I'm brewing kombucha!

Don't know what kombucha is? Well I'll tell ya...
Kombucha is a fermented tea which has been consumed for thousands of years, an ancient elixir. Though the benefits of kombucha are completely based individually, some benefits it's known for are improving digestion, clearer thinking, and increased energy.
Here is a list of some other benefits from Kombucha Kamp website:

*Probiotics – healthy bacteria
*Alkalize the body – balances internal pH
*Detoxify the liver – happy liver = happy mood
*Increase metabolism – rev your internal engine
*Improve digestion – keep your system moving
*Rebuild connective tissue – helps with arthritis, gout, asthma, rheumatism
*Cancer prevention
*Alleviate constipation
*Boost energy – helps with chronic fatigue
*Reduce blood pressure
*Relieve headaches & migraines
*Reduce kidney stones
*High in antioxidants – destroy free-radicals that cause cancer
*High in polyphenols
*Improve eyesight
*Heal excema – can be applied topically to soften the skin
*Prevent artheriosclerosis
*Speed healing of ulcers – kills h.pylori on contact
*Help clear up candida & yeast infections
*Aid healthy cell regeneration
*Reduce gray hair
*Lower glucose levels – prevents spiking from eating

I'm not saying it will do any of these things for you, but it might. None of these statements have been approved by the FDA (haha, all the more reason to try it!) and I am not a medical doctor #disclaimer =)

Brewing kombucha is something I've wanted to do for quite awhile. I never started because I couldn't find a bottle of plain flavored kombucha locally, never really thought of ordering a bottle online. Well, I finally ordered a case, and then they sat in the fridge for awhile. FINALLY I did some research and decided to start brewing. I didn't have a SCOBY to start with though. I found instructions on how to grow my own, but apparently that is no longer recommended since the strength of kombucha that's allowed to be sold retail is not able to grow it itself. So I was stuck. No one I know brews is so I couldn't snag one from a friend. Finally I decided to order one from http://www.kombuchakamp.com/ They seemed very reputable and there are tons of articles and how-to's on brewing kombucha. I highly recommend visiting their site if  you have any interest in brewing. I was very excited when it arrived and wanted to start brewing right away! But somehow I failed to notice you need a gallon sized container (How did I miss that???) So I ordered one because I couldn't find one locally. I was itching to start and everytime I tried something was missing!!! FINALLY the jar came and I was able to start brewing. Here's a picture of my brew on the first day:

Today is day 8 and I took my first taste of the brew. You're supposed to take a straw and put it under the SCOBY and take a sip. Yeah, I kind of looked at it for a minute thinking "I really have to drink something with that thing floating on top???" I did it though. It tasted great! I think I'm going to give it a few more days of brewing though since this is my first time. I want to see how it tastes if you go longer. Not sure what my preferred "kombucha taste" is.
Here is a picture of it today:

The SCOBY multiplies every time you brew and a new one is formed. I think this is a really cool process. Next I need to figure out how I'm going to flavor it!!! So exciting! I know...I'm a dork.

And, by the way, I actually tried to grow my own SCOBY even though it was doubtful it would work:

Uh, yeah, a month later and nada. So save yourself the time and buy one! Or if you're local to me, I'd be happy to pass one on. Like I stated above, each time you brew a new SCOBY is formed. Fun stuff!

There is an initial cost to brewing your own kombucha, but over a few batches you'll make it back in what you would have spent if you bought bottled, and you'd have a far superior product. I think I spend $25 on the SCOBY and $10 or so on the gallon size jar. Considering a bottle in the store can range anywhere from $3-5, you'll make back that money quickly.

More later on my adventures with kombucha!

If you've tried brewing kombucha I would LOVE to hear about it!

Drying herbs and Freezing pesto

Everyday it feels more and more like fall. We are getting the occasional frost at night and mornings are crisp. This is the time of year to harvest the remainder of summer crops. Especially herbs. In some gardens they are still flourishing, but as it gets colder, the plants will die off for the season. Go pick those herbs now! Our CSA farm still has a ton of herbs. Every week we pick a good amount to bring home. It's a great time to stock up on fresh herbs for drying. Stick them in the dehydrator at 105 degrees for a day. You can store them whole to crush later....I hear that makes for the best flavor. Personally, I like to make less work for myself later, so I crush them first and then store them. They still have a superior flavor compared to store bought dried herbs, plus they are MUCH cheaper!

I'm obsessed with pesto. My kids, not so much. So I really can't base meals on it. So I like to have smaller amounts of it at a time for my husband and myself. I use it as a dip with seed crackers and raw cheese. It's amazing how good that is! Knowing that soon enough I won't have access to fresh basil (Yes I know very well you CAN grow herbs inside in the winter....but my brown thumb prevents that...sigh...any plant that gets within 10 feet of me dies) So I had this vision of freezing a bunch of small portions of pesto. I in no way wanted to freeze it in bags by itself or other plastic containers. I suddenly realized that muffin cups were the perfect size! I scooped pesto into muffin cups, put them on a plate and stuck them in the freezer overnight. The next day I pulled them out of the freezer and tossed them into freezer bags. I thought it was genius =) Plus, think how much money you save compared to pesto at the store!

Veggie Wash

White vinegar, bet you're saying "Really, another cleaning recipe with vinegar, is she serious?" But yes, yes I am. White vinegar has amazing cleaning and disinfecting properties. Not to mention it's natural so it makes a great veggie wash! All you have to do is mix equal parts water and distilled white vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray on your fruits and veggies, rub, rinse. With soft skinned fruits it's better to soak in a bowl of cleaning solution and rinse. Don't buy expensive veggie wash, try this! It's great! Very economical!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Canned cream of mushroom soup is so laden with sodium and other random ingredients, not to mention the bpa lined can it comes in. So not worth it when you can make it yourself, at home, in your crock pot! Then store in the freezer until needed. So easy...and so good for you! Try it, you'll be so happy you did. Not to mention you'll save a little money while you're at it!

Ingredients:
2 lbs mushrooms, organic is recommended
6 cups water
2 organic vegetable bouillon cubes 
1 ts good salt
2 TB organic Italian seasoning
1/2 ts organic ground pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
1 TB organic dried minced onion
4 cups organic milk or cream (for adding later)

Directions:
Wipe your mushrooms clean and dump in the crock pot. Add the rest of the ingredients except the milk. Cook on low for 8 hours. VERY carefully blend soup with an immersible blender. If you don't have an immersible blender, very carefully blend in small batches in a blender. Add milk and blend. Let cool completely before placing in freezer containers. I freeze it in 2 cup portions (or 16 oz). A regular can of soup would be 10 oz. Freeze in the amount that works for you! Don't forget to leave a cup out to sip on when you're done. YUM!!!

Make beans in your crock pot

We go through a lot of beans since we eat vegetarian a lot. Plus, if you haven't noticed, I totally love Mexican food. But buying organic canned beans has a lot of issues, like price, and the bpa lined cans. Then there's dry beans which take fooorreeevvveeerrr on the stove. So the solution? Cook dry beans in the crock pot all day, or night, while not having to worry about them. Then freeze in portions and you have great organic beans for a fraction of the price. I once figured that my cost was about 50 cents for the same volume of a $3 can. So that's a great deal, without the danger of bpa lurking in your food.

Directions:
You need 4 cups of dry beans (I like to always have on hand: black, pinto, kidney, and garbanzo). Rinse your beans in a colander and pull out any bad ones (great job for kids!). Soak your beans for 8-12 hours. Drain and rinse again and place in crock pot. Cover with water. You want the water at least an inch above the bean line. Pour in a teaspoon of good salt. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Test to make sure they are done, then drain and rinse. Let cool completely before packing in freezer containers. You can freeze them in any quantity. I usually do 4 cups, but I used to do 2 cups...back when I had half the amount of children running around.

Make your own deodorant

Commercial deodorants are laden with aluminum and ingredients that contain aluminum. But did you know that many deodorants that are sold as "natural" do too?  The most widely used form is potassium alum, which is what those crystal stone deodorants are made of. They claim to be "aluminum free" because they don't contain aluminum chlorohydrate, aluminum chloride, aluminum hydroxybromide or aluminum zirconium.Check out the label, still contains potassium alum or potassium aluminum sulfate.
Aluminum is linked to breast cancer, Alzheimer, and other diseases. It is a poison that has no beneficial role in your body.
Here is a recipe for a great homemade deodorant. It really works, and it saves you money, try it!

Homemade Deodorant
1/4 cup aluminum free baking soda (Bob's Red Mill makes one)
1/4 cup organic cornstarch
About 2 spoonfuls organic coconut oil


Mix the powders together. Melt the oil. Mix the oil in to the dry ingredients until just wet. Store in a glass container with tight fitting lid. Rub a SMALL amount into your armpits. You don't want to use too much or you'll leave oil stains on your clothes. I use just about a pea size amount. 
So easy!

Italian Dressing Mix

 

I love making my own salad dressing! When I make it I always know what's in it. No hidden ingredients! Plus it's so much cheaper. Organic salad dressing can be ridiculously expensive. Not to mention, half the time when I try a new one, everyone HATES it!!! When usually for less than a dollar I can make a cup or two of salad dressing myself. If no one likes, no biggie. I like this Italian dressing mix because I can make up a batch, keep it in a jar, and I always have it ready when I need it. You could also use it for a dry rub on chicken, Mmm! Or fish...or sprinkle over veggies and roast....

Italian Dressing Mix:

2 ts organic garlic powder

2 tb organic dried oregano

1 tb organic dried parsley

1 ts organic dried basil

1/4 ts organic thyme

1/2 ts organic celery seed

1 tb organic onion flakes

1 tb sucanat or organic sugar

1 tb real salt

1/2 ts organic pepper

Mix together and store in an airtight jar.

To make salad dressing:

Combine 2 tb of dry mix with 1/3 cup vinegar (white wine or apple cider) and 2/3 cup olive oil.

Enjoy!

Reuse your green onion ends

How many times have you thrown away the white end of your green onions? Yeah, me too. Until I learned that you can take those white ends with the roots, put them in water, and they will grow back!!!(I love Pinterest!) How cool is that??? I was SOOOO super excited when I learned this! I use a lot of green onions so this is wonderful for me! Maybe you're not as excited or don't use as many....but it's still a useful tip. Even if you only use green onions occasionally, go ahead and throw those suckers in water and they'll be waiting for you the next time you need them. It might even encourage you to use them more often =) Within a couple days of putting them in water you'll see them start to grow.  Within two weeks they will be fully grown!
Here, check out my pics:

After a couple days

 

 

 

 

About 6 days

9 days!!! Giddy, jumping for joy!

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Make your own oatmeal flavor packets

I've heard many times that you should never eat instant oatmeal but have never actually heard a reason why. So until I learn why I keep buying instant oatmeal (Now I know someone is going to tell me since I said that!!!). I'm a busy mom of 4 kids, I love instant oatmeal. Granted I also have regular cook on the stove oatmeal too. But sometimes I just don't have the 10 minutes to cook it. Now that I've typed that it seems silly that I don't have 10 minutes to cook oatmeal. But every time I cook oatmeal on the stove it's guaranteed that someone didn't want oatmeal, or someone wants more than I made, etc.  But organic instant oatmeal packets are SO expensive for what you get! There's only like 6 packets in a box, divide that between 4 kids....yeah, a day and a half of oatmeal IF they only want one packet each, which rarely happens. So I thought, why couldn't I make my own? Absolutely I could! Our grocery store sells canisters of plain organic instant oatmeal. So I buy a couple of those for a week. So at $2 each, that's a max of $4 in oatmeal a week...IF they finish both, and they don't usually. For $4 I can buy one box of 6 packets of instant oatmeal. To go with the oatmeal I take a small glass jar with a lid. I fill it about 3/4 of the way with Sucanat (stands for sugar cane natural). Then I add a couple tb of organic cinnamon. Shake, and voila, flavor for your oatmeal. In the past I've also dehydrated apples, ran them through the food processor to get small pieces and added that to the flavor container. But with four kids I've learned that not everyone of them will want the same flavor as everyone else every time. So I now keep them in a separate container and sprinkle them on if requested. Or raisins, same deal. Or dried cranberries. Or blueberries. You get the idea! Keep all those in separate containers and it's like your own homemade oatmeal variety pack =) I think it's genius, my kids think it's breakfast.




Oatmeal Flavor container
Small glass jar with a lid
3/4 full with organic Sucanat, or organic sugar, or turbinado, or brown sugar
2 tb organic cinnamon

Optional ingredients in a separate container:
organic dehydrated apples, chopped
organic raisins
organic dried cranberries
organic dried blueberries (or fresh...or frozen!)

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Make your own vanilla extract

 Ok, this is so awesome! We go through a ton of vanilla in this house. Hubby likes to put it in his coffee, not to mention baking, etc. Here, a 4 oz bottle of organic vanilla extract costs about $8. I was chatting with a friend who told me she makes her own and it's super easy. I immediately ordered a bunch of organic vanilla beans, you only need 6, but I wanted extra. Order them here They have good prices. In my grocery store it costs $7 for TWO beans. Check out beanilla's prices, SO much better!
So here's what you need:

6 organic vanilla beans (See note at bottom, I added another bean later)
2 cups organic vodka (if you can find it, otherwise a mild tasting vodka)
1 clean jar with a tight fitting lid. I used a bottle with a cork because it's pretty =)
1 2 or 4 oz amber bottle (beanilla sells these too)

Take a sharp paring knife and slice your beans down the middle leaving an inch attached.

Place all beans into your jar.
Pour in the 2 cups of vodka.

Put the lid on and shake it.

Take your jar and place it in a dark cupboard. It will need to sit for 8 weeks. When you think about it, give it a good shake. After 8 weeks you can now pour some off into your amber bottle. This is what you will use daily. Leave the jar with the beans in the dark cupboard. NOW here's the great thing....you can keep topping off the jar with more vodka and this will last you for years! If you ever notice the color getting lighter, slice another bean and throw it in, give it a shake (It'll probably be a year before you need to add another bean). Isn't this great! So economical!

Commercial vanilla has a simple syrup added it to it, you can do this if you want but I didn't. If you're using it in baking you won't even notice a difference.

At one week

6 Weeks

10 Weeks (I added an extra bean at 8 weeks because it wasn't as dark as I wanted, and then let it go 2 more weeks)

Now you can pour off into your amber jars for daily use. Keep your large container in a dark cupboard. Add more vodka as needed.

Freezing fresh herbs

I just learned something and thought I would share it with you all. In the past if I had fresh herbs that I wasn't going to use I would dehydrate them and save them. I just learned that you can freeze them too! Now I'm probably way behind the times on this and everyone but me knew this, but I'm excited about it!
Here's how:
1. Cut a big bunch of the herb off the plant.
2. Remove the leaves from the stem.
3. Bunch up the leaves and pack them into ice cube trays.
4. Cover with water.
5. Freeze
6. Remove from ice cube tray and put your herb-cubes into freezer storage bags.

That's it! Isn't that neat? Now you can use them for winter soups and other cooking. Hmm, I'm guessing they would be a little soggy to use as an uncooked fresh herb in a salad or other dish. I'd love to hear back if anyone knows about that!

Saving money by stretching some chicken

Organic chicken is pretty pricey where we live. It's about $6 for one package of thighs, which has about 8 pieces in it. Which is actually a much better price than the breasts, they are about double that. So I wanted to share with you a way I stretched out the chicken this week. We don't eat a ton of meat as it is, and I always cringe when I see chicken on my list (just for the cost). A normal chicken dinner we would use two packages of chicken. This week I bought two packages of chicken, but it wasn't just for one meal. I cooked it all up and put two pieces, chopped up, in chicken tortilla soup. Tonight I will use about 5 pieces for chicken and chile wraps. The rest is being used for sandwiches throughout the week. Where we live there isn't a big supply of organic, no nitrate lunch meat. We can get one very small package of organic sliced turkey for $6. That will make 3 or 4 sandwiches. With what I have left of the chicken I'll be able to make atleast 8 sandwiches. So 8 sandwiches and two meals came from my two packages of chicken. Nice!

Money Saving Ideas

Sometimes when eating organically it seems as though prices are just going up. It was a real price shock moving from California to New York. It’s amazing to me how much more produce is. Not to mention, even things like crackers and bread. What I wouldn’t give for a Trader Joes. If you have a Trader Joes, I highly recommend you shopping there. Otherwise, here are some ideas I’ve used over the years:
-The crockpot has become my fan. Not just for cooking meals. Honestly I don’t actually cook many meals in them. But I cook things like dried beans and then freeze in 2 cup portions. After moving to NY I found that canned organic beans were $2 a can! Augh! I can spend less than 50¢ for each 2 cup portion. Before cooking, rinse the beans, soak for atleast 6 hours, drain,rinse, put back in crockpot, fill with water (atleast an inch over the surface of the beans). Add salt and any seasonings you may like. I generally add a little garlic powder and cumin. If you want to make refried beans, I suggest throwing in half an onion (only chop it up if you intend to keep it in with the beans when you process them) and a couple cloves of garlic. You could certainly add a jalapeno or two if you’d like spicey refried beans. Cook on low for 6 hours or so. Check every couple hours if you can to make sure they don’t need more water. After 6 hours taste a bean to make sure it’s to your likeness ( I can’t stand hard beans, but that’s just me). You can also cook any kind of soup and portion it out and freeze it too. Much better for you than canned soup and cheaper. Here I pay $3+ for a can of soup. We’re a family of five, we can split one can of soup. So that makes soup a bit pricey. I actually prefer the cartons of soup, which are still $3+. Depending on the type of soup you make you’ll probably be spending anywhere from less than 50¢ to a dollar or so for a portion. My next venture in the crockpot is to try to make tomato sauce. I don’t like spending $2 a can for that either. Obviously I use a lot of tomato sauce and beans. But we can’t get organic tomatoes yet so I’ll wait a little later in the year. Which brings me to my next idea…
-Buy produce when in season and freeze or can for when it is not available…or when the price is doubled or tripled. This is especially important if you live summer with real seasons…like winter for instance. I was clueless moving to NY. I had no idea that some produce was not available in the winter. Totally makes sense but I had never dealt with that before. Find organic u-pick farms for berries and apples. I can’t believe I have to pay $5 for a container of strawberries. I WILL find an organic strawberry farm this summer and freeze a ton of them! Produce stand have great prices too. Or…
-Grow it yourself! Even if you don’t have room for a big garden you can plant a small one, or container garden. My goal last winter was to attempt growing tomatoes inside in a really sunny room. The winter got away from me and I never did it. But I may try it this summer just to see if I can do it. I read an article once saying that it was entirely possible, and pretty easy too. I’ve seen hanging containers for strawberries and tomatoes, anyone has room for those, inside or out. An herb garden works great in a sunny window inside. If you end up with more herbs than you can use, dehydrate them. Same with extra produce…if you don’t freeze or can it, you can dehydrate it. I love my dehydrator…
-Invest in a dehydrator. Organic dried fruits and veggies are expensive to buy. But to dehydrate them yourself is super easy and super cheap. Beef jerky too. Way expensive to buy, not cheap to make, but cheaper than buying and you can season to taste. Bonus if you find an organic farm you can meat from directly. Most grocery stores now carry organic meat too.
-Coupons! I went years thinking I could never use coupons because you just don’t see coupons for organic brands in the newspaper. I found that you can contact your favorite companies directly, usually through their website, and they will mail you coupons. Some will even email them to you. I also found that my grocery store’s natural department puts out a monthly magazine with great articles…AND coupons! So they are out there, you just have to look, they aren’t just handed to you like with the cruddy unhealthy brands.
-Use a water filter and reusable bottles. If going for plastic, find #2 plastic. Sigg and Klean Kanteen make good bottles too. They even make sippy cups for kids. When at home, opt for glass if possible. I’m sure you can only imagine how much you will save not buying water in disposable bottle, not to mention the environmental reasons to.
-Make your own condiments. I got really tired of paying $8 for a tiny jar of organic mayonaisse. I got a great recipe from a friend and now make it myself. It’s really easy and SO much cheaper. Ketchup and mustard aren’t that expensive for me so I haven’t tried them yet, but I know people that have. Salsa and hot sauce are also pretty easy, and much cheaper to make. You can play with the recipes until you have something you absolutely love and you’ll never go back to buying it premade!
-Buy organic eggs straight from the farm. In the winter, when the chickens are producing less and I can’t get them from the farm I buy them from the store for $4 a dozen. From the farm I pay $2. We go through about 4 dozen eggs a week, that’s a huge savings! If you have room, get your own chickens. We now have our own chickens. We have 16 (we did have 26, stupid fox). We get about a dozen eggs a day, it's great!