In the world of squiggles and curly Qs

AHHH! Busy, busy, busy.

I had some very stressful weeks recently. I decided to take off blogging and other fun hobbies and attend to my "interesting" personal life. Since you’re here and reading, I appreciate you! (Big squeeze hugs!) It got so busy I had to contact my college and drop a class so I'm not attending full time right now. I just couldn’t do it. I’ll return shortly to full time status. I just know my limits. Some days I’m super-woman, some days I feel sub-human. (It usually has to do with the amount of sleep I get... which ties into how busy my life is.)

At the beginning of the year I like to review the past year. That’s when I decide what kind of goals I have for the next year. I usually line this up for my birthday rather than use New Years. I mean, what’s another month?! I'm usually starting when people start giving up. This year was extra special because in February I turned 30. A whole new decade awaited me!

I know for some women getting older can be depressing. I just don’t get that! All I’ve heard is how women feel more comfortable in their skin in their thirties. You finally are financially stable (or at least not begging mom and dad for cash every week), established in your career (or at least know what you want more than you did in your twenties), you have a family (or are starting one), etc. Being more comfortable in your skin, knowing what you want, realizing you can go get it? None of that is bad so it baffles me why people mourn their twenties. I say good riddance, but my twenties were pretty poopy.

One of my goals was to start eating more fermented foods. Since my hands started exploding into something that looked like a horror film – from eating gluten – it seems obvious I need to do some gut healing. (Your immune system is basically in your gut, in case you didn't know. I think that's why we say stuff like "I have a gut feeling" or "Go with your gut"...) Reece was really sick and couldn’t shake it for a couple weeks this winter. Adding more beneficial bacteria just seemed like the best thing to do for both of us. Lo-and-behold! There was a class online about fermented foods! Ask and ye shall receive.

After freaking out at home, at work, at school and pretty much anywhere else for the past 3 weeks… I took some time out this weekend to make ketchup.

Ketchup?

Yes. Ketchup. I bought a massive amount of tomatoes and made paste (recipe below). Then I used whey I got from separating it from yogurt cheese (recipe below again) a few weeks earlier. It was relaxing. I’m excited because it’s something I made completely from scratch! I’m looking forward to eating it, giving the extra away – making more!!! I can make gluten-free, additive-free ketchup! Amazing.

So, this morning I explain that I did this to one of my co-workers. He said “Yes, because when I think relaxing, I think slaving over a hot stove.” Ok, maybe it’s not for everyone. Necessity is the mother of – ketchup, I guess. So we converse about fermentation (why would you ferment ketchup?). Well, fermentation allows the ketchup and other homemade condiments to last for up to 6 months (less or longer depending on what you made) because the bacteria keeps mold and other harmful substances at bay - while pumping your gut full of friendly stuff that keeps you healthy and happy.

That’s when he told me I do not belong in the world of “squares and lines.” That perhaps I should have a cooking show or a recipe book. You know, get my knowledge out there. He might be right. I feel grateful that my job allows me to use one facet of me, and my hobbies allow me to use another side. Some day they might co-mingle a little more. One of the reasons I didn’t start blogging quicker was because I felt that if I could find all this information, so could you. I’ve been told though, that some people just can’t get into this kind of information and retain/relay it the way I can. That really has to do with interests. My soul loves food and anything to do with it – even kitchen math I’m better at than regular math. There are some subjects (like exercise science) that I could really care less about. I leave that to other people whose souls that sings to.

Anyway, I ordered some kefir grains (not really “grains” they just look like them) – both the water and milk kind. Yes, there is a difference. I will be using coconut milk and water to make kefir until I start purchasing raw milk again. (Then I’ll make kefir ice cream! Oh yeah!) And I’m considering growing my own mushrooms. I did purchase some herbs for the kitchen but I’d like to grow my own for healing (drying, etc.). It’s all really not as ambitious as you think. I think the HOA wouldn’t allow me to own chickens or a goat – though that would help keep insects away and I wouldn’t have to mow… *sigh* Well, I’m not big on pets anyway (except for cats and that's because they're pretty self reliant).

I feel cooking is fun and relaxing. I get to listen to my audio books, music, or talk on the phone while I cook. I know what goes into the food and soil. Maybe it’s the long-lost farmer in my genes. ( Michigan was farmland before it was car-land and my families on both sides were farmers for as far back as I know.) I get to control the ingredients. I get to see something made out of random parts and see how it all fits together. Maybe that’s the engineer part of me (all the men in my family up to my grandparents are engineers).

Recipe part:

Ok, so the ketchup recipe said to use several cups of paste. I’m not sure what was cheaper – canned or homemade. I just decided to go whole hog and make my own paste. I couldn’t find a recipe I liked so I combined two. (I didn't save the sites where I got them from on accident so if this is a combination of yours I need to thank you.)

Here’s my tomato paste I made and it smelled delicious! (I didn’t taste so this could turn out disastrous. I trust my nose though.) I didn't write this down like normal so you'll have to read through it first. (Sorry - I told you my brain wasn't working properly due to the stress!)

Directions:

Throw

1 cup onion, quartered

2 cloves garlic (I might have used 3)

4 red peppers, membrane, stem and seeds removed

Into your food processor. Finely chop everything. Place in a heavy bottomed pan on the stove.

Here’s where it took some time. I peeled the tomatoes, de-seeded them, and discarded the extra water. All 4 lbs of tomatoes.

To peel a tomato you need a pot of boil water. Once you've got the pot to a rolling boil (not a puny boil but big bubbles) stick the tomato in there for a minute, then take it out and put it in the bowl of ice water you have sitting next to you. Wait another minute, then you can peel. Come to find out, you can find canned peeled tomatoes (oh yeah, um, I forgot. Where'd that brain go?), but sometimes I like to do things the hard way. I guess this was one of them.

Then you put the tomatoes in a blender/food processor. Whir until slush. Put the tomato slush in the pan with all the other ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Add a few bay leaves (I used 3).

Slow simmer/Boil down for 2 hours. The original recipe said 3.5 hours but when it was really thick I figured it was done. I had it on 3 or 4 on my stove (which goes to 8  not 11, Spinal Tap) the whole time. I might be impatient. Stir once in a while. It’ll make you feel better. I think it also keeps things from sticking on the bottom… but that doesn’t make sense since the acid in tomatoes helps you pull stuff that burned to the bottom of the pan up (deglaze). Whatever.

When it’s thick and pasty add some lemon juice and put it in jars. Make sure to discard the bay leaves before you put the paste in jars.Ta-da! Paste.

And now for yogurt cheese and whey

 

Get some yogurt. I use Stonyfield Whole Milk Yogurt because it was on a recommended list from WAPF and it’s what I can find at my store.

 

Put some cheesecloth in a fine mesh strainer – over a bowl. Dump the entire carton of yogurt into the cheesecloth. Walk away. Just walk away. The whey separates into the bowl and the left over stuff on the cheesecloth is yogurt cheese. I do this process over a work day. When I get home I usually squeeze the remaining whey out of the cheese by ringing it. I think you’re supposed to hang a spoon over the bowl, but my fridge is not deep enough for that and I don’t have bowls that will accommodate that kind of rigging. Go with what you have.

 

The whey lasts for 6 months so mark the jar you put it in and make sure the lid is tight. Then store it in the fridge. Then ferment something with it or use it in homemade formula.

 

The yogurt cheese lasts about a week (I wouldn’t push it longer than that). It can be used whenever you would use cream cheese. So we’re talking herb dips and spreads, mixed to make a chopped meat salad (rather than using mayo), a really nice low-carb no bake cheesecake, jalapenos wrapped in bacon, to make a cheese ball, inside an omelet…  really the possibilities are yummy and endless.

What a post! No pictures (boo!) but you did get to learn how to make 3 things. Yay!

Cod Liver Oil Kid

When Reece was 4 and I started learning about WAPF, I started giving Reece Cod Liver Oil  (CLO) in a shot glass. We would top it with a little juice and we would “belly up to the bar” and have our oil every morning.* I’ve been slacking lately and he reminded me that he misses it. I’ll be purchasing some juice this weekend.

Up until he was 5 and going into kindergarten Reece was in speech therapy. He doesn’t remember it very well, which is nice. I don’t want him to remember struggling to communicate with others. When he was 6 months old he said his first word. Amazing!  I thought. Then at 7 or so months he would say a full sentence and crack me up. After a year and a few months he said another word. Then he just stopped talking. I had him evaluated. At this point he made up his own language and only I could decode it. Part of it was that he just didn’t see the point in learning to talk. I understood him.

A lot of the people that evaluated him hinted that he might be autistic or have ADD/ADHD in addition to having the speech problems. I did not push the issue and have him tested for either. It can be debated another time whether that action was stupid, careless, or ingenious. My numerous reasons are too lengthy and personal to explain in this blog.

Prior to eating more WAPF style I was trying to be a low-fat vegetarian. I had gained weight (going low-fat vegetarian really helped me pack on the pounds) and I was trying to be healthy. This way of living did not suit me or my child.

I was actually scared to pick up that Nourishing Traditions book. I was afraid to change because I was tired of being wrong and getting sick because of it. The book's cover hinted that what I thought I thought was good was wrong. I already had an inkling that was the case. I looked around me to see if anyone was watching and I snatched that book up. How could something like that be in plain view?! I thought. Who else knows about this?! I read that book cover to cover at least twice. Now it looks... um, loved. It has splatters, stains, and folded edges. I guess loved is pretty accurate at this point.

When we started eating more fat, Reece’s development rapidly improved (and so did my health). The farm food we both loved for several reasons. The taste and quality were wonderful, but we both stopped getting so sick and our digestion improved a lot. The CLO really clinched it. I sold him hard on it too.  I told him he would develop powers similar to the guys in the Incredibles (run fast, see far, become super smart, etc.) because that’s what he was into at the time. I wasn’t lying when I told him these things would happen. CLO does some pretty awesome things.  

Originally I was really afraid he wouldn’t drink it. I didn’t have a lot of money to spare at the time for things we wouldn't use (which was another reason I was hesitant about the book). We were always sick and I had to take off work to take both of us to the doctor. I was very stressed out. I am really thankful that I didn’t second guess myself and put that book down. I am much more laid back than I used to be and Reece is healthier from all the changes.

Most people don’t even know that he ever had developmental delays. In first grade he missed testing into 5^th grade reading level by one word: meteorologist. He’s also the tallest in his class. In Kindergarden he told me he was angry because everyone else was able to stay home sick and he wasn't because he didn't get sick. He told me he wanted to spend time with me. (aw!) I don’t know where we would be if we continued down the same road we were going before WAPF and CLO.

He doesn’t really care about super powers anymore. That stage of development is complete. He tells me that he feels a difference when he takes CLO and when he doesn’t. That’s pretty big. He told me he misses it. He may not care if it gives him superpowers, but to me it’s amazing stuff.

Cheers!

*Once he got older I started taking pills because it really was hard for me to swallow the oil sans pill. I would have to gag when he wasn’t looking. I figured that face was going to turn him off the oil which I wanted him to take. He complains when the juice masks the taste of the oil. I think that's a little... odd.

SEEing benefits

Hello, my name is Holly. It has been 10 days since I’ve had gluten. Yes, 10 days. That’s not very long right? I will tell you that it took about 7 days to start seeing benefits. Literally.

When I joined the Army at the age of 19, I was handed some glasses along with my weapon. Why? I couldn’t see the 300-meter target. This wasn’t a surprise. My mom has worn glasses as long as I’ve known her (and longer). My dad wears them to read. I work with computers all day at my job, and then I come home and hang out on the computer. The eye doctor felt it was inevitable that my eyes would get worse as I got older because of the amount of strain I put on them daily.

I’m not getting younger (this is debatable if you ask my son) so I wasn’t surprised when I found I couldn’t see what time it was on the alarm clock, which is about 5 feet from our bed. In fact now that I think about it, I don’t recall being able to see the alarm clock for a while. I had to squint and strain and try to guess the numbers from what I could see.

So this weekend something weird happened. I looked over and I could see the numbers on the clock. One normal open-eye glance. I had to look twice. And then twice more! Realizing it wasn’t normal, I kept checking. Yes, I’ve been doing this every night since I made the discovery. I couldn’t figure out why I could suddenly see when before my eyesight was clearly getting worse! I am too scared to get Lasik (yet) and my eyes have been progressively getting worse instead of stabilizing at one prescription.

It’s either the gluten, the lack of eating out so often (which covers a lot of unwanted substances), or my body is repairing itself in more noticeable ways now that I’ve been eating low carb for so long. I can’t figure out which.

When I was close to 300 lbs there was a lot wrong with my body. I’ve forgotten the complete long list of things I was sick with, or that hurt, or whatever. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate the health benefits, but waking up feeling energetic and pain-free is my new reality. I really don’t think waking up in pain is part of getting old. I also don’t think looking old is part of getting old. I do think they’re both part of a crappy diet that comes with a side dish of pills and ailments. If you focus solely on the weight loss, as I have been doing, you can miss these small miracles. I’m surprised that I figured bad eyesight was part of getting old. Myth debunked at least for me. That tiny discovery of being able to see the alarm clock (of all the things!) has given me a renewed respect for what I’m doing. I already loved my diet. I am obviously committed to it and I try not to be too evangelistic about it – unless asked - (sometimes I slip). It’s not my personality to be in your face about things, but if something is working people will usually ask.

Today and many weeks (at least 2 months or more), the scale hasn’t budged. I also don’t weigh myself consistently. I guess it’s taken a back seat at this point in time to inch loss. I am at a plateau for pounds. However, my pants are baggier than they were 2 weeks ago, especially around my upper thighs. Plus I can see! I’ll get to my goal. Just now I’ll be able to see the end result more clearly.