Probiotic Lemonade Recipe

Do you remember that whey I told you not to throw away after making homemade yogurt? Here is one of the many uses for it: Probiotic Lemonade. It's a great way to get additional good bacteria in your and your family's tummies and an excellent alternative to things like fruit juice, because it has a lot less sugar.

A few notes: It will seem like a lot of sugar is called for in this recipe at first, but the good bacteria in the whey will eat most of the sugar during the fermenting process. Also, if you do not have enough or any whey, simply grab a carton of yogurt and strain it through a cheese cloth like I describe here.

What you need:

1 cup fresh lemon juice (3-6 lemons)

1/2 cup living whey 

1/4-1/2 cup sugar (organic cane sugar is healthiest, but not essential)

1/2 gallon of filtered water

1/2 gallon sized glass container or jar with lid

Citrus juicer

Knife

Cut and juice lemons. When I bought mine, I picked out the largest lemons I could find since they were priced per lemon and not per pound. I bought 5, but 3 ended up producing just over a cup of juice. It helps if you roll the lemons between your palm and the counter first to loosen them up. I also added a bit of the pulp back into the juice because I'm a fan of citrus pulp in my juices.

I then dissolved a 1/2 cup of sugar into the lemon juice, mixing very well.

Pour the juice and sugar mixture, whey and some filtered water into the glass container. Put lid on and give it a good shake.

Fill the container the rest of the way with water, leaving 1-2 inches head-space at the top. Put the lid on and shake well again.

Set the container in a warm place in your kitchen with a towel covering the bottle. I chose the top of my refrigerator.

Let it sit for 2-5 days. The longer it sits, the tarter it will become. If it's too tart, you can add a little of your preferred sweetener to each glass. If you leave it for 4-5 days, it will most likely become bubbly.

I tasted ours on day 2 and it was tart, but refreshing. I decided to leave it out longer to see if it would get bubbly.

On the evening of day 4, I stuck the bottle in the fridge to chill over night. I could definitely smell the fermentation at that point. In the morning, I poured myself a glass and took a reluctant sip (mind you, this was my first attempt with this recipe too). I was pleasantly surprised! It had a slight fizz and tasted similar to kombucha! I really like it and immediately poured myself a glass to go with my breakfast. Our WAPF diet recommends having something fermented with every meal to help aid in digestions, so this is an easy, tasty way to accomplish that. I will definitely be adding it to my list of regulars! 

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Ricotta cheese is incredibly easy to make and so much tastier than the store version! There are two ways to make it: with lemon juice or with leftover whey.

Method One with Lemon Juice

What you need:

1 quart of Half and Half (I often double the recipe and use a half gallon)*
2 tbsp of lemon juice
Salt

Kitchen thermometer
Cheese cloth or thin kitchen towel
Strainer
Soup pot
Large bowl

Start by pouring the half and half into the soup pot. Cook over medium heat till it reaches 180 degrees. While it is heating up, line a strainer with the cheese cloth or thin kitchen towel. Put the strainer over a large bowl to catch the whey.

Once the cream has reached 180 degrees, take it off the heat and add 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Let it sit for about 5 minutes.

This is what the mixture will look like at the end of 5 minutes. The acid in the lemon juice curdles the milk, forming curds and whey.

Pour it into the strainer lined with cheese cloth and let it drain until desired consistency. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

*if you are going to increase or double the recipe, the ratio is 1 tbsp of lemon juice for every 2 cups of cream


Method Two with Whey

What you need:

1 quart Half and Half
1 cup living whey (e.g. from yogurt)*
Salt

Kitchen thermometer
Cheese cloth or thin kitchen towel
Strainer
Soup pot
Large bowl

The process is pretty similar to method one.

Combine half and half and whey in soup pot. Stir well.

Heat to 180 degree. Do not stir while heating.

While it is heating up, line a strainer with the cheese cloth or thin kitchen towel. Put the strainer over a large bowl to catch the whey.

Take pot off the heat and let sit for 10-15 minutes or until the milk curdles.

Pour it into the strainer lined with cheese cloth and let it drain until desired consistency. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

*There will be a good amount of whey left over after the ricotta has drained. This is not the same kind of whey that is left over after yogurt making. The ricotta whey does not have any live cultures in it like the yogurt whey does, so it can't be used to ferment anything. It does still have a lot of protein and flavor though and can be used in place of water in things like baking recipes, soup stock, etc. I have baked with it, but have yet to try it in a soup stock, although I've heard that it creates great flavor!

Flu Shots - Jello Style

Grass-fed gelatin is one of our household's newest discoveries. It is incredibly healthy and consuming it can help  a wide variety of physical issues. As you can see in the picture, we buy the Great Lakes brand, as recommend by the Weston A. Price Foundation.

We have been adding it to our bone broth and making jello with fruit juice, but I was curious what else could be done with it. So as always, I turned to trusty Pinterest. One of the ideas that stood out to me was a natural home remedy and immune booster: Jello Flu Shots. I know, a funny name right? It certainly catches your attention though, huh?

I am always looking for more natural remedies and ways to boost our immune systems so that we can avoid putting extra junk in our bodies as much as possible. In my experience, the natural remedies more often work better than the over the counter medicines anyways!

There are many variations possible with these Flu Shots and the original author lists many here. Most people know that echinacea is an immune booster, but did you know that cinnamon and ginger are too and that they both are great for calming an upset stomach? Knowing this, here is the combo I came up with.

What you need:

2 cups 100% apple juice
2 cups hot water
3 tbsp grass fed beef gelatin
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 echinacea tea bag
1 cinnamon stick
soup pot
glass pan

Put your tea kettle on to warm up while you grate the teaspoon of ginger. Combine the apple juice, cinnamon stick, and grated ginger in a pan and heat at a simmer.

Once your tea kettle is hot, pour two cups of boiling water over the echinacea tea bag and let steep for 10-15 minutes.

Pour the tea into the pan with the juice mixture and let simmer for a few more minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and take the pan off the heat. I decided to leave the grated bits of ginger in the mix for an added boost.

Slowly pour in the gelatin while mixing with a whisk.

Pour the mixture into a glass pan (I used 9x13 and they came out quite thin) and refrigerate for a 2-3 hours, or until firm. 

I then cut mine into squares and transferred them to a quart size mason jar. My allergies have been going a little crazy with the intense weather changes we've been having in Nevada for the past week and I woke up with a bit of a sore throat this morning. I grabbed two of the jello squares this morning and had them with my breakfast. They were very soothing on my throat. So not only will they boost immunity and help with nausea, they are also good on a sore throat!

Donald's Weight Loss Progress - 30 pounds in 10 weeks!

I have spent many years of my married life unhappy with my appearance and no matter what I did nothing helped me lose weight. I did various diets that didn't satisfy my body and had little-to-no effect on my appearance. Eventually I gave up on wight loss all together. I figured if I was going to be fat all my life, "I am going to enjoy myself." That's kind of a sobering thought at this moment. I have not only gotten healthier over the last 10 weeks but I have dropped 30 lbs and I have never felt better!

Now let me give you a bit of background. I love to camp and shoot things and get out in nature. I enjoy watching football and rooting for my team (GO HAWKS!). I have a real desire to know how to provide for my family without having to spend money on everything we do. I am not a lazy guy; I never have been. What I mean by this is that I work hard.

I was a furniture mover for all of my marriage (6 years) until we moved to Nevada. Basically that was a standard workout, 5 days a week, for 6 hours of my usual 8-10 hour work days.. What I found though is that no matter what I ate, I stayed in a general weight range due to the type of work. So my diet consisted of burgers and fries and whatever else seemed to fill me up. I had no regard for the quality of food that I put in my body. It is satisfying for a while to give in and not care, but ultimately terrible for you! So after 6 years of eating this way regularly, I hadn't noticed the weight that I had put on. To be completely transparent, I went from around 275 lbs when I first got married to my highest weight of 410 lbs after moving to Nevada.

I gained 135 lbs. I literally put on a person. I was shocked and disgusted with myself; I had let it all go.

So the light at the end of the tunnel! I began to watch my wife lose weight. I heard that she was sticking to the Weston A Price Foundation diet consisting of whole organic foods, raw milk and cheese, healthy fats, as well as some other foods. I was very skeptical of this new "diet" (which I now consider a lifestyle). I watched over a number of months as my wife dropped over 50 lbs. HOLY COW, I was so impressed and still am!

At this point it was do or die. If I was going to try this way of living I had to make a decision and look at it as a challenge. I started eating what my wife would eat, whole healthy foods, with a good amount of animal products, like meats, fats, and bone broths.

At first I didn't notice a whole lot of difference. I felt better for sure; more energy, happier. Then it began. I started dropping weight like crazy. My body was finally getting all the nutrients that it needed to operate normally. No more grease and junk to make it run like a car with three cylinders (haha).

Over the last ten weeks, I have gone from 410 lbs to 379 lbs!

I am now so impressed with myself and how I have accepted a challenge that is making a huge difference in my life! It has been a great journey so far, with a ways to go, but I am up for the challenge! You will see various posts from me on how I eat hearty meals, still lose weight, and enjoy it! Look for many BBQ posts, homemade sauces, and much more that make this way of life awesome for guys too!