Dr. Weston A. Price: 11 points

In his World-wide research of PreIndustrialized HEALTHY communities, he found that the peoples had common traits despite the variety and differences in their diets and geography.

1. Extraordinarily high FAT SOLUBLE VITAMINS AND FATS complexes -- meat sources usually organs -- Fermented Cod Liver Oil 2/3 to 1/3 Butter oil and/or Fermented Skate Liver Oil 
2. Bone broth and/or RAW dairy -- GRASS-fed and/or wild -- mineral rich and some fats for absorption. 
3. All Seeds (grains, beans) sprouted, fermented, sourdough  (dormant seeds have phytic acid that holds the minerals trapped and undesirable ratios and potential available minerals until the germ ination conditions to release them along with nutrients, enzymes, etc (phytic acid also grabs onto the minerals from your body.))
4. Seafoods and seaweeds, mostly seaweed. Iodine among 92+ trace minerals and chlorophyll. More "seaweed" algea varieties than "landweeds" -- not to be underestimated. (And salt)
5. Raw foods of all groups, typically about 80% raw to 20% cooked. Not just plants. (Raw yolks have nutrient range and enzymes. Raw whites however have anti-enzymes)
6. Fermented of all of the above. Foods are eaten in season and fermented as living/preserved/raw until next seasons, increased nutrients, enzymes, organisms. 
7. Emphasis that all foods, including dairy (butter, milk, cheese, hard cheese,....) are in season.

I believe these might have been in the original eleven:

1. High enzyme rich. Dehydrated also maintains majority of nutrients and enzymes. 
2. Whole food = WHOLE animal, all parts bones, skin, organs, etc 
3. Huge amount of the plant foods (despite current popular belief, Price did not originally find huge ratios of animal products.
4. Calories almost entirely from FATS. Up to around 80% and mostly from animal sources. 

? These were findings of Price were in "the letter" and are in the site below but doesnt seem like the original list....

1. No processed, industrialized,... no stripped, refined sugars, syrups, flours, chemicals.
2. Preconception diet - minimum of 3 months before conception. 

https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/abcs-of-nutrition/principles-of-healthy-diets-2/

Awesome Home Made Fruit "Gello"

This is a great once-a-week batch for "already made" breakfasts and desserts for a few days or even a beautiful holiday dish :)

Once you've made this enough to see the ingredient adjustments you can just use any Juice Blox /Blocks recipe online or make your own!  (priceless tidbit: 1 juice blox envelope = 2tsp gelatin)
https://www.knoxgelatine.com/basics.htm


The general outline is 1 bowl + 1 pot:

Fruit Juice KNOX^® BLOX:
 Sprinkle unflavoured gelatine over 1 cup (250 mL) cold liquid; let stand 1 minute.  
Add 3 cups (750 mL) fruit juice, heated to boiling 
and stir until gelatine is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. 
....adjust to taste, then chill and serve.

 

The general ratio for jiggler gel density:  

[?]

1 bowl of room temperature liquid in which you sprinkle the gelatin powder across to "soften" it gels up and goes clear instead of white. This bowl needs to be big enough for the final set.

1 pot of liquid about boiling temperature - enough that when you will pour into the 1st bowl it will be able to dissolve the gelatin (turns invisible instead of visible or rough) 

In the 1 bowl:

• We start by using the pot to heat the water that will make the leaf juice. 
  (The tea "leaf juice" cannot be boiled which would denature (destroy) the nutrients.)
• Turn the heat off and then add the plants of choice. 
  This is left to sit (steep) for long enough that it is cooled off to room temperature.
  Strain. 
• Pour half of 4-6 cups of "leaf juice" into the bowl  (and put the rest in a glass bottle). 
• Sprinkle the powdered gelatin across the bowl of leaf juice. 

 

In the 1 pot: 

• The packaged juices, (water to partially reconstitute frozen concentrate), and the citrus juice needs to be brought to boil to "kill" the enzymes.
• Turn heat off, cool slightly.
• This hot fluid will then be poured into the bowl. 
• Stir to dissolve and mix completely. 
• Taste test and add as much of the leaf juice from the glass bottle as flavor allows.   

Leaf juice:
amount is added to-taste in final bowl mix with excess left for drinking or another batch.

Bring water to boil, turn heat off.

Add cut herbals before walking away so you don't forget.  Since it is just barely not boiling, I follow this order:
a sprinkle of licorice root, then 2 spoonfuls of each: shavegrass, oatstraw, red raspberry leaf.
other add-ins could include nettle, oak bark, chamomile, passionfruit leaf, red clover,...  

• cut wood, barks, most roots needs a very hot, basically light simmer, for ~20 minutes 
• leaves and powders just hot for 10 minutes
• flowers are most delicate and need either warm water or just time
• (sun tea and just soaking is appropriate for the most delicate product OR for raw properties).

Below is how I used to do it.  
The above method is less error prone.

One approach to 

How to make "LEAF JUICE"
Bring 1 Cup of water to a boil and turn off heat.
Stir maybe a 1/8 cup or more fluffed red raspberry leaves (plus an optional less than 1 Tbl or so of fluffy nettle leaves)
Cover to steep nutrients into the water for 10-15 minutes. Strain out leaves. (Can keep for herbal compress/healing pack.)

COLD WATER, GELATIN AND FRUIT JUICE:
In a bowl or container at least 8 cups in size put:
2 Cup of water (this is usually just whatever drinking water you use)
Shake in 8 tsp to 3 Tbl of 100% beef gelatin (or kosher):  I order my beef gelatin from Azure Standard.To this, add a container of Frozen concentrate Purple 100% Grape Juice (next time could try your favorite 100% fruit combinations like apple and oranges or... link, or throw in some leftover cranberry sauce, yummm, or the whole can of pineapple or .... :)..) (rinse out cans with less than 1/2 Cup water.)

This is the concord grape that we have most available to us

COMBINE:
Pour the cooled "leaf juice" into the big bowl and add the gelatin to "soften".  When white powder has dissolved away, pour in the hot juice and any water.
Stir and taste.
The citrus juice (sour) 'covers' the bitterness of the leaves while the leaves make the flavor depth of all of this so yummy. Whichever sour juice is used needs it enzymes to be "killed" = boiled slightly to keep it from eating the gelatin.  Citrus, kiwi, pineapple, etc all have enzymes that eat 'dead proteins.'
Dump in frozen fruit after it has cooled down. It will speed the set but, again, tropical enzymes or citrus will eat the gelatin if warm.

If you want a molded shape pour into that pan.
Chill.

(To Remove a molded shape, "melt" the layer closest to the pan by running it under hot-ish water (sideways with a plate on it so it doesn't fall in the sink!) for a few moments then put a tray on the bowl and flip.)

(Fruit will float unless you stir it after partially set up to suspend them throughout.)

Meatballs or Meat Loaf

Click to enlarge "visual recipe"! :)
Use a cookie version of an Ice cream scoop for Meat balls (spread in a pan or pressure cooker)
or smash into a pan anywhere from a muffin tin for small servings to a larger pan of any size for cutting up later.
Bake them hot 425* to go quicker, but 350* or so for the thicker loaves.

These freeze great!! ....And when served in portions are a frugal way to get your protein and grass fed healthy fat ....So Make up a big batch so you can still put away plenty for later.

So make sure that you have lots of other foods ready and on the plates before serving so that your family doesn't fill up with out eating their veggies I really like potatoes, sweet potato (put them in the bottom of the oven!), cauliflower "delight" :), green beans, and lots of raw veggies and/or salad as options when we have meat loaf. I even will steam up a big old plate of greens and onions with butter or gravy on mine. Whatever it is you like, have it ready so no one eats too much meat loaf - It's really easy to do ;)!

Ingredients:

Might as well start with some other super foods! ;) :

• chopped Onions 2 or 3 more = so there is less than but can be up to an equal amount to the meat
• Chopped garlic (optional) ....and garlic powder later

Cut and allow to sit out while you prep everything else (better for you?, worth the possibility)

Pick and choose veggies: These all support the great flavor of a strong meaty meatloaf.

• Carrot = chopped or peelings - "peeling" the entire carrot (all the way until it is too skinny to hold onto anymore) gives the meatloaf better texture and no biting into veggies when you want meat!
  
• Greens = Kale, bok choy, (rich in available calcium) and swiss chard/beet greens seem to be taste free and collards when chopped small are just as hard to detect - all are better if subjected to freezing temperatures so wash and stuff into a zipbag, crush and use.
  
• (Both greens and seaweed have taste properties that actually make red meat taste better and deeper)
• Seaweed = (Later, or for those who are more used to using seaweed, you can remember to add this)
• Brown Lentils = put them in water as soon as you think of it, they might sprout by the end of mixing - Brown lentils vs other colors because cooking collapses the brown's texture and they hide completely making them a great stretcher and addition of plant food to this meaty meal. (start with a small amount like a 1/4 C /lb- I've never measured the successful ratios)
• mushrooms = only if everyone is a fan
• I imagine finely chopped turnip would be great, but I haven't had a chance to try it, I also want to try chopped beet and in one with an Asian or Old European twist, Cabbage!
  

Seasonings - LOTS! (ordered by approx amount) sorry I don't measure, but this also gives it a new flavor every time!:

• Sea Salt &/ (Celtic, Redmonds, whatever, but most sea salt at the store is still just processed salt from the sea (typically 'processed' removes the minerals and adds chemicals))
• or Season salt (if you are accustomed to the flavor in your meat loaf, no reason scare anyone off who would miss it... Lawry's, Tony's, Old Bay)
• Old Bay is a great addition and is more complex than most season salts This version is a great one/ingredients and could well be used as a list of seasonings to add.
  
• Black pepper, lots of it!!!
• Garlic powder
  
• Basil, Marjoram
• Thyme (fresh is great)
  
• Parsley (fresh is great -big handful of it!!)
• Cloves, Allspice (, Mace)
• Ginger (crazy spices? nah, think of the swedish meatballs at Ikea w/lignon (cranberry-ish) sauce)
  
• Kelp powder OR dash of soy or worchestershire sauce
  

and the meat of course:

• Ground hamburger (grass fed only here)
• Optional: any ratio of Wild Ferel Boar (pig/pork), and/or anteloupe, elk, bison,... (for a boost in amino acids (tryptophan for serotonin)) or ground organ meats
  
• The Pork adds an amazing dimension of flavor especially if you really load up on the fun spices = proclaimed the best we'd ever eaten by all of us older ones, the younger ones had their mouths full anyway... we all really like meatloaf around here!
  

But what about?:

• Bread crumbs and such are optional because of the amount of onion already lightening it up.
• Egg is a great addition to help hold it all together; if they are healthy eggs, then it's a bonus.
• Gelatin (perferred via bone broth, but gelatin packets in a pinch) is a great protein/nutrient to add, especially if your meat is low in fat. It tenderizes tough meat, but its bigger bonus is in your body... It enables great digestion and digestive/intestinal health among other things.

Now Mix it all together until it's all the same through out -- oo gooey fun for the kiddos too. Then smash into the pans and cook them until cooked through. brown on top if needed.

Sauce is unnecessary, but depending on how tasty it is or the direction you went with the spices, then it may be a bonus. I like to put some in a muffin tin because they are done in less than 20 minutes; I can pull them out and have a premeal snack and find out what they taste like while there is still plenty of time to put sauce on the rest of them.

• For the basic American traditional Beef Version:

Ketchup ~1 C


Mustard ~ 1/4 C


Brown sugar ~ 1/8 C


(chili powder)

• For the Swedish version: Any Cranberry or slightly sour jam or Apricot, Peach, Cherry, Berry,...
• For an Asian twist: Sweet and Sour or Terriyaki or ....
• or Gravy! (I'll make a more specific post later) (gluten-free with Arrowroot powder, dairy-free with bone broth)
  
• salt, pepper, butter fried mushroom, onions.
  
• cheese...
  

Mostly Vegetable Cordon Bleu (dairy free w/out the cheese)

So yummy. And although it wasn't the prettiest ever, it was still pretty enough I wish I'd taken a picture before we ate every speck of it! I made this up in the middle of a hot streak of good dinners that everyone ate to the last bit. In this case, I was thinking that the chicken cordon bleu on a show was just too much meat and not enough veggie. I've been looking for ways to eat Bok Choy and Collards because they are "on the list" of desirable greens. They are 'super' high in Calcium - way more than milk- and are also low in Oxalic acid (oxalate) that interferes with mineral absorption and can cause problems (if not broken down by including fermented foods).

1. Fry a few pieces of bacon OR slices of ham with some palm shorting/coconut oil/butter (the oil/fat helps the flavor permeate the whole dish)
   
2. Slice two large onions into long somewhat narrow pieces.
3. If you are using raw chicken add small pieces or long strips to the pan. Salt, Pepper and garlic powder would be nice.
   
4. Add the sliced onion, and lightly salt and pepper, after you have cooked the first side and flipped the bacon/ham
5. Long slice Bok Choy and any other vegetables you feel inclined to add (mushrooms might be good). Add more butter if needed or just for yummyness.
   
6. When the onions have softened and are translucent add the white (lower portion) of the bok choy
7. I used left-over chicken which I chopped into bite size pieces and added it in time to heat through.
   
8. When the bok choy has started to lose it's crispness add the green portion of sliced Bok Choy and any other shorter time cooking vegetables (I used collard greens, but I imagine some purple cabbage would be worth trying)
9. The best part is the finishing step. I sliced thick slices of New Zealand Jack or Cheddar (whiter choices would be nice) cheese all over the top. It is strong sharp cheese (and Australian/New Zealand cheese is always grass fed = K2 etc.) I can find some at my Trader Joe's and Walmart. When the cheese is melted Either stir it up a bit so the cheese and buttery moisture is all mixed like a sauce or Serve it so it is still mostly on top and visible.
   
10. If dairy free, add olive oil and extra herbs, maybe some citrus juice... think wilted salad maybe.
    

Pasta Noodles

See link for a Gluten-free version made with buckwheat.

I've made these with wheat before, and they tasted like the whole wheat "homemade" pasta at the Brick Oven I used to work at in Provo. However, they weren't as big a hit at my house as it was/is there. They used to really line up at that Pasta Bar!

We prefer Kamut as the grain in our noodles. Kamut, an 'ancient' grain, is much more like a durum (pasta) wheat than regular red or white wheat = It makes a great textured noodle that is very similar to the commercial pasta that we are all used to. Also, even when the wet dough is left to sit ("soaked" to neutralize sprout inhibitors) over night it doesn't get as sour as the 'regular' wheat does. I have yet to try adding rye, but I want to put a handful of rye in the flour to give a boost to the neutralization process.

Here's the recipe I use as of now, altered, but originally from the Nourished Gourmet blog.

• 3-3 1/2 cups Kamut flour
• 1 cup of warm water
• 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, less if included any rye flour
• Flour for the counter
• Palm shortening or Coconut oil for bowl

After allowing the moist dough to sit for 8-24 hours, prep your counter top for as much space as you can for room to roll out the dough. I prefer to moisten the counter and spread a thin layer of flour across it, the moistened counter and white flour combine and adhere to make a floured surface that works better than anything else I've tried rolling on. Keep extra flour handy to add as you go and more as the floured surfaced does wear off and needs to be kept dry.

Start with small portions to roll out as the goal here is to roll the dough as absolutely as thin as possible. Thin makes fat noodles when cooked so it is great that Kamut has an amazing elasticity to it to be able to roll it out super thin. I roll until it starts getting holes it is so paper thin - sometimes stopping to pick up the well floured 'disc' to support gravity in some additional thinning stretches. The rolling is really the only time consuming part of this whole recipe, so, really roll speedily and actively ....and only go as far as your family's taste prefer. When it is rolled out, cut the beautiful dough into your pieces - Nourished Gourmet has some great photos of large and long - with a knife, pastry cutter, or pizza cutter.

They can be dropped in boiling water immediately or allowed to dry out. I think they taste better if they are left to dry out even just a little bit first.

If possible, drying them in the sun or perhaps in a dehydrator is far more effective way of drying them. Some people do cool air drying on racks. If you are able to get them dry enough then they can last for quite some time in storage (too wet and they mold).

I found that we also prefer noodles that are a bit smaller/narrower, but the big ones are yummy too. For the days that I make small noodles I just do a huge grid of strips. -- It really helped to discover that a previously acquired and, until now, unused quilting tool worked awesome with the pizza cutter. - check out the awesome looking tools that exist for such projects!
I always think that if I wasn't always trying to just get this all done super fast, or if my boys could restrain themselves from eating all of them, we would make cute bowtie shapes by just pinching the rectangles!

By the way - She also has a buckwheat soba noodle recipe! (gluten free)

Coconut Citrus Fudge

Coconut Citrus Fudge

1 cup coconut butter

2-3 tablespoons raw honey

2 tablespoons coconut oil, gently melted

1 tablespoon orange, lemon, grapefruit or other citrus zest

1 teaspoon orange, lemon, grapefruit or other citrus extract (if using oil, use a few drops)

1. In a food processor pulse coconut butter and honey until combined.  Then with the processor running, add the coconut oil in a steady stream.  Add zest and extract or oil, and mix until combined.

2. On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or wax paper, spoon mixture and form into a rectangle.  Press with your hands to make the thickness even, about 1/4 inch thick.  Chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

3. Remove from the fridge, and lift parchment or wax paper off the cookie sheet and transfer to a cutting board.  Cut into little squares or whatever bites you like.  

4. You can store these in the fridge, or even on the counter in an airtight container.  The coconut butter keeps it shape well, even at room temperature.  And this time of year our houses are on the cooler side.  Enjoy!

(Inspired by a review of Cooking to Heal by Kimi at The Nourishing Gourmet, I have made this "fudge" a few times.  It is very light, very nourishing, and kid-friendly.  My kids love it.  I have changed it a little, mostly to incorporate more coconut oil and achieve a smoother feel.)

Peanut Butter Cups

I love these peanut butter cups.  I made them last February for R for Valentine's Day.  I wrote the other day about looking for candy for Christmas at the store, but coming up empty.  Even in my compromising mindset I couldn't find anything that would work.  So I am making a few different candies and confections to help satisfy M's and E's sweet teeth on that magical morning.

But back to the peanut butter cups.  I have tweaked the recipe just a bit.  I watch Ina Garten on the Food Network quite a bit, and on her show Barefoot Contessa she occasionally shows how she tests recipes.  Ever since she explained how chocolate is enhanced by a little bit of coffee I have been paying attention to how she pairs them in different recipes.  She says that you do not end up tasting the coffee, but the chocolate tastes better.

Sometimes she uses leftover brewed coffee, sometimes it's instant coffee or espresso granules, and sometimes it's coffee liqueur.  I have Kahlua, so I have used that recently in any chocolate recipe I make.  I just eyeball between a teaspoon and a tablespoon.  I don't know enough about how they make instant coffee crystals to use them confidently, and I don't brew coffee at home.  (The caffeine affects my adrenals and such.)

Oh, and one last thing: after I use up the natural peanut butter in the jars in my fridge I want to make my own peanut butter.  It's very handy to have peanut butter around, so I think it's worth the trouble to soak peanuts in salt water, dehydrate them and then put them through the food processor.  The point of doing all of that is to avoid the enzyme inhibitors present in peanuts and nuts in general.  The soaking process neutralizes the enzyme inhibitors, helping you to not only digest them better but absorb more nutrients from the nuts.

Peanut Butter Cups

peanut butter base:

3/4 cup natural peanut butter, preferably from soaked and dehydrated peanuts

1/4 cup gently melted coconut oil*

2 tablespoons raw honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup chopped nuts, preferably soaked/dehydrated/roasted at a low temperature (300), optional**

chocolate topping:

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons raw honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon coffee liqueur

1. Mix peanut butter and coconut oil together until smooth, using a rubber spatula.  Add honey and vanilla and stir until smooth.  Using a small ice cream scoop, divide among the 24 mini cupcake molds in a mini cupcake pan.  Put into the freezer for 20 minutes or so while you make the chocolate topping.

2. In a glass bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stir chocolate, honey, vanilla and coffee liqueur with a wooden spoon until almost smooth.  Remove from the pot and set onto a hot pot holder while you continue to stir until completely smooth.

3. Remove mini cupcake pan from freezer and spoon chocolate mixture onto each peanut butter cup, smoothing a little with the back of a spoon.  Place back into the freezer until solid, about 20 minutes or more.

4. Remove with a spoon or butter knife.  They should pop out with a little elbow grease, as long as they are completely solid.  If they mush together at all, put them back into the freezer for a few minutes and try again.  Store in the freezer until you want to eat them.

5. To eat, I like to take a few out and let them rest on a plate for a few minutes to soften.  And, of course, my favorite way to eat them is with a cold glass of whole, raw milk.  Enjoy.

*You can use virgin coconut oil (which will taste like coconut), or expeller-pressed coconut oil (which will have neutral taste).  I prefer the expeller-pressed, but I have tried it both ways and the coconut flavor does work in this recipe.

**(I didn't add these, E can't chew them very well; he choked on a swiped cashew yesterday when I wasn't looking, scary!)

(cross-posted at k-land)

"Tollhouse" Chocolate Chip Cookies - My way

The same!,
except
upgrade the ingredients to a healthier version:

• whole grain sprouted flour (soak, no more tails than a tiny nub (pH) or they'll be fluffy, dehydrate, then grind)
• sucanat/rapadura (reduce by a 1/3 C)
• palm shortening

AND

• Add 1-2 Tbl water to make up for the whole grain (too much will make them spread and get grainy).
• I like a little molasses, but it's just a preference.
• Chilling the dough is a definite plus especially until the next day (but let it sit so you don't break/bend you spoon)
• I always seperate out some dough so that at least mine are chocolate free - I've got my amino acids so I don't even feel the addictive draw!