Cabbage Into Kraut

Remember when I posted on my first attempt at making Homemade Raw Sauerkraut? Well here is my second attempt. I planted cabbage in my garden this year for this very purpose. Here is one of two that I made into kraut.

I followed the recipe from The Prairie Homestead since she made it sound so easy. I removed the outer leaves, sliced them in half, cut the core out and halved them again.

Next I brought my Pampered Chef slicer out since it is very sharp and I wanted to make a quick job of it.

Just look at the beautiful even slices!

This is where you are supposed to add sea salt and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. I didn't have any sea salt on hand. All I had was some curing salt and Himalayan pink salt. Ravishing Raw actually prefers to use Himalayan pink salt so that is what I chose to use.

I ground 1-1/2 tablespoons of the salt and distributed it throughout the layers of shredded cabbage. Then I let it sit for 15 minutes while I started shredding the next cabbage. Once the time was up I began to pound on the cabbage with the end of a wooden spoon. Then I started squeezing it with my hands until I had a nice amount of brine juice. I was pleased with the results.

Next I put it into an old pickle jar and pounded it down with the spoon to get the bubbles out. After I finished with the first cabbage, I continued shredding the second cabbage. I was nearly done shredding and all of a sudden I felt pain and jumped! Did I mention the blade was sharp?! I nearly sliced the end of my fingertip off!! It bled pretty good, too.

After that I was really crushed as I still had a lot to do to get a good brine and I had to squeeze it with my hands. There was no way my wounded finger was going to handle the salt.

Since the cut was on my right hand and I'm right-handed, I used the spoon in my left hand to try and finish up. I tried the one-handed squeezing. Didn't work so good. I was so disappointed. I put the remaining cabbage into the jar and made some salt water brine to cover it with. Then I used a cabbage leaf to hold the cabbage under the water. Pretty hard to do with one hand and it's not my dominating hand.

Maybe it will turn out anyway, especially the cabbage at the bottom of the jar. One can hope, right?

Saving My Kraut:

A couple days in and my kraut isn't looking so good on the top. I wasn't too happy as this wasn't my first attempt at kraut making. See Homemade Raw Sauerkraut for my first attempt (which I will give another shot once I get this down right).

After doing more research on sauerkraut troubleshooting, I came across Nourishing Treasures stating, "Sauerkraut can survive without oxygen, but mold, yeasts, and other harmful organisms can't." Ahhh! Lightbulb moment! Somehow I needed to get all of my cabbage beneath the brine and as hard as I tried, it kept floating to the top. The cabbage leaf wasn't doing the trick and I had nothing else to hold it down.

How was this possible? Make Sauerkraut had a brilliant idea! Take a cabbage leaf and cut it into a circle to fit your jar, OR cut a piece of plastic to fit! I searched the house looking for an old plastic lid of a Cool Whip bowl and finally found one. Probably the last one I saved since I usually don't buy Cool Whip any more.

First I removed a good portion of the cabbage in the top of the jar in order to get rid of anything that might be spoiled. I also wiped down the insides of the jar up to the brine. I was going to cut the lid down but it looked very similar in size so I tried it out and to my wonderful surprise, it was a perfect fit!! I pushed it down and removed any cabbage that I missed, leaving about an inch of brine on top.

I think I've got this one covered!!

Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Carrot Ginger Soup

I decided to try a new soup recipe from a book I've been reading called "The Plan" by Lyn-Genet Recitas. This soup is said to be an excellent anti-inflammatory soup to soothe your digestive system.

So here is the recipe with the ingredients and amounts I used:

Carrot Ginger Soup

1-1/2 lbs. carrots
1 large onion
1 large zucchini
1 small ginger root
5 c. water
1 t. minced garlic
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. cumin

Chop the vegetables up in a food processor and simmer with spices in water until soft. Puree in blender.


Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Benefits of Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are another type of healthy seed to add in your diet for more health benefits.

For each tablespoon of chia seeds, you'll get 3 grams of protein, along with 5 grams of dietary fiber.

Plus, you'll get 6% of your daily iron requirements, 10% of your daily magnesium requirements, and 8% of your daily calcium requirements.

Chia seeds also contain 2.5 grams of omega-3, along with boron and antioxidants.

When wet, chia seeds swell ten to fifteen times their original size, forming a gel that helps keep you full for hours. Try chia seeds sprinkled in smoothies.

I keep a small bag of chia seeds in the cupboard for use and freeze any larger quantities in the freezer.


Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Benefits of Hemp Seed

Hemp seeds are another healthy seed to incorporate into your diet for their many health benefits.

For every three tablespoons of hemp seeds, you'll get 10 grams of protein, along with 1 gram of dietary fiber.

Plus, you'll get 15% of your daily iron requirements, 50% each of your daily phosphorus and magnesium requirements, and 25% of your daily zinc requirements.

Hemp seeds also contain:

• 3.0 grams of omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)
• 0.3 grams of super omega-3 stearidonic acid (SDA)
• 7.5 grams of omega-6 linolenic acid (LA)
• 0.6 grams of omega-6 gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), an especially beneficial type which can help support healthy metabolism and fat-burning functions

If you'd like to start including hemp seeds in your diet, try sprinkling them on smoothies or salads.

I keep a small bag of hemp seeds in the cupboard for use and freeze any larger quantities in the freezer.


Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Homemade Raw Sauerkraut

Remember how I told you in a previous post, Best Natural Lip Balm, that I had both of Kimberly Snyder's Beauty Detox books? One of the things she stresses in her books is the importance of probiotics and how good they are for you. She also has a recipe called, "Ginger-Caraway Probiotic & Enzyme Salad". Today I decided to try my hand at making this salad.

The salad is really homemade raw sauerkraut which provides the probiotics and enzymes needed for healthy digestion. It takes five days to ferment.

The recipe uses only four ingredients:
1. 4 c. shredded cabbage (I used a red cabbage)
2. 1" of ginger root, cut into strips (I sliced and then diced mine)
3. 1 t. caraway seeds
4. Filtered water (I used our well water, boiling it for five minutes first)

You'll also need clean jars with lids.

First I removed the outer leaves of the cabbage and threw them away. Then I tore a few more leaves off for using in the top of the jars.

Next I tried shredding the cabbage with my Pampered Chef kitchen tool but didn't have much luck that way. So I once again pulled out my trusty little Ninja food chopper and pulsed the leaves until they were the right size. (How did I ever survive before the purchase of my trusty Ninja?) I ended up with about 4-1/2 cups of cabbage that I put into a large bowl.

I read on Simply Recipes, that all you need to peel ginger root is a spoon. Wow! Worked perfect! Thank you, Elise! After I peeled the skin off, I sliced and diced the ginger and added it to the bowl of cabbage.

I measured out one teaspoon of caraway seeds and sprinkled on top of the ginger and cabbage. Doesn't it look pretty?

Mix it thoroughly and place in jars, leaving two inches from the top. Pack the cabbage mixture down with a spoon. Fill the jar with water, just enough to cover the cabbage mixture.

Roll up the cabbage leaves and place on top of the cabbage mixture.

Place the lids on the jars and put them in the cupboard for five days to ferment. After the five days are up, the leaves are to be removed and tossed. And the cabbage turned sauerkraut should be ready for consuming.

I'm not sure if I'm going to like the taste of this or not. I am hopeful that I will since I've never been a fan of pumpkin, squash or sweet potato until recently. Now I have them regularly in my soups, Pumpkin Soup Puree, Butternut Squash Soup Puree, and Vegetable Soup Puree.

Guess we'll see in five days ...

For more on Kraut making, see Cabbage into Kraut.


Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Gluten Free Cinnamon Toast Crunch Wannabes

I've been wanting to try this recipe for some time and finally got around to it this past weekend. The recipe originated from this website blog: I Breathe I'm Hungry. I gathered the necessary ingredients. Milled flax seed, coconut oil, hemp seed, ground cinnamon, and apple juice.

Uh oh, I did not have any apple juice on hand. What to do?

Well, I had a bunch of apples from our apple tree that were bruised and going soft. Here they are. Rather nasty looking, huh? I wondered, would it be possible to squeeze my own apple juice? All I needed was a half a cup.

I really didn't have anything to lose as we had so many apples that these were going bad. So I cut them all up and threw the in my Ninja food processor to juice them up.

Well that didn't work like I had hoped. I was hoping they would be all juicy like the tomatoes, onions and peppers for my fresh salsa. See Easy Fresh Salsa. I decided to try and squeeze the juice out. Since the food processor didn't work, the next thing I thought of trying was the garlic press.

Oh my. It's gonna take a lot more than that to reach a half a cup. Let's try heating the apples in a saucepan. Add about a half cup water and turn on the heat.

Now that's much better. Next I used the spoon to remove the juice for that half a cup I needed.

I suppose I could have used a strainer, but a little apple didn't hurt anything. With a little cinnamon and sugar I used the remaining apples for applesauce.

I filled my measuring cup halfway with apple juice and added a tablespoon of coconut oil to the hot juice to melt for easy mixing.

I measured out the remaining ingredients and mixed them up.

Then I added the juice to the dry ingredients.

And thoroughly mixed all the ingredients together.

I placed a piece of freezer paper on top of a cookie sheet and scaped the dough onto the freezer paper.

Then I rolled the dough out as thin as I could, which was about 1/8" thick rather than the required 1/16" thick. I found that it started to fall apart if I went any thinner. Maybe my dough was a bit too wet because it seemed to stick to the rolling pin.

Once I rolled as thin as I possibly could I placed it in my preheated oven to bake at 300 degrees for the required 15 minutes.

When the 15 minutes were up, I removed the pan to slice the dough into small squares and returned it to the oven. I shut the oven off and left it continue to bake for an additional 60 minutes. When I pulled it out, it was still a bit moist so I turned it over and placed it back in the oven. I heated the oven to 200 degrees and then turned it off and left it in for 15 more minutes. Then I removed the pan and broke them along the cut lines into these cute little squared cereal wannabes.

How did they taste? I thought they were delicious! But then, I am used to eating a lot of flax seed and hemp seed. And I absolutely love hemp seed! My son and daughter-in-law happened to be here and I had them taste it. They said it tasted too healthy! Haha! Now that's a given!

Gluten Free Cinnamon Toast Crunch Wannabes

1/2 c. milled flax seed

1/2 c. hulled hemp seed

2 T. ground cinnamon

1/2 c. apple juice

1 T. coconut oil

Measure out and combine dry ingredients together in a bowl. Measure out apple juice and coconut oil and add to dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Line a cookie sheet with freezer paper and place dough onto paper. Roll dough out to 1/8" thick. Place in preheated 300 degree oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove pan and score dough into small, bite-sized squares. Turn off oven and return pan to oven for an additional 60 minutes. Remove pan, flip dough over and again return to oven. Heat oven to 200 degrees and then shut oven off. Leave in for 15 minutes or until dry. Remove and break into squares. Enjoy!


Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Homemade Toothpaste

I have a molar in the back of my mouth that looked (and felt) like it needed a crown or root canal. My dentist tried to save it by filling it instead. He stated that he didn't know how long it would last, could be one month, one year, ten years, he didn't know. At the time he was filling it, I had thought he was doing a root canal and not just filling it. Seemed for the amount of time I sat there to endure the misery, I would have preferred getting it over with instead of wondering how long it would be before having it worked on again.

I always brush my teeth twice a day along with flossing. On the recommendation from my dentist, I purchased the electric toothbrush and the waterpik and use them faithfully. My teeth are sensitive to cold and sweets; therefore, I used to use a sensitive toothpaste for months until it no longer seemed to work. Then I switched to a non-sensitive toothpaste for a couple months and then back to the sensitive paste again, repeating this throughout the year.

As time went on, it seemed like I read a lot of negative comments on fluoride and how it does not protect your teeth from cavities nor is it good for your health. Then I came across an article that claimed you could rebuild your teeth naturally. There's even a book called, "Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities with Nutrition" by Ramiel Nagel which I would love to get my hands on and read.

There are different recipes for homemade toothpaste over the internet which use ingredients that I don't have on hand. A few of them I wouldn't even know where to find. The two ingredients I did have on hand were baking soda and coconut oil. I started tossing the idea around of making my own toothpaste. What did I have to lose (besides my tooth)?

First I pulled out the Arm & Hammer baking soda and my favorite brand of coconut oil, Tropical Traditions.

I put a couple of spoonfuls of the coconut oil in a cup and poured some baking soda over the top. I then mixed it thoroughly until the baking soda was saturated with the coconut oil. I mixed and added more until it became the consistency of a paste. Note: The ratio really depends on how soft the coconut oil is whether you will need more of the coconut oil or more of the baking soda.

Once it is thoroughly mixed, place it in a jar. I transferred the mixture into this one that I found at Wal-mart and placed it in my bathroom. Now whenever I need to brush my teeth I just wet my toothbrush and dip it into the jar.

I have been using this mixture for a few months now and what I have noticed is that my tooth was not as sore as when I was using the regular toothpaste. When I went on my North Carolina trip I took a small tube of toothpaste thinking they might not allow this mixture on my flight. I was in North Carolina for a little over a week and found that my teeth started to feel sensitive again. So I was thankful to get back to using the coconut oil and baking soda mixture again. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I think my teeth look whiter using this concoction, too. Now that's a reason to smile!

Update:  So I shared this recipe with my older brother, Alan. He also shared with me. He asked if I gargled with Listerine? Yes, my dentist recommended that I gargle specifically with Listerine. Alan said if you want to improve your gums (I do!), then quit. He stated that he quit because gargling with Listerine kills not only the bad bacteria in your mouth, but it also kills the good bacteria in your mouth. His gums improved. And! And, he said as an extra bonus, his acid reflux disappeared! Really? Hmmm. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?


Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Easy Fresh Salsa

Here's an extremely easy fresh salsa recipe. This is how I used up my leftover peppers that didn't fit in the dehydrator. I had my husband run out to the garden and grab all the ripe tomatoes and four onions. Yeah, that's right, this is ALL the ripe tomatoes we had left at that moment.

First clean the veggies. De-stem them and remove any blemishes. Quarter the tomatoes and place them in a food chopper. Chop them up.

The tomatoes will more than likely be very much like sauce when you're done. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Next, slice the onions into big chunks and continue the process of putting them into the food chopper and chopping them up.

Chop the onions until they almost look like a puree with a few chunks. Add to tomato sauce.

Last of all, take your peppers and repeat the same process.

The finished peppers will have a few chunks but most will look like large granules. Add to tomato and onion mixture.

Once you've finished chopping all the veggies, go ahead and add any other ingredients you like in your salsa. I added a tablespoon of vinegar and a teaspoon of minced garlic. I would have loved to have had some cilantro to add but there was none in the house. My husband really doesn't care for the cilantro taste so was thankful there was none on hand!

Mix it up thoroughly and you're done. You can't get much easier than this! Now just find some taco chips to dip into the deliciousness! Bon appetit!

Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!