Sourdough Crepes

These crepes are great. I found them here on the Gnowfglins website, they have so many great sourdough recipes. These crepes make a nice lunch rolled up with a nut butter and jelly or refried beans and cheese. You could also fry them up and make chips! We often use these in place of tortillas. They would also make a delicious breakfast if you add in a little sweetener to the batter and then stuff with fruit and top with whipped cream. This recipe makes roughly 9 crepes.

Here is what you are going to need:

- 1 cup sourdough starter

- 3 eggs

- 3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil

- 3 pinches salt

- milk to thin 1/4 cup (more or less)

Sourdough Blueberry Waffles

I think breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I love pancakes, waffles, French toast, bacon, grits, oatmeal and the list could go on and on. I could eat breakfast foods all day long! Here is a great recipe for easily digested waffles they are easy and yummy!  I found this recipe from the Gnowfglins website here.

Here is what you are going to need:

- 2 cups of sourdough starter

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 2 tablespoons of sweetener like sugar or honey

-1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil

- 2 eggs

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda mixed with 1 tablespoon water

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

- 1/2 cup to 1 cup blueberries

Homemade Kefir Smoothie

I make this smoothie nearly every day for lunch. My husband can take it to work for a quick and easy lunch to have while he is working away and my sons love it. I love that it is so nutritious and it is easy to make. I adapted this recipe from the Nourishing Traditions Cookbook.

Here is what you are going to need: 

- Raw milk kefir (go here to see how I make it)  I use 2 (about 24 ounce) jars of kefir for my smoothies. 
- 1 cup fruit (I use all kinds of fruit; strawberries, blueberries, mango, bananas, pineapple) I usually use frozen fruit but fresh works too.
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon Stevia (I use the spoonable stevita)
- 1 tablespoon cod liver oil (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional, only if you use banana)

Grain-Free Brownies

Here is a recipe that uses a secret ingredient to make these brownies grain-free and gluten-free.  Any guesses?


 Keep reading to find out...

Milling Grains at Home

A few years ago I was getting into making tortillas and muffins and waffles from scratch.  A friend of mine had a grain mill and made her own flour at home.  At first it sounded so intense to me to make flour at home, but I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about homemade flour.  I didn't like the whole wheat flour at the store that much and I didn't want to just use white flour. I thought it would be fun to make my own flour.  Reading through the Nourishing Traditions Cookbook I learned that grains can quickly go rancid after grinding and they lose many of their nutrients after sitting on the shelf for a while.  I really wanted a grain mill and talked to my husband about it and we decided to invest some of our tax return money into a grain mill.  It has been a great purchase. I've used it nearly every week for over 3 years!  I love that I can buy many different kind of grains and I love that I can use flour that is fresh and has the most nutrients in it.  I have the Nutrimill and I love it!!  We bought it here in Amazon.  I buy my grains in bulk from Azure Standard and occasionally when I run out, I buy grains from the bulk bins at Whole Foods.  I have milled all kinds of grains in my mill; wheat berries, spelt, buckwheat, and rice.  It is nice to be able to use any grains and to be able to mix them together.  The type of wheat berry you use depends on what you are going to do with the flour.  If you are going to be making cakes and pastries then a soft white wheat works great for that.  If you are going to be making breads then you can use a hard wheat like red or white and rye berries work well in sourdough.  I usually use either hard red wheat berries or hard white wheat berries and rye berries.  I use most of my flour for making sourdough English muffins or sourdough pancakes.  

My Top 5 Favorite books about food and health

I have always liked cooking and making things in the kitchen.  I love reading and learning about food and trying different recipes. The last few years I have been reading books about the best ways to prepare foods and the most nutritious foods for my body and for my family.  Here are my top 5 books on food (for now)

1.  Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

I have learned soooo much from this book, it has tons of recipes in it and it also tells the best ways to prepare foods so that your body can get the most vitamins out of them and digest them the best.  I highly recommend reading this book if you are interested in preparing healthy meals and snacks for you and your family!!

Savory Sweet Potatoes with Bacon

A couple of my favorite foods right now, sweet potatoes and bacon. I know there is controversy around bacon right now. In the Maker's Diet, Jordan Rubin says to avoid all pork products because The Lord calls them unclean in the Bible. For a long while I too avoided pork products, but during my 4th pregnancy I really craved bacon so I started eating it again, and I'm really enjoying it for now. Who knows, maybe next year I won't be eating bacon.... we will see.  If you do not eat pork feel free to use turkey bacon.  I found this recipe here and adapted it a little bit.

Here is what you are going to need:

- 1/2 pound of bacon cooked and crumbled

- 2 pounds of sweet potatoes

- 2 tablespoons coconut oil

-  4 cloves garlic

- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

- dash of cinnamon

- salt and pepper to taste

- one green onion chopped

- a dash or two of red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you like it)

- the juice of one lime ( I didn't have a lime so I didn't use one)