Read
Top

In The Kitchen

« Older Entries
Share

Is Animal Protein Bad For Us?

Published February 16, 2012 by Kevin and Amy Jo

DIETS!!  Which one is the best for losing fat?  Which one is the best for improving your health?  For Cancer?  For Diabetes?  Should we be eating animal protein?  and on and on we go…. There are so many opinions out there that it can be confusing to know what is right for you! We went through this journey a couple of years ago.  We watched “The Beautiful Truth” and learning about Dr. Max Gerson and his work helping people with migraines to cancer.  The Gerson Therapy promotes a 99% vegan diet (a lot of juicing!) and is not completely raw.   They also focus on helping the body to detox by the help of coffee enemas.  At first it sounded hmmm…,but upon further research it does make a lot of sense!  The  Hallelujah Diet is another system that promotes an 85% raw, vegan diet.  They too have inspiring stories of healing and restoration.  Just recently, we watched the new documentary called, “Forks and Knives”.  This is based off of the study that was done in China called The China Study .  No animal protein is what they preach.

Ya know, we can research and research till we are blue in the face.  At some point, we really just need to give it to the Lord and ask HIM about what we should eat.  Here are some conclusions that we’ve come to:

  • Vegetarian and Vegan diets have their place.  If someone had a serious disease or needs to cleanse their body of toxins…eating large amounts of vegetables can transfer the body into a healing state and help the body to detox.  Note:  Fruits help the body to cleanse.  Veggies help to nourish the body with many vitamins and minerals that the body needs to heal and repair. Notice, that I didn’t include bread (or any grains).
  • Juicing - has some tremendous benefits.  Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead shows this clearly.  Juicing can provide the body with concentrated nutrients from vegetables.  Sometimes the body might not be able to digest a lot of fiber initially.  By taking the pulp out and just drinking the pure juice is like giving your body super nutrition that doesn’t require a lot of digestive effort.
  • Green Smoothies – also have tremendous benefits.  By using a VitaMix or a Blendtec, you can produce a yummy smoothie filled with lots of greens including the pulp, which is excellent fiber. Fiber is great for the small and large intestine and will promote elimination.
  • Eat Meat in small proportions.  Instead of eating a big 16oz. steak at one sitting, we should be eating about 4oz. or less.  About the size of the palm of your hand.  This is true for children too.  The rest of our meal should include veggies and whole grains.  Fruits are best eaten as snacks between meals.  Also – you don’t have to have meat at every meal!  Try mixing in a vegetarian meal a couple of times a week!  (eg. Veggie Fried Rice or Sweet Potatoes)
  • When eating Animal protein – eat ONLY organic, free-range eggs and chicken, grass-fed beef, wild fish and wild game. (Venison, Antelope, Elk etc…)  We recommend not eating any Pork Products because of the bacteria/parasite issue that brings.  Raw milk and raw milk products are full of good enzymes and natural probiotics.  Raw milk cheese is expensive, so we get organic or Tillamook brand cheese.  We buy organic butter when it’s on sale, otherwise we feel that Tillamook brand butter is second best.   There is definitely a balance here.

I recently picked up a copy of Jordan Rubin’s book, “The Maker’s Diet”.  (at a thrift store)  Upon reading it, I knew instantly that this was the right diet for us!  Jordan talks about the importance of probiotics for the gut, eating a variety of fruits and veggies, good quality meats in small amounts, whole grains and learning how to prepare them correctly and the benefits of raw goat milk.

We also have introduced a lot of fermented foods into our diet in the past couple of years.   Homemade Kefir and Sauerkraut are a main staple in our home!  These help to supply quality probiotics to the digestive tract, thus increasing the absorption of nutrients from our foods.   And it’s awesome for our teeth!

Being a vegetarian or vegan is not a bad thing.  Long term?  Not sure if that’s a good thing.  If you are a strict vegan (no eggs, dairy or meat) you need to be sure you are taking a Vit. B12 supplement and checking for any other vitamins and minerals that are only found in animal proteins.

There’s one thing for sure:  WE NEED TO EAT MORE VEGGIES!!

Nutritional Typing can help you determine what your specific needs are.  Protein type, Carb type or Mixed type.  Dr. Mercola offers this test for free – HERE, and included a free cookbook that can help you get started!

What do you think?  We’d love your feedback!  Use the comment area below.

From Our Family To Yours,

Kevin and Amy Jo


 


0 Comments
Share

Raising Meat Chickens Part 2

Published November 11, 2011 by Kevin and Amy Jo

I think we’ve all heard of how Grandma would go out and butcher a chicken to roast up for dinner!  I see visions of a chicken running around with his head cut off…ugh!   What are we getting ourselves into?

If you haven’t read Raising Meat Chickens Part 1, click on the link!

When we got meat chicks to raise in the spring, we knew that we wanted to try butchering them ourselves this time.  Kevin did some research and we began to gather the equipment that we would use.  We bought 30 Cornish X chicks early in the spring and began raising them.  They grew unbelievably fast and within 2 1/2 months we were ready to start butchering.  It almost doesn’t seem right that they would grow so fast and we’ve already begun looking into other meat chicken breeds for next year!

Kevin came across this video that gave him some good information about how to butcher a chicken the most humanely:

YouTube Preview Image

 

This is the process we used:

1)  We used an old 5 gal. bucket and put a hole in the bottom of it.  Hanging it from a tall/stable ladder, we put the chicken upside down and pulled his head through the hole in the bottom.  Kevin cut the jugular vein and let them bleed out and then cut the head all the way off.

2)  We placed the chicken into a large tub of boiling water…holding by the feet, he dunked them a few times until we could pull out the feathers easily.  This is called scalding and makes the feather plucking job pretty easy.

3)  We both tag-teamed the feather plucking job and then proceeded to cut off the feet and gut the bird out.  We kept the gizzards, hearts, livers and necks and filled up a bag of chicken feet (for making bone broth).

4)  Once the birds were gutted out and free of feathers, we washed them up and placed them into a cooler of ice water.  After a few minutes, they were bagged up and placed into the freezer.

We had 27 chickens to butcher total (3 baby chicks died)…and we had about 60% roosters and 40% hens. The roosters weighed in at 8-9lbs and the hens 7-8lbs bagged! So much better than a wimpy 5lb organic chicken from the store!

We butchered 4-5 chickens at a time and got them all done within a 2 week period.  That worked best for us.  I think if we were to do it again, we would make or invest in a killing cone and build or buy a Whizbang Chicken Plucker.  All in all, we were pretty happy with how it all went!

What a BLESSING to have 27 free-range chickens in the freezer!  I can’t believe how much more rich these chickens make my Bone Broth…I get a thick layer of fat on the top now and the broth tastes so so yummy!

From Our Family To Yours,

Kevin and Amy Jo

Here are some fun photos of our Chicken Butchering adventures >>


 

0 Comments
Share

Homemade Almond Butter!

Published May 22, 2011 by Kevin and Amy Jo

Almond & Peanut Butter are almost a daily staple in our family diet.  A couple of years ago, when I was learning about the health benefits of Almond Butter over Peanut Butter, I began playing with making homemade Almond Butter.  I used different types of oils and techniques to get the right consistency and taste.  I thought I’d share our tried and true Almond Butter Recipe with you today!

Homemade Almond Butter

Ingredients: 4 cups raw Almonds & 1 cup of melted Coconut Oil

How To:

Pour 4 cups of raw Almonds into a food processor.  Using the processor blade, chop the almonds into tiny bits. Pour 1 cup of melted coconut oil over the chopped up almonds in a small stream.  Blend until smooth.  I will usually stop the processor, take off the lid and test the texture with a hard spatula.  It should stick together and be spreadable.  If not, add more coconut oil.  Once you like the texture, scoop it out and put it in a glass jar with a lid.  We store our jar of homemade Almond Butter at room temperature because it’s usually gone within a week.  Consider refrigerating it if you won’t eat it that quickly.

Tip #1 –  Coconut Oil will harden when it’s cold.  When the weather is cold or if you keep it in the fridge, place a small amount in a glass dish and warm it up in a convection oven for a couple of minutes.  This will melt the coconut oil so it is spreadable!

Tip #2 – We use a “dull” blade in our food processor for chopping up Almonds or other hard nuts.  If you use a brand new blade, it may cause it to become dull over time.  We ended up getting 2 blades…1 for chopping up hard nuts and 1 for everything else.

Tip #3 - (Optional)  We will soak our raw Almonds in pure water with 2 Tbsps of Lemon Juice or Kombucha for 24 hours.  Drain and place in a dehydrator for another 24 hours.  This creates what are called “crispy nuts” out of Sally Fallon’s book, Nourishing Traditions.  In short, it removes most of the phytic acid from the nuts, thus creating them to be more digestible.  You can read more about this at Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s blog.

Here are some photos:


Ways To Eat Homemade Almond Butter:

  1. Almond Butter and Jam/Honey sandwiches – a favorite lunch at our house!
  2. Putting on pancakes or waffles with maple syrup on top!
  3. Putting on homemade English Muffins!
  4. Eating with sliced apples!

HOW do you eat your Almond Butter?  Let us know if the comment section below >>

From Our Family To Yours,

Kevin and Amy Jo

0 Comments
Share

Almond Butter vs. Peanut Butter?

Published May 10, 2011 by Kevin and Amy Jo

We love Almonds and Almond Butter…but ya, know ~ there’s nothing like breaking out the Adam’s Peanut Butter and spreading it out on a freshly toasted english muffin or using it as an apple slice or celery dip!

This makes us wonder about the rest of the world.  Which do you prefer – Peanut Butter, Almond Butter or Both?  Which is healthier?

Let’s dig into the facts:

Peanut butter and Almond butter are both healthy protein sources and have similar calorie counts per serving.  They both provide great minerals such as tryptophan, manganese, copper and Vitamin E.  From the standpoint of nutrient content ~ peanut butter provides about 20% of your daily niacin needs, while almond butter give 40% of vitamin E and 20% of magnesium.

This information come from Best Natural Foods regarding Almonds:

“Almonds and almond butter are nutritional powerhouses that contain significant amounts of protein, calcium, fiber, magnesium, folic acid, potassium, and vitamin E. Almond butter has extremely low saturated fat content and is rich in monounsaturated fats making it a heart-healthy choice. Of course, almonds have notrans fat. Studies consistently have shown that the addition of almonds into the diet effectively lowers cholesterol. Unlike low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets, adding almonds does not adversely alter insulin sensitivity in healthy adults or blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes.”

“Almonds are a good source of plant sterols, such as beta-sitosterol, which have been shown to alleviate symptoms of BPH (enlarged prostate), a condition afflicting the majority of men over age 50. Two tablespoons of almond butter contain roughly 35 milligrams of beta-sitosterol.”

This chart compares creamy unsalted versions of each nutty spread, and the percentages are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

2 tbsp. peanut butter 2 tbsp. almond butter
Calories 190 190
Total Fat (g) 16 16
Saturated Fat (g) 2 1.5
Carbs (g) 7 6
Fiber (g) 3 4
Protein (g) 8 7
Calcium 1% 8%
Iron 3% 6%
Vitamin E 14% 40%
Folate 6% 6%

It’s interesting to note that when buying Almond butter or Peanut butter that is already processed and in the jar, the Vitamin E is lost due to high-heat processing.  Dr. Elson M. Hass of the Global Healing Center of Natural Health and Organic Living says that the manufacturers also add oils and sweeteners to the nut butters, which can make them unhealthy. Commercial peanut butters often contain cottonseed, soybean or rapeseed oil, molasses and mono or diglycerides.

Both butters are at their most nutritious when made at home, using only fresh, roasted or raw nuts. They can both be mixed with honey, sorghum or molasses for added flavor and nutrition.

The Biggest Difference

Almonds grow on trees, which makes them a true nut.  Peanuts are actually legumes and grow underground. Keeping this in mind, peanuts can often contain molds or fungus.  Peanut proteins can also act as powerful allergens, even in tiny amounts.  Peanut allergies are the most common cause of death by food in the U.S.  Just inhaling the scent of a peanut can cause some children or adults to have a ruthless reaction.

Here is a brief history on Peanuts and Peanut Butter:  Click Here

I think we can conclude that Almonds are much healthier for us than Peanuts.

We eat both in our family and when we buy Peanut Butter, we usually will get the freshly ground Peanut Butter (from the grinder machine) or get Adam’s!  (We love Adam’s!)  Any other brand, you’ve gotta watch for a few things:  Sugar Content, High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn, Soy, Canola and Vegetable Oils…

We will also buy the freshly ground Almond Butter (from the grinder machine) or we make our own!

Raw Almonds have got to be one of the best foods we can eat!   What do you think?

From Our Family To Yours,

Kevin and Amy Jo

 



1 Comment
Share

Making English Muffins!

Published March 28, 2011 by Amy Jo

I think I’ve always loved English Muffins!  There is nothing like them all toasted warm and lathered with butter!  Or better yet topped with almond butter and honey…or homemade strawberry jam…or or or…

This is another sourdough recipe that has made it’s way into my weekly baking schedule!

Sourdough English Muffins:

1/2 Cup Sourdough Starter

1 Cup Milk/Water

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour (maybe more)

1 Tbsp. Honey

1 tsp. Sea Salt

1 tsp. Baking Soda (aluminum-free)

(Optional) Add-ins like sesame seeds, dried fruit and/or chopped nuts

Continue Reading

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
4 Comments