Finally! Juicing and Kombucha {Food Loves}

Well, my next post WAS going to be my broth process, but due to an incident, I have none of my pictures for it...so as I make my next batches, I will take new pictures and do a post.  :-)  So I thought I'd share about something I have finally gotten into that I have desired very much for so long to do...


Juicing
I never thought I would become a juicer.  But alas, I am mildly obsessed with it!  I think about it way too often, which to me means that maybe my body is really liking it and is benefiting from it.  When I think about juicing and making coffee, I pretty much prefer the thought of juicing.  That is HUGE for me :-).  I am hoping my cravings for coffee will be reduced or taken away by the minerals and enzymes and all that good stuff that I am getting. 

I kind of always thought people were a little weird for juicing because I thought we should be just eating everything we need.  However, if you look at things from a GAPS/SCD perspective (understanding that our guts and bodies are damaged by our inheritance and poor diets and therefore even if we ate enough veggies, our bodies have impaired digestion and therefore cannot absorb everything that's so good for us in fruits and veggies) it makes sense to add this into life.  We are also all probably deficient in minerals and enzymes, so it takes a lot to give our bodies what they need.  Juicing allows our bodies to get all the benefits of raw veggies without the difficulty of digesting them and therefore not getting everything good in them. 

We really want to take the plunge and get a juicer and add it into our days for minerals/enzymes and for aid in digestion.  Constipation, which is very common when on a GAPS diet in the early months (or even longer), can be helped by adding juice in, especially first thing in the morning.  It stimulates bile production, which helps digest fats.  If fats aren't digested well, they can cause issues.  You can read lots of great information all over the internet about juicing. 

One tip if you are concerned about blood sugar effects of juices is to whisk 1-2 raw egg yolks and a spoonful of homemade sour cream (we do use store bought if we are really needing it, although that isn't best because it isn't raw and it isn't fermented as long probably as we would do it) into your juice, making a sort of 'milkshake'. 

So, grab a helper if you and they are so inclined and try it!  (ok, I guess you might need to get a juicer first...)

• Review of blenders and juicers I found helpful
• Dr Mercola's thoughts and very helpful information

Little mister loves helping make juice!

 1 large organic red apple, a couple handfuls of kale, 4 stalks of celery, 2 carrots...

 Oh my, I loved this and it feels so good to drink it and I feel so good after I drink these juices!!!  And seriously, let's just be honest, they have immediately greatly improved my digestion :-). 

KOMBUCHA!!!
If I can get into making this successfully, our grocery budget will be super happy.  And therefore, my husband can stop stressing.  ;-).  But seriously, it is incredibly economical to make it yourself - it can seem scary, though!  Someday I will do a cost comparison for what I use to make it.  First I have to actually finish my first batch.  But I am so excited I finally have gotten around to doing this!

I love this stuff.  LOVE.  And I love how it helps my body.  And you can make it with your own preferences in mind by adding small amounts of fruit juices at the end of the process.  Here's some great information about how wonderful this stuff is for you.  


I grew a SCOBY this way.  It worked amazingly well.  If you do it, which I think everyone should :-), do NOT throw it out if it looks like its developing mold on top.  Seriously, it will turn into a beautiful SCOBY. 

 So after you grow your SCOBY, follow this process, which is what I did. 
      1) I did 1 gallon to begin with since I only have 1 SCOBY.  Boil 1 gallon of water, add a lot of tea bags (I used 16! NOTE to SELF: get family size teabags next time!!)  Lipton is great to use and don't worry about it being organic.  Read more here.   Let it steep for 5 minutes, remove bags, add 1 cup sugar.  Let it sit out and cool to room temperature. 

      2) Pour sweetened, cooled tea into a giant gallon glass jar. 

      3) Add 1/2 cup of the kombucha from your starter/SCOBY jar into the gallon and then gently place the SCOBY on top of your tea.  Isn't it weird looking?  It's kinda creepy to handle the first time, but oh well, it's totally a neat science experiement! 

     4) My camera died here, so I don't have a picture of my gallon jar sitting and waiting, but once the SCOBY is in the jar with your tea and 1/2 cup of liquid your SCOBY was in, cover it with a towel, secure well (I used a stretchy hair band), and place the jar in a corner of your kitchen without a lot of light, especially sunlight.  I have mine in a corner near my stove to feed off the warmth created by it ALL the time.  Keep it away from other cultures or electromagnetic fields (don't use a seedling warmth mat, move away from appliance that are plugged in right by it). 

It's supposed to sit for about 5 days and then move on to the next part, which is adding a small amount of fruit juice, capping tightly  (in smaller jars or bottles), and fermenting 2 more days on the counter.  Then you simply move it into the fridge and enjoy. 

ah, I can't wait to update on how it goes...and hopefully it's a great update so that I stop spending our life savings on this amazing drink at the store...

:-) 

So there you go, 2 of my food loves (up there with butter, raw cream, and bacon) added into our lives!!  YAY!!