Try It Tuesday: Lentils

The Basics

Lentils are part of the legume family, and one of the characteristics of a legume is it’s ability to absorb nitrogen from the air and convert it into protein within the plant own seeds. They grow in pods, are flat, are about the size of a pencil eraser, and can be sold whole or split in half.

Nutrition

For such a small ’seed’, these lentils are packed with great nutrition! They are high in fiber which can help manage and prevent blood sugar spikes after a meal. And of course the lack of your blood sugar spiking is fabulous for keeping your hormones in check! They also boast excellent amounts of folate (otherwise known as folic acid), with just one cup of lentils bringing you over half your daily needs. Lentils are also high in manganese (which plays a role in reproductive health), protein, and iron.

(an in depth nutritional profile)

How to Prepare

Like other legumes, lentils contain something called phytates as well as other enzyme inhibitors, that prevent our bodies from absorbing nutrients and can actually take nutrients from us. In order to render these harmless, it’s as easy as soaking for a few hours before cooking. Pour lentils into a clean jar or bowl, cover with warm water, and add 2 Tbsp whey (or other acidic medium like vinegar or lemon juice) per 2 cups of lentils. Soak for about 8 hours, then drain and rinse. Place your rinsed lentils in a pot and cover with water. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until bite tender.

Lentil Soup Recipe

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 diced carrots
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 medium sized cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp basil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes – or 2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 2 – 3 cups of soaked lentils
• 8 cups liquid (a mix of water and broth – I used half and half)
• 1/2 cup spinach
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• pepper to taste

In a large pot, add oil, onions, carrots, and celery and cook until onion is tender and translucent. Stir in garlic, oregano, and basil, cooking  for an additional 2 minutes.
Stir in lentils, bay leaf, water/broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at about 1 hour (testing at 30 minutes and again at 45 minutes to make sure the lentils don’t over cook)(also, don’t add the salt in until the lentils have finished cooking as it will prevent them from softening). Just before you’re ready to serve, stir in spinach, and cook until it wilts. Finally stir in vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

The Verdict:

Level of difficulty – Easy

Cost - Approximately $.40 per 2 cup serving (a very cheap meal indeed!)

Time -

• 2 minutes prep to soak, 8 hours soaking
• 15 minutes prep
• 50 minutes cooking

Taste - I was very surprised at how much I liked this! I’d never tried lentils before and was a bit hesitant. While they do have some of the same texture that beans do, it didn’t bother me near as much, maybe because of their size. And this recipe (adapted from one I found at allrecipes.com) is extremely tasty! My husband really liked it as well and I think this soup will become part of our regular meal rotation!

So what have you tried recently? Have a new recipe or food to share? Blog about it and link up below!

** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.

Try it Tuesday: Kidney Beans

I’ve always hated beans.

And I mean hated.

Just the thought of them made me gag.

But they are sooooo good for you.

How good?

Well here are some of the benefits:

• They are a greast source of fiber which helps prevent your blood sugar from rising to rapidly after a meal.
• Kidney beans are an excellent source of the trace mineral, molybdenum, an integral component of the enzyme sulfite oxidase, which is responsible for detoxifying sulfites. Just one cup of cooked kidney beans supplies 177.0% of the daily value for molybdenum. (source)
• A good source of iron
• One serving (1c) contains about 15 grams of protein
• A great source of folate (folic acid) containing almost 230 mcgs per cup
• High in omega-3 fatty acids (source – Nourishing Traditions) (from what I could find the amount could be anywhere between 200 and 1000 milligrams per serving)
• CHEAP!

I knew all of this information. I made my kid eat them, I made them for my husband (though I wasn’t very good at it! Since I wouldn’t test them, they were either over or undercooked. Poor guy) but just couldn’t get myself to choke them down. But a couple weeks ago, I finally got over myself and decided that if I could try organ meats at Wise Traditions, I should totally be able to try kidney beans right? And so it was that I made chili that very next day.

I made my chili with more meat than beans (essential for my texture issues when trying new things!) so that I could kind of sneak them in here and there and not end up with a whole bite of just beans.

And I also made mashed potatoes.

For me, potatoes are my go to food to hide new things!

So there I sat and ate my bowl of chili over mashed potatoes. And you know what? I lived! They didn’t kill me, and I have to say the potatoes covered the texture extremely well.

For me, this opens a whole new world of cheaper cooking as beans are both nutritional and cheap. I can toss them into so many dishes as fillers without compromising nutrition. Plus now I don’t have to make different dinners when I make chili or soup for my husband!

So what have you tried lately?

If I can try new things – so can you!!

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** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.

Try It Tuesday: Wise Traditions Foods

I have always been a fairly picky eater. I am NOT the type of person that will try new foods just to see what they taste like. I grew up on a very Standard American Diet that we never wavered from. And even now we stick to a lot of the basics, just in a healthier form. So this conference was definitely causing me to eat foods I’ve never tried before. Some that I’d just never gotten the chance to try, and others I’ve always wanted to stay very far away from!

First up we have the fermented salad dressings from Zukay Live Foods. The sweet onion dressing was served with our lunch the first day, and while tasty, was a bit strong for my liking. I enjoyed trying out the other flavors later that day and decided the carrot ginger dressing was my favorite!

For lunch we also had fermented carrots. Quite a strong taste and bite to them, but not bad. I could get used to them. (top right of the picture)

People who follow the Weston A Price diet are also very big on organ meats. So far I’ve tried to stay away from them! But alas, organ meat sausage was on the menu and I promised myself I would try everything that was served! And you know, it tasted like sausage.

Friday night we were served meatloaf. I have never eaten meatloaf. *gasp!* I saw someone make it when I was quite young and the whole bare hands squishing egg and ground beef kinda turned me off to it. And to top it off, this meatloaf had organ meats in it too! But it was good. Especially with some gravy and some awesome mashed potatoes. They also served sauerkraut, something I’ve never tried before. Now, I actually bought some last week from my farm share and just hadn’t gotten up the nerve to try it yet. I think I hid the fact that “Wow, it was strong tasting!!” quite well, and no one was the wiser.

With every meal they also served unsweetened ice tea. Why anyone would possibly think tea was good without sweetener, I have no idea! I can say though, by the time I left I was getting quite used to it and would actually call it ‘good’.

On Saturday I was able to stop by some of the booths and tried some liverwurst from U.S. Wellness Meats. While it wasn’t bad, I had a hard time swallowing it all because of the whole LIVER thing. The taste was fine, just the whole mind over matter thing was tough.

And to show that, yes, I really did try it, Megan from U.S. Wellness meats took a picture of me trying it. Except the first one didn’t turn out. So I had to try it again.

(one of the few times baby was actually in the stroller and not the Ergo)

Saturday evening at the banquet was a real stretch for me as well.

Why?

Because they served cavier.

Friends….that is fish eggs. EGGS!

And not only was the appetizer salmon cavier that popped open when you bit them (squirm), they also served liver pate. Again with the liver! I did make myself take 2 bites of each and then decided I was done. Let’s leave it at that. And again no one at my table noticed me squirm. Though when I switched tables once the other bloggers got there, Kelly tried to pass another plate of appetizers my way. “Uh, uh, No way, No thank you!”

(this photo I snagged from U.S. Wellness Meats twitter pic – it was their Salmon and caviar.

I thought the salmon was very good, it was the caviar I could do without.)

For the main course we had beef short ribs with lacto-fermented beets and brussel sprouts. I never eaten a beet, let alone a lacto-fermented one, and I’ve never had a brussel sprout. Ever. Let me tell you, brussel sprouts aren’t bad. I almost bought some today while grocery shopping. I say almost because in the budget it was that or carrots and I chose carrots.

So after I tried all that, what did you try this week?

For those new here, thanks for stopping by! For more about the conference you can check out:

Day one – my experiences and what I learned on Friday

My overall experience

The fabulous food!

Sacred Foods for Fertility

and more to come! If you’d like, you can subscribe to my feed so you don’t miss anything!

** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.

Try it Tuesday: Eggplant

Last week I tried eggplant for the first time. I know it seems odd that I’ve never had it, seeing as how it’s a staple in so many households. But alas, I’ve been in the dark when it came to eggplant. But not so anymore!!

I found an easy recipe for eggplant parmesan over at Allrecipes and gave it a go. I found it quite easy to prepare. It was easy to peel, easy to cut, and I just tossed it with some gluten free bread crumbs, toasted it, and tossed it in with some spaghetti sauce and baked it with cheese.

I found it quite yummy, though the texture was different than what I was used to. It took on the taste of the sauce, so it was kind of odd to be eating the veggie instead of a pasta noodle! My husband on the other hand only ate it because he was hungry and there was nothing else to eat. I don’t think he’d like me to make it again for the main dish. So maybe next time I’ll find a side dish to prepare!

So have you ever eaten eggplant? If so, what’s your favorite way to prepare it?

Try It Tuesday : Cod Liver Oil, video edition

Try It Tuesday : Sourdough

I am the only one that seems to think summer is flying by waaaay to fast?! I can’t believe it’s almost August! My garden is finally starting to produce some yummy goods after a cool start. And I mean cool! I think yesterday it finally got up to 83 and that was the hottest day we’ve had all July! So it’s been slow going, but the Lord has truly blessed us with what has been growing. Another couple of weeks and we’ll start in full harvest mode!

So this past week I’ve been trying to make my own sourdough bread. And I’ve actually tried this twice over the last year and both times before it got moldy. Cause I forgot about it while I was trying to make the starter. So this time I set it out on our island so I’d see it, plus I wrote down in my planner I check each day, to remember to feed it! And this time it actually worked!

Imagine that.

Something actually works when you remember!

And it’s so easy too. All you do is take a 1:1 ratio of water and flour (whole wheat, spelt or rye) (and rye is supposed to be the best, but I just used spelt) and place it in a very clean jar. Each day for 7 days you add in the same amount and stir. I only did 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup water each day because I didn’t want to waste flour if for some reason it didn’t work. After that you can place it in the fridge and just feed it once a week.

Now I did try and make a loaf of bread. And I wasn’t quite happy with it. For one, cause the recipe I tried added in extra yeast and I’m trying to get away from that. Second, because half the flour was added after the overnight soak and I’m trying to soak all of it for the health benefits.

And you might be wondering why I even tried the recipe if it had 2 things in it I didn’t want. Well….I didn’t read it all the way through before I started making it. Oops.

So I’m going to try a different recipe next week (I’m way to busy this week what with my sister’s wedding and the fact that I’m getting 20 pounds or cherries, 20 lbs of blueberries, and half a bushel of peaches from a co-op tomorrow!) and I’d love to know if you have a great recipe for using sourdough! Otherwise, I’ll do some more searching and give it a go sometime soon!

Did you try something this week? Leave the link to your post in the comments and I’ll update this post! (I’m not liking the ‘original linkys’ much. I’d rather you see the links on my blog than open a new page with the links. Yea, I’m fussy like that.)

Kitchen Stewardship posted about trying new superfoods!

** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.

Try It Tuesday : Teeccino

I love my coffee. And I totally blame my parents as they owned a coffeehouse during my highschool years, and I of course worked for them.

It started out as a love/hate relationship as I loved the work but hated the coffee. Soon I figured out that folks just didn’t like buying coffee from someone who knew nothing about it! So I started dabbling, and soon enough I had a “at least 2 tall mocha/latte/cappuccino a day habit”.

After I had to get a real full time job, I just couldn’t afford my habit anymore (so hard to get used to not having a free coffee IV all day!) and I got myself used to some boring ‘ol drip coffee from home. And then came the day we started thinking about babies and I gave up the caffeinated stuff altogether and even rarely dabbled in decaf because of the way most companies take the ‘caf’ out of it. (normally it undergos some sort of chemical processing and I don’t like the fact that some of that may be ‘leftover’ in my coffee)

But I’ve recently found a way to enjoy the full bodied, creamy taste of coffee without actually buying coffee.

It’s an herbal coffee called Teeccino.

I had heard about it last year but never tried it due to the fact that I didn’t want to buy a bunch of it online only to not like it, and my local stores didn’t carry it either. But I found it last week at our health food store in sample size packets!

And let me tell you, I love this stuff!! It tastes amazingly like coffee with just a hint of ‘chai-ness’ to it. I love it brewed up hot in the morning with a bit of rapadura and raw cream, and it’s just as yummy later in the day iced or even turned into a frappicino type drink.

So what is it?
It’s a blend of herbs, grains, fruits, and nuts that have been roasted and ground up so that it brews just like traditional coffee. It even has some health benefits! Right from their website, they claim that it is:

• Naturally caffeine-free – no processing, no chemical residue
• High in heart-healthy potassium and soluble fiber
• Natural energy boost – from nutrients, not stimulants
• Alkaline – helps reduce acidity and restore alkaline balance
• Rich in inulin, a soluble fiber in chicory root, that helps improve
  digestion and elimination plus increases the absorption of calcium and minerals

As an added plus, all of the flavors seem to be at least 75% organic!

All in all, I’m so glad I tried it! And while it may be a bit more expensive than the “cheap” coffees, it’s still cheaper per cup than heading to your local coffeehouse. And if you’re trying to cut out some of the caffiene you consume (not good for you or your fertility) check this stuff out! (my favorite so far is the mocha)

*and no, I am not affiliated with Teeccino in any way, I just recently tried and enjoyed their product.

So have you tried anything new lately? If not, let’s get on the ball already! It’s summer and there are plenty of fresh goodies at your local farmers markets! But if you have tried something new, blog about it and leave your url (to the post, not your whole site) and tell us about it. I may just need to try it to!

Try It Tuesday : Water Kefir (kefir soda)

Last week I mentioned that I was trying out the water kefir grains that Cultures for Health sent me. It’s been over a week since I rehydrated my grains and we just love it!

What is water kefir?
It’s kind of like a soft gelatinous mass containing bacteria and yeasts. Water kefir is much like milk kefir except it’s accustomed to culturing in water instead of milk. They look a bit different too. Instead if looking like little cauliflowers, they look more like clear little smooshy crystals. But the nutritional value is much the same. Not only is it a probiotic (yup – just like yogurt!), it’s full of some great vitamins and nutrients.

How to make water kefir:
(I just use a quart sized mason jar and a plastic lid resting on top)

1. Dissolve 1/4 cup sugar (use organic as the chemicals in conventional can hurt the grains) in half a quart of hot water.
2. Once dissolved add just less than another half quart of water. And leave an inch of space at the top of the container.
3. Take about 3 Tbsp of kefir grains and place them in a quart of the sugar water solution.
4. Place it out on the counter or in a cupboard covered with a cloth tied on with a rubberband.
5. Let culture, or sit out, for 24-48 hours.
6. Strain kefir grains out and place them in a new sugar water solution and pour the kefir water into a clean jar.
7. Now you can either flavor the kefir water by putting some fresh fruit in it and letting it culture for another 24 hours, or you can drink as is. (some folks even add in a washed egg shell for added calium but I have yet to try that)

Trying it out

The verdict
I’m now hooked on this stuff! Seriously. It makes a slightly carbonated, slightly sweet beverage and I think it tastes sooo good! My husband thinks it tastes to ferment-y, but honestly I don’t notice it that much. My son even loves our new ’soda’ and asks for it all the time. And this is one type of soda I’ll let him have!!

I’ve tried flavoring it multiple ways now and my favorites are blueberry (makes such a pretty color!) and lemon (tastes like lemonade!). The grains have also been producing like crazy and I now have enough to make almost a gallon a day if I wish.

It’s super easy to make and takes almost no time at all. Plus, it’s really refreshing on a nice hot day to have a fizzy drink. And if you’re stuck on real soda and need a substitute to break your habit, this is the stuff to try! Becasue soda is so very very bad for you. Like really bad. Think high fructose corn syrup and fake sugars. Kefir soda is a nice healthy alternative!

And one of you fabulous people will get a chance to try it out yourself as Cultures for Health has so graciously giving away some water kefir grains to one of you! (Giveaway now closed!)

This post is also linked to:
Real Food Wednesday

Try It Tuesday : Still Trying!

I’m a total slacker, I know. Last week was just a bit overwhelming for me as the weekend before I took both my littles to a family reunion by myself as Todd couldn’t go. Sure the weekend ended, but the aftermath was what threw up all for a loop. Somehow kids just seem to think that when they have the run of whatever they want for a couple days, that it’ll last forever! So all last week we dealt with some behavioral issues, giant meltdowns (mostly the 3yo but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have one!) and all around just trying to keep afloat.

So I didn’t try anything new.

But this week I’m trying my hand at fermenting some water kefir!

I’ll have my full report next week on how it goes, but if you’ve tried something this past week, let us know! Leave your link below so we can check it out!

Try It Tuesday : Thai Food

Since I’ve decided to start trying new things, stuff has just either been falling in my lap, or I start seeing it everywhere! Last week we tried our hand at making some Curry Chicken after I was asked to do a review for Thai Kitchen.

Perfect.

I’ve only tried Thai food one time and it was at a wedding reception and I didn’t want to seem rude, so I ate it. But it just wasn’t something my picky palate ever wanted to seek out again.

You can read my full review here (plus there’s a Thai cookbook giveaway as well!) but we all liked it! I should have taken a picture, but it just happened to be one of those meals where I had to make it with a baby in the carrier. And then had to eat while nursing her. So finding my camera was not at the top of my list! But it was a pretty meal! And tasty too! I’ll actually be making this again later this week.

You know…I’m kinda starting to really enjoy all this “new to me” food!!

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