Homemade BREAD - you can DO IT!

Growing up, we ALWAYS had homemade bread. thanks to our mom who is the greatest baker, but unfortunately did not pass on those genes to me. I am still hoping to discover them in the near future though!

And since I am living in dry and high altitude Colorado,

(and since I am a mom who doesn't feed her kids bread with refined sugar, food coloring, preservatives and other ingredients that should not be found in bread)

I have tried to bake bread, and tried and tried. Some of it was eatable, some just not. Some I liked, but I always knew it had to be better. And then I found THE RECIPE (well, my friend A. posted a recipe on her fb, THANK YOU! you made my day) and I tried it out - switched some ingredients out to make it my own and here we go!

the BEST BREAD EVER!

This is the link to the original recipe but if you want my version, just follow this blog post.

Did you know that baking bread is fun? and even super fun to do with your kids? and it is easy, and really not that messy... most of the time... (-:

I think it is very important to have kids involved in your kitchen activities such as cooking, baking, even the cleaning up. It gives them more of an understanding and appreciation for food. They might even be willing to try some different foods because they were involved in the process of preparing them. Let them be proud and have fun in the kitchen!

so here we go, that is what you need for your bread (or how I made it)

3 cups of whole grain spelt flour

1/2 package of dry yeast

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon of xantham gum

(you only need this if you are using spelt or gluten free flour)

1 1/2 cups water

mix all the dry ingredients, then add the water

with a wooden spatula (hold on to the front, stir with the handle - works much better) stir/mix it all together until all the dry flour is wet

don't make it look pretty, it just needs to be mixed, the less the dough is manipulated the better

completely cover bowl with clear wrap and let it sit on your counter for 12-20 hours
(if the top of the bowl is not completely covered the dough will dry out and can not rise properly)

that wasn't so bad yet, right?

after it sat for 12-20 hours;

grab a clean kitchen towel, put some flour on it and dump the dough on it

with wet hands fold the ends of the dough under to shape it into a nice oval-shaped-bread-loaf

fold the towel over the bread, all goes back into the bowl, wrap over it, wait another 2 hours

in the meantime, choose an oven safe pan with lid and preheat it in the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

when the oven and the pan are preheated and the dough rested those 2 additional hours, dump the dough into the pan, cover with the lid and put it back into the oven for 20 minutes,

then an additional 20 minutes without the lid (these times may vary)

don't know if you baked it long enough? 'knock' on the bottom of the bread - if it sounds hollow - your bread is good!

after it cooled down a little... ENJOY!

tell your friends, make one for the family get together, bring one to your neighbour

However, everybody should at least once in their lifetime, eat a bread they crafted with their own hands!

love, n.

Viruses and Nutrition

Did you know you can help your Immune System fight cold and flu viruses with eating the right foods and avoiding the bad?

If you or one of your family members is sick or feels like getting sick, the whole family should start right away:

eliminate sugar and dairy from your diet

(sugar and dairy are known to weaken the Immune System and if we have a weak Immune System, our bodies won't be able to fight any diseases)

eat a lot of greens!

spinach, kale, all that good stuff. or juice it with fruits in the morning.

add vitamin C

(up to 1000mg per day for an adult, 200-400mg for children)

elderberry juice or tea

use oils:

eucalyptus and thyme are known to fight cold's and flu's, mix a couple drops with some olive oil and rub it onto your chest, neck or feet. (also very effective for children)

get enough sleep (haha) and drink a lot of warm (SUGAR FREE) beverages

(-:

love, n.

LABEL's and the GMO issue!

confused about the product labeling?

free-range - all natural - organic

do you think it is all the same? no, it is not.

free-range chickens might be able to run around, BUT do they eat what a chicken is supposed to eat? or do they get a dose of growth hormones and antibiotics with their breakfast?

here you can read it from the source:

USDA website:

http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateA&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&page=NOPUnderstandingOrganic&description=Understanding%20Organic&acct=nopgeninfo

understanding organic labeling:

http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateA&navID=NationalOrganicProgram&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&page=NOPUnderstandingOrganicLabeling&description=Understanding%20Organic%20Labeling&acct=nopgeninfo

and following is something near and dear to my heart and I think one of the most important issue we need to deal with NOW!!! we only have one planet, don't let it get to waste because of some idiots with too much money and the lust of power and wanting more!

avoid GM (genetically modified/engineered) food, and the best source to find info about what to look for while shopping is definitely the http://truefoodnow.org/

here THE link to the shopping guide!

http://truefoodnow.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/cfs-shoppers-guide.pdf

and this might be a 'shocker' for a few out there (I love them too, but will not buy them again)

"May contain GMO ingredients"

Boca, unless labeled organic

(Kraft)

Gardenburger

Morningstar Farms"

(source: true food network shopping guide)

as a general rule:

the big four to only buy organic (also read labels of processed products that might contain those ingredients) are:

corn, soy, canola oil, cotton (cottonseed oil)

With everything we buy we have a VOTE! take advantage of that, let's make sure there will be real nature and true food left for our children and grandchildren, protect the environment with buying non-GM foods!

it is up to each and everyone of us! NOW!

my girls helping me put away the organic fruit and veggie delivery

love, n.

Traditions - Healthyfied!

Long time no hear. We traveled to good old Switzerland, had a blast, ate everything healthy and not so healthy, because let me tell you: Switzerland is NOT so healthy.

There is sugar and milk sugar in everything. no good.

So after a few bellyaches and not feeling so well, we all went back to our good balanced, healthy minimally processed diet. YUM! and felt great again!

Back from Europe, it was time to get into holiday spirit.

One big thing over there is to make

'GRITTIBAENZ'

No way you can pronounce this in English. It is basically sweet bread you form into 'Santa's', bake them and eat them up. Really yummy stuff. The original recipe calls for butter and sugar and white wheat flour. Of course I had to 'healthyfy' it and instead of the butter I used vegan butter - and only half of the amount, instead of the sugar we used Maple Syrup and whole grain flour.

(please note: grass fed, pastured butter is a totally healthy option, we have to use vegan butter or coconut oil because we have dairy allergies in this family!)

SO GOOD! gave it a really good flavor.

And what I always do: since my little ones do better without wheat, I use whole grain spelt flour for any baking.

(and a little tip, from learning it the hard way: add a spoon of Xantham Gum to every pound of flour, the bread doesn't fall apart so easy)

Then you let little hands do some work, bake them and enjoy them!

Even my little one joined in the fun and smashed about 50 raisins into a handful of dough.

Got to love baking. (-;