In my ideal world, I wouldn't need to go to a supermarket. Ever. We would raise our own food. I would can and freeze like a maniac all summer and into early fall, and we would eat only what we could grow. We would have pastured chickens running around and a milk cow. I would churn butter and dry herbs and render lard. Well, that's not going to happen this year. Our modest garden provided a few cukes and peppers, lots of lettuce, and we are patiently waiting on a tomato crop, as well as some butternut squash. But that won't cut it for a year's worth of food. Thus, another year of weeding through the junk in the grocery store and figuring out to make wise, healthy, and affordable choices.
I choose to shop at my local chain grocery store rather than a specialty natural foods store for a number of reasons. One is that it is closer to home. Another is that this chain has started carrying a store brand of organic products which are very reasonably priced. And third, they keep their stock very consistent which makes shopping more predictable and convenient. I can't always find organic options, so I have found a few products that make the grade in some areas, if not all. I think of these are compromise purchases. I have decided that, to remain sane, I need to buy things even when they're not perfect. This has taken hours of label reading and research over the last year. It's a jungle out there. The ingredients I will not compromise on are as follows: -MSG -Nitrates/Nitrites -Gluten -High fructose corn syrup -Any form of industrial seed oil including: soybean, sunflower, canola, "vegetable oil" -Any form of processed soy Some "Compromise" Products: 1. Utz Kettle Cooked potato chips: Delicious. Fried in peanut oil, which is better than vegetable oils most chips are fried in. Not organic, not primal. Moderately priced. Hannaford often runs them at 2 bags for $5. 2. Kerry Gold butter: Also delicious. Made from milk from grass fed cows. In Ireland. Which is the drawback. But it is very difficult to find butter from grass-fed cows otherwise. Not certified organic. 3. Stonyfield Organic Whole Milk: At $3.59 for a half gallon, it's about 60 cents more than the store brand organic milk. However, Stonyfield cows are almost guaranteed to be raised on farms where they are being pastured. Drawbacks are that it is ultra heat pasteurized (as is all milk sold in stores unless it is raw) and it's not necessarily coming from a local source. 4. Thin and Trim Homestyle Roasted Turkey Breast: One of the only deli meats I could find, upon extensive research, that does not contain nitrates, nitrites, or MSG. Also gluten free. 5. Edward and Sons Brown Rice Snaps: If you can't live without crackers, these are a great alternative. They are made from rice flour (only 2 ingredients listed), and are therefore free of funky oils, gluten, and the ever ambiguous natural flavorings (read MSG). Very crispy, great vehicle for nut butters, cheese, etc. Usually about $2.99 for a pack. 6. Polar Classics Premium Root Beer and Cream Soda: The kids usually have, on average, exactly 1 soda a week. This brand does not use high fructose corn syrup. They love it. High in sugar, but a fun treat. 7. Breyer's Natural Ice Cream: Vanilla and chocolate are both limited to milk, cream, sugar, and tara gum for ingredients, as well as vanilla beans or cocoa. Many of their other flavors, however, contain a variety of nasty additives, sweeteners, and thickeners. Look for the "natural" specification on the label. Any flavor that says "homestyle" or "creamy" has lots of additives. 8. Organic Popcorn: To go with soda, usually on family movie night. I'm not a big fan of eating lots of corn, but when we do, I try to make it organic, as 90% of the corn grown in the US is currently genetically engineered and thus saturated with chemicals such as Round Up. Yum. 9. Our Daily Red: A lovely red table wine made from organic grapes, without added sulfites. If red wine typically gives you a headache, try this as an alternative. Price ranges from $8.99 to 11.99. 10. Buying in Bulk: When I want to save money over grocery store prices, I have found a few convenient methods for buying in bulk. Bob's Red Mill Products: I use organic brown rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour extensively in my GF recipes. I also use xantham gum. All of these can be purchased by the case from Amazon for about half the price in the grocery store. I have an Amazon prime subscription ($79/year) which, among other benefits, offers free 2-day shipping on many products. Olive oil: I purchase by the gallon from Jedward's International. (http://www.bulknaturaloils.com/Products/15825-bulk-organic-extra-virgin-olive-oil.aspx) At about $30 after shipping for a gallon, it's a great deal for organic olive oil. This recipe is adapted from one published by King Arthur (as in the flour company). I adapted it to ingredients I had on hand and it turned out amazing. I've blogged it before and I'll blog it again - you can make just about anything in terms of gluten-free baked goods if you have these four items in your pantry: brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, and xantham gum.
I used a few different techniques from the original recipe - grating the butter rather than cutting it into the dry ingredients, and using ice water at the end rather than cold tap water, a secret learned from my mom via my Grandma Violet. See below for details. I used it to make an apple pie (not primal at all) after spending part of a morning picking early apples (totally primal) with the family. The pie was delicious, the crust was flaky and tender, and it was enjoyed by all who tried it. I would venture to say that if I hadn't known better, I would have never guessed that it wasn't gluten-full. It was even good the next day. I can highly recommend this recipe. This is supposed to be a single crust recipe for a 9-inch pie, but I actually managed to get a top and bottom crust out of it. Pie Crust Ingredients 3/4 cup rice flour 1/4 cup potato starch 1/4 cup tapioca starch 1/2 tsp xantham gum 1/2 tsp salt 6 Tbsp cold butter 1 large egg 2 tsp apple cider vinegar 3 Tbsp ice water 1. Mix dry ingredients together (rice flour through salt). 2. Grate the butter into the dry ingredients. Make sure it is good and cold before your start. Work quickly. Toss with a fork until butter is coated with dry ingredients. 3. In a small cup, whisk egg and vinegar together until foamy (about 90 seconds). Mix into dry ingredients with a fork. 4. Add 3 Tbsp of ice water. I make ice water in a measuring cup or mug, let it sit until it's nice and cold, then measure out the desired portion. 5. Mix well to combine. Form a ball. I like to use my hands at the end. My grandmother claimed it was her cold hands that made her pie crust come out so well, so I actually run my hands under cold water or use a bag of frozen veggies (briefly) to chill my hands before this step. Silly. But it's hard to argue with results. 6. Chill ball for 1 hour in fridge. Take out 10-15 minutes before using. I rolled mine out on top of saran wrap, sprinkled with ample tapioca starch, then flipped it into the pie plate. Apple Filling 8 cups sliced apples 1 cup sugar (I used raw) 1/4 cup rice flour 1 tsp cinnamon 2 Tbsp butter Toss everything together in a bowl. Dump into crust-lined pan. Dot with butter, if desired. Put top crust on apples. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40-45 minutes. This is a great, grain-free adaptation of an American(?) favorite. I love to find ways to substitute starchy, grainy ingredients with vegetables. Zucchini works particularly well in place of lasagna noodles, and this dish has won rave reviews from people aged 12 to 67. My 9-year-old is not so sure, but does well picking out the cheese and sauce, and especially likes it when it's made with meat sauce. Sometimes I make a small lasagna using gluten free noodles to suit his picky tastes.
Make sure the zucchini tastes good!!! I have found that quite often non-organic zucchini has an extremely bitter taste to it. Just taste a little slice of it before you start slicing and make sure it's not bitter. Ingredients: Marinara sauce - about 4 cups. Make your own or use your favorite brand in a jar (preferably a brand that does not contain industrial oils or sugars). For make your own ideas, see my post on spaghetti and meatballs. Add ground meat if desired, or leave it out to make this a great vegetarian option. 2 medium-sized zucchinis 2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese 2 cups grated mozzarella 1 cup grated Parmesan 4 eggs 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp basil, oregano, and/or minced garlic as desired. 1. Prepare the sauce (or open the jars) and set aside. 2. Rinse the zucchini. Leave the skin on if it's organic. I like to cut into really, really thin slices by running it along the 3 long slits on the side of a cheese grater. I would imagine they have a technical term, but could not, for the life of me, tell you what it is. I have found it works best to put the grater on its side, then start by running the zucchini along the side, applying gentle pressure, in such a way that you end up with 3 strips. It takes a little while to get a technique, but once you've figured it out, it goes really fast. If you rotate your way around the zucchini as you cut, you'll get even slices without having to do any slicing with a knife. 3. *NOTE: I have skipped this step and it still comes out fine, if a little watery.* Spread the slices on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for 10-15 minutes. Rinse with water and drain in a colander, then squeeze the whole bunch in a clean kitchen towel or cheese cloth. This removes excess water and makes for a less watery lasagna. Set aside. 4. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the cheeses, eggs, salt, and seasonings. Mix well. Set aside. 5. Using a rectangular baking pan, spread 1/3 of the zucchini strips in the bottom. I do NOT lay them out neatly and orderly. I sort of spread them around the cover the bottom of the disk, but that's all. 6. Spread 1/3 of the sauce over the strips. 7. Drop 1/2 of the cheese mixture in large spoonfuls, evenly spaced, on top of the sauce. Pat down slightly, but don't worry about spreading it out in an even layer. 8. Add next 1/3 of zucchini strips. Spread out gently with hands. 9. Pour next 1/3 of sauce over strips. 10. Using same technique from step 7, place the remaining cheese mixture onto the zucchini and sauce. 11. Add remaining zucchini strips and spread with hands. 12. Pour remaining sauce on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove and cover with additional grated cheese if desired. Bake for 5 more minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. This recipe is a kid-pleaser, if you're looking for something in that genre. It is made with potatoes, but if you are trying to stay really low carb, you might try replacing the potatoes with steamed cauliflower or other vegetables. It is taken from the cookbook More With Less, adapted a bit to make it quicker.
I have found that this reheats really nicely for sending to school in a Thermos, so I often make a big batch of it on Sunday night and use it for school lunches for a few days. The boys don't seem to get tired of it, which works for me! Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef or lamb 1 small onion, chopped, or 1/2 tsp onion powder 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp salt, divided Pepper to taste 6 small potatoes, cut into thin slices 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce or puree 1 cup grated cheese 1/2 cup water or beef broth 1. Cook the ground meat, onions or onion powder, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper over medium heat. Set aside. 2. Cut potato into thin slices and place in boiling water. Cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain. 3. In a small bowl, stir together tomato sauce, grated cheese, water, and 1/2 tsp salt. 4. In a medium-sized casserole dish (2 quart capacity) layer half of the ground meat, then half of the potato slices, then the remainder of the ground meat, and on top, the remainder of the potato slices. 5. Pour the tomato sauce mixture over the whole thing. 6. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly and melty. Serve with steamed vegetables or a big green salad. Social rules are different in every culture. In America, we are very, um, polite when it comes to select matters. There are things that you just don't talk about in certain company, things you don't mention. You would tell someone (maybe) that they have something hanging from their nose or that their fly is down, but even that would be done with some awkwardness for most. But I would never, ever say to someone I haven't seen in a while, Wow, you've really put on some weight!. And if someone ever commented on my weight in such a way, I would be very upset and offended, even if it were true.
Well, that got challenged while living in Turkey. As I hung out with women, I noticed that it was very common to talk openly about weight gain or loss. In my home culture, we tended to only talk about loss. In my new culture, I was shocked to hear people openly commenting on weight gain. At first, no one ever commented on my weight...but then we got comfortable with each other. When we moved overseas, I was about 35 pounds heavier than I am now. I was heavier than was healthy for my frame, but I ate "healthily" (according to the USDA pyramid) and exercised. I figured the weight I was at was just where I would stay. Having a rather traumatic history of a severe bout of anorexia nervosa at the ages of 13 and 14, I had worked hard over the years to get comfortable with my body however it was. I did not want to slide back down the slippery slope into obsessive exercise and weight loss. I didn't weigh myself, and I tried to be positive about my body image. Having had 2 kids, and being in my early 30s, I figured that my body just was how it was, and I accepted that. One day while having tea with some women after being in the country for a few months, one of the women commented on the fact that I had a "fat stomach". Now I was still getting comfortable with the language, so I thought surely I heard that wrong! I asked her to repeat what she had said, and sure enough, she was talking about my belly. She proceeded to recommend that I lose 8 kilos (about 18 pounds), all the while looking me up and down with great scrutiny. I felt my face turn scarlet. I was horrified. I managed not to cry...but I wanted to. We ended up laughing it off and moving on in the conversation, but that comment had stung. I went home and cried later. To be honest, that conversation, while shocking to me, taught me an important lesson: discussing weight, while it can be done in a mean and insulting way, can also be a way of expressing care for someone. My friend was not trying to deride me or hurt me. She was simply nudging me towards taking better care of myself. And at the end of the story, it was effective. It took me a few weeks to accept her criticism, but I finally let myself see it. I took an honest look at myself in the mirror, and I knew I had some weight to lose. I bought a scale and decided to trust in myself and my recovery from anorexia. I set a weight goal. I moved more and ate less, and I managed to drop 10 pounds. I felt better. (The rest of my weight loss would come after finally getting away from USDA Pyramid-based dogma, but that's another story.) My neighbors watched my weight loss with interest. They commented. It was annoying most of the time. But I began to understand their interest in my health and appearance, and I got used to it. By the time we left, I was completely unfazed by weight-related comments. I heard them thrown around enough that I actually grew to appreciate them. I, personally, still never could have said to someone, Have you gained a few kilos? but I understood the spirit behind it when I heard it being said. If we could see outside the skin what excessive fat is doing inside the body, I think we'd all be a lot more motivated to talk openly with the people we love and care for about weight issues. The fact is that when humans are at their optimum weight, they are healthier. Being overweight, for many people, leads to disease and dysfunction, dependence on medications, side effects of those medications, less productivity, higher health care costs, etc. I believe that healthy people build healthy communities, and healthy communities can be more effective in making things better the world over. I am thankful for my friend's honesty that day, though it stung at the time. It challenged me to make myself healthier, and that has made all the difference. Our time in Turkey was unbelievably rich. Our friends and neighbors were incredible about helping us get settled and comfortable, supporting us through homesickness and cultural differences, and sharing their lives with us. One of the ways in which we enjoyed learning through about the culture was through the food. From the dizzying arrays of sights, smells, and sounds at the open air markets, to the "rules" of proper preparation shared in the kitchen, to the experience of sharing a table-ful of amazing, freshly cooked foods with friends, Turkey has an amazing food culture. Not only is Turkey self-sufficient in food production (a rarity these days), but they have maintained traditions of growing, preparing, and consuming food for generations. Their cuisine is unbelievably consistent, meaning that you can eat or order a particular dish in a number of places and it always tastes the same.
As my friends generously taught me to properly prepare their dishes, I learned that every woman had a slightly different twist to how it should be done, but there were always principles that were true across the board. Vegetables stuffed with rice but no meat and cooked in olive oil were to be eaten cold; those stuffed with rice and meat and cooked in vegetable oil were to be eaten hot, for example. Coming from my American background of anything goes when it comes to cooking and eating, I found this fascinating. Some of my friends found it fascinating that I rarely cooked true American cuisine (whatever that is), but rather made my own bastardized versions of Chinese, Mexican, Italian, and Indian dishes on a fairly regular basis. Vegetables, typically prepared from fresh, dominate many of the Turkish meals. Of course, they are grown in Turkey and taste delicious. A cucumber or tomato in the States just doesn't taste the same. You will find vegetables on the table at breakfast (fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, red peppers), lunch, and dinner. Stewed vegetables, fresh salads, soups containing vegetables are all common fare. Meat is expensive, and so it is used more sparingly, often added into dishes to add flavor, but not a dominant part of the meal. This is a dish that we liked to order from a local cafeteria near the school where we worked. I cook it in olive oil, even though I was instructed to cook it in vegetable oil. Ingredients: 4 small or 2 large eggplants 2 Tbsp salt 1/2 cup olive oil 2 onions, chopped 1 lb ground beef or lamb, or a mixture (optional if you want a vegetarian meal) 3 Tbsp butter salt and pepper to taste 4 ripe tomatoes, skin seeded, and diced, or 2 cans diced tomatoes 1/2 cup parsley, chopped 3 green peppers, quartered Cut the stems off the eggplants and peel them lengthwise, leaving a strip of skin between peels. (They will appear striped.) Cut into 1/2-inch thick slices. Lay on baking sheets and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp of salt. Let stand for at least 30 minutes, then rinse off salt and drain in a colander. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium low heat. (Leave the meat out, obviously, to make this vegetarian.) Fry eggplant slices until soft and browned lightly on both sides. Remove from pan to a plate or platter. Set aside. In the same skillet, saute onions and meat in butter. Season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes, parsley, and 3 Tbsp of water. Place pepper strips on top. Add cooked eggplant back in. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Traditionally served with white rice, but for primal (grain free, lower carb) purposes, can be eaten like a stew from a bowl all on its own. Yummy served with a side of plain, full fat yogurt. and a fresh salad of diced tomatoes, diced cucumbers, and parsley, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, and a dash of salt. Afiyet olsun! (Turkish for bon appetit!) My husband likes to quote Michael Pollan and say that cheap food is an illusion, and I couldn't agree more. About a year ago, we decided to be intentional about buying better quality food to the extent that we could afford it. This has meant that our food bill is higher (it doesn't help that our boys out-eat us most days), but we have chosen good food over other "luxuries", such as handheld devices, data plans, and cable TV. So far, it's working out pretty well. I feel like we are making choices that are better for us, the people who grow the food, and the environment. My boys are both off off allergy and asthma medications for the first time in 4 years. I am healthier and fitter than I've been since I can't remember, so overall, it seems like a win-win.
In my ideal world, I would have a biodynamic minifarm in my backyard - pastured chickens and cows nibbling peacefully at grass, bugs, and worms; a steady crop of heirloom vegetables and flowers; a healthy compost pile; maybe some wildberries and a thriving herb garden. Butterflies and honey bees would flit around, happily pollinating. We would have rich and meaningful daily object lessons on the amazing world of plants and animals, where food comes from, and the importance of good nutrition. (There would be nothing smelly or difficult about it, of course, and it would never be hot and humid on my ideal farm.) Unfortunately, I am trapped in suburbia for now, and until I start a little homestead of my own, I have to find other ways to get the quality of food that I want. I have found local supplies of raw milk, pastured meats and eggs, and occasional organic produce, but have not found a dependable supply yet. This means, sadly, I am forced to do most of my hunting/gathering/foraging/harvesting at the good old grocery store. I find grocery stores to be nearly seizure-inducing. The lights, the colors, the signage, the displays... it always make me feel a bit surreal, like I'm on an experimental psychodynamic drug. I notice a similar glazed over appearance in the eyes of many of my fellow shoppers, so I don't think this is a problem unique to me. How to make good, informed, research-based, sound economic decisions given this feeling? It's taken me the last 6 months to figure that out. Here are some tricks I've learned. 1. You already know the tricks for grocery shopping like making lists, unit pricing, taking advantage of sales, etc. Keep doing that. It all makes sense. 2. Stick to the perimeter of the store as much as possible, meaning: produce, meats, and dairy. Don't buy things with labels that have more than 5 ingredients or words you can't pronounce. I venture down aisles for canned tomatoes, coconut milk, gluten-free flours, and an occasional tea or coffee run. Other than that, everything is from the outside of the store. 3. Organic produce tastes better and is better for the environment. Buy it whenever you can afford it, or find a way to afford it. The EWG Dirty Dozen list is an intelligent and helpful strategy for buying only the foods most likely to be highly contaminated, but we try to buy everything organic in an effort to voice the opinion that it's important to us. I have a sort of hierarchy for buying organic produce that goes like this: Best: Locally grown, fresh, organic (very hard to find in the town I live in, even at the farmer's market in the summer time) Next best: Industrial grown, fresh or frozen organic (Olivia's salad mixes, for instance). Next: Locally grown fresh (talk to the farmer about chemical use) If all else fails: Industrial fresh or frozen 4. Meat that is raised well is expensive. We buy better quality meat, and eat less of it, supplementing a few nights a week with vegetable or bone-broth based meals. If you can't get locally pastured meats through a farm share or someone you know, you can get "naturally raised" meats at most supermarkets. Look for those raised without antibiotics or hormones, fed organically, ideally pastured. Bison and Australian lamb are both available at our local grocery store. You can also order meats online from a number of companies. Check out eatwild.org to find farms near you. Or ask your friends who are hunters if you can share some venison or other wild game that they might have caught. 5. I usually go for the free-range eggs, rather than the "cage free". Companies can put cage free on the carton if they leave a door open to the chicken coop, but they raise the chickens in such a way that they would never think to venture out into the sun. Raw milk is fantastic if you can find it, but when not available, I buy whole organic milk. There are a few companies that use pastured cows, but you'll need to do some research to find the best one. 6. Ignore marketing as much as possible. Many organic products are still highly processed and contains loads of industrialized oils and highly processed soy, wheat, and corn. Avoid the bread aisle, if you can find time to make your own. Or quit eating bread altogether - replace with nuts, veggies, and full-fat dairy. 7. Find bulk solutions, either through a food coop or a website. For instance, I recently got a 1-gallon jug of organic extra virgin olive oil at a cost of 18 cents/ounce, much cheaper than it would have been at the grocery store. I ordered it from a company that I found through an online search (Jedward's International). Even with paying shipping, it was much cheaper than anything else I found online. It's dark green and delicious! I have found that as I vote with my dollars at the local supermarket, more organic items have become available, and the prices have come down on some things. I also ask from time to time for particular products, and they usually come through on my requests. I find that the selection of organics at my local supermarket is adequate for our weekly menu, and the prices are much better than certain chains that market themselves as health food stores. Happy Hunting! I have noticed one thing to be true of my boys: they are always starving (their term) after a day of school. Over the past 2 years, I have tried to figure out something that they could eat in the afternoon that would be satisfying and healthy, made only from whole foods (a.k.a. things that don't need a list of ingredients to explain what they are), and not spoil dinner. Eventually the concept of the "rainbow" evolved. I have found that if I cut up fruits and veggies, include a hunk of cheese or a dish of yogurt, and sometimes some nuts, they will snack happily all afternoon. It's a crunchy, portable snack - it can easily be eaten while reading a book or building Legos - and it's boosting their veggie and fruit intake for the day. I try to give them a variety of colors and textures. They often don't ask for anything else to eat after they've finished it and it easily holds them over until dinner time.
I have found any combination of raw fruits and veggies works, though there are limitations because of their relatively picky palates. They will pretty much eat all of the following: cucumbers, carrots, red peppers, bananas, apples, oranges, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and sometimes grape tomatoes. I use only organic produce for the rainbow. It tastes better, and I don't have to worry about pesticide intake for the day! This is another recipe that I have discovered works really well in the crock pot. Throw it together in the morning, set on low, or even warm, and leave for the day. By evening, you have a rich sauce, in which the flavors of onion, garlic, basil, and the juices of the meat have mingled all day long. This method for making meatballs uses slow, moist cooking to minimize damage to the proteins and nutrients in the meat. You can do it on the stove top, as well. Allow about 2 hours for the sauce to simmer if you do it that way. It is a gluten-free recipe, as is everything I post on my blog.
For the kids, brown rice pasta replaces wheat pasta. I have found the brand Tinkyada to be a great substitute. For me, to keep the carbohydrate grams down, spaghetti squash replaces the pasta. Spaghetti squash is delicious with a number of toppings on it - even just butter and grated parmesan cheese. When I can't find it at the store, I buy a few zucchinis and cut them into very thin strips, saute or steam the strips, and use it as, what I have aptly named, "fettu-chinni". There are several options for the sauce, depending on your interest in cooking and how much time you have. If you have a favorite recipe, use that. Any tomato-based sauce will do. A splash of red wine added at the beginning of the cooking time will make any of the following options a little bit richer. Fastest: Buy 2 jars of your favorite sauce and empty into the crock pot. Next fastest: This is my personal default sauce. Add the following ingredients into the crock pot: 2 cans (28 oz) crushed tomatoes 1 can (15 oz) tomato puree 2 Tbsp tomato paste 4 cloves garlic 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp salt black pepper 1 tsp basil 1 tsp oregano Mix together. Labor Intensive: Put the following into a food processor: 12 medium tomatoes or 2 cans whole tomatoes 1 small onion, peeled and chopped 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped 4 Tbsp tomato paste 2-4 garlic cloves 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 tsp dried basil 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp salt Puree in the food processor, then pour into crock pot. Meatballs: Put the following into a mixing bowl: 1 pound ground beef and/or lamb 1 tsp salt black pepper 2 Tbsp rice crumbs, GF bread crumbs, or rice flour (can leave these out if you want to be strictly grain free) 2 eggs Mix (using your hands to knead the gooey mess works best, if you can stand it...) until well combined. Form into balls about 1.5 inch in diameter. Place into prepared sauce in the crock pot. Cover the crock pot and set on warm or low, whichever temperature yields a very gentle bubbling. Leave simmering for the day. Serve over squash or zucchini, adorned with some high quality grated parmesan cheese. I cook gluten-free rice pasta for the boys. I have found Tinkyada Pasta Joy brown rice elbows and penne pasta to be the best tolerated. Spaghetti Squash Prep: Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Place skin side up on a baking sheet. Place in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes, or until you can pierce the flesh with a fork. Allow to cool, then scrape out the flesh with a fork. This will yield strands about the size of angel hair pasta. This can be done ahead and reheated in the microwave or on the stove right before serving. I love making soup, especially when I have a batch of good, hearty bone broth to use. Back in the day, when an animal was slaughtered, the whole animal was used. The meat was consumed, but the bones, skin, and organs were also put to good use. As we have gotten more comfortable with buying our protein in the form of pretty little packets of boneless cuts of meat, we have unwittingly lost touch with the benefits of using the whole animal. Using the whole animal (an animal that has been raised and fed properly, in humane conditions, and without the use of hormones or antibiotics) yields nutritional benefits far beyond the cuts of meat that we buy in the supermarket.
Broth made from bones is full of molecules from the collagen family, molecules that help to build joints. People buy capsules of glucosamine or shark cartilage, but those same molecules are found in the bones of animals and can be captured in a way that is much more natural and healthy through the proper preparation of bone broth. Bone broth is also rich in calcium and magnesium, two minerals vital to healthy bones. Stop spending money on capsules that have questionable efficacy, and eat bone broth once or twice a week. It is satisfying and delicious, too. Growing kids will benefit from bone broth, too. When you make chicken broth this way, it is literally golden in color. The flavor is amazing. The key to making good bone broth is to keep the cooking temperature to a very low simmer. High temperatures will tangle up proteins and molecules, making them hard or impossible for the digestive system to absorb properly. Keep temps low enough that the broth is just barely bubbling, or use your crock pot set at low. You can use any type of animal bone to make broth, though I personally have only used beef and chicken bones. Roast a chicken for dinner or buy a rotisserie chicken. Clean the meat off the bones, then crack the bones (as much as possible) and place in the bottom of a large pot. I use an 8 quart pot. Throw in a whole onion, a carrot, a stalk of celery, a few bay leaves, and a Tbsp of salt. Add a spoonful of vinegar, which will lower the pH and help to extract more nutrients from the bones. Fill the pot 3/4 full with water, and put on the stove at a medium-low setting. Alternatively, put everything into your crock pot, cover, and set to low. I let my stock go overnight and into the next morning. After a good long time, strain the stock into another large pot. Discard the solids that you catch in the strainer. Cool the broth to store and use later (it can be frozen in freezer bags) or use it for that night's dinner. Any vegetables will do. Today, I used: half a rutabaga, finely chopped; 3 whole carrots, chopped; a bag of frozen organic green beans; one-quarter of a head of green cabbage, finely chopped; and the remaining chicken meat from last night's dinner. If you have time, make it in the morning and leave on a low simmer all day. |
AuthorI'm Emily. I currently work in online education management, but I also have a Masters degree in Nutritional Sciences (my true passion). In addition, I am a mom, cook, avid reader, novice gardener, and enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities. On my blog, you will find articles on food, fitness, weight management, and eating issues. ALL recipes on my blog are gluten-free. Many are low-carbohydrate. Most are grain free. Enjoy! Categories
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