Natural Cleaning Paste

My shower was starting to look a little embarassing.  I was getting lazy and I ran out of my usual norwex cleaning paste so I decided I should really just make my own.  This paste worked very well on the grout with some help of an old toothbrush.  I really should learn to just do this more often but anyhow I thought I would share this cleaner recipe.

 Ingredients

• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 1/3 cup borax
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon natural liquid soap (I used my dish soap)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients until it resembles a think paste and the bubbles of disappeared from the vinegar reaction.
2. Use on any area that needs an extra scrub such as sinks, tiles and toilets.

I can't believe I am showing you a before picture of my shower.  I am really quite embarrassed but it does show you how well this stuff works.  

Before

 After                  

Cherry Pudding or Cherry Soft Ice Cream? (Dairy, Gluten/Grain Free with Sugar Free Option)

I don't really know what to call this dish but it is quickly becoming a favourite treat of mine.  If served right away the frozen cherries definitely give it a soft ice cream consistency. This recipes works well with other frozen berries as well.

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

• 1 1/2 cup frozen pitted cherries
• 1 avocado
• 1/3 cup non dairy milk
• 1 tablespoon raw honey (optional)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and purée until smooth.
2. Serve immediately.

Sauerkraut Recipe and Benefits

Being Dutch, I grew up eating Zuurkoolstamppot, which is a one pot meal of potatoes, sauerkraut and smoked sausage.  I never realized the benefits of the sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) until more recently.  Sauerkraut was invented years ago, as a way of preserving food and consuming vegetables in the winter months.

Sauerkraut is made by very thinly slicing a cabbage and then "pickling" it by a process called lacto-fermentaion.  In this process, lactic acid is created by the reaction of bacteria (from the air) combining with natural food sugars.  Turning a cabbage into a fermented food now makes it a vegetables with probiotic advantages.  It will now help balance out your bodies digestive system and help fight against illness. To learn more about probiotics and their benefits please read my article You Are What You Eat.

Cabbage on its own, is one of those cruceriferous vegetables which lowers cholesterol and is very high in antioxidants, vitamin A and vitamin C.  According to Doctor Oz. this vegetables is also a cancer fighter.
I have made sauerkraut with red cabbage, white cabbage and with a combination of cabbage and carrots.  I have yet to experiment with additional spices, do let me know if you have any favourite combinations.

Ingredients

• 1 head of cabbage (red or white)
• 1 tablespoon sea salt

Directions

1. Wash and chop cabbage into thin slices and break apart any chunks.  Place cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt.
2. Squeeze cabbage with hands or mash with a glass jar, wooden spoon or pestle.  Do not use a metal instrument as it will react with the lacto-fermentation.
3. Once you have extracted some juice and the cabbage is limp.  Distribute the cabbage into jars using non-metal instrument.  Poor juices over the cabbage ensuring the cabbage is completely covered or scum will form.  You may need to use a weight to submerge your cabbage.  Loosely cover your jars with the lids and let them sit on the counter.  
4. It will take about a week for the process to be complete. Simply taste your sauerkraut until it reaches your desired taste.  I typically like mine after 7-9 days.  Do check on your sauerkraut everyday to ensure it still looks well.  If you see some scum or bubbles forming simply scoop them off.
5. Once fermentation is complete and the sauerkraut is to your liking, tighten the lids and place in your fridge.  Refrigerated sauerkraut will last at least 6 months.

You Are What You Eat - How your food, gut and brain are connected

I have been learning so much about how our digestive system effects our brain.  Our abdomen is connected to our brain through the vagus nerve.  The vagus nerve is one of our largest nerves and sends information back and forth from the brain to our digestive system.  Through the early stages of fetal development the brain and digestive tract or "gut" even separated from the same tissue.

I am not a professional in this matter, but do want to share what I have learned. Without going into a lot of detail, a healthy gut system should send normal signals to our brain. If your gut system is trying to fight off toxins, metals, vaccines, yeast, medications, preservatives, gluten and other hard to digest foods, it will begin to cause holes the intestinal wall.  You may also have heard of this condition as leaky gut syndrome; for more on this you could read this article.

What Happens When You Have Holes in Your Digestive System?
Each hole that is created, allows these toxins to directly enter the bloodstream as well as climb up the vagus nerve.  With all these foreign materials in your bloodstream, your body is having to fight extra hard to protect itself from illness and your brain is being sent false information.

How Do You Know if You Have a Leaky Gut?
Many of us have holes in our digestive tract and may not even notice.  For others, it could be manifested into some of these conditions:

• allergies
• ADHD
• anxiety
• arthritis
• autism
• celiac
• colitis
• Crohns
• dyslexia
• eczema
• headaches
• irritable bowel
• migraines
• yeast overgrowth 
• and much more

For more detailed information on these conditions do check out this book, this book or this one.

How to Fix our Digestive Systems?
The holes in our digestive tract can be repaired with proper nutrition, remedies, therapies and supplements. I highly recommend seeing a naturopath, holistic nutritionist, DAN doctor, or other professionals with an invested interest in whole natural foods.
What I have learned is that there are a lot of things we can do to protect and heal our gut systems.

1. Ensure your diet is not high in sugar, processed foods, refined flours,starches, preservatives and flavourings.  
2. Your diet should include zinc which is essential in building up your intestinal wall and also helps enhance your appetite for a variety of foods and flavours.   
3. Include probiotics or digestive enzymes in your diet to reduce the stress on your system as well as balance out the healthy bacteria in your body.  Probiotics bring in the good bacteria which help your body heal and fight off infections.  
4. Eat foods which are naturally fermented giving your body the probiotics, minerals and enzymes it needs to stay healthy.  Some examples would be raw pickles, raw milk yoghurt or non-dairy yoghurt,  raw sauerkraut and, kombucha.
5. Consider a GAPS, Primal or Paleo diet.  These diets basically bring us back to eating like our ancestors.  Our ancestors ate diets full of fruits, vegetables, nuts, healthy fats, meats and fermented foods.  They ate little to no grain and often fermented them first.  The GAPS diet even includes stages to follow which work on healing your digestive tract.   Check these out for more on GAPS Intro,  Intro to Paleo or Nourishing Traditions

Orange Raisin Scones/Biscuits (Dairy ,Egg, Gluten/Grain and Refined Sugar Free)

I was looking for another grain free breakfast idea and realized, I hadn't made my regular biscuit recipe in awhile.  I thought I would make a different flavour and decided orange was the way to go.  I definitely like this combination.  They were nice and fresh tasting and went well with my morning tea.  These biscuits are great warm or cold the next day.   

Ingredients (makes about 8 biscuits)

• 1 1/2 cup soaked and cooked navy beans (for soaking and cooking see below)
• 2 tablespoons orange juice (half orange)
• 1/3 unsweetened hemp milk or alternative non dairy milk 
• 1/4 cup honey, agave or any natural sweeteners 
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, grapeseed or olive oil
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 tablespoons ground  flax or chia seeds*
• 1 1/2 tablespoon psyllium husk
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a baking sheet.
2. Purée beans, orange juice, honey oil and milk.  Add all remaining ingredients and mix until well blended. (If you are using a blender, you may not want to add the raisins but stir them in later.)
3. Dropped approximately 1/3 cup size mounds of batter onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake 20-25 minutes.