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28 Day Real Food Challenge – Week 3

21 Feb 2010 by happilybarefoot

Unfortunately week 3 was full of sick kiddos, so not much got done this week :(

I started up my first batch of kombucha and it should be ready to go early this week. I also started my water kefir grains which should be ready with “cream soda” on Tuesday morning!

I have plans to start up a huge batch of fermented salsa along with sour pickles this week. I also am going to make yogurt which was also covered in week 3.

Nuts are not something my family eats much of, but I plan to make something with them since that was talked about this week – and we eat a LOT of (properly prepared) beans in this house so that is well covered.

My sourdough starter has REALLY taken off and I made this great loaf this morning

Yummy!!!

I also caved to my sweet tooth and made “Mounds” Candy Bars (no nuts in mine) and they were so so so so good!

I cannot wait to see what week 4 brings and play catchup on week 3 when we are all feeling better!

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28 Day Real Food Challenge – Week 2 Recap

15 Feb 2010 by happilybarefoot

This week wasn’t as full of as much “SUDDEN CHANGE” than week 1. For which I am glad – not sure I could have removed anything else from my kitchen!

The biggest hurdle to overcome was cooking with the appropriate fats. I cook EVERYTHING in olive oil and butter…. when I should be cooking everything in fats like coconut oil and ghee. Whoops. I think I’m doing okay with that now, but it’s taken a bit of an adjustment. Not to mention I accidentally bought unrefined coconut oil the last time I went to the store – smells like a fresh coconut – not great for frying chicken – but I bet it will be amazing in baked goods!

I also had a MASSIVE failure with my first attempt at sourdough bread – and also learned that my sourdough starter tastes like … well… not good. Awful. BLECH! I caved and ordered a starter – hoping it will get here soon and then I can make another attempt. The wild yeast in my kitchen is NASTY. Maybe I’ll try again in the summer when I can stick the jar outside.

I also found a source of raw milk this week… I’m on a waiting list.

Category: Real Food  Tags:  One Comment

28 Day Real Food Challenge – Week 1 Recap

07 Feb 2010 by happilybarefoot

Thanks to the 28 day real food challenge over at Nourished Kitchen, it has been one week since I had sugar, soda or coffee. One week without using processed foods in my home, one week making everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING from scratch.

This week we purged our pantry*, filled it back up, learned about the proper way to prepare all grains (soaking, souring or sprouting) for maximum digestibility and nutritional benefit. I sprouted wheat, dehydrated it and ground it into flour. I prepared a sourdough starter and made pancakes with it – and next week will be making my first loaf of sourdough bread. I prepared steel cut oats, numerous loaves of bread and noodles all from scratch with the proper soaking methods. I fed my family real, wholesome, delicious food and didn’t hear one complaint.

It was a great week in our home. In the next week my hopes are to stay on track! I have a kombucha starter & water kefir grains along with two kits for making fermented vegetables (pickles here we come!) all on the way.

I am feeling really good about these changes – changes I have been trying to make for a long time and I am SO grateful to Jenny of Nourished Kitchen for putting this whole thing on – I’m sure it is a TON of work, she should be so proud of herself for giving lots of families like mine the kick in the pants they needed to get started eating real food!

*I will admit to there being a pile of butterscotch candy in the cabinet… I however, have not touched it. I kept it on hand in case a sugar withdrawl hit and I was about to take it out on the kids. Thankfully that has not been the case at all, and I’m sure it will land in the trash, as I don’t even have a desire to consume it.

Category: Real Food  Tags:  5 Comments