooking. This soaking will remove the anti-nutrients from the food and make it easier to digest. Use bone broth when appropriate for the recipe in place of water. This will improve your digestion of these foods. If you are wondering why you need to soak grains read Be Kind to Your Grains. Here are FAQ about traditional food processing of grains, nuts, seeds and beans.
  12. Purchase all of your grains whole. If you are making flour, grind it yourself, and use it within four days. Flour is very perishable and will go rancid very quickly. Freshly ground flour can be stored in the freezer for later use.
  13. If you eat nuts and seeds, soak them overnight in water and salt. Nuts and seeds can be then dried and consumed uncooked. These store well in the freezer for quick use.
  14. Look for a local supply of grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds. There are many local varieties which will be fresher. Look for un-sprayed or organically grown.
  15. If you eat rice, buy organic brown rice. Since this is not a local product, buy certified organic. Brown rice does not need to be soaked overnight but cooking in bone broth will help with digestion and improve flavor. If you would like to try fermenting rice to improve mineral availability read A New Way to Soak Brown Rice.
  16. Buy your meat by the whole animal. This allows you to have a variety of cuts, offal, fat and bones. The butcher will package the meats in sizes that are best for your family. Get all the products from the animal even parts you do not know how to cook. They can always be used to make bone broth. For more information read Cooking with Grass-Fed Meat and Fowl and Visit to the Killing Floor at Kam Lake View Meat.
  17. If you consume dairy, find a source of raw milk or raw milk products. This will involve having your own cow, goat or sheep or being a member of a herd share program. If you are wondering what is so great about pastured raw milk please read Let’s Talk about Raw Milk Safety. For more information about herd share programs in the province read Birdsong Farm – Cow Share Program.
  18. If you are concerned that you have a deficiency in your diet and want to take a supplement, consider using whole foods, sometimes called superfoods. Examples of superfoods are: fermented cod liver oil, high vitamin butter, liver, spring and fall butter, raw milk products, bone broth and fermented foods. Other superfoods are related to the health problem of the person such as: various fresh or dried glands, kelp, assorted clays, probiotics, assorted high vitamin berries and herbs. For more information about superfoods read Supplement or Superfoods.
  19. Look at your cosmetics and decide if you would eat them. If you would not like to eat them, consider stopping use. Our skin is far more porous than was once believed. The use of coconut oil can be a excellent moisturizer. Consider making your own soap or buying brands with very few ingredients. A good source of information about the safety of your cosmetics can be found on Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database. If you would like recipes for making cosmetics, cleaners and simple medicines please read Healthy Household: Staying Clean Safely and Saving Money.
  20. Look through your medicine chest and decide if you can do without most of your medication. Many medications mask symptoms while the condition worsens. It is better to feel the pain and make fundamental changes in our lives, rather than masking symptoms while the condition gets worse. Think about the other drugs you take on a daily basis. Assess if these drugs might be adding to your health problems.
  21. Think about food preparation in the home and how the task can be done efficiently. The job of running a traditional household is more work than eating convenience foods. This means someone must be willing to allot time for this important work. Some people use one day a week where they spend a morning in the kitchen producing meals for the whole week. Others cook larger meals and consume the leftovers.
  22. Remove all plastics from your kitchen and replace with glass containers. Remove Teflon and aluminum from your kitchen and use stainless steel, glass, cast iron or enameled cast iron. Stop using a microwave for cooking or reheating foods.
  23. If you are thinking about having a child, start thinking about what you eat before you conceive. All traditional populations had a special feeding schedule for mothers and fathers to be. For more information read Thinking about Motherhood.
  24. If you continue to have health problems after changing over to a nourishing traditional diet, consider looking at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. This diet is also known as Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS). This diet is for very sick people. For more information about SCD and GAPS please read Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Please read this very good article by Dr Ron Schmid called Diet and Recovery from Chronic Disease.
  25. Continue getting educated about health. eatkamloops.org has donated a number of books to the Kamloops Public Library. For a list of donated books read Recommended Reading List. Look through the WAPF Shopping Guide for tips on assessing the quality of your food choices.

Chicken Scratch and Fresh Grain for Home Milling

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backyard-chickens

Having a backyard flock, connects us with our food. We become concerned about our flock's health and about the quality of the food we produce. Photo courtesy of www.aholliday.com.

I have been looking for a local organic supplier for chicken feed. We are fortunate to live on an acre of land in Kamloops and can have backyard chickens. Chickens help clear the yard of weeds and pests. They will take kitchen and yard waste and turn it into the best soil available. They produce eggs and meat which adds healthy protein and fat into our family’s diet. Children love the company of chickens. Children learn about responsibility, feeding and watering the birds. They learn about the environment and how they can be a helpful part of the cycle of life.

Presently, the City of Kamloops does not allow chickens on single-family zoned properties. The city has suggested that they would look at site-specific zoning to allow individual property owners to re-zone. Re-zoning is very expensive. Even if you apply for re-zoning, it doesn’t mean you’ll get what you want. Presently, if people want to have a few chickens they face the consequences of breaking the law while others forgo this wonderful addition to their household. How did we get to the point where the government decides if I can have a dog, cat, goat or chicken in my backyard? Why is it illegal to have a useful animal?

The City of Vancouver now allows backyard chickens. The City of Victoria has always allowed backyard flocks. Hopefully, our city officials will see the ecological and social benefits of bringing back livestock into the urban landscape. A few chickens and a small garden starts making people aware of what they are eating and where it is coming from. This new awareness could have a positive effect on local ranchers and farmers as city dwellers start to think about their personal food supply.

grain-mill

Fieldstone Granary has a number of grain mills and flakers.

I drove out to Armstrong, BC to visit Fieldstone Granary. They process only certified organic grains from their farm and a number of other certified organic farms. They are the only certified organic grain processor in the province that can do numerous types of grain and custom processing. They specialize in human consumption spelt, rye and golden flax. They produce livestock and chicken scratch. Spelt hulls can be used as bedding material or garden mulch. They have seeds for green manures and cover crops. We bought half a pallet of organic chicken scratch and a pallet of spelt hulls. The price was very reasonable for organic feed. Our birds went wild finding the gleanings in the spelt hulls!

Fieldstone Granary sells home grain mills and flakers. A good machine is not cheap. The flour, cracked cereal grains and flakes produced with a home mill is superior in quality to anything you can buy. If you use flour, cracked cereal grains or flakes it should be freshly ground. If you don’t know why you should eat freshly ground grains please read: Be Kind to Your Grains.

We bought some spelt and rye. Spelt and rye makes a low gluten flour. My daughter Sonja spent part of her afternoon hand grinding the grain. We will make sour dough starter over the next few days. Any ground flour should be used within four days or stored for later use in the freezer. I am really glad my daughters will know how to make bread using traditional methods with the best grain and flour available.