I went to a local fermentation meetup group about a year ago, eager to learn more about how to make kombucha tea at home, and in the process I stumbled across a “new” (at least to me) type of fermented drink called water kefir. Water kefir has actually been around for thousands of years and goes by many different names including Japanese water crystals. The girl who had brewed this tasty lightly carbonated concoction had flavored it with fresh blueberries after it had been fermented. I was immediately impressed by the versatility of this probiotic wonder drink-which is purported to contain trillions of healthy bacteria to aid digestion and the immune system.

Unlike milk kefir, water kefir is perfect for those who are lactose intolerant. This summer I decided to try brewing my own water kefir and found that it’s actually quite easy to prepare-and easier and more fool-proof than kombucha.

Here is a basic water kefir recipe that helped me get started:
1) Fill a quart sized jar with room temperature mineral water* leaving about 2 inches of space at the top
*(or spring or tap water with most of the chlorine filtered out. Reverse osmosis water isn’t recommended, although I have tried it without ill effect. The main thing to remember is that minerals are beneficial to the functioning of water kefir grains, so if they’re not getting minerals from the water, some mineral rich fruit should be added)
2) Add approximately1/4 cup sugar and stir
3) Add1/4 cup Water Kefir Grains
4) If available add 1/4 cup starter water kefir, otherwise you can add half a peeled lemon to the brew for your first 2 or 3 batches.
5) Then wrap a small handful of dried un-sulfured fruit into an unbleached coffee filter or a reusable fabric pouch (So far I have tried: dates, dried mango slices, raisins, figs, and apricots or a combination thereof)

I’ve also tried dried candied ginger in my primary ferment. Maybe it was just me, but that batch seemed a little flat. I might eventually give ginger another try in a secondary ferment though, after it has established some zing.

I then cover the jar with a coffee filter or other breathable material, secured with a rubber band (if you using metal try to make sure the rim is completely dry before securing so the metal won’t rub off and contaminate your grains). I leave the brew alone at room temperature for 2, sometimes 3 days. The longer it brews the stronger the flavor starts to get and the more carbonation it will acquire. If you like a sweeter more soda pop taste, one day might be sufficient. You can sample the brew or give it a stir now and then with a plastic spoon or straw.

After the primary ferment, sometimes I’ll do a secondary ferment. This involves straining out the water kefir grains for the next batch, discarding the fruit, and then bottling the water kefir (minus 1/4th cup for your starter) in a sealed container and then letting it sit on the counter for a day to add even more carbonation. You should leave about an inch of head space and crack the lid open every few hours for just a quick burp to let some of the gases escape (this helps prevent the bottle from bursting).

Before putting the finished water kefir into the fridge I also like to tape on a label with all pertinent info that I’ll soon forget-like what ingredients I used, when the primary ferment began and ended, if and how long the secondary ferment lasted, and my impression-like “wow, super fizzy.” One word of caution, I’ve heard that the more carbonated it is, the higher the alcohol content. I believe the alcohol % in water kefir is a fairly trivial amount like less than 0.8% but it bears mentioning. Part of what sparked my renewed interest in water kefir is that the kombucha I usually buy at the store was recalled because they were having trouble keeping the alcohol content below 0.5% and it ran into regulatory issues.

I actually made a batch last week that reminded me of the Kombucha Botanica Elderflower I used to buy and love. I used one dried fig and some raisins in a full 3 day primary ferment. I noted that it was really potent-maybe too potent and decided to skip the secondary ferment and put it in the fridge for 5 days—and when I took a cautious sample, it was irresistibly delicious. I’m still new at this little hobby and am eager to learn more about fermented foods and water kefir health benefits. I’ve purchased a book that came highly recommended called Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods and look forward to continuing this experiment!

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I was just perusing Amazon’s special offers this morning (if you’ve ever bought anything on Amazon you’ll know those offers spring up like a batch of dandelions) most dealing with a timely nudge to be green for Earth Day when my attention was grabbed by the roots by the number one selling book on Amazon – All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.

Since everything is starting to green in our yard I’ve had the itch to start a garden, nothing fancy maybe just a little patch in the corner, but I’m a terrible procrastinator (like right now I should be writing the rest of this post yet I am going off on a tangent about procrastinating) Now where was I?

Oh, yah this intriguing book that has been on the Amazon top 100 book list for over 3 years! That’s what caught my attention – next was how does a gardening book stay in the top 100 for 3 years not to mention who knows how long at number one.

Looking at Square Foot Gardening I can see why – it is a super simple method to gardening that claims 100% of the yield with 20% of the space – which fits right in with my plan for a little back yard garden. Not only that but Mel reveals his secret soil mix for perfect growing conditions (and never a need for fertilizer): 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 agricultural grade vermiculite spread out in a 4ft by 4ft box. (oops did I just ruin the secret?)

This new version of Square Foot Gardening called All New Square Foot Gardening (pretty original title huh?) Reveals 10 new and improved methods to make the whole process more efficient, easier, and well, garden-tastic. Take a peek at the video and see if you are as excited to get outside as I am – in fact I’m outa here the sunshine is calling…

One last note though, Mel has also written a delightfully delicious book called All New Square Foot Gardening Cookbook (he’s got a good thing going with his naming so why change it I guess) that looks to be as savory as the fresh herbs and veggies coming out of the garden.

What are you planting in your square foot garden this Spring? (and when can I come over for dinner?)

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Someone asked me the other day “can you dehydrate green smoothies?” It got me thinking and the answer is of course you can. The easiest way to dehydrate green smoothies is to calculate the coefficient of friction by dividing the volume of smoothie in Liters by the Square Root of Pi… well ok it might be even easier than that (and more fun if advanced math gives you the willies).

Just take your favorite green smoothie recipe (you can try our favorite green smoothie recipe if you don’t have one yet) but use less water so the constancy of the smoothie is thicker. Spread that out on a non-stick dehydrator sheet or some waxed paper in your dehydrator (or use a new fangled Excalibur food dehydrator with the mesh screens) and twiddle your thumbs until it looks nice and chewy. Roll that baby up and take it to go.

The beauty of dehydrated green smoothies is that you retain all that healthy raw food goodness but don’t have to lug around a big vat of smoothie – plus you don’t get the “what are you DRINKING!” comments from that one skeptical guy at work who always scoffs at you from trying to eat healthy at work.

When I was growing up we went through a few dehydrators, in fact my dad even made one himself that was mighty cool – and big! We had so much fun thinking of dehydrator recipes – I just wish back then I knew about green smoothies, I would have whipped up a batch in no time. Now that I have the urge to experiment again I’ll have to pick one up.

If you don’t have a food dehydrator yet either, the creme de la creme in food dehydrators among raw foodists (especially for smoothie leathers) is the Excalibur 3900 Deluxe Series 9 Tray Food Dehydrator. Usually on sale at Amazon for $219.95. You can also get highly rated dehydrators from Nesco for around $50 depending on what features you are looking for. But many have said drying fruit leathers is inefficient and messy with the round style dehydrators, and you can’t dry bulky items like flowers or granola because the space between trays is limited.

Have you tried dehydrating green smoothies? What is your favorite smoothie recipe to dehydrate?

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Are you looking for more natural egg dyeing tips or recipes this Easter? Just look in your back yard or even refrigerator! Natural dyes made from roots, nuts, flowers and berries have been used for ages before we had the unfriendly red dye number whatever. Plus it is much more fun to experiment with a handful of red cabbage from your fridge than using chemically made dyes – kids love to be creative and they will love collecting these natural ingredients from your own yard or pantry.

Here are a few household and backyard natural egg dyeing recipes to try - Just boil your eggs in water with a bit of vinegar and one of these ingredients below, then let simmer for at least 15 minutes (The longer the egg soaks, the deeper the final color will be):

• Purple grape juice or blueberries (for lavender)
• Red cabbage (for blue)
• Spinach or Red Pine needles (for green)
• Carrot greens, Tumeric or lemon peels (for yellow)
• Coffee or black walnut shells (for brown)
• Yellow onion skins or carrots (for orange)
• Beets or cranberries (for pink)
• Crab apple bark or Rose hips (for red)

Dyeing tips:
• Before dyeing the eggs, draw shapes or pictures on them with crayons or a piece of wax. The wax won’t absorb the color so the designs will show through.
• Wrap the eggs in rubber bands to make tie-dyed eggs.
• Wash eggs in warm soapy water to remove oily residue that may impede color from adhering to the eggs.
• After dyeing – for a textured look, dab the still wet egg with a sponge.
• After the eggs are dry, you can rub the eggs with coconut oil to give them a soft sheen.

For a very extensive list of egg dying tips and recipes here is a great article on natural plant dyes from Pioneer Thinking. These natural dyeing tips are more geared toward fabric dyeing but they will work just fine for egg dyeing as well – because after all I don’t think the Easter bunny had Paas egg dying kits a thousand years ago – he must have used a dash of Tumeric and a cluster of lavender, with some fresh bunches of red cabbage to make his best eggs.

If you’ve used natural dyes for dyeing your Easter eggs please share your favorite dyeing recipes we’d love hear what has worked for you.

If you’ve read my green smoothie inspiration you’ll know our recent adventure into the world of green smoothies has begun with a splash. And true to our kitchen creative nature we had to do some tinkering with the basic green smoothie recipe from the video.

We’ve discovered the fun and versatility of making green smoothies, and to my surprise we now have kids who can’t wait to eat their green leafy vegetables – who would have thunk.

So here it is folks, drum roll please… our first green smoothie recipe dubbed by our 4 year old…

The Smoothie You Can Chew

1 Mango (minus what you sample while cutting – so probably a half mango)
1 Banana
3 Strawberries
3 Broccoli florets
Handful of fresh Spinach leaves
2-3 Green Kale leaves
1-2 basil leaves
1 Tbsp Flax seed
Splash of Pomegranate Kefir
10-12 ounces of water or to desired thickness

Blend that baby up and enjoy some vibrant green goodness – Don’t worry you don’t really need to chew it.

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Today I was blasted with a Green inspiration (just the thought of green sends warm flashes of Spring coursing through the room – I just wish some would flow outside where it is a not so springy 17 Degrees Fahrenheit). I was introduced to Victoria Boutenko and her series of books on Green Smoothie recipes thanks to a fellow natural health blogger and her recent post Drink Your Greens. She shared a video (see the video below) of Victoria talking about the wonders of green smoothies and a little taste test of a banana, mango, pear kale smoothie – a very vibrant green smoothie recipe that I look forward to trying since we just picked up some nice juicy mangoes.

After watching the video the green smoothie monster grabbed me by the hand and forced me to look up some of Victoria Boutenko’s green smoothie recipe books. The video mentions Green for Life which is her highly lauded 2005 release. I also discovered her recent 2009 book Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Toward Natural Health which includes 72 pages of green smoothie recipes submitted from all over the world. It is rather inspiring to hear the great reviews these books get and the stories of increased health and wellness from introducing green smoothies into their diets. I immediately reserved both books at the library, but if you aren’t the waiting kind they are both for sale at Amazon.

Now I’m off to get some kale to go with that nice juicy mango… (and hey some of that Green inspiration must have spread outside after all… it’s now a balmy 24 Degrees outside)

Update: I’m still waiting on those books from the library, but in the mean time we’ve been experimenting with some green smoothie recipes of our own – and I’ve been blown away! The kids actually LOVE these! I’ll get a post up on one of our favorite recipes soon, but first I have to make our morning smoothie…

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Are you looking for an easy way to get a jump on a cold winter morning? Here’s a simple to make powerful cold fighting natural remedy that helps boost metabolism, brain activity, and the immune system all in one shot – plus it has plenty of other mighty fine heath benefits.

Simply make a mug of hot lemon water and spice it up with cinnamon and fresh ginger! Kapow – instant superfood celebration.

Lemon is widely known for its high Vitamin C content and digestion aiding effects but the real powerhouse here is the cinnamon and ginger and the combination of all three.

In traditional Chinese remedies cinnamon is praised for its warming qualities (sounds pretty good on a cold winter morning) and has been used to provide relief when faced with the onset of a cold or flu, especially when mixed in a tea with some fresh ginger. Cinnamon’s scent has also been shown to boost brain activity so when you add a touch of cinnamon in your morning tea make sure you give it a big whiff to help get those cobwebs out of the brain and perhaps help you remember where you put your keys.

When consumed with high carb foods cinnamon can help lessen carbs impact on your blood sugar levels because cinnamon reduces blood sugar as well as cholesterol and triglycerides. It also has anti-microbial properties that help stop the growth of bacteria and can be effective in preventing candida overgrowth.

Ginger completes the digestive three way tag team because it is an intestinal spasmolytic (a substance which relaxes and soothes the intestinal tract). Ginger is also an excellent carminative (a substance which promotes the elimination of intestinal gas) so you don’t have to ride the toot toot train all the way to work. Ginger was shown to be far superior to Dramamine the motion sickness drug and is well known to be very useful in reducing the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Ginger contains very potent anti-inflammatory compounds called gingerols. Ginger extracts have been shown to have both antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects on cells and is especially effective in inducing cell death in ovarian cancer cells.

Ginger is not only warming on a cold day with its spicy kick, but helps promote healthy sweating, which is helpful when you have a cold or the flu. So if you are doing a winter detox adding a little ginger in the morning will really help the detoxification process. A good sweat may do a lot more than simply assist detoxification as German researchers have found that sweat contains a potent germ-fighting agent called dermicidin. Dermicidin is manufactured in the body’s sweat glands, secreted into the sweat, and transported to the skin’s surface where it provides protection against invading microorganisms, bacteria and infections.

Now after all that appetizing talk of sweating and digestion why not lose yourself in a spicy sweet hot mug of lemon ginger cinnamon tea.

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As I sit here with my hot mug of Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls tea laced with a bit of oolong I longingly look outside and wonder what it would feel like to bask in the warmth of a natural hot spring right about now. I suppose I shouldn’t complain it is a balmy 31 degrees out, but there is a bit of a nip in the air and i can see a faint whiff of the seasonal cold bug flitting through the air.

My thoughts turn to a past article on the many benefits of lemon that sits atop my blog fodder pile and my attention is peaked by the mention of bourbon. Bourbon and lemon the natural cold and flu fighting wonders of the world. And let’s not leave out honey – our poor honey who is feeling left out of the celebration (and shame on us to forget about our honey so close to Valentines Day).

It is an age old natural remedy the use of lemon, honey and bourbon to fight off sore throats and stuffy noses – in fact Mr. Hot Toddy as he is so affectionately called by some, has been with us since the nineteenth century in India and the UK – a fine place to enjoy the herbal delights of such a concoction as the cold wind whips over the cobblestone streets and the gas lamps belch their sputtering coal powered flame.

But alas, today in my comparatively warm home I enjoy my tea and wonder if perhaps something stronger might fight off the cold a bit better. But alas again since my first alas was the former I am without the natural cold fighting comfort of bourbon, but perhaps if you are lucky (yet unlucky enough to be besotted with the lover called the common cold) to have a bit of bourbon you might try an evening dance with Mr. Hot Toddy.

Natural Bourbon Cough Cold and Flu Elixir
2 ounces bourbon whiskey
1/2 lemon, juiced (about 2 ounces)
2-4 ounces water (optional)
1 tablespoon honey or heck lay it on thick and shoot for a bit more

The mixture is up to you really depending on how intimate you want to get with Mr. Bourbon, basically mix up lemon, honey, water and bourbon to taste – heat that baby to a nice warm glow and enjoy before bed.

For me I have a date with more tea – if you’ve enjoyed a dance with Mr. Hot Toddy please share your stories below (and please keep them to a respectful smolder there may be children peeking over your shoulder)

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Today must have been the day of the coconut because as chance would have it I discovered a good article on the healing properties of coconut oil and soon after a new highly reviewed shredded organic coconut made by Let’s Do Organic. (Certified USDA organic; vegetarian/vegan; sulfite-free, unsweetened, 100%-natural, finely shredded dehydrated coconut – yum yum!) Which led me to the idea for the first Natural Health Goodies recipe… how to make coconut milk.

I’ve been using coconut oil for a couple years now after hearing about all the health benefits of the healthy fats in coconut oil. As you may know one could fill pages on why coconut oil is the best oil for cooking, baking, skin care and most importantly your health – perhaps I will at a later date (if you say pretty please). But there are still health benefits to raw foods like coconut meat and coconut milk and what better way to enjoy these benefits than to make your own coconut milk for baking or just plain drinking.

Preparing Coconut Milk from Desiccated coconut.
(Try Let’s Do Organic’s Shredded, Unsweetened Coconut)

• Put equal parts of unsweetened desiccated coconut and hot water by weight into a blender (ie.. 8oz coconut to 1 cup of hot water).
• Blend for about 30 seconds and allow the mixture to cool a bit.
• If desired, you can strain and press it through cheesecloth or a fine sieve when it has cooled down. This is not necessary for most recipes, unless you require a silky smooth texture for the end product.
• Discard the squeezed coconut meat or you can also soak the coconut in warm water and run it through the cheese cloth again to make “thin” coconut milk which is good for soups and general cooking.
• Refrigerate the milk and use within 1 or 2 days.
• To make a thick coconut cream from dessicated coconut: Use 4 parts coconut to one part water.

If you like doing things the old fashioned way you can also make coconut milk from a fresh or store bought coconut.

Making Coconut Milk from Fresh Young Coconuts or Mature Brown Coconuts

• Pierce the eyes of a fresh young coconut, drain the liquid inside (This liquid, often called coconut milk is not the same as coconut milk used for baking or drinking, although this coconut water is delightfully delicious all on its own so drink away – or better yet add it to the mixture before blending)
• Cut the top off the young coconut or whack, crack and pound the shell of a mature coconut with a hammer (whatever works) so that the shell breaks into several pieces.
• Remove all the coconut meat from the shell, peel off the brown skin and cut the meat into very small cubes.
• Place the coconut meat in a blender, add hot water to cover all of the coconut and blend until finely grated.
• Place a sieve covered with cheese cloth over a bowl and pour the coconut meat and water into the sieve squeezing the coconut meat to extract as much liquid as possible into the bowl.
• Discard the squeezed coconut and refrigerate the coconut milk that has been extracted into the bowl. Refrigerate the milk and use within 1 or 2 days.

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