Been MIA due to travel and Stomach Flu

No time to chat much, but I did get my milk and water Kefirs working wonderfully! The water kefir is much tastier than I had presumed it would be. No strong sourness or vinegar-like. Just the effervescence and, when mixed with a tiny bit of juice, quite yummy!!

As for the milk kefir, I mixed in a little bit of sugar-free Torani chocolate flavoring (intended for flavoring coffee), and it was easy and tasted great! :-)


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New Kefir!

Kefirs of All Types
Good news, good news. The Water Kefir Grains and Milk Kefir Grains arrived in the mail yesterday, and after a run to the organic grocer for Sucanat and organic whole milk, foods for the water and milk grains respectively, they have now been transferred from their travel baggies to their jars. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of them, but I will tomorrow. The milk grains were quite tiny so it will be neat to see them grow over the next few days. We will be heading out of town for a few days this coming week so they will be sitting in the fridge as well. :-)

Bone Broth News
One thing I found was that after cooking for about 48 hours, the floating fat had run out and the broth started tasting pretty bitter. Perhaps it was the minerals. When I tried using it to make a soup even with added chicken, the bitterness still came through and was fairly unappetizing. Ah well, it's all about learning the perfect setup. :-)

Next up, Oxtail bone broth! Still need together some grass fed beef to do it right and get the appropriate Omega-3's vs the grain fed beef's Omega-6 abundance.

Supplements
Purchased some Norwegian Cod Liver Oil (cherry flavored!) instead of Fish Oil capsules. Seemed to contain a higher DHA amount which is always good for baby. :-)


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"Nourishing Traditions"

Well, the Bone Broth has been simmering on low for three days now and I've been sipping a cup of it at a time for the past two. One encouraging observation I've made is that it is quite satiating when I would otherwise find something sweet and high caloric to snack on--oh those so many times in a day.

I'm learning the cravings could be due to reasons I would never have been guessed such as insulin resistance causing the body to crave sweets due to a feeling of starving for fuel; or perhaps an overgrowth of candida and other pathogens in the gut--again causing the body to crave sweets because those pathogens are starving for fuel. Sounds almost like Monsters Inside Me! Lol

"Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon
Meanwhile, my book purchase just arrived today, "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. It's pleasantly a lot more dense that I'd expected and I'm so looking forward to putting it to use, and a fermented vegetable or chutney is at the top of my To Do List! So whenever my Kefir Grain purchase arrives in the mail... (toe tapping) ;-)

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Kefir & Bone Broth

Kefir Update
It's been quiet for a reason... The jar with my Milk Kefir Grains fell and glass went everywhere.. I was heartbroken.
For posterity, here is what they looked like just before it happened:




After cleanup and recovery, I ordered another batch off eBay and am waiting their arrival. And this time, they will be accompanied by their cousin, Water Kefir Grains!

Bone Broth
In the meantime, I started up a crockpot of Chicken Bone Broth.
Ingredients:
-1 whole Foster Farms chicken
-10 variety colored peppercorns
- pinch of Turmeric
- pinch of Cumin
- pinch of Sumac (the EDIBLE type, lol)
- 1/4 bunch of Italian Parsley
- few crushed Garlic cloves
-1 quartered Onion
-2 Tbsp Vinegar
- filled to the top with water

Letting it cook on low for a day.
See how it goes!



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