Lately, it’s easy to fall for clever marketing gimmicks and pretty packets touting the words “Real” “Natural” “Homemade” and “Organic”.  But don’t be fooled! Can you decipher the label to tell what’s REALLY in it? Would you eat it knowing it could be severely harmful to your health?

Whilst you may be accustomed to scan for fat, calories and carb content,  save yourself some time and go STRAIGHT to the ingredients.  And this goes for any packaged food. There’s some more important things you need to be mindful of.

Ok, let’s take a closer look at todays example – “Real” Chicken and Beef Stock:  GLUCOSE (read Sugar), SUGAR, SOY, WHEAT AND GLUTEN, YEAST EXTRACT, NATURAL COLOURING, NATURAL FLAVOURING,.

If you’re not already re-thinking your choices after reading about the ingredients I’ve linked to (plus the questionable health and rearing of the animal) lets take a look at what are we left with. Just the Natural stuff right? Nope. Think again.

REAL FAKE

Things are never what they seem, as corporations take advantage of labelling loopholes.  These so called “Natural” ingredients are in fact some of the biggest things that we need to look out for.  (Packaged) Stock, and ingredients Yeast Extract and Natural Flavouring are  symbiotic with MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate) which is widely used  to flavour bland unfavourable tasting foods and ingredients.  (Unless its 100% MSG it isn’t required to be listed that way!)

MSG is known as an Excitotoxin.  Diets high in these, (culminating quickly as a result of eating processed foods) can cause learning disabilities, nervous disorders, seizures and hormonal imbalances in children and adults. They are equally as toxic to the elderly and have been implicated as a major cause of the degenerative nervous disorders. Think Parkinsons and Alzheimers etc.

Needless to say the hidden meaning behind these “foods” are VERY good reasons why you want to be eating properly prepared  meals and  have your Label Radar switched on at all times.  Here are just a few others you should re-think : (and today I’m just referring to the dinner foods!)

• packaged cup-of-soups and canned soups
• two minute noodles
• lean-cuisines/ frozen TV Dinners
• bottled/packaged sauces and spreads

While they may seem convenient and inexpensive, you don’t want to end up paying for them later.  If you are going to eat it – know what’s in it!

HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK -THE REAL DEAL

Super easy to make, inexpensive, healing and delicious – why WOULDN’T you opt for the real thing?

Properly prepared, rich hearty stocks and broths are jam-packed with ingredients essential in boosting our immune systems. They have been known as a remedy for the  colds and flu, asthma and other infectious diseases dating back to the 12th Century!  Keeping a supply in your freezer will not only be valuable if you get sick, but will allow you to consistently add flavour and nutrients to many of your dishes. Made with real ingredients, (including a range reared healthy animal free from antibiotics and synthetic hormones) they contain minerals and electrolytes ( think Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium) from the bones, cartilage, marrow and vegetables, which are easy for us to assimilate. They also contain a rich dose of gelatin which helps to aid in digestion, and acts as a protein “sparer” allowing the body to more fully utilize the complete proteins taken in (good news  for those who can’t afford to have a large amount of meat in their diets). The cartilage, is also used to treat many chronic disorders including  cancer, bone disorders and rheumatoid arthritis.

Ingredients

1 Whole Free Range/Organic Chicken

Filtered Water

2 Tablespoons of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 Carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

3 Celery sticks, coarsely chopped

1 bunch of parsley

Prep

Cut Chicken into several pieces.  Or not. I just leave it whole.

Place chicken in a large cast iron pot or a crockpot with water, vinegar and vegetables. (Everything except for Parsley).

Let it stand for between 30 minutes and 1 hour to allow vinegar to draw minerals from the bones.

Bring to a boil, and remove any scum that rises to the top. (If you’re using a range-reared/organic had-a-happy-life chicken (VERY IMPORTANT), there really wont be much if any).

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for anywhere between 6 to 24 hours.  The longer you cook your stock, the richer and more flavourful it will be!

About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add your parsley. This gives extra minerals to your broth!

When it’s done, remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and let it cool.  Remove the chicken meat and reserve for other meals.

Strain the stock, allow to cool and then freeze in 2 cup batches.  Even better, use an ice cube tray to freeze into cubes.  One tray should equal about two cups.

]]> http://empoweredbeginnings.com/?feed=rss2&p=996 5 http://empoweredbeginnings.com/?p=1013 http://empoweredbeginnings.com/?p=1013#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:56:10 +0000 Justine http://empoweredbeginnings.com/?p=1013

Drinking water can get a little boring - particularly if you’re addicted to coffee, soft drinks and fruit juices.  But don’t be mistaken,  there are many options to keep you hydrated and healthy without overloading on Caffeine and Sugar.  If you’re looking for a refreshing drink that will tickle your tastebuds - then do yourself a favour - treat yourself to some Apple Ginger Cider.  Ideal first thing in the morning before breakfast, this delicious drink will also aid in digestion and its VERY simple to make!

INGREDIENTS

3-4 Organic Green Apples

Grated Ginger

1/2 cup of Whey

Unrefined Celtic Sea Salt

Chop apples into chunks and place in a glass jar with a small opening and narrow nozzle.  The smaller the top, the fizzier the drink will become.

Add in grated or chopped ginger and half a cup of whey.

Add a few pinches of sea salt and fill the rest of the bottle with filtered water (leave an inch from the top.)

Allow to ferment for 3 days out of the fridge, in a warm area in the kitchen.  One bottle will make 2 further batches, once liquid is almost finished, repeat the inital process – add more salt, whey and refill with water. Allow 3 days on bench before Refrigeration.

We  have access to more health and medical information than ever before.

We spend more money on diets,  gyms,  personal trainers, medical practitioners, and quick-fixes than ever before.

YET we have the highest rates of  Obesity, Cancer, Depression and Infertility than ever before!

Have you ever stopped to question WHY that is ???

Information can be vastly different from knowledge.  Even just a little bit of stupid can wipe out hundreds of years of truth. It’s  no coincidence we’re getting sicker – we are being spoon-fed the wrong information by those we look to for help!

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine,

but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame,

in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease”

-Thomas Edison

If your nutritionist/dietician/medical doctor/naturopath/relevant health care practitioner qualifies under ANY of the following, then PLEASE – for your own sake – smile politely, thank them for wasting your time…and get the HELL out of their office!

1.You’ve been recommended a Low Fat Diet/ Soy Foods/ Cholesterol Lowering Margarine/ Man-made vegetable oils

Being advised to eat new-fangled foods in the promise of good health, should signal alarm bells. These are the very things that make us  fat and sick! Believing we can outdo Mother Nature and trying to re-invent the wheel is both costly and dangerous. Processed foods (or non-foods) have been fiddled with, fortified and are lacking in the many nutrients we so desperately need.  (In fact, eating the packet they came in is probably more nutritious!) Regular consumption can have devastating effects – on our hormones, internal organs, metabolism, brains and fertility.  So if you don’t want to be a lab rat – don’t eat them!

2 .You’ve been given a one-size-fits-all nutrition plan

Following something blindly, does nothing in teaching us how to create true health. Distributing  a cookie-cutter program (and implying it works for everyone) just doesn’t make sense. It’s just not worth the paper it was printed on! Sure, we all have the same internal organs, but our ability to tolerate and digest foods, absorb nutrients and burn energy is competely individual. Just like our fingerprints, and just like the rest of us!

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.

Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”   -chinese proverb

3.You’ve been told to count calories (but not food quality).

Your current state of health is a reflection of the food choices you make on a daily basis. The quality of your food is everything. Turning Mealtime into Mathtime will NOT make you healthy.  But it WILL keep you hungry. Physically and emotionally.  (Think  food cravings, yo-yo dieting, disordered eating, weight gain, nutrient deficiencies, altered brain chemistry, gut and digestive problems. Yeah, pretty sexy huh?!)

4.You’re encouraged to blame OLD foods for NEW diseases.

Over the past century, our food culture has gone through such a drastic transformation, we’ve lost sight of what constitutes a normal diet. The good old foods that nourished our ancestors and their children have been FRAMED.  And they continue to be crucified – by the masses who parrot the information – and by the food corporations that make a profit.  Butter, Meat and Real Milk have been  made out to be the bad guys – yet they’ve been around for centuries! So exactly how does this add up? You do the math.

5.Your symptoms are being addressed, but not the cause.

We human beings are far more complex than figures and calculations on a page!  Yet sadly the medical system has evolved into treating symptoms and numbers, not people (and yes diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol  are all SYMPTOMS). Whilst for some, medicines may be necessary, the road to wellness does not  stop here! Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. As long as we focus on just putting out the smoke, the fire will continue to burn!

6.You’ve haven’t been assessed.

If you’re not assessing – you’re guessing! If the foundational principles of your life are not being addressed, it’s going to be difficult to pinpoint the real issues. Kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack.  The culmination of your thoughts, lifestyle habits, digestion, nutrition, hydration, posture, movement and breathing all directly impact your health – because they are your health! None of them work independently of each other.

7.You haven’t been encouraged to actively participate

Good health care should help guide us toward a life of optimal health. But in our search for it, our perception has become skewed. We don’t even know what true health means anymore! (Let alone what it feels like!) Instead of recognising it as Freedom- independance from disease, discomfort and outside assistance – we’ve become complacent, lazy and ignorant.  We’ve come to rely on Doctors to fix us, to babysit us  and to prescribe us band-aid solutions. But do you want to know a secret? Do you want to know the truth??? Doctors can’t heal you! Only you can do that! If you’re not  taking responsibility – actively participating in your health (and being encouraged to do so) – then you’re missing out the most crucial piece of the puzzle!

8.Your expert is an “expert” based purely on social status.

We have people taking dietary advice from GP’s  (who study 5 days of nutrition at medical school), Dieticians endorsing processed foods (with government “health tick” approval) and genetically blessed/surgically enhanced celebrities promising you the body of your dreams (and the lifestyle to match). So this is where common sense and critical thinking take a nose-dive.  (And perhaps your bank balance too). But don’t be sold on the hype – dont let your criteria for expertise be blurred by the stars in your eyes!  If you’re obtaining advice based solely on social status ( whether it be Reality Stars, Media Medical Doctors or number of  Diplomas on the wall) then it may be time for a re-think.  Whilst degrees and qualifications CAN (and should!) be relevant, and TV stardom is  entertaining, the advice means squat if it’s pure, regurgitated garbage.

So  when will the madness end?

Honestly? It probably won’t.  There will always be plenty of people (that don’t know their ass from their elbow) willing to sell you on the promise of good health. And plenty of people that will fall for it.  But that doesn’t mean that YOU have to!  Just remember some basic guidelines -  Hear everyone, but believe no one. Not even if it was me that said it. Question, investigate and use your own good  judgement. Be your own healer,  and reclaim the drivers seat! By putting yourself back in charge, you can ensure you have the best players on your team. Your good health depends on it!

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesdays. Please visit and check out the other posts in this series.

I ripped this recipe straight from Nourishing Traditions aka “The Real Food Bible”.  There’s nothing much more enticing than the warm earthy spices of ginger, cloves and cinnamon to make your tastebuds sing, your toes curl and your immune system even stronger!  As you’ve probably already discovered with my soup theme, it’s a great idea to have plenty of Chicken Stock in your freezer, which will help you conjure up  a quick fuss-free meal that’s nutrient dense and nourishing to the body, mind and spirit!

Ingredients

6 Granny Smith apples

4 tablespoons of butter

2 medium onions, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon each of dry mustard, tumeric, ground cumin and ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon each of cloves, cinnamon and cayenne pepper

2 cups of chicken stock (fresh is best)

juice of 1 lemon

sea salt

creme fraiche or sour cream

Prep

In a cast iron pot, saute onions in butter until soft. Stir in yummy spices.

Combine onion mixture, apples and chicken stock and simmer until the apples become soft.  Inhale the aroma! Smells like heaven, doesn’t it?!

Puree soup with a handheld blender, or if you dont have one, just pop it in your food processor.  Add lemon juice and season with sea salt to taste.  Add a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche to the bottom of mug or squiggle on top in a pretty pattern.

Hey presto! What it’s done already? How SOUPer easy that was to cook!

For a complete meal, add a pork chop lightly sauteed in Coconut Oil…. absolutely delicious!

Do you ever start cooking a recipe and then decide to change the goal posts? I mean, maybe you lack an ingredient or two, can’t be bothered reading the recipe or are feeling extra creative or thrifty with your leftovers.  No matter what the reason, if all goes well you can often find yourself with delicious results.  In fact it’s how the best recipes come to fruition, and in my opinion it’s the most fun part of cooking! (ahead of leaving the cleanup to someone else!) When I started to cook a carrot soup, I realised time wasn’t on my side, and then my blender went on the blink…plus I had some extra ingredients I wanted to use up, so instead of giving up I let my tastebuds guide me…and boy am I glad that I did!

Ingredients

1 onion, diced

3-4 carrots sliced finely

1/2 pumpkin, cubed

3-4 tablespoons butter

1-2 tablespoons fresh Coriander

2 cups of Chicken Stock

Optional: Salmon, Oysters or Seafood of your choice

Prep

Melt 3-4 tablespoons of butter in a cast iron pot.  Add Onions and Carrots and Saute until fairly soft. (This is where I got tired of waiting for the carrots!)

Meanwhile, steam pumpkin in another pot until soft, and if you’ve decided to, cook your seafood.

Now is the time to decide if you want Soup or Stewp – cook carrots until soft or not, it’s your call.

Add chicken stock to carrot and onion mixture and bring to boil.

Simmer gently, adding pumpkin cubes.  Use a stick blender to puree or just a potato masher to stir pumpkin to smooth consistency.  Add in Coriander to taste.

Add grilled salmon pieces or seafood of your choice to Stewp for an even yummier more complete meal! For my dose of fish oils and a boost of zinc I chose Salmon and Oysters.  Doesn’t look so pretty in the picture, but tasted amazing!

Now savour the flavour – make sure you chew every mouthful 27 times – great for your digestion and a good excuse to make it last longer!

]]> http://empoweredbeginnings.com/?feed=rss2&p=1430 1 http://empoweredbeginnings.com/?p=1404 http://empoweredbeginnings.com/?p=1404#comments Thu, 20 May 2010 04:59:18 +0000 Justine http://empoweredbeginnings.com/?p=1404

I promise you, this soup tastes even better than it sounds! As the chill factor goes up a notch or ten, I figured now was the perfect time to cook it.  Picture it… sitting by an open fire, in your favourite warm pyjamas and a cup of this delicious, creamy goodness…without the guilt! Does life really get any better?  (This recipe also appears in The Real Food Blog Carnival this week!)

Ingredients

3-4 tablespoons of butter for frying

3-4 tablespoons of butter for soup

1/2 Onion, finely diced

1 Carrot, finely diced

1 stalk Celery, finely diced

1-2 Cauliflower heads (roughly chopped)

2 cups of Chicken Broth (homemade is best)

6 tablespoons of Coconut Flour

1 can of Coconut Milk

1 cup of milk (or can sub for Coconut Milk like I did)

2-4 teaspoons of Salt, to taste

Sour Cream, Creme Fraiche or  Cream Cheese (again, homemade is best)

Prep

In a soup pot ( I love  my Le Creuset cast iron pot), melt 3-4 tablespoons of butter. Yes go on, it wont hurt I promise. Add chopped onion and brown slightly.

Add carrots and celery, then after a few minutes add cauliflower and parsley.  Stir to combine. 

Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes and then pour in chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt 3-4 tablespoons of butter. Mix the coconut flour with the milk and whisk to combine.  Add the mixture to the butter gradually, whisking constantly.

Remove from heat and then stir in an additional cup of coconut milk or full cream milk. Add salt or pepper where necessary, to taste.

Just before serving add a generous tablespoon of Sour Cream or Cream Cheese to the bottom of your mug or bowl (depending on what you’re serving in of course)

Add the soup on top and stir to combine.  Spruce it up with a sprig of parsley and add some protein to your meal.  Goes well with grass fed lamb chops, homemade pesto and ginger carrots!

Now I’m definately no Master Chef (or photographer for that matter – I’ll blame it on the iPhone), but I think this one would score Eleven out of Ten! Enjoy!

Is it just me or do you also find yourself surrounded by gardening inspiration lately? I’ve long been daydreaming about fresh garden beds full of juicy tomatoes, lettuce, cauliflower and climbing peas (anything Real Food related!) so after many umms and ahhs, we’ve finally begun! The only thing is, I wish we’d started sooner!

Personally, I’ve never had a green thumb (I’ve been known to have killed the odd potplant in my time) so I couldn’t possibly start my own garden! Or could I? The truth is, I can’t really say that because I’ve never really tried! Along the lines of a popular quote  “if you think you can’t – then you probably can’t.  But if you think you can – you can! In fact, Gardening should be a metaphor for life.  Isn’t it interesting how our thoughts and past experiences  overshadow our ability to grow?

Anyway, back to my garden. After a bit of research and with a sparkle in our eyes, my partner-in-crime and I headed down to the Local Markets. Our first stop – Organic John the Gardener.  Well known to the Blue Mountains locals for his garden wizardry, we eagerly listened as he armed us with some words of wisdom (thanks John!) and a small supply of seedlings to get us started. We ended up with broccoli, lettuce, kale (woohoo! kale chips!) and some climbing peas.

On returning  home we were  ready to plant. Or were we? Did we have good organic soil? CHECK. Manure? CHECK. Oodles of enthusiasm? CHECK and CHECK! But alas – one crucial thing was missing – something to plant them in! Okay, so no we didn’t forget (did you really think we were that unorganised?) in fact earlier on we’d looked at a few different options, from container gardening in delicious looking salad bowls , to more natural timber planter boxes such as these ones from Joyful Abode and this one from Pure Mothers.  However on further discussion, we decided on a compromise. Considering the amount of time and work involved to build, we decided we’d already put things off long enough (plus our babies needed some soil!)  So instead we opted to jump in with both feet and go for Organic Johns idea. This is what the end result will look like (fingers crossed!)

These tubs  ironically, are the old recycling tubs that were used in the Blue Mountains before the local council upgraded to big wheelie bins.  Apparently there are hundreds of them still  floating around up here.  So, whilst they may not look like everyones cup of tea, I’ve actually found their edgy, no-frills look has kind of  grown on me.  PLUS they’re in keeping with the spirit of recycling (yay for re-using plastic instead of buying more!) there’s no building needed, they are totally portable  and we get to plant the seedlings immediately. Win, win, win!

Whether you live in a house or an apartment we all have the opportunity, the ability and the birthright to nourish our bodies with the freshest and the best.  So what better place than to source them from outside your own back door?! Whilst becoming fully self-sustainable may not be possible for many of us, we CAN make a difference by choosing to grow some of our own, buy fresh local produce direct from farmers (rather than the big stupid-markets) and reconnect with our food, our soil, our community and ourselves. In fact there are so many benefits to growing your own, it seems kind of crazy not to!  Here are a few reasons why we’re so excited about our new apartment garden…

I want my kids to know what vegetables look like

I want them to have a healthy relationship with the real deal. After all, real fresh food should be a natural, normal part of life, don’t you think? Do you realise there are many children out there (as recently demonstrated on Jamies Food Revolution) that don’t even know their potatoes from their tomatoes?!! In fact a recent episode of Australian Masterchef (challenging contestants to handpick their food from the farm) proved that even the adults are struggling. As a result of turning our backs on real food (in favour of non-foods) we find ourselves and our earth sicker than ever before.  Instead, we buy and we consume without first taking a moment to consider where it came from, how it was treated and under what conditions it was grown. A necessary quality of being healthy is the ability to open our eyes, become more in tune with our food and what it does for us – on a physical scale and a global one.

I want to eat according to the seasons

Do you know what’s in Season right now? Really? Have you ever considered the food miles of your garlic? your broccoli? your tomatoes? What’s the  average travel time for your big shiny supermarket apples from the tree to your grocery basket?  The truth is, we are suckers for convenience.  Our expectations have been programmed and thus catered to, by clever marketing, GMO foods and crops, and the ability for an array of foods to be sourced (whether they are in season locally- or flown in from the other side of the world).  So what impact do you think that has on our environment? our soil? our local farmers? our bodies?  Remember, every time you spend you are voting for the type of world YOU want to live in.  So do you want to be part of the cause? or part of the solution?

I want to consume nutrients, not chemicals

Life literally evolves from the dirt.  In order to be strong and fertile ourselves, we need to get our food from soil that has the same qualities. This should be a no-brainer.  Not convinced? Maybe you still haven’t read my previous post . And besides, fresh pesticide-free fruits and vegetables also taste better! The thing is, you may never understand the difference until you do the real food test – try an organic version that you bought from the local market (or grew yourself) after eating from the supermarket… go on I dare you!

So there it is, may my garden be off to an empowered beginning! What are you growing at the moment? Or are you about to begin your own?

We all know in order to be healthy, we need to consume an adequate amount of fresh fruit and vegetables.  But what if you discovered that what you were eating was sprayed with a deadly poison that had been banned in most countries around the world? What if you were living near these dangerous chemicals which put you and your loved ones at risk? Disturbingly, this is happening – and the consequences are deadly.  This shocking clip was recently aired on Sixty Minutes and forwarded to me by a client of mine.  It dramatically highlights many important reasons why we should be avoiding pesticide ridden fruits and vegetables and how much it affects us on an even wider scale.

Of course I’d love to hear your thoughts, and I urge you to pass this on to everyone you know…PLEASE!

Did you ever get told that by your parents when you were a kid? I used to. Alot. In fact I was always made to sit at the table until they were finished.  Even if it was two hours later. Carrots were not my friend.  Now I never did work out if they helped me see in the dark (although I did come up with some creative ways of getting rid of them) but I thankfully I did work out a way I can  enjoy them…

This recipe is from one of my favourite Cookbooks- Nourishing Traditions (aka the Traditional Real Food Bible)- and it’s one of the best introductions to lacto-fermented veggies if you’re entirely new to this.  In fact you could almost make these with your eyes closed. Seriously.  The first time I made these I stuck exactly to the recipe, but found them a little too gingery.  I halved the amount of ginger this time, and it turned out perfectly for my taste, but it’s your call. Delicious with a meal of lamb chops, a cold leg of Chicken or mixed through an Apple and Walnut salad…the variations are endless!

GINGER CARROTS

4 cups of grated carrots, tightly packed

1/2 – 1 Tblspn of freshly grated ginger (original recipe measurement)

1 Tblspn of Celtic Sea Salt

4 Tblspns of Whey (or use an additional Tblspn of Salt)

In a bowl, mix all ingredients and pound with a pounder or similar – I use a rolling pin – to release juices.

Place in a wide mouth mason jar and press down firmly until the juices completely cover the carrots.  (The carrots should be at least an inch below the top of the jar.)

Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for about three days before transferring to the fridge.

See? Too easy! Not to mention delicious and nutritious! Okay so you may have noticed from my latest posts I’m going a little crazy over Lacto-fermented foods right now…but that’s because I’m so freaking excited to share such a simple  process which is not only  (a) beneficial to your health but (b) will simplify your life in the Kitchen. Enough said.  As I mentioned before, Lacto-fermented foods are about to get trendy again.  Yes, remember – you heard it from me first!   (and don’t forget to let me know if you can see in the dark any better)

So tell me, did you have any vegetable battles when you were a tyke?

And what lengths did your parents used to go to, to make you eat them?

Beetroot is back baby!

Generally, I’ve always been a big fan.  And if you want to get an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals  in your diet, you better jump on the Beetroot train too. The recipes and variations are endless – you can eat them raw, cooked, fermented and even the leafy shoots contain the same amount of nutrients. When consumed on a regular basis, these little guys are a great method of detoxifying the body, helping to protect the Liver and help stimulate the flow of Bile.  Out of all fermented foods they are the firm favourite, with many scientific studies indicating the regenerative effect they have on a cellular level. Because of this, they are used successfully in Cancer therapies (as they contain many of the enzymes that Cancer patients lack).

When first introduced to the recipe below, I admit I screwed up my nose a little.  I mean, Beetroot juice? hmmm…okaaay.  Whilst it wouldn’t have been my beverage of choice, thankfully I’m open to trying different foods  at least once (especially when I know they are good for me) – and boy am I’m glad that I did! This healthy tonic has a refreshing  zing, and while you need not drink alot, it has a surprisingly nice taste.  Great on the side of a nice slow cooked Lamb Roast, or ideally consumed on rising and before bed.  You can also use it to add flavour to soups (a favourite in Ukrainian households).

BEET KVASS

1/2 cup of Whey

Unrefined Sea Salt

Grated Ginger

Filtered Water

• Slice beets into chunks and put into a 2L glass jar.

• Add whey, lots of grated ginger and a few pinches of salt.

• Fill the rest of jar with filtered water (allowing 1cm space from top.)

• Allow to ferment on bench, in a warm area of your kitchen for 3 days before you transfer to fridge.

• One jar will create 2 further batches of Kvass.  Once liquid is almost finished, add in more salt, whey and filtered water.  Leave on bench again for 3 days.

*NOTE:  Steer clear of white clothes and teatowels when making this and keep a damp cloth handy for clean up