Cranberry Apple Sauce - So Easy to Make! (sugar free)

Although this is not really an Irish thing, it has become more popular over the past few years and it seems to be something most people would buy rather than make at home. Cranberry sauce is a staple this time of year for the holiday season as well as anytime you think of eating turkey.

This week we will be having a turkey (the first time in about 10 years!) and it is one of our own. I was delighted that it turned out so well, growth wise anyway and seems to be plenty big. This one dressed out at just under 22 pounds... More than enough!!

Getting back to the sauce... well, I wanted to have a selection of condiments to choose from on the day and that meant getting cranberries. They are readily available in most shops and are also very easy to work with. 

What I like most about cranberries, besides the fact that they are so good for you, is their versatility. You can put many different things with them but my personal favourite would have to be apples. I like apples mainly because they balance the tartness of the berries with a sweeter softer taste.

They also thicken up the sauce very well eliminating the need for any other gelling agents. It's really so easy to make and could also be used as a jam for bread or crackers. Actually with a little cheese....

So, to make cranberry sauce I washed 500gr of berries and chopped up 4 apples (peeled and cored). These all went into a pot with a little water to be boiled down to the desired consistency. I did add a little ground cloves (what's winter without it?) and some agave syrup to sweeten, then blended the results once it was cooked.

Because I was making lots, I also sterilized 2 jars and canned the extra sauce for our Solstice season...and we still have a bowl of it to try in the meantime. It is lovely without being overly sweet or tart - the nicest thing about making this yourself is you can decide on the taste!

April

Cranberry Apple Sauce before blending 

Wild Venison Goulash

Yesterday was another cold clear day - the kind that winter should be made of...it was fresh and healthy  and we need far more of them. With the cold here, often comes some level of damp - which is in itself not a great way to be at any time of the year.

Thus our greater need for warm, nourishing foods such as soups and stews. I make no secret of the fact that I love to make them and equally enjoy eating them. Give me a good stew any day and I am quite satisfied I have eaten plenty and had all the goodness contained within.

Perhaps that is the main reason why I like making them so much - they are so versatile and you can get all your vegetables in one meal into a well organized pot of stew. With this in mind (and to have something different on our plates) I decided to make a Wild Venison Goulash.

For our purposes here, the main difference between goulash and stew (there aren't many!) is that a goulash would usually contain noodles of some kind and maybe less vegetables. To make a meal using venison, it also would have to be marinated and slow cooked.

Starting with 1 kg of diced venison, I simply added it (rolled in spelt flour) to the slow cooker with about 5 onions, lemon juice, crushed garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme and several bay leaves. This I left on high to begin cooking while I added 2 cups of boiling water.

The key here to a nice taste is probably the onion (mixture of shallots and onions) and garlic - there are lots added and the meat gets to cook all day in these juices. After a few hours I added in some, but not too much, carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin and turnip. Just enough to notice there were vegetables in there.

Again I left the slow cooker on for a couple more hours, only this time I turned it down to a low heat setting. Once I was satisfied the goulash was cooked - I added 1 cup of noodles. I would have preferred to make them myself, however, next time I hope to be able to do that.

Within about 1/2 hour, the goulash was ready - at this point you can add some fresh goat's yogurt to the pot or even to individual bowls once it is served. But my children usually like this dish plain - and it was enjoyed all the same, very much so!

It's an easy meal to make and a nice change from an ordinary stew....

April

Wild Venison Goulash 

Creamed Coconut Macaroons - Sugar Free!

I am always trying to improve on a recipe - and when I think of some ingredient that will make an already good recipe taste great, I can't wait to try it out. These past few days I have been waiting until my cleanse was finished so I could play around with some ideas I had for my macaroons.

We are people who enjoy coconut but probably don't eat that much of it. Maybe that's why we still really like it - it's a treat to find it added to a dish or in a cake or cookie. My husband grew up eating coconut macaroons and would name them as one of his favorite treats.

As for me, my available treats would have been far more traditional with fruit cakes, pies and oaty squares being the usual fare. In our house now, we just want to eat well, try new things and improve on the old ones... so with this in mind I have been working on the macaroon.

I like a chewy cookie, it's not a biscuit - it also needs to be sweet but not overly and distinctive without being overwhelming. This type of cookie lends itself to this situation because it can easily be made the way your family likes it.

This morning I made some Creamed Coconut Macaroons using the following recipe;

Creamed Coconut Macaroons

1 ¼ cups whole spelt flour

½ cup ground almonds

1 ½ cups desiccated coconut

1/2 cup grated creamed coconut

1 cup goat’s milk

¼ cup maple syrup or apple concentrate

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

1/8 teaspoon salt

Turn your oven on to 180°C and prepare a large flat baking sheet. You can butter and flour it or cover with parchment paper. 

In a deep mixing bowl, measure out the flour, desiccated coconut, grated coconut, ground almonds, nutmeg and salt. Sift together until well mixed. Then pour in the maple syrup and milk – continue stirring until mixture is thick and sticks together well.

Using a wooden spoon, drop medium sized amounts onto the baking sheet until you have used up all the batter and these are evenly spaced. If making smaller ones you can space them closer together. 

Bake in the hot oven for 14 -16 minutes until golden brown on the outside. These are spicy and chewy, great as a snack anytime....

Enjoy!

April

Creamed Coconut Macaroons

Digestion and Hearing Voices...

Today I felt like having some fruit salad - I know it's winter, but my body just needed some extra vitamin C and the fastest way to get it is to eat some fresh herbs and fresh fruit. So, today I am doing just that. 

Fruit is also fairly easy to digest - and when you have just spent 21 days fasting, perhaps sticking with digesting fruit for the first couple of days or so is always best. This morning I put the fruit salad in my porridge - which is another food that is easy on the gut, and it was heavenly.

Years ago I would not have given as much thought to paying attention to my body, listening, watching and following it's instructions as I do now. To a certain extent as an intuitive, I have always had to listen, but not always have I followed through.

When it comes to food, this is one of the most common misconceptions on the planet. I actually have people tell me - 'my body needs sugar', or I really 'feel' like a cup of coffee. And for the most part they have convinced themselves that these voices, feelings, senses really do come from their body tissues.

Of course, they do not. Your body's first priority is to preserve life - yours. Not one single organ, tissue or cell in your body would ever request some type of poison as a fuel. Ever. 

These 'voices' or desires come entirely from the entities (aka fungus, yeast, nasty bacteria, molds, low vibration viruses) who run the show inside your gut. The worst part is they have been managing your digestion, absorption and breakdown of food as well. 

Or in the case of nearly everyone - the utter and complete lack of the above normal physiological functions. When there is an overgrowth or imbalance within the gut this results in a dysfunction and routinely affects everything. Both inside and outside of your body.

So, getting back to cravings....you are probably not craving anything more then green leaves, fresh herbs and nice vegetables. It all comes down to who you listen too....

April

Fruit Salad...Yumm!

Cake and the Magic of Life...

So, right now we are in the middle of some sort of a cooking, baking, foodie craze...apparently there are more cooking shows, new cookbooks, recipe sites and blogs then ever before. And that is all great, right? It keeps us focused on eating well and using our food to get healthy....

Oh, I forgot, 99% of these shows, blogs, books and what not have nothing to do with eating well, healthy meals or removing rubbish from your diet. In fact, the latest fad to hit the airwaves is the cake and baking madness with impossible techniques, equipment and ingredients.

No one enjoys nice cake more then me, especially with a great cup of dandelion coffee. But that is just it - I would make it myself, it is sugar free, organic, whole grain, fresh, made from unprocessed everything and actually still registering on the food pyramids.

I was out and about at the weekend and could clearly see the evidence of this baking craze - with heaps of new recipe books, baking pans, measuring cups and each shelf topped off with icing sugar or some other type of poison. 

Not to mention the use of colorings, additives, tins of ready made this or that, chocolate laced, sweet and full of empty calories. So, what is this all about anyway? Yet another way to get you looking at food, thinking about food and perhaps making high calorie meals?

I don't think so. I think it's about making you think - that cake looks perfect, I can't possibly make that so I still want it and I will go out and buy it. Just like everything else out there - it comes in a box and all you have to do is fork it into your mouth.

I just finished reading a study that found people who watched cooking shows ate more calories from sugary sweets during and immediately afterwards. Whereas people who watched a nature show did not. 

Personally, I would recommend you throw out the televisions (yes, bring it to the curb) clear out your cupboards of all the rubbish and start over with the basics. Get back to talking to each other, cooking with realistic ingredients and baking a cake without sugar, caffeine, chocolate or processed anything. 

Then watch the magic that happens (p.s. it's called 'life')....

April

Borage in the garden

Root Vegetable Mash

This is such a simple dish - something so mundane and ordinary that many of us probably have forgotten or never even got to realize how delicious and wonderful this type of dish can be. What I am talking about here is root vegetable mash....

I know I have been fasting for 21 days and am now in my final few hours of drinking only herbal teas, water, lemon juice and maple syrup. Yes, perhaps my brain is gearing up now for some solid foods...but this dish is what is on my mind and has been one of my favorites for many years. 

One of the things I like about vegetable mashes is how versatile they are - you can gently cook up nearly any selection of vegetables at any season and create a new dish. You can also add many types  of garnish or herbs to it as well.

At this time of year I really like the taste and flavour of gently roasted carrots with turnip, and am in heaven when they are purple, yellow or white carrots. I would chop them up small enough to cook easily, pour water and olive oil over top then sprinkle loads of thyme, sage and rosemary over them and roast in the oven.

Alternatively they are also very nice steamed on top of the stove, where they cook faster and then mashed simply with butter, salt and pepper. Of course you don't have to use these particular vegetables there are so many to choose from that you might create a different side dish every day of the week.

Yesterday I slow roasted parsnip, beetroot, carrot, pumpkin and shallots for my daughter and the smell was divine. It got me thinking about some of my favourite vegetable dishes - and there are so many to choose from.

You can combine nearly anything as well as cook them in various ways to bring out the best tastes - I like sweet potato mashed with roasted fennel or celeriac. When you add a little butter or cream, some seasonings - the taste is incredible.

But then so are fresh garden peas mashed with roasted caramelized carrots or parsnips - sprinkle with a little mint or oregano. You might also enjoy cooked spinach mashed with roasted garlic and sprinkled with toasted nuts...

Like I said - you can get really creative here and get the absolute most from your vegetables. 

Enjoy!

April

Veggies ready to roast.... slow!

Fig, Date & Walnut Loaf

I have loads of figs here and have been looking for ways to use them up - dates are no problem because we love them in date squares. I haven't tried making fig squares...perhaps that is next. However, I do like figs in breads and loaves as well as when making coconut balls.

With this in mind I decided to try my hand at making a loaf with figs and dates that would not be too heavy - I wanted it to be light, soft and while not overly sweet, just a nice tasting loaf. Sort of a dessert bread but also a bit of a treat.

What I also like about figs and dates is that they are so good for you full of necessary minerals and vitamins. I remember a time when this was my only indulgence during the week...and I looked forward to it like a little slice of heaven.

Well, they are still a slice of heaven - and divine when added to any recipe. Yesterday I made a little loaf of Fig, Date and Walnut bread for my taste tester to try out - and it got a thumbs up. So, now I can't wait to try it myself next week. 

Only a few more days to go with this detox and it's back to eating for me for a few days, then back to detox again. It is detox season and I like to give this all I've got - that's the only way to get the best results.

To make the bread I started out as usual with my 3 cups of flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt - but then because I was using figs and dates I decided to use cloves and nutmeg in place of cinnamon. Just for a little stronger flavour as well as the warming effects. 

Next I added chopped figs and dates to 1 cup of milk as well as some grated lemon, lemon juice and 1/4 cup of date syrup. In another bowl I whisked a duck egg which I then added to the soaking figs and dates. 

Once I was happy that the figs and dates were soaked, I poured this milk mixture into the flour blend and stirred until it was nearly mixed - when I added 1/3 cup of water and 2 tablespoons oil. I continued mixing until all was blended and then spooned the dough into loaf tins. 

Lastly I pressed chopped walnuts into the top of each loaf (to get them to stick) and put them into the hot oven. After baking for 30 minutes (mini loaves) it was done and smelled wonderful - next time I think I will omit the egg and add a little butter instead of the oil. Just to see if I can get the loaf even softer. But, it did turn out very nice as it is. 

April

Fig, Date & Walnut Loaf 

Vegetable Barley Soup with Sage & Ginger

All of this cold wet weather lends itself to warming, nourishing foods - of course the first thing on any agenda would be to cleanse, but once that detox is complete building your body up with some hearty vegetables in soups is a nice way to get back to yourself. 

I like using barley and would make cakes, cookies and breads with barley flour. Of course there is also Barley coffee which is a lovely warming drink especially on a cold winter night such as we have right now. And I love barley grain in a soup or stew.

Barley is a great thickener as well as a filling addition to any meal - it gives an earthy, nutty flavour to the dish and has been used in our foods for thousands of years. It is also easy to use and you don't need to add much.

Yesterday I made Vegetable Barley Soup with Sage & Ginger - this is a combination of tastes and textures that really work well together. And I happen to think that sage is the great underrated herb of all time.

We often only use it in stuffings or for fowl - but it is a very versatile plant and can be used nearly anywhere. I include it in my herbal teas as often as I can and have even made cookies with it - I will do a post on that soon.

To make my soup I started off as usual with the base - seaweed, garlic, onion, leek, salt, pepper, turmeric. I stir-fried the vegetables in a little olive oil then added them into the stockpot with the seaweed. 

Next I chopped carrots, sweet potato, turnip and a little pumpkin. These went into the pot along with only 1/3 cup of barley grain. This was brought to a boil and then turned down to simmer gently for about 45 minutes or so.

Once the soup was thickening and nearly cooked I put in 1/2 teaspoon each of ground sage (from my garden) and some ground ginger. Normally I would use fresh grated ginger for this type of soup, but as it was for my little daughter, I went easy on it so it would not be too strong.

Within about 10 minutes the soup was done, I let it sit for another while to cool - and then served it with a thick slice of homemade spelt bread with butter. It smelled and looked lovely!

April

Vegetable Barley Soup with Sage & Ginger 

Healthy Start - Infant Nutrition

Continuing on with my thoughts on feeding small children – I decided to mention a little more to cover babies and these first years of life. This is far more significant and important then most people realize and is one of the main areas detoxed when doing a deep cleanse.

I have seen several times in my own experience with Master Cleanses, how embedded toxins such as early antibiotics and vaccines affect not only gut development, but also cognitive and thought processes. 

Poor food choices, for both the infant and the mother during pregnancy and breastfeeding, have a profound affect on these early days of life too. Nutritionists, such as myself have been warning about this for years and only now are these early stages being considered.

A young infant has an immature gut, a developing nervous system, poor eyesight, is completely dependent on others for everything and must have the right kind of food in order to grow properly. We haven’t even brought in the emotional aspects of this food being offered, but that is a huge component too.

What you eat during pregnancy and breastfeeding directly affects you and your child – perhaps for the rest of his life. And maybe your life too. If you are taking in non-nutrients such as sugar, caffeine, alcohol and rubbish foods, you are doing several detrimental things.

One to yourself – when you fill up on empty calories your body cannot nourish a growing fetus adequately and once the baby is born, breast milk will be a poorer quality shortchanging both your child and yourself. Even over the short term, your body requires a lot of nourishment to pass on adequate nutrition to maintain an infant as well as to encourage normal growth. 

This sets both mother and child up in a nutritional deficit situation right from the very beginning of life. Not the best way to start off living on this planet – certainly when it can be avoided so easily. 

Secondly, poor nutritional status places your child at risk for all sorts of gut issues and perhaps far more. Studies are linking back these early days to not only allergies and digestive problems but poor immune function and perhaps longer term conditions such as obesity and diabetes. As an intuitive, I think it goes far deeper than this…

In general there are further issues here when it comes to feeding young children, I have learned a few along the way (trial and error and the hard way of course!). I have listed some pointers and things to watch out for;

Babies do not ‘need’ solid food (they need breastmilk for the first 2 years), everything else is secondary

Babies do not need a wide range of foods

Infants will play with food, do not push them to ‘eat’

They will eat when they are ready and everyone is different

Start babies off on vegetables, not fruit or cereal (make your own)

A breast fed baby will not overeat, but anyone can be ‘overfed’

Babies need breast milk – not cows milk, they are not baby cows. We are the only species who feeds our young using milk from a completely different animal – and stupidly expects them to develop and grow without any problems. 

Cows milk is not designed for humans – that is why so much processing (there is that nasty word again) must take place in order to feed it to a tiny baby. Breastfed babies will grow and develop at their own pace, in a far more natural way then formula fed infants. 

If you are planning on having children – take your time, prepare your body, exercise, nourish yourself and then eat an adequate diet throughout. This does not mean that you require extra food either – just nutrient dense foods. If you have a small child, start today with organic vegetables, grains and fruits. 

Plan to breast feed your child and start with changing your diet – it’s the only way to do what you can to ensure a proper diet and healthy future, for both of you. 

April

Blue Moon Ceremony

Wild Rice, Sweet Potato & Fig Dish

I am in the final week of my Master Cleanse and I am itching to cook something - anything!! It really must be a passion for me - because I just want to play around with tastes, textures and flavours to see what I come up with.

Today I decided to make a little meal for my daughter using just the things I had on hand - a large sweet potato, some wild rice mix (she was asking for rice) and figs. This combination of foods is rich and hearty as well as complementary to each other.

I started out baking the sweet potato in the oven while I cooked a small portion of wild rice in a saucepan. Then I chopped a shallot and some cloves of garlic. These I stir-fried in a little olive oil. Once the rice was cooking away I added some turmeric - mostly because I just love the smell and I think it always adds a nice touch to food.

Wild rice mix is really nice to make and not something I make all that often - I usually reserve this rice for special occasions. Of course the recipe I was working on today is a special side dish I want to serve with either turkey or duck over the holidays. 

Once the sweet potato was tender - I took it out of the oven and let it cool for a little while before peeling it and cutting into different sized pieces. I did the same with the figs - loosely chopped them to smaller bite sized bits.

Next, the rice was ready. I wanted to let things cool slightly so as not to be mushy when combined - so the rice was set aside while the shallot and garlic sautéd. 

Once everything was sitting cooling and ready - using a large enough deep bowl I gently added each ingredient - then a little salt and pepper as I folded this mixture over a few times to lightly mix it and to allow the flavours to combine.

It looks and smells lovely - and is great on the side with some fish or fowl or even on it's own with a feta cheese topping. 

April

Wild Rice, sweet potato and figs

Banana & Date Mini Loaves

Last night I was eager to bake or make something - there are not many of us eating in the house right now - and it is way too early to be baking things for Solstice - so my options are fairly limited. But, nevertheless, I had bananas ready to be used and some ideas....

I love these flavours and smells, especially this time of year - cinnamon, banana, date, nutmeg - all warm and toasty yet gentle on the system. With this in mind I decided to expand my usual muffin making routine a little bit further.

With children, muffins are handy little breads to have around, but so are mini loaves. Right now with only small mouths to feed, I don't need to make large amounts of anything. But also, when we are all back  eating again, mini loaves such as these can be used for little desserts.

Banana and Dates also go together quite well, they are both sweet, sticky and take well to the addition of nutmeg or cinnamon. With this recipe I decided to add a little bit extra to it to fill it out a little more, so I added some coconut as well.

Starting with my usual 3 cups of white/whole spelt flour blend, I added baking soda, baking powder, a little salt, nutmeg, and ground coconut. I love the taste of coconut too and I always think I should be using it far more in recipes, I try to fit it in where possible.

For the wet ingredients I used a duck egg, 1 cup of goat's milk, 1/4 cup date syrup and 3 mashed bananas. Once these were all blended in a medium sized mixing bowl (still chunky with banana bits) I added this mixture to the flour.

In the meantime I had chopped 1/2 cup of dates into smallish pieces - these went in last after the batter was mixed enough. Of course some of them stick together, so be sure to separate as you stir. However, I never like to over stir anything - so don't overdo it.

Using mini loaf pans, spoon the batter into each pan and bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes. They will be moist and delicate when done... These can also be made into 12 large muffins or 4 small loaves. 

Lovely! 

Banana & Date Loaf 

Feeding the Children Part 2

I have learned quite a few things from my years spent in the food industry, raising children and talking to absolutely everyone about everything to do with eating, nutrition, packaging, labeling and food. 

So I wanted to say something more on children and eating because everyone keeps asking me to comment far more on this issue. But also because I feel that so many of us have every good intention and then fall back on the ways we ourselves were ‘made’ to eat. 

Of course some of these methods work – but not all of it. Perhaps it is best to pick apart what hasn’t been working and start with the basics. Children should be easy to feed – they are not complicated little humans with emotional/stress eating or at least shouldn’t be.

With a simple approach in mind – the food, eating, mealtime, the table, the setting, the menu plans and anything to do with dinner should be low key, loose and gentle.

However, one important aspect is often overlooked – many children don’t need to eat a lot, and we start the overfeeding process far too early. Not only overfeeding, but worse – offering the wrong types of foods (low nutrition) required to grow strong bodies and minds.

The meals should be kid friendly but that doesn’t mean junk, such as fish fingers and fries smothered in sugary ketchup. These items are not simple eating, this is pure rubbish – immature guts need easy to digest foods. 

Children are often slow eaters – my son used to linger over his breakfast for over an hour when he was younger. I often thought thankfully, he was not rushed off anywhere because he would never have finished his breakfast. 

That is one of the lovely things about homeschool and being at home with the children (working from home etc.). No one needs to be rushed with their meals, slow cooked, savored and enjoyed – with the children eating at their own pace.

I have also learned from my own years spent fasting, detoxing and cleansing to wait until they ask for food. In the morning my daughter usually doesn’t want to eat right away. She prefers to have a cup of herbal tea first (quite the little lady) and this gives her digestion a head start.

Of course not every day is an ideal situation and we have days where we have to rush off for dance classes and what not – so I organize their snacks ahead of time… Last week I made simple goat’s cheese and onion muffins from spelt and oat flour (organic whole grain of course).

These are filling, simple and tasty – yet cover carbohydrates, protein and fat – to give them the energy for the day. Together with an apple, some figs and a few nuts – everyone was well nourished and had their main meal when they got home. 

Another thing I have noticed when it comes to children is they often get overlooked when it comes to water. Don’t give them juice, they don’t need the sugar or sweetness. Save the juice (sugar free, natural) for a treat day such as birthdays, special occasions and what not.

Water is essential for proper digestion, not to mention every other function of the human body. We are water operated machines – provide the best water you can find for your growing little ones. 

As a general rule, children do not need;

Sugar

Caffeine

Additives

Chemicals/toxins

Processed food

Advertising!

Marketing geared towards children is probably the most damaging influence to push it’s unruly way into your home. Banish it as much as possible, talk about it and educate them about how they are being manipulated into wanting something that their bodies do not require.

When it comes to each of us and our food, get back to basics. Start with increasing vegetables, rice, beans, lentils, some fruits, a little fish and meat. Then take it from there. You will find when a child eats his dinner he most often doesn’t want or need anything more…

April 

Purple daze...

Happy Food - Raising Your Own

Late last night I walked up from the barn, cold, a little wet, tired and came into the house shedding layers of wellies, coats and jumpers as I went. Then sat down while I waited for the kettle to boil and realized something important – I was so happy. 

I love animals and always have – right now in our house we have a turtle, canaries (one is sitting on an egg), a dog, a cat and some fish. Sometimes I don’t know who they are all for – us (the parents) or the kids.

We all get some much pleasure from caring for them, interacting with them and spending our days together. Of course there is the work aspect of it too – but it has become part of my usual morning routine – water, feed, clean everyone one in the house and then, go out to the barn.

The little barn has become an extension of our home and our table. The animals there are different from the house pets in that some of them are for food, others for breeding however, all are living beings and treated accordingly.

The stories told at the end of the day when we are all together again (dad is home) usually come from the antics of the barnyard or what the cat was up to at some point in the day (today he had a large spider cornered – well you know the rest).

One of our greatest pleasures has been the turkeys – of all things! I have raised turkeys before, but not ever with such an awareness of their lives, watching them, interacting with them and listening to their happy little cheeps. 

We laugh nearly every day at these large birds as the mingle with the goats, ducks and humans down in the yard.  Like the time a turkey decided he was a duck and stepped into the duck pool while the ducks were frantically scrambling to get out. 

He just stood there with his long legs in the middle of the pool looking around – at all the fuss from the ducks. Was he thinking – so this is what the water bath is all about? 

Yesterday I was showing the children videos online of turkeys being humanely slaughtered – just so that when our time comes for turkey dinner they are not overly shocked. They didn't seem at all phased by it but we have talked about this part of the life cycle since day one.

Of course I worked for several years as a Food Hygiene Inspector and have seen more than my share of animals going to slaughter. As well as days spent standing in cold water, working in smelly barns and otherwise keeping watch over food animals, inside and out.

The nicest part of all of this rearing animals for our own food is we know what they eat, we know they are loved and cared for – and that they will make wonderful food for our table when the time comes. 

April

Garden Party 

The Tangled Web of GMO - Do We Know What We are Eating?

We are eating food each and every single day without a clue that it is laced, built, manufactured, processed and produced with Genetically Modified organisms, ingredients and feed stuffs. 

There is absolutely no consumer choice in this matter – your food is filled with GMO ingredients. You are eating it, drinking it and thinking it. We don’t know our food at all anymore.

What bothers me so much is that this is being done beneath the noses of the same people who are saying “No Thanks’ to GMO foods. Here in Europe, people have been quite outspoken about their general concern when it comes to anything genetically modified. 

Perhaps the most significant point to make here is this – we are living in a so-called consumer driven economy. What the consumer wants, someone will produce. Makes sense so far, right? 

There is absolutely no demand for genetically modified foods at the supermarkets. I honestly cannot recall hearing of anyone asking for GM vegetables, or grain or anything else. There is no queue around the corner waiting for this kind of food.

The next point to be made here is that while GM feeds and GM ingredients added to a product must be listed on the label (you see this in cheese rennet and animal feeds) – the food grown on GM corn and soy are not required to be labeled as such. 

This means that you might buy a piece lamb today – nothing on the label will inform you of what this animal was fed. At every farmers Cooperative in Ireland (the world?) ordinary feed for animals usually contain GM ingredients. You have to ask for and order something different if you want to avoid GMO being fed to your meat animals.

So just who or what is driving this into our food? Obviously ‘he’ who controls the seeds, controls the food and therefore controls the world. We are all becoming genetically modified inside of our guts – because we are eating the food that has eaten these plants. 

And if you ate meat today – unless it was organic, it might have been raised on GM feed. I sincerely hope that you knew that and next time you shop you can be even more discerning when it comes to your food. Ask questions and demand answers. 

Or, if you have a back garden – build a shed and look into raising your own food to make every effort to remove yourself from the food grid. 

April 

Lamb, sweet corn & root vegetable stew

Winter Vegetables - Warming Soups & Stews

I am a great lover of soups, stews and all warming hearty dishes that can easily be filled with wholesome veggies. These days with the weather the way it is, is a perfect time for soup. Of course the best ingredients are also available....

Right now we are in the middle of root and winter vegetable heaven. This is the season for many of the greatest vegetables on earth which just happen to make wonderful soups, stews and other succulent dishes. I happen to love root and winter vegetables and include them as much as possible in meals.

Some of my favourite ones would be sweet potato, turnip, carrot, beetroot, celeriac, fennel, celery root and there are a few which grow above the ground such as pumpkin, squash, cabbage, kale and broccoli. I can't wait for a few more such as Brussels sprouts to come into season as well.

Any combination of these hearty vegetables can be included in a warming soup for rainy wet cold days such as these. I really enjoy anything with pumpkin and carrot for instance - spice it up with coriander and turmeric plus lots of garlic or leeks as this makes a creamy filling soup.

One thing I do to enhance soups in particular is to put about a 1/2 cup to a cup of lentils or beans in with the vegetables. The beans are usually soaked overnight to soften them and then cooked beforehand with a little seaweed.

However, with lentils you can place them into a pot of cold water in the morning for your evening soup. Let them sit for a few hours if you have the time and then cook together with the vegetables as the soup cooks.

Today I placed a couple of handfuls of brown lentils into a pot with some seaweed. Left it to sit for the afternoon until I was ready to make the soup. Once I was ready to start working with the vegetables I turned on the burner to give the lentils a little head start.

To the water, lentils and seaweed I added salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin at the beginning and then the vegetables. Half of a pumpkin, 5 carrots, 1 chopped onion and another onion, leek and garlic sautéd in a little olive oil.

This cooked for about 45 minutes until done. I then added 1/2 cup of chopped fresh coriander and blended the soup into a thick paste. It smelled divine and my daughter loved it! This is usually called orange soup in our house...

Great with a fresh loaf of herbed spelt bread right out of the oven...mmmm!

April

Winter Vegetables 

Detox Season is Upon Us...

Today is a great day to once again take stock - it's always nice to look back and observe our progress during a period of time perhaps to remind ourselves that change, movement and new energy is taking place even when it doesn't feel like it.

When we are making healthy changes to our diet and lifestyle - it is important to not let things get old, stale or boring. Keep making changes, learning and gaining ground within yourself as each week moves on.

I was just sitting here thinking of how far I have come since this time last year - this was actually the date I started a 40 day detox last year which took me up to 21 December just in time for the Solstice which started on the 22. 

It was quite a hike that one, but we did it and felt great for so many months afterwards LOL. I honestly don't think I will ever forget so many things about those 40 days as they must have shifted my life in some huge way.

I have not felt, thought or been the same since. My thinking is now far more along the lines of day by day, making overall plans and being prepared but take each moment as it comes. And it wasn't even about letting go of control either...

For me, there appears to be an even deeper level of control now or the meaning, axis of control has shifted somewhat and it is more in my own hands now. Each of these fasts I have completed since that time - have allowed me to keep moving forward as well as to maintain a high level of focus.

Right now this is once again 'Detox Season' - the best time of year to detox is now. The lining of our guts is at it's thinnest, the season at it's darkest with lots of space for deep clearing. This is perhaps the worst time to over indulge and get all Christmasy - save that for when it comes!

For far too many years I remember succumbing to the hype - the pre Christmas Dinners, the parties, the hoopla - so premature that by the time the Solstice season rolled around we were nearly sick and tired of it all.

For nearly 2 decades now I have refused to do much of anything in terms of getting into the spirit until the week or two before Solstice. I want to really enjoy the entire season to be part of the energy of excitement, renewal and festivity. I do not want to live it all now and be worn out by the marketing machines. It all means far too much to me to spoil it in this way. 

So, for now I will carry on with my detox, focus on what my body is doing - not for one moment giving up on myself or my dreams while I am building up the Solstice energy inside of my body to make this the best and most festive season ever.

April

Master Cleanse juice 

Cooking For Children - Getting Them to Eat

To be honest this article should really be called – 'getting Parents to Pay attention to what they are feeding their children and sticking with a healthy plan'. Because at the end of it all – what children eat and won’t eat has everything to do with who is in charge.

To be honest years ago when my eldest was small and our diets were good, but not great – we had trouble with him as well. Mostly because there were always options – he knew there was something else that could be eaten eventually. And we would cave in.

The other thing was that I had others from outside my own home breathing down my neck saying – oh, come on, give him the sweets or the junk. It’s just this once. Or some other such nonsense. There were still other influences coming into our home and in his life as well – such as the television, crèche and little friends.

What I was seeing was that even though he ate well most of the time – his preference would be for something sweet or not so good for him. And this was not how we had started off in his life. So where did things go wrong?

It turns out, it was with me. I had gone wrong and as long as I did so, I was the primary influence in his life and certainly with his eating and food habits. It was therefore up to me to make the changes necessary to improve the situation.

I had to begin and then move steadily towards the direction I wanted him to go – but as parents we had to lead by example. At that time he was around 4 years old and had already had more then his share of infections, antibiotics and whatnot – completely against my better judgment.

I knew it was the food that had to change. Each week during the course of a year (there are other factors here too for another time) we removed one thing that was processed or junk.

I started with the cereal – anything that was in a box ready to eat was taken away and replaced with meals that would be cooked – such as porridge. Children like simple meals, they appreciate routine and they have a clean palate that does not require several overwhelming tastes and flavours.

Their digestion is also very much in the development phase and this needs to be nurtured, worked with as well as understood as they grow. Our breakfasts over these ensuing years have became mainly porridge or muesli, whole grain spelt bread, jam and perhaps cheese.

While some mornings we would have fish or eggs, a full meal such as soup or stew, on special occasions we have baked sweet potato with nuts, maple syrup, tahini, or French toast or pancakes. But these are reserved for feast times and special times.

I find that children will generally choose the same things again and again falling into their own preferences and likes. You do not have to give the same meal each and every day, but even with porridge various things can be added to it to provide different nutrients.

For porridge I start out with oats, water, pinch of salt, a pat of butter and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon or nutmeg. But then I can add in some homemade apple sauce or a fresh apple. Sometimes I chop up some banana or add a handful of fresh berries (these can be cooked into it as well). Once it is cooked you might also add some ground seeds or nut butter.

A different dish or meal can be had each time! Over the years of working with my own family and many others, I have found a few general approaches and ideas that work best. Keep things simple, don’t cater to anyone – you are not running a restaurant and you are the parent – you know what is best.

If you think you don’t know what is best for your family to eat, find out. Basically, the majority of your food should be from plants (that means vegetables, rice, beans, lentils, grains, some fruit). Then fill in the blanks with a little fish, meat, eggs, milk and cheese.

No one on this planet requires sugar, chocolate, sweets, rubbish or junk foods, processed and ready-made meals or caffeine – and these things are detrimental to children because of their high nutrition needs as well as sensitive guts.

In general;

Children eat what they see everyone else eating
Prepare food that is age appropriate (porridge, soups, stews)
Make it fun and make things small (cut up toast into sections, small servings)
Blend, blend, blend…. Soups and stews can have an abundance of goodies!
Cook/Serve for the entire family – don’t cook 2 meals
Balance out sour tastes with sweet (add sweet potato or pumpkin to broccoli)

To improve your children’s diets – it is best to start with yourself. Make significant changes to your own lifestyle and then these naturally spill over to them. In my house the meal is the meal – that’s it, that’s all – and everyone eats it. Because every effort has been made to provide organic, fresh food and a meal has been cooked with care.

Personally I would find food issues too draining – there are so many other things to be doing in life, I don’t want time wasted trying to get kids to eat what is good for them. They will eat it, if you do.

April

Turmeric Rice with stir-fry veggies

Winter Warmer - Cheese & Olive Spelt Bread

Today I have been keeping myself busy with a few tasks, only to realize that we were almost out of bread. Of course, I was only too pleased to use up some more items in the fridge as more of us will be fasting before the weekend is over.

I have a bowl of olives and some Chèvre goat's cheese that needed to be used before it had to went off- and these are great items to put into a loaf of bread. Because it will be mainly my daughter eating pretty soon, I made mini loaves that can be frozen if need be. 

Right now the house smells warm and comforting - the kind of scent that only bread and melted cheese can give! LOL

To make the bread I wanted to give it some strong flavours to go along with the cheese and olives so I put in a generous helping of thyme, oregano and rosemary. Then I chopped the olives into pieces and grated the cheese.

Once I started to make the bread I put in the usual baking soda, salt, the herbs and then some poppy seeds (I always use some kind of seed but it is usually sunflower or linseed). Next I poured in the whole grain spelt flour and mixed this thoroughly.

Once the dry ingredients were dealt with I kept stirring in olives, cheese and lastly the water. I didn't put too much cheese in with the flour because it sometimes can make this bread break off into chunks. Or separate once cooked.

As well the cheese was well crumbled and mixed in once the dough was formed. I then spooned out the soda bread dough into mini loaf pans and put more grated cheese over top as well as pushed in some olives pieces that were sticking out. They can burn and not have a pleasant taste.

These were put into a hot oven for 35 minutes or so until done. So, now the house smell delicious and there is a lovely bread ready to go with the cream of broccoli soup I am making for their dinners.... 

All in a days work!

April

Mini loaf of Cheese & Olive Bread 

Food as Comfort - Nutmeg Stewed Apples & Pears

Today I am only on day 4 of my November Master Cleanse - and I am not certain yet how long I will go with this one - perhaps 15 or more days. It is the detox season just before Solstice and Christmas and the perfect time of year to cleanse.

So, I am working at it here - of course by now, I have slipped into my usual cleanse routine of getting more organized, thinking about recipes and food! This is where my heart is so I can often be found puttering around the kitchen late at night conjuring up things to make. 

Right now with this cleanse I feel as if I am processing through an entire encyclopedia of old patterns and issues - and perhaps most of them have to do with food. I have been wondering if absolutely everything in our human existence revolves around food.

I know there are many who would say we respond to and revolve around sex - however, you can't have a healthy sexual attitude without being fed properly and developing at least to a minimum emotional level. And that requires food. 

Besides eating is sensual and a loving activity people can share and make part of any relationship. The first thing we do in life, besides breathing, is eat and seek out comfort after the ordeal of birth. So our food should provide not only nutrition but also comfort for us. 

With this in mind - the kids have been spending more time outside (cool sunny days) and working hard in the barn with all the animals and chores to be done. So I wanted to make a little treat for them today to warm them up when they came inside.  

I had to use up some organic Irish apples and pears - so I made them a stewed apple/pear dish with big chunks of fruit and a little nutmeg. I love the smell of warm apples in the house and the nutmeg is very warming as well. 

Late last night I had made a cinnamon banana bread with the older bananas - a slice of this in a bowl with the hot stewed apples over top was not turned down by anyone. It smelled and looked delicious!

April

Cinnamon banana bread with stewed apples & pears

Cooking and Baking - The Approach

It has been another fasting day for me here - and a welcome break from all that eating and cooking - well sort of a break because I am still cooking for everyone else here and baking bread most days. Recently I came across mention of how if you like cooking, usually you would not like baking - and vice versa.

I was floored by this - mainly because there probably isn't one aspect of food, cooking, baking, preserving or eating that I don't enjoy. I even like the washing up after wards - because I like a clean kitchen and to have everything back in it's place.

Of course, you know me, I have been mulling this over ever since. How might someone enjoy baking and not cooking....hmmm. Then it hit me! It was because they have put these two activities down as being separate from each other.

That baking is somehow separate kitchen magic from ordinary cooking of meals for instance. So, I guess it must all be in the approach. I would bake up a storm before any feast days. Baking bread is something I do nearly every day, and I would use the oven to cook some meals such as stew in the Tagine.

Baking therefore is not separate from any other meal for me. But there is more than this - for others baking conjures up visions of sweets, chocolate dripping off of cakes and cookies that make you fat just by looking at them.

It is an entire separate food group (which would not even register as food as far as I am concerned) crammed with as much sugar and other nonsense as possible for your enjoyment and dining pleasure. Then, that would depend on your idea of pleasure. 

Giving children sweets full of sugar and other junk and watching them act up and get a sugar rush - is not something I would take pleasure in. I know enough teachers and others who work around children who would say the exact same thing. 

The poor child would then be yelled at or some other negative response because of this behaviour and we are well into a vicious cycle here. 

So, I  enjoy baking yes and cooking - what I enjoy far more is the fact that any of my cooking can be eaten without concern of sugar or other nasties. It is certainly not a behaviour altering experience to eat good, wholesome organic food - unless having extra energy changes your life!

April

Cinnamon Cake 

Sterile Food, Means Dead Food

Yesterday turned out to be a fairly busy day with our goat's arriving we had a lot to get prepared, secure the fencing and shift into goat owner mode. Right now our little barn is filling up with all of these animals some of which will be invited for Christmas dinner....LOL.

Right now we are all adjusting to having some new animals around as well as something very different from what we are used to with all the birds. It turns out that while goats tend to be quite stubborn, they are also very friendly, easy to handle and gentle creatures. 

These 2 we have acquired are brother and sister (twins) who have never been separated having spent the last 4 or 5 years of their lives side by side. And treated very well I might add. Perhaps that is part of the reason they have such a nice temperament...

My hope is to be able to at the very least have fresh milk year round - and perhaps to breed the female so that we can grow our own little goat herd. But right now, a little real milk is great! The reason I use the word real is because of the taste...

I don't know if you have ever tasted shop bought pasteurized milk and then taken some fresh from a goat. It is actually quite remarkable because the difference is huge. Of course I could never help but wonder if all those things said about the negatives of pasteurization are true.

When you do the least amount of research on this topic one of the first statements to be found is this: 'Farms are not sterile environments' ; therefore they cannot be trusted as far as providing fresh milk that would be bacteria free.

That for me as as far as I need to go with this issue. Perhaps the main problem with our guts, digestion, immune system and health right now on this planet, is the fact that there are those who are determined to eradicate every living thing from our bodies....

We are meant to be living. Inside and out - with teams of healthy bacteria working together especially within our guts helping us to digest our food, make vitamins and synthesize useful nutrients. They also have a huge role to play with our immune function.

Or basically, we cannot function without them. This constant eating and drinking sterile food is killing us inside - because sterile food means dead food. 

Of course, drinking raw milk would only be something I would do from my own animals (I know their care, feed and habits). And this needs to be part of the larger picture here of healthy eating and living. 

Personally, I feel it has taken us a few years to get our immune systems back to where they should be to function in this world. I can only imagine how people are faring who take medication regularly, eat rubbish foods and otherwise do nothing to support these vital processes. 

It is time to get back to health everyone!

April 

Welcome to the goats! 

Food Resentment and Other Indigestibles...

Today has been an interesting food day - I went to the busy English Market in Cork to do a bit of a wander around. It is a lovely and lively market place where you can buy nearly anything organic and non.

Today as I wandered around enjoying the scenery my mind was of course thinking about food, what to make for our dinner and perhaps what other goodies to make as this celebration week winds down to a close tomorrow. 

But for some strange reason I kept thinking about some of the negative sides to dietary change and making lifestyle improvements overall. This is something a person does for themselves and their families overall better health, right?

It doesn't have much of anything to do with anyone outside of your own home. And let's face it, even if you were invited out to dinner with people who don't happen to subscribe to your way of eating - there are ways around everything. Right?

So, why are there people who would stop at nothing to sabotage your eating, diet, nutrition changes and healthy endeavours? I don't know about you, but I have repeatedly come across these people who have done everything from show up at my home with a pan of chicken (I was vegan at the time) and be very insulted when I didn't eat it. Then have another person state outright that I was 'making everyone else look bad, so just stop trying to live so healthy'.

Seriously. Those words have actually been said to me. I had just gotten over MRSA at the time and had no choice but to stay on the path to regain my health. The thing to be pointed out here is that these other people make your lifestyle about them....

And for some reason health and the pursuit of it is something to be envied. For the life of me I don't know why - food resentment exists and is a very real phenomenon in our society. It appears to go hand in hand with black magic and processed food.... 

Now there's a link to be explored more fully! Onwards and Upwards

April 

Lemon & Butter Scones - going, going, gone!

An Imperfect Cookie - Bliss

Right now I am eating (another) an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie - it is so tasty, I am even overlooking the fact that it's a little crumbly. How are cookies supposed to be anyway - I mean what are we comparing them to? 

Perhaps our 'ideal' for nearly any foods these days is to compare it to something perfectly round, flat, held together and uniform in every other way from a factory machine. Of course along with that perfect cookie comes the extra ingredients that are put in to get the desired effect.

Nothing like that with homemade foods - this cookie I am munching on right now is not uniform in any way - each one looks different. They are slightly crumbly from the use of only oat flour and oats and I probably put in way too many raisins. 

I like them that way.

Of course, you can't compare a homemade anything with a factory made something else - because the energy of the food is so very different. Whenever someone asks me what my secret ingredient is for my lovely cakes and cookies - I always say it is butter and love. 

So, with that in mind here is my recipe for these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (as it stands right now).

3/4 cup butter

1 duck egg

2 cups oat flour

1 1/2 cups oats

3/4 cup raisins

1/3 cup honey or Maple Syrup

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon or all spice

1/2 tsp baking powder

salt (pinch)

2/3 cup nuts (optional)

Place all dry ingredients into a deep bowl and sift together to mix well. In the meantime melt the butter over low heat in a small sauce pan, put the honey in with it and mix. Beat the egg into submission in a separate bowl.

Once the flour is mixed, add the butter and egg - keep mixing until well coated. Then add in raisins and nuts if desired. This mixture should be thick and not runny - because each flour absorbs liquid differently, adjust quantities if needed. 

Spoon out large spoonfuls of the dough onto a greased cookie sheet or parchment paper and bake at 175C for about 12-14 minutes or so. Don't leave too long as they will be too dry and don't take out too soon as they will be doughy in the middle. 

These are fabulous with a cup of dandelion coffee! And you will have made them yourself...bypassing the food processing, perfect cookie route to enjoy imperfection at it's finest!

April 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie