Thai Dinner May 16, 2008

I made Thai food last night!

Tom Kha Gai soup — made with fish or chicken stock, lemongrass, coconut milk, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, lime, and shrimp.

It was delicious — and very easy to make.

Instead of sugar, I used honey. And I didn’t have any red chili sauce so I used cayenne pepper. I used my frozen Thai snapper fish stock. I used wild-caught shrimp that I found at Whole Foods — already peeled and deveined. It took just a minute to boil it — then you just throw it in the soup, along with some shiitake mushrooms, which I got at the farmer’s market.

I used to grow lemongrass (grows like a weed here) but I don’t have any now. You can buy it in a jar, though. Same with the galangal — I found them both at Whole Foods. I have a lime tree but it’s not a kaffir… I wish I had more room for fruit trees!

Seth, who has told me on more than one occasion that he does not like coconut milk, said, “Is this coconut milk? I like coconut milk.”

I also made yellow curry chicken. I left out the potatoes since we can’t have that, and of course we didn’t have rice. I got the curry premade. They sell a good brand (no additives) at Surfas. All I had to do was carve a whole chicken, throw it in with the curry paste and a little water, and season with fish sauce.

I will post the recipes once I perfect them.

Chicken and Sauerkraut May 12, 2008

This came out absolutely delicious.

I started with a recipe from my friend Jungleen. She posted a comment a few days ago with a recipe for Chicken Cacciatore. It’s basically chicken cooked in homemade chicken stock and tomato sauce. I left out the vegetables and added arrowroot to make a thicker sauce. Then served it with homemade lacto-fermented sauerkraut and cream cheese made from goat yogurt (Seth is out of town so I’m allowed to eat dairy).

YUM! This was really good. And it’s so good for digestive health. The bone broth, the fermented foods. And it was good!

Kate had the same thing for dinner — she loved it!

PS: The gorgeous flowers were a Mother’s Day gift from my in-laws. Thanks, Nancy & Ed! Love you and miss you!

Daily Photo February 17, 2008

Here’s Kate having her morning bottle. I love the way she has her feet crossed, like a little lady.

She still has a runny nose and a cough. I really think it’s the Biokult causing a healing crisis. We upped her dose (per Dr. Campbell McBride’s instructions) last week from 2 capsules per day to 4 capsules per day. Mucus is a sign of detoxification; so is fever (she does not have a fever but she is warm).

We’ve decreased the dose back down to 2 capsules per day; Dr. Campbell McBride says to decrease the dose if the die-off symptoms are severe.

I just read an email on my DNT list from a lady who said that when she was in her twenties she stayed at a retreat and ate a raw food diet. Within a few days, she had lots of mucus and was miserable with a bad headache. They told her to up her vegetable juice (no fruit juice — just wheat grass and other veggies). She did and the mucus and other symptoms cleared up.

I think that’s very interesting because Dr. Campbell McBride is very big on juicing. When I did my candida cleanse in my twenties, I was taking immune strengthening supplements, including mega doses of vitamin C and bovine thymus gland. I guess maybe all the antioxidants and other nutrients in the vegetables help the body detoxify.

I actually have some bison thymus gland in the freezer. I’m going to dig it out and put it into Kate’s chicken broth today. I think I’ll make a stew of it, with some garlic and onion. Those are immune-enhancing as well.

And I’m going to juice up some carrots and beets for her. Can you give a 10-month-old wheat grass juice? I’m not sure.

Interesting — Alla was using an eyedropper on Friday, putting drops of freshly squeezed carrot juice into Kate’s nose. She said it is a traditional thing they did in Russia to help the mucus thicken.

This is why it’s not a good idea to give a child medications to reduce symptoms. Mucus and fever and diarrhea are all designed to carry toxins out of the body. If you inhibit the body’s natural functions, you are preventing the healing. The best thing you can do for them is increase fluids and antioxidants — juicing does both. And give them chicken broth — “Jewish penicillin”.

Carrot and Ginger Soup January 19, 2008

Here’s an easy and delicious first course for a simple Saturday night dinner:

Carrot and ginger soup
Roast chicken
A green salad

This is a very easy recipe, and a great way to incorporate a bone broth into a meal.

However, you have to have chicken stock on hand, which requires some work ahead of time. Once you get the hang of making the stock, you can make it every week and freeze it in ice cube trays.

I got this recipe from Sally Fallon’s “Nourishing Traditions”. The only thing I’m changing is I’m leaving out the curry powder — because I don’t have any.

Here’s what you need (try to get organic ingredients if possible):

1 pound carrots
Fresh ginger (1 tsp grated)
1 lemon (1 tsp grated peel)
2 medium onions
1.5 quarts homemade chicken stock (equivalent to 3 ice cube trays full of frozen stock)
4 TBS butter (I’m using raw cultured butter)
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
Creme fraiche (cultured cream) or sour cream

1. Peel and slice the carrots. Chop the onions.
2. Put the 4 TBS of butter in a stock pot and add the carrots and onions. Set on low and sautee for 45 minutes. (You can do this first part ahead of time — say, after lunch — so when it gets closer to dinner, you have less to do.)
3. Add chicken stock to the stock pot. Bring to a boil and skim.
4. Add 1/2 tsp lemon peel and 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger.
5. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
6. Puree soup with handheld blender — or in a food processor.
7. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
8. Serve with cultured cream (creme fraiche).

UPDATE: This came out great! Very rich and extremely fulfilling. Seth loved it. The tiniest bit oniony for my taste — I may try making it with only one onion next time. And I have to say, I can’t imagine it with curry powder. I think it would be way too overpowering. I know, I know, I haven’t actually tried it. But I like a clean very carroty carrot soup.

I think I will make big batches of it ahead of time and freeze it in meal-size portions — that way it will be ready for a fast dinner. It will make great food for baby, too.

Sourdough and Bone Broth for Gluten Intolerance January 19, 2008

I just read this fascinating article, Going with the Grain by Catherine Kzapp on how she healed her father, a sufferer of celiac disease, or gluten intolerance.

Gluten intolerance has become a serious modern disease, not just among kids on the autistic spectrum (autism, Aspberger’s ADD/ADHD), but among many, many people with chronic digestive problems.

Damage to the intestinal wall causes a condition known as leaky gut or intestinal permeability. This creates all sorts of problems such as toxins being released into the bloodstream and malabsorption of nutrients.

Malabsorpition causes degenerative diseases like osteoperosis in the elderly and can cause failure to thrive in babies.

Most celiac sufferers feel doomed to a life without bread. Complete avoidance of gluten (and often casein — in dairy products) is the only way they can quell a plethora of symptoms and disorders.

Symptoms of Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance (from the Mayo Clinic):

There are no typical signs and symptoms of celiac disease. Most people with the disease have general complaints, such as intermittent diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating. Sometimes people with celiac disease may have no gastrointestinal symptoms at all. Celiac disease symptoms can also mimic those of other conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, gastric ulcers, Crohn’s disease, parasite infections, anemia, skin disorders or a nervous condition.

Celiac disease may also present itself in less obvious ways, including irritability or depression, anemia, stomach upset, joint pain, muscle cramps, skin rash, mouth sores, dental and bone disorders (such as osteoporosis), and tingling in the legs and feet (neuropathy).

Some indications of malabsorption that may result from celiac disease include:

Weight loss
Diarrhea
Abdominal cramps, gas and bloating
General weakness
Foul-smelling or grayish stools that may be fatty or oily
Stunted growth (in children)
Osteoporosis

The article by Catherine Czapp is very encouraging for the gluten intolerant, as it outlines a protocol for recovery that goes beyond gluten avoidance:

When a patient receives a diagnosis of celiac disease or gluten intolerance, either via laboratory testing or by process of elimination by the sufferer himself, complete avoidance of all gluten-containing foods will often bring improvement of many symptoms in a short time, sometimes as quickly as three days; others may require a month for positive signs to emerge. Finally understanding what was wrong can be a tremendous relief for someone who had likely been struggling with unhappy digestion for quite some time.

It is important to remember, though, that the impaired digestive capabilities of someone suffering from this autoimmune disorder will not automatically return to full healthy functioning by merely excluding gluten from the diet, nor will longstanding nutrient deficiencies be corrected unless they are actively addressed in a recuperation protocol designed with care and insight into the needs of the individual. Celiacs who have been severely afflicted should expect significant renewal of health only after one or more years of concerted effort.

What does she recommend for recovery?

Bone broths! The gelatin in homemade bone broths actually repairs the intestinal walls.

She ventured beyond the average bone broth, though, adding things like kombu, shiitake and nettles — which also help to soothe and repair the gut:

I had been pottering away in my kitchen experimenting with bone broths. I had become entranced by the extraordinary nutritive and recuperative properties of highly gelatinized broth made from the long simmering of bones, and I wanted to have a good storage of it. I improvised my brews by adding astragalus root–a nutritive immune system enhancer–to some pots, and kombu (a brown kelp) to others for its contribution of minerals and soothing mucilage. I added vinegar I’d made from shiitake mushroom stems–another immune system booster–in others, and nettles I’d grown on the burial ground of spent fish bones in another.

Nettles have so many nourishing and energizing attributes that one can barely enumerate them all, but I had been counting on their ability to pull minerals from the soil to augment my bone stocks. I only recently have come across a reference to their ability to actually promote the growth of intestinal villi!

Note: she does not recommend storebought broth. It must be homemade from the bones of chickens, cows, fish, or other animals (or purchased from someone who made it from scratch).

She goes on to discuss homemade sourdough bread and how it may be tolerable by celiacs. She says her recovered dad has been eating it for years with no ill effects.

She describes an amazing study wherein celiac volunteers ate sourdough bread and had no reaction:

A study published in February, 2004 in Applied and Environmental Microbiology with the tantalizing title “Sourdough Bread Made from Wheat and Nontoxic Flours and Started with Selected Lactobacilli Is Tolerated in Celiac Sprue Patients,” describes the results of an Italian research team which, encouraged by preliminary findings of their earlier work in vitro, designed an in vivo experiment to test their findings. The team’s premise was that lactobacilli, chosen for their ability to hydrolyze or sever protein (gliadin) fractions might be key in processing wheat flour so that its toxic properties would be neutralized and therefore not harmful to celiac patients.

Their experiment included 17 subjects, all celiac patients who had been consuming gluten-free diets for at least two years and no longer exhibiting symptoms. The experimental bread was made from a combination of wheat (Triticum aestivum), oat, millet and buckwheat flours, 30 percent of which was wheat. The flour was mixed with a “broth” of four lab-obtained lactobacilli, a dose of baker’s yeast and tap water in a continuous high-speed mixer. When the dough was allowed to ferment at about body temperature for 24 hours, almost all of the toxic peptide fractions in the wheat protein had been hydrolized. The bread was then baked and fed to the celiac volunteers (who also bravely ate breads made with plain baker’s yeast as “controls”). After consuming the simple yeasted bread, analysis of the volunteers’ gut permeability was made, which showed a change in permeability normally associated with celiac response. No such response was noted when the volunteers ate the 24-hour fermented sourdough bread. The authors of the study are cautiously enthusiastic about the results of this “novel bread biotechnology” and its implications for celiac patients.

Note: we are not talking about that faux sourdough bread you find in the grocery store. This is real homemade sourdough made from a fermented starter.

The article concludes:

Rather than condemn celiac sufferers to a life without bread, how much better to offer a healing protocol followed for life with the right kind of bread. In fact, how much better for all of us to take our cue from celiac sufferers and consume only bread that has been prepared by artisans–with attention to detail and lots of time.

The same old refrain. Modern food production is causing health problems that can be reversed by going back to eating foods raised and prepared traditionally.

There is nothing I love better than a house filled with the odors of fresh baking bread and a pot of homemade chicken stock simmering on the stove. To me, that’s home.

Twenty Ideas for Healthy New Year’s Resolutions December 30, 2007

Christmas is over.

We are still on vacation, though, visiting family. It’s cold in Seattle, but it’s wonderful to be with our family.

I’m thinking about goals for the new year.

1. My first goal is to lose the extra 30 pounds of baby weight by her one-year birthday, April 13th.

2. I also want to get all my finances and paperwork in order (nothing short of monumental).

3. And get out of debt. This one is totally do-able. (I mean for all my credit card debt. The student loans don’t count.) And once I’m out of debt, I get to start investing in real estate, which I am really excited about.

4. Spring cleaning — I want to sell all of the accumulated junk in the garage on eBay and the like.

Those are the main things. I have lots of other smaller goals. Like expanding my vegetable and herb garden and composting and making more of my household cleaners…

Here is my question to you… Do you have any New Year’s resolutions that are related to your health and the environment? No?

Maybe you could add one or two. Here are some simple things you can do that would make healthy and/or green resolutions for 2008…

1. Stop eating high fructose syrup. It’s industrial corn soaked in battery acid. Read the labels and stop eating this.

2. Use cloth shopping bags. You can get them for a coupla bucks at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. I take them with me everywhere in my car these days — and I even use them at Target.

3. Stop eating soy or vegetable oil. It causes heart disease and cancer. Cook with butter, lard, coconut oil, palm oil, and/or olive oil (make sure it’s real olive oil — not the faux olive oil you buy at Costco or Trader Joe’s).

4. Start taking probiotics. Take a supplement. Drink raw milk. Make your own kombucha or kefir or kvass or sauerkraut.

5. Use cloth diapers. It’s really not so hard. I made the switch; so can you. If you don’t know how to do it, email me and I’ll post all the tricks.

6. Limit bread and refined flour. If you want bread, eat any of the following kinds:

whole grain (like Mestemacher German rye breads: http://www.germandeli.com/mebr.html)
sprouted (like Ezekiel or Alvarado St. Bakery)
REAL sourdough bread
best of all, freshly milled, soaked and sprouted homemade whole grain bread.

7. Eat grass-fed beef and dairy products. Grain-fed cows are sickly and pumped full of antibiotics. Grass-fed cows live 3-4 times longer and live happy, full lives.

8. Eat raw dairy products — NOT pasteurized! Pasteurization exists mostly to mask bad milk from unhealthy cows. Buy raw dairy products from trusted dairy farms. They are healthier and much more nutritious, since they have all the enzymes and probiotics intact.

9. Make your own cleaning products. All you need is Borax, baking soda, white vinegar, some Dr. Bronner’s, some essential oils, and some citric acid. If you don’t want to make your own, buy the healthy kind at Whole Foods.

10. Try to buy local. Is it really necessary to buy that foodstuff that comes from New Jersey when you live in San Diego? Think about all the miles traveled, all the wasted gas and energy. Buy local for the environment.

11. Join a CSA. It’s great to buy organic produce but when you join a CSA, you are actually making a pledge to the farm. Letting them know that they can count on you to support them for the next season. I believe everyone in America should be supporting a local farm through a CSA subscription. To find a CSA near you, go to http://www.localharvest.org.

12. Start taking cod liver oil. Dr. Oz called it the supplement that everyone should take. I agree. Not only does it prevent osteoporosis but it also prevents — and even reverses — cavities. I started my baby on cod liver oil when she was 5 months old. (Not all cod liver oil is the same. We buy ours here: http://www.radiantlifecatalog.com/)

13. Avoid genetically modified foods. Yes, this means most packaged and processed foods. You should give them up anyway because most of them contain soy oil and high fructose corn syrup and other toxic crap you don’t want in your body.

14. Buy non-Monsanto seeds. See my blogroll to the right for sources of seeds that are not tampered with by Monsanto.

15. Eat more organ meats. Don’t like liver and onions? Have some foie gras. Or take cod liver oil and desiccated liver tablets. But make sure you get your organs.

16. Stop eating soy. It’s an endocrine distrupter and seriously messes up your thyroid. It can make you infertile. Stop now.

17. Make bone broths. Beef broth, chicken broth, fish broth. Simmer in a big stockpot and freeze for later use. This is one of the healthiest things you can do.

18. Reuse and recycle. Don’t throw away plastic yogurt containers. Or glass mayonnaise jars. Or paper bags. Reuse them for something else. And recycle everything you can.

19. Stop brushing with toothpaste. The fluoride and glycerin are giving you cavities. Use Tooth Soap or Dr. Bronner’s — or sea salt.

20. Filter your water using a reverse-osmosis water filtering system.

Enough for now. That should give you some ideas. (The ones on this list that I have not done yet I am committed to doing in the new year.)

Nourishing Traditions December 14, 2007

I just got an email from a friend of mine. She’s from Turkey, but living in America. She has a baby boy — I met her in my mother’s group.

She writes:

“I’ve been reading Nourishing Traditions and smiling all the time: This lady is telling almost everything I knew from my mom and grandma!! Except some recipes it is the healthy Turkish way of good eating, waoww !! Thank you for mentioning it, there is so much about it I would like to talk with you.

I was making my own yogurt, yogurt drinks, kefir and cream cheese for some time already but this week I got inspired and started to make BOZA, a fermented drink which I was craving for… I will also order Kombucha starter and also offer it to Adam, I hope he will like it. When my aunt was pregnant with my cousin she started to drink Kombucha every day and after her son was born when he was 8-9 months old we gave it to him too. I can’t wait!!”

Funny because I knew Ebru and I shared a lot of the same opinions about food and health. Whenever I saw her, she was always feeding her baby boy fresh vegetables and fruits. And of course he is so healthy.

It’s a shame that so many of our traditions have been lost. So many mothers are serving processed foods like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.

I am now making bone broths and homemade cream cheese and whey and sauerkraut. And I’m about to start brewing my own kombucha too. I ordered the scoby from GEM Cultures and it is due to arrive after the holiday. Seth and I have been drinking kombucha for the past couple of months. We don’t miss Diet Coke at all!

Aspic, pate and persimmons December 11, 2007

I keep thinking about aspic.

I guess it’s because I am making so much bone broth these days. And feeding Kate broth every day. I know it is so good for her. And she loves it. I often add chicken liver pate to her broth, making it doubly nutritious.

Anyway, I’m thinking she might enjoy aspic. Aspic is broth with added gelatin. The gelatin turns the broth into jelly.

I just read the aspic chapter in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I always thought aspics were so outdated. But now I get it. Broth is great when it’s cold outside. But sometimes you need a cold, nourishing treat for a summer day. And sometimes aspic is good even when it’s not summer — when you’re feeding a baby.

I watched her move a small blob of cantaloupe around on her highchair tray for a good fifteen minutes the other day. She’s developing her fine motor skills. Imagine what she could do with aspic. Is there anything more fun to play with than Jell-o?

I also flipped through the chapter on pates. Another thing I could make for Kate. A way to get good organ meats into her.

It’s a shame so many of these traditional foods have been lost. Mothers used to feed their babies liver and other organ meats. Now they feed them iron-fortified cereal. Personally, I think feeding them cereal sets them up for digestive problems. Unsoaked grains are hard enough for adults to digest — much less babies. I’d rather give her liver.

We got some persimmons in our CSA box last week. They are delicious. Just slice them up and eat raw. I think I’ll puree some for Kate tomorrow.

In fact, I think I’ll soak some persimmons with oats and raisins in raw milk tonight for muesli for tomorrow’s breakfast. According to this recipe on my friend Louisa’s blog.

What to do when you’re sick December 5, 2007

I woke up with a sore throat this morning. A friend with a cold came over yesterday. She figured she was past being contagious but I guess not.

It could have been her, it could have been someone else I caught it from. Doesn’t matter. This is a sign though that I need to get healthier.

The thing is, I’m very susceptible to getting sick right now. My immune system is compromised — obviously more than I realized. Ever since my OB-GYN put me on the birth control pill. Which I promptly stopped taking a couple of months later when I read that the birth control pill causes candida.

You see, I had really bad candida when I was in my mid-twenties. It was from all the antibiotics I got as a child. I had recurring strep throat, and every time I got it, they gave me more antibiotics.

Candida is an overgrowth of yeast in the digestive tract and it is caused by a lack of good bacteria. The good bacteria normally fight of the yeast and other “bad” bacteria. If you don’t have enough good bacteria in your gut, the yeast grows out of control. Antibiotics kill all the bacteria in your gut — which causes candida.

I guess the birth control pill does the same thing. I stopped taking it back in September. I think I only took it for about three months. That’s long enough to cause an overgrowth of yeast. I have sores in my nose that won’t heal — same thing I had when I had candida in my twenties.

Obviously with a shortage of good bacteria, you are more susceptible to getting sick. You don’t have the good guys to help you fight off the bugs.

The ironic thing is, when people get sick, they go to the doctor and the first thing they do is give you an antibiotic!

We live in a backwards upside-down society.

And most of us are living these days with a chronic shortage of good bacteria. Jenny McCarthy (as well as Donna Gates of the Body Ecology Diet, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, and many others) believe that this is what causes autism. I think there are tons of diseases and disorders that can be traced to a lack of probiotics in the digestive tract.

What to do? How do you fight a cold or a flu?

Do what your grandma would have done. Chicken soup.

And I’m not talking about Campbell’s from a can. That stuff is useless. Plus it’s full of MSG.

You need real homemade bone broth. Bones from animals (poultry, beef, bison or fish) that are simmered in water for 8-24 hours. With a little sea salt and parsley for minerals.

I could try to list all the benefits of broth here but it would take too long. Just read this: http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/brothisbeautiful.html

In addition to bone broth, animal organs are one of the best things you can eat. When I had candida in my twenties, I was working with a chiropractor-nutritionist. She had me on a supplement called Congaplex, which is made from bovine (cow) thymus gland, as well as crushed up bone. The thymus gland is one of the main parts of the immune system in the body.

Anyway, even though my immune system was compromised, I still recovered from the flu in a matter of a few days. Everyone else in my office who caught it was out for WEEKS.

However, I looked up the ingredients in Congaplex and it has yucky stuff like soy lecithin (sludge waste product from industrial soybeans). Here is a better product: http://www.drrons.com/organ-delight.htm I think I will order some to help me improve my immune function. I need to get Seth on this, too.

I don’t happen to have any bovine thymus gland on hand, but I do have frozen liver. Liver is chock-full of B vitamins, which help to build and repair immune cells in the body.

The best way to eat liver is raw. You can freeze it for 14 days (this destroys any pathogens) then simply grate it into some milk or broth or put it into fresh vegetable juice.

More information on liver: http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/liver.html

Cod liver oil is another excellent way to take liver. I could go on and on about cod liver oil. It is the one supplement everyone should take. Even Dr. Oz on Oprah said so!

Remember, our grandmothers were always telling us to eat our liver and take cod liver oil.

Another thing that helps is coconut oil. It is antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal and helps to support the immune system. You can put it in a smoothie and also use it as a lotion. The pores in your skin absorb the nutrients. (http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/nutrition/coconut.htm)

I am going to start taking a high dose of a quality probiotics supplement to battle my candida. I ordered some ThreeLac which is what Jenny McCarthy used to help her son. Regular probiotics supplements you get in the store are not effective on candida because they are only a “maintenance” dose. With candida, you have to bring in the big guns.

However, I think I’m also going to order some Bio-Kult. This is the probiotic developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. She reversed her son’s autism as well. Here is their story: http://www.bio-kult.com/nicholas.html

Unfortunately I don’t have any of these yet! My ThreeLac has not come in the mail.

So today I will drink a quart of colostrum kefir (from Organic Pastures — chock full of probiotics). Colostrum is the cow’s first milk which is loaded with antibodies. Kefir is fermented milk.

I am drinking a big glass right now. I added a heaping tablespoon of some over-the-counter probiotics I got at the health food store, as well as some coconut oil. I also just took my cod liver oil.

I am also going to drink at least a quart of chicken stock and take my liver supplements. I have some frozen liver I can also grate into a glass of freshly juiced fruits and vegetables. I have some kale here, as well as tomatoes, broccoli, beets, carrots and strawberries. All high in antioxidants. I know, sounds like a nasty drink but I bet it will taste better than a V-8.

The highest ranking fruits and vegetables are prunes, raisins, berries, oranges, pink grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, spinach, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, beets, red peppers, carrots and tomatoes.

(http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art29448.asp)

If I feel well enough, I may have to make a trip over to Rawesome today to get some more high-antioxidant fruits, veggies and more colostrum and kefir. I need to stock up on eggs anyway. (They are only open today and Saturday.)

Oooh! I also have my beet kvass. I should try to drink a quart of that as well. Beet kvass is a lacto-fermented beverage that is super high in antioxidants as well as probiotics. All you do is cut up 6 medium sized beets, put them in a gallon of pure filtered water with a little sea salt and some homemade whey. Then you let it sit on the counter for a few days before you move it into the fridge.

Apparently foods that are lacto-fermented have a LOT more vitamins. The fermentation helps increase the vitamins. Here is an article on kvass: http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/kvass.html

I will also drink lots of hot tea with lemon, and do a steam bath. As recommended by Alla, our nanny, who just arrived. The steam bath helps you detoxify.

And rest of course.

I’m actually glad this happened. When you get a cold, it’s just a sign that your body is fighting. And this tells me my immune system is compromised. Now I will take the steps I need to take to strengthen it.

I will let you know how I recover.

Broth, sugar, and healthy people with no cavities November 30, 2007

It was a grey day in LA. Rainy and cold and dreary. This kind of weather is so rare in LA, so when it happens, it's kind of fun. Like a snow day or a blackout.

I had soaked some oatmeal last night, so this morning I got to wake up to coffee and a bowl of comforting oatmeal with raisins and maple syrup garnished with a little raw milk.

For lunch I used some of the turkey stock (from the turkey carcass) and leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, added a few carrots, some parsley and sea salt, and made the most delicious, comforting soup for Seth and Alla and myself.

Tonight after dinner I was reading my new friend Louisa’s blog. Even though she lives in the French Alps, I found her online because she and I are into all the same stuff health- and food-wise. Weston Price, raw milk, etc.

Anyway, it was so cool to read that she was feeding her family bone broth today too.

http://quatrepattes.wordpress.com/2007/11/30/comfort-for-a-little-one/

Kate LOVES broth. Absolutely loves it. I feed it to her with a little liver pate mixed in. She likes squash, but she LOVES broth. She can't lap it up fast enough.

This afternoon I made zucchini bread from the “Nourishing Traditions” cookbook. It came out great. Very moist. Maybe a tiny bit too sweet (I added extra maple syrup and uncalled for Rapadura). Next time I'll make it a little less sweet. I might make some other adjustments as well.

I have to say though… I think my taste buds are changing. I don't want sweets as much anymore. I used to eat 2-3 chocolate chip cookies almost every night. I used to crave chocolate and sweets. Now I really don't. I can go days, weeks, months even — and I don't care about eating sweets at all. Every once in a while I will have a chocolate chip cookie before bed (I got the kind that are frozen but it's all-natural ingredients). I can only eat one. Even then, it feels like a tad too much.

Sweets just taste TOO sweet for me now. That Halloween party where I had the Bluebonnet Cafe cupcake — it made me dizzy and kind of nauseous. And I only ate half! And I used to be able to devour those cupcakes.

I know part of it is the fact that I am not eating sugar. I don't know the last time I ate real sugar. I've only been eating stevia, maple syrup, raw honey, agave nectar (which I found out I'm not supposed to be eating) and Rapadura.

I think part of it might also have to do with the amount of fat I am eating now. Good fats. Butter, coconut oil, whole milk, eggs. I am satiated. I don't crave anything. I wonder if part of the reason people crave sweets is because they need more fat.

I'm struck by that statistic I read today — that breast milk is over 50% fat and loaded with cholesterol. If fat and cholesterol are bad for you, then why is breast milk — the epitome of health food for humans — loaded with it?

And then you read Weston Price's book (I'm halfway through) and all these people from around the world are eating diets of 50% or more of saturated fat. And they are the healthiest people on the planet. No degenerative diseases. No cancer. No heart disease. No diabetes or arthritis. No obesity. Very, very few cavities. They had no need for doctors or dentists.

What did they eat? Different things, depending on where they lived. The Eskimos ate differently than the people living in the Swiss Alps or African tribes. But overall they all ate a very similar diet — a lot of saturated fat, some vegetables, lots of meat, fish and/or dairy, and occasionally whole grains. Zero refined flour or sugar.

The people in the Swiss Alps for example, lived on raw milk, cheese, butter, whole grain rye bread, some vegetables, and, once a week they had meat. These people had almost no cavities. And no degenerative diseases. Am I repeating myself? I can't help it. It's just astounding to me! Can you imagine never having to see a doctor or dentist?

So interesting… I read that book about babies and sleep (”Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child” by Dr. Weissbluth) and it says that sleep begets sleep. In other words, the more you help your baby get his or her rest, the better and more he will sleep. Likewise, it's eat fat to lose fat. Eat more fat and you will want to eat less and you will lose fat. Counter-intuitive, eh?

I'm watching “What Not to Wear”. They're making over a Rastafarian hippie with dreadlocks that look like really long turds. When I was in the hospital with Kate, I watched this a few times while I was nursing her. It reminds me of that special time. It was so wonderful being in the hospital with our perfect baby, so in awe of and in love with her.

I can't believe how big she's gotten over the past several months. She's so alert and curious and she's crawling and babbling and she even did her first sign the other day. Monkey. You make the sign by scratching under your arms like a monkey.

She also waves now — hi and goodbye. Not consistently — but when she does it, it is clear that she knows what she is doing.

It's so fun cuddling with her and nuzzling and kissing those cheeks, that belly, those toes. She's such a delectable baby. And it's fun learning about who she is. She has a strong personality. Independent, unflappable, curious, determined. And she definitely has a good sense of humor. That's obvious already. Very bright, too. It's interesting to me that their personalities emerge so early.

Time for some milk and then bed.

Sunrise, sunset November 28, 2007

I had to go to the dentist this afternoon (they are putting in a crown on the crownless root canal tooth I had worked on before Kate was born). Driving home from downtown around 4:30 pm, I got to see the most spectacular sunset.

OK not the most spectacular, because every sunset is spectacular. In its own way. Like every snowflake is spectacular. Like every dog. Every cat. Every human being.

Anyway, it was gorgeous and beautiful and breathtaking. I kept trying to focus on driving but all I really wanted to do was breathe in this incredible sunset.

Suddenly it struck me that the majority (like 90%) of the cars were coming in the opposite direction. The majority of people on the road WERE MISSING THIS SUNSET. It then occurred to me that all these people make this commute every day and they all miss the sunset. Not only that, but they miss the sunrise too.

All these people, working so hard, swimming upstream. And a few of us lucky (I don't really believe in luck) bastards get to swim downstream… happily driving west, toward the ocean, marveling at the splendor of the divine.

And to think it was going to the dentist that allowed me to witness this. Clouds with silver linings.

I too miss the sunrise and sunset most days — not because I'm stuck in a car going the wrong way — but because our house doesn't have a view.

I decided right then that our next house will have a view of at least sunrise and/or sunset. Heck, why not both? Maybe we'll have sunrise in one room or on one patio — with our morning coffee — and sunset on a deck or in a den. Ahh, doesn't that sound fantastic?

Yes, yes it does. And I have experienced enough times in my life the reality of visualization creating manifestations. I have done it so many times. I know it works. So I'm going to create our next house. It's going to be huge and rambling and modern and elegant. With alternative energy and a gourmet kitchen and filtered water and showers and unbelievable gardens and a salt water swimming pool.

Fun to think about. Happy where I am and eager for more, as Abe says.

Tonight I made the most delicious salad — the “High Enzyme Salad” from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. Sprouted sunflower seeds, grated carrots and raw cheddar cheese, chopped cucumber, red bell pepper and zucchini (I added that last one) on a bed of greens with a vinaigrette dressing. I forgot the avocado and green onion — oh well.

We had that and shrimp sauteed in lemon butter sauce along with some ceviche I got from Rawesome. Along with some Gewurtztraminer from Roshambo that didn't taste peppery and spicy like most Gewurtzes — it was like honey. Nice with this meal.

Went and checked on the baby. Nothing sweeter than a little chubs all tucked in and sleeping soundly. I held her hand and she grunted and tossed.

I can hear Seth snoring now in the bedroom. Life is good.

I enjoy my life so much these days. Washing and drying cloth diapers, folding them and putting them away next to the changing table. Making the homemade formula in the blender, filling glass bottles and lining them up in the fridge. Making chicken stock and baby food puree, storing it in ice trays — butternut squash, zucchini, carrots, apple sauce, papaya, cantaloupe, and chicken liver pate. Lots to do but it is all enjoyable.

Funny, I was at Rawesome today, doing my shopping. James, the owner, greeted me with an enthusiastic, “Hello!” I was thinking about him as I shopped, thinking about how happy he always seems. He's passionate (just ask him about the politics around raw milk or raw almonds in California and you'll see how passionate he is). But it's not an angry passion. It's a joyful vitality. Something so many people are missing. There is nothing about him that seems depressed or repressed. He is real. He is vital.

And I was thinking about him and how much he must love his job. He gets to bring good, raw, organic food to the people. Food you can't find at Ralph's. You seriously can't. I can't get pastured eggs at Ralph's or Trader Joe's or even Whole Food's. Rawesome is it.

And he is supporting farmers. It's got to feel good to know that the chicken lady has customers for her pastured eggs. She's making money, and people are getting good food.

Anyway, that is how I feel about being a mom. I don't mind washing cloth diapers. I don't mind spending hours researching nutrition and scouting out the healthiest foods and taking the time to prepare them the old-fashioned ways — instead of just throwing something in the microwave. Like James at Rawesome, I feel like what I am doing is important. I am needed. And I am passionate about this. It makes me want to get out of bed in the morning.

And there's something so comforting and warm about a home with a big basket full of fresh organic fruits on the kitchen counter, a stockpot of chicken or beef stock simmering, a fridge full of fresh raw milk and pastured eggs. I know that I am helping my family become healthier.

I know, the results aren't in yet. We've only been doing this for a few months. We did cure Kate's cradle cap and Seth lost a few pounds… but I predict we will see bigger results in the long term.

In the meantime, I'm just happy.

Happy where I am and eager for more.

Isn't that how little kids look at life? Maybe that's why they spend so much time laughing and tickling each other and rolling in grass and making mud pies and snorting milk out of their noses.

Maybe we should all do more of that. All of that. And watch more sunsets.

Weeknight Chicken Soup November 15, 2007

There is nothing more nourishing and comforting than a bowl of good homemade chicken soup.

I made my first batch of chicken stock a couple of months ago (it is amazing that it took me this long to do it — I'm almost 40!).

Anyway, it was not very difficult and it was delicious. Here is the link to the recipe: http://ammichaels.livejournal.com/233245.html

I froze the stock into cubes using a few ice trays. The next day, I popped the cubes out and threw them into a Ziploc freezer bag — for easy access so I can add homemade stock to various stews and soups and sauces.

Tonight I didn't feel like cooking. However, I am tired (sleep deficit from Kate's growth spurt — she's been getting up between 4:30 and 6:30 am). Plus I just found out Alla (our nanny) is sick with the flu. I want to make sure I don't get sick (and transmit to Kate). I need to eat well, rest and reserve my strength to fight off any germs.

So I decided to make some “weeknight” chicken soup. I couldn't believe how easy it was.

1. I put a saucepan on the stove, set it on medium heat.

2. I rinsed and sliced one carrot and one stick of celery. I didn't feel like chopping garlic or onion (too lazy) so I didn't (but I could have added 1/2 onion and 1 clove garlic, had I had the energy and inclination).

3. I tossed a pat of raw cultured butter (which I got from Rawesome yesterday — Seth had one taste of the cultured raw butter and now insists upon it) into the saucepan, followed by the carrot and celery.

4. While I let those soften (5 minutes or so), I cubed a couple of boneless chicken thighs. You could also use boneless chicken breasts. Threw the cubes into a cast iron skillet on medium heat with another pat of butter. Cover and cook through.

5. While the chicken was cooking, I tossed 10 frozen chicken broth cubes into the saucepan with the celery and carrots — and covered. Brought to a boil then turned down the heat to simmer.

6. Went outside to get some parsley. Rinse and chop. (Oh, right, you have to grow your own parsley. But you should! If you don't have parsley growing, it's OK — you can skip it.)

7. Take chicken off heat, drain on paper towel, add to soup.

8. Add sea salt and chopped parsley (just a smidge of each) to soup.

So delicious. And so comforting on a cool fall night. Not to mention incredibly nutritious.

And easy enough to do on a Thursday. I ate mine plain with a glass of rose but you could add noodles or eat with some sourdough bread and butter.

Of course there are a million variations on chicken soup from many cultures around the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_soup).

Isn't it nice to know that it's so easy to do on a weeknight? Or at a moment's notice when someone you know is sick?

I'm going to make some for Alla for lunch on Monday

Now I'm going to have just a tad more wine then a nice glass of milk and go to bed. My goal is to start going to bed no later than 9 pm. If I'm going to be up at the crack of dawn with This Lady, I need to get my rest!