Nourishing Children

I have recently come across this website Nourishing Children maintained by the Weston A. Price Foundation. I think this is a really great resource for parents in assisting them to raise healthy children. This information empowers parents and gives us the ability to overcome the health crisis of today.

They say we live in the information age. It is easy to become lost in this information age; we are overloaded with too much information. Much of this information is conflicting. On one hand we have the American Academy of Pediatrics recommending that young children drink whole milk*- as we know young children need certain fats and cholesterol for brain development. On the other side you have the American Heart Association suggesting limited fat intake for children.

I grew up in the 80's. Those were the days when butter and eggs were "out" and margarine was "in". Now, it seems, that eggs are back "in" but I still hear people suggesting limited eggs or foods with egg whites only. Guess they didn't get the memo.

This is our world, conflicting health advice coming from every side, including professional advice. I felt confused until I had a significant spiritual experience. I read Nurturing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It is filled with recipes and advice for healthy living. The greatest part is that it is filled with scientific studies backing it's proclamation. As I read this book, my mind was filled with peace. I believe that our spirits will recognize truth and that as we seek truth our spirits guide us. We have to search for truth, ponder the things we find and pray about them. This is how I accepted the traditional foods way of life. Now, I use it as a guide for making dietary and health-related choices for our family.

* "When the cream is taken out of the milk to make it lower in fat content, something has to be put back in to give it the creamy consistency people expect. Usually it is dry milk powder. Here’s the irony: dry milk powder contains oxidized cholesterol which causes your “bad cholesterol”/LDL to go up. So when you drink low-fat milk to supposedly protect your heart health, you’re actually harming your heart even more! Wikipedia.org (online encyclopedia) explained it this way: “Compared to fresh milk, powdered milk (and powdered eggs) are stated to be exceptionally high in oxysterols (oxidized cholesterol).[1] The free radicals have been stated to have atherogenic (”causing atherosclerosis“)[2] and carcinogenic (”causing cancer“) properties.[3] Powdered milk is frequently added to 1-2% pasteurized milk to give it more body.”[4]" taken from KellytheKitchenKop.com. For more information on Real Milk and it's benefits see her Raw milk benefits series here.

** "Unfortunately, the constant urge to lower the fat content of foods has worsened the taste and consistency of many other Finnish dairy products. As fat is reduced in yogurts, cream cheeses and various cooking cream products — most of which have a very low fat content already to start with — additives like emulsifying and thickening agents or hydrogenated vegetable fats are added to them to give them a suitably thick consistency. Lacking the natural creaminess and full flavour provided by milk fat, these products taste bland and artificial." taken from the Nordic Recipe Archive. Check out the link for more information on types of dairy products such as villi and kefir.

Cooking with Kefir

I introduced my mom to kefir. Her reaction? "It smells just like buttermilk!" And that got me to thinking, "Like buttermilk? Hmmm." So I was thinking I could substitute kefir for buttermilk in recipes. Here is what I've tried.


Kefir Ranch Dressing

1 cup kefir, cultured 24 hours and strained
1 cup mayonaise
1 package buttermilk Ranch dressing mix (I used a cheap brand, with good results)

Mix well. Chill.

We are pretty picky about our Ranch dressing and won't even eat many bottled brands. This came out great though. It will keep for over 2 weeks in the refrigerator. (This does not separate like kefir is known to do.) I will experiment and find a made-from-scratch recipe to avoid soy and MSG.



We normally eat Sourdough hotcakes, but my husband is a sucker for plain old Buttermilk pancakes. I made them substituting kefir for the buttermilk and they came out great.

Not-Buttermilk Pancakes

2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons honey or sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3+ Tablespoons water, add to desired consistency
1 1/2 cups Kefir
1/2 cup coconut oil

Beat well. (I usually melt the coconut oil and add the raw honey to it until softened. Then I beat it well to incorporate it into the batter.)

Orange Dream Kefir Smoothie

Today we made Orange Dream flavored smoothies! These came out delicious.

Orange Dream Kefir Smoothie

1 cup Kefir, cultured milk product
4 Tablespoons orange juice concentrate
1 Tablespoon raw honey

Blend until smooth. Serves 2 - 3.

Making Kefir

We have been enjoying Kefir in our family for several months now. A friend shared her extra grains with us and they have multiplied enough in the last 3 months that we have been able to share with several other families.

Kefir instructions: (These instructions apply to kefir which feeds on milk, not water kefir or tibicos which feeds on sugar-water.)

- place about 1 teaspoon of kefir grains in glass jar
- cover with one cup milk
- leave at room temperature to ferment 24 hours, covered, occasionally stir or shake
- pour through plastic or silicone sieve to separate grains from the cultured milk product (or fish out with wooden or silicone/plastic spoon)
- Resist the temptation to rinse the grains, as this is know to adversely affect their growth

At this point you should replace the milk and ferment again. If you use an airtight lid, you will have to occasionally burp your culture, as it generates some carbonation during the fermenting process.

Kefir Smoothies

Ingredients:

Kefir cultured milk product, about 1 cup
fresh fruit
1 teaspoon raw honey

Blend together and drink.

On Dom's Kefir website he notes that kefir has been found to be anti-inflammatory. One must consume at least 1/3 cup kefir daily for a week to realize these benefits.

Our story goes thus - My husband is a contractor who refuses to try new foods. He hurt his shoulder and only with difficulty could he lift and rotate his arm. This made work very difficult for him. He suffered for two months and the shoulder would not heal. Finally, after reading the above information about kefir on Dom's website I persuaded him to try it. Within three days his shoulder pain ceased and the shoulder has healed. Two weeks later he attended a gun training course at Frontsight which put strain on that arm. I admit, I was worried but he made it through pain-free. We are all now kefir addicts. If Daddy will drink it, so will everyone else. Now, my kids want it breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Making Toothpaste

So I think I am getting a cavity and have been having severe tooth pain. I have had trouble eating breads and such. The only thing that has been helping me is taking Cod Liver Oil. With regular use, my tooth pain has disappeared.
I have been researching tooth decay. I have concerns with my older fillings, which I know contain mercury and pose a threat to good health. I have yet to find a dentist who can safely remove them. As I was researching online, I discovered information about re-mineralizing teeth. Who knew this could be done?
Yet in reading I found some information on personal blogs where this has been done. As I did more research I found that glycerin leaves a coating on the teeth which prevents re-mineralization. I knew that I wanted Flouride-free toothpaste but I had no idea about glycerin. Every brand of toothpaste I found has flouride so I've set about making my own toothpaste.

Here is the recipe I used -
Mix together:
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
3 Tablespoons Baking Soda
5 -10 drops essential oil such as peppermint, cinnamon, or spearmint
a pinch of stevia powder

(I found this recipe at the Seeking the Old Paths blog.)
I was originally going to use Xylitol in the toothpaste, however, I noted the warning on the Cheeseslave blog about Xylitol and Agave Nectar and after checking my package of Xylitol I found that it is derived from corn.

We used myrrh oil in the toothpaste and stored it in baby jars. This toothpaste is excellent for shiny and clean-feeling teeth. Even the kids use it, however the taste is not the best. I want to try again with one of the recommended essential oils. I also added several drops of olive oil to make it a little softer for application purposes.

This article on Cheeseslave.com is a MUST read. Reversing Dental Decay with Food

Sprouting Grains

I want to make sprouted granola and came upon this video for sprouting grains. They are showing the sprouting of buckwheat and oats, among other things.

The recipe is for making granola in a dehyrator, which I do not have. I will try dehydrating the granola in a hot car window on a cookie sheet if the weather co-operates. This is one of the days I really miss the HOT California sun!

Sprouted Grain Granola

Ingredients:
Whole grains - buckwheat, millet, amaranth, quinoa or oats.
Seeds - sesame, flax, pumpkin.
Nuts, dried fruits including coconut, or fresh diced berries (do not soak).
Oil, sea salt, vanilla, and maple syrup or sucanat.

Sprout grains for 2 days. Soak any seeds you will be using for a few hours. Soak dried fruit for about 30 minutes.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a spoon. Dehydrate until crunchy. (about 12 - 14 hours)

Check out this video about sprouting whole grains:

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration- free ebook

Project Gutenberg Australia offers the book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price for free download. You can download the book with photographs to your computer.

Here is a link to the book - Nutrition and Physical Degeneration- free ebook