Category Archives: recipes

I’ve been experimenting with various fermented foods over the last few months, and I’ve decided it’s time to share my results.

I’ve already written about my homemade yogurt and kombucha, which are both fermented foods.  This post focuses on my experiments fermenting vegetables.

There is a lot of science involved in the fermentation process, and, for me, some understanding of that was important to success.  I wrote a post called Cabbage Juice Stinks after my first unsuccessful experiment with fermenting cabbage.  I still shudder at the memory of that smell, and it put me off fermenting vegetables for a good while.  However, I continued to read about the benefits of fermentation, and plenty of food/health bloggers extol the virtues of foods like sauerkraut and kim chi.

I tried making sauerkraut following this recipe .  I was unsure about a recipe that called for me to scrape the mould off the surface of the ferment.  Further reading validated my doubts.

scraping off the mold leaves it’s roots behind, and ingesting this can end up causing problems in the long run. Nourishing Traditions

Apart from the mould, the other problem with this batch of sauerkraut was that it was so salty it was inedible – another unsuccessful experiment.

When I came across this fabulous set of articles testing fermentation vessels and read the detailed information about fermentation by Lea Harris of Nourishing Traditions, I understood where I’d gone wrong in my previous attempts : not keeping out oxygen.  This gave me the confidence to try fermenting again. First I bought a Kilner Jar (known as Fido Jar in the US and in the Nourishing Traditions articles).  This would allow me to keep the oxygen out of my ferment, and hopefully lead to success.  When it came time to set up my ferment I decided on Kim Chi.  I happened to have a red cabbage on hand and this led me to a recipe by Garden Betty.

The results from this have been a success.  I adapted the recipe, by leaving out the red pepper powder and daikon because I didn’t have any and I had no idea where to buy any.  I’m happy to say the other flavours in the recipe led to a tasty jar of fermented vegetables that my husband and I add to our plates regularly.  The kids turn their noses up at it, and complain about the smell, so I mainly eat it at lunch time when they are at school.  It’s a great low effort way to add additional vegetables to my meal.

Red Cabbage Kimchi  (Adapted from Garden Betty’s recipe)
Makes 3 quarts

Ingredients

2 pounds red cabbage, chopped
1/4 cup salt (I use sea salt)
1/2 pound carrot, julienned
6 spring onions, sliced into 1-inch segments
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 small pear or apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
dechlorinated water – amount varies
2 tablespoons fish sauce

Method

1. Chop the cabbage into thin, bite sized pieces (I use my food processor for this)
2. In a large bowl, massage the salt into the cabbage until the leaves start to release liquid.
3. Cover with water and let the cabbage sit at room temperature for at least two hours while the salt draws out moisture. Periodically toss the cabbage and work your hands through the leaves to expel more moisture.
4. After about two hours, the cabbage should be soft and limp, and the volume reduced in half. (If yours is still firm and full, come back to it after another hour or two.) Strain the cabbage and rinse under running water to remove excess salt. Strain again, then return the cabbage to the bowl. Add carrot, green onions, garlic, and ginger.
5. In a blender, combine the pear (or apple, if using), yellow onion, water, and fish sauce, and give everything a whirl until smooth. Pour the sauce over the vegetables.
6. Put on some gloves (the sauce can be pretty spicy and smelly to work with!) and give the kimchi a good rubdown, making sure the veggies are well combined and coated with sauce.
7. Pack the kimchi into kilner jars, leaving 1 to 2 inches of headspace. The veggies will expand and release more liquid as they ferment, so you don’t want to overfill the jars. Tamp down the veggies with the back of a spoon to fully submerge them. I found that there was enough liquid in the jars to keep them submerged, and since the liquid is more of a paste, the veggies don’t float to the top as in other ferments.
8. Wipe the rims clean, then seal the jars and let ferment at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for at least about 2 weeks. (It wouldn’t be a bad idea to place the jars in a shallow baking dish to catch any overflow of liquid.)Every day, press down on the veggies with a spoon to expel more liquid and make sure everything is shipshape. A proper ferment should have no mold and no off smell. 

    

What is a green Smoothie?

Smoothies are made in blenders, as opposed to juices, which are made in a juicer.   The difference between the two is that smoothies contain the whole fruit and/or vegetable, whilst juicers extract the juice, but leave the fibre behind.  A smoothie can be as simple as fruit blended with some water, or they can be made more nutritious by the addition of other ingredients e.g. bio-yogurt or  protein powder. A Green Smoothie is a smoothie that’s coloured green,  from the addition of vegetables.

Why Green Smoothies?

If you’ve read my post about vegetables you’ll know I’m a convert to the idea that vegetables contain many micro nutrients which our bodies need in the healing process.  Increasing the vegetable content of my diet is something I am focussed on.  Eating a significant quantity of vegetables at breakfast is tricky.  Sometimes I make an omelette with a mix of mushrooms, spinach, peppers and/or onion, but I don’t always have time for all the chopping that entails.  A green smoothie enables me to get a really big quantity of vegetables straight into my system first thing in the morning, quickly and easily.  Dr Terry Wahl, author of The Wahl’s Prtotocol is a fan of green smoothies, so is Johnathan Bailor, author of The Calorie Myth, and so is my nutritionist.

My Experience

I’ve been making smoothies for years.  I can’t remember where I first read about them, but I found they made a great after-school drink/snack for my children.  I also read about adding spinach and used this as a great way to get my kids to eat spinach without them even knowing.  If you keep the spinach content relatively low you don’t even notice it (honestly – give it a try if you don’t believe me).

When I got ill, activities like smoothie making were far too much energy for me, and we stopped.  My daughter was encouraged to make her own green smoothies by our nutritionist, but this was an unsuccessful experiment as she didn’t like the taste of the recipes suggested (having looked at the recipes they contained a higher proportion of bitter greens and the fruit suggested was less sweet than the berries I use in mine, e.g. kale with apple and lemon).

I’ve been drinking green smoothies for most of my breakfasts for 2-3 months now.  I didn’t start out with  the ultimate recipe that I list below.  I have gradually increased the proportion of vegetables to fruit, and as I’ve read about or discussed other ingredients with my nutritionist I’ve included them.

I use my green smoothie as a meal replacement and I add a whole load of stuff to it to increase my nutrient intake. My recipe is at the end of this post.  By the time I’m finished my blender jug is nearly full, and I generally get 2-3 large glasses full of smoothie.  If I manage to drink all this (and I generally do) it keeps me full until lunch time.

I feel really good when I have smoothies for breakfast.  Of course it could be a psychological boost from feeling that I’m doing something healthy, but I think there is a physical boost from all the nutrients entering my body.  When I think about what I want for breakfast I now often think smoothie and really look forward to it (you may find that surprising when you read the ingredients list).  Partly this is because it’s so quick and easy, but partly it’s because I feel good after I’ve drunk it.

Below are two smoothie recipes: my beginner green smoothie recipe and my Ultimate Green Smoothie recipe.  My Beginner recipe is what I used to make for my kids (and me).  It’s a very gentle introduction into green smoothies and I encourage you to try it as a snack.  If you get on OK with that then you can start gradually increasing the proportion of vegetables, decreasing the proportion of fruit and gradually try adding in some of the other ingredients from my Ultimate Green Smoothie Recipe.   Let me know how you get on.

Beginner Green Smoothie Recipe

 Ingredients

• 1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)*
• 1 banana (fresh or frozen)*
• 1 small handful of baby leaf spinach
• 1 small carton of natural pro-biotic yoghurt
• ice cubes* and/or water
• Optional extra: 1 scoop of whey protein powder – this will give the smoothie a thicker creamier texture and flavour as well as adding protein to the smoothie.

*If at least one item of fruit is frozen it improves the texture of the finished drink.  You can also add ice cubes, but frozen fruit gives the best results.

INSTRUCTIONS

Put all the ingredients in a blender jug and blend until smooth.

My Ultimate Green Smoothie Recipe

Please note if you’re new to smoothies I don’t suggest you start with this full recipe.  Use the beginner smoothie recipe above and transition gradually.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of vegetables.  I aim for 1 cup of green leafy, with the other cup either sulphur rich or colourful, or a mixture (see my Vegetables post for a list of which vegetables fall into which category)
• 1 cup fruit – a mix of raspberries and blueberries is my favourite, but I also use strawberries, papaya, mango, kiwi, melon, pear etc.
• 2 dessert spoons Miracle Matcha (or freshly ground linseeds, chia seeds and goji berries)
• 1.5 scoops whey protein powder.
• 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg or cinnamon (or you could try other spices)
• 3 tablespoons of Pukka Aloe Vera Juice
• Coconut water (approx half a cup)
• 1 cup coconut milk and/or bio yogurt (unless you’re dairy free)
• Nutritional Yeast (excellent source of B vitamins) – approx 1 teaspoon
• 1 teaspoon Green Nori Sprinkle (a great source of iodine – important for  thyroid function)

 Instructions

Put all the ingredients in a blender jug and blend until smooth.

I’ve already mentioned in Feeding hungry kids (and husbands) that a popular food in our house has been ready made soups from the chiller section of the supermarket.  I used to have a bowl of soup nearly every lunchtime. These were a life saver when I was too weak to cook.  However, now I’m improving I am managing to make more home made stocks and soups, although I still make use of ready made soups when I’ve run out of home made and I’m low on energy. I’ve been reading a lot about the benefits of bone broth.  It seems to be a bit of a super food.  Here’s some of the claims:

• helps heal the gut
• increase immunity
• reduce joint pain in athletes
• may improve sleep quality
• helps the liver with detoxification
• it’s a good source of magnesium, which I’ve found helpful in reducing restless legs and leg pain

If you want to research this further there here are some articles I found helpful:

• The Benefits of Bone Broth (paleophilosophy)
• How to make a nourishing beef bone stew to heal your gut (scdlifestyle)
• Perpetual Soup : the easiest bone broth you’ll ever make (nourished kitchen)

As a CFS sufferer bone broth sounds like something I should be eating more of. I like the idea of perpetual soup.  I may try this next week and see how I get on.  I’m not sure my family will take kindly to drinking broth, but I will try it. I have made a couple of batches of chicken stock recently. I’ve used it in home made soups and various slow cooker recipes.  I still have a litre or so left in my freezer which I’m going to use in some leek and potato soup. Here’s how I make chicken stock: Ingredients

• The remains of a chicken (carcass, skin etc.)
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 1-2 carrots
• 1-2 celery sticks
• 1 onion – peeled and halved
• 3 peppercorns
• celtic sea salt
• herbs – usually thyme or rosemary (fresh or dried)

Put chicken carcass, skin and any other bits left when we’ve eaten the chicken into the slow cooker.  Add the other ingredients, cover with water to the capacity of the slow cooker.  Cook for approx 8 hours. Cool and drain the stock.  Keep in the fridge for approx 5 days or in the freezer for longer.