I drink fresh, raw milk.  Really fresh, really raw and always in season. In essence, I drink real milk.  I’ve waxed poetic about my love of fresh cream before, but now it’s milk’s turn.

My milk is fresh, in season, grass-fed, full-fat and locally produced.  It is rich, and luscious and creamy and it is a living food, teeming with beneficial bacteria, food enzymes and naturally occurring vitamins and minerals.  It is not fortified; it doesn’t need to be – for every mineral, every vitamin contained in that cool glass of frothy white milk was placed there by nature as it is in all truly whole and unrefined foods.  Real milk – raw milk – doesn’t need fortification as vitamins, minerals and enzymes remain intact instead of broken, denatured and destroyed through heat processing by standard pasteurization or, worse yet, the extreme temperatures reached through ultra-high-temperature (UHT) pasteurization.

Raw milk is a living food. It is dense in food enzymes and beneficial bacteria – two components of traditional diets that are severely lacking in the standard American diet in which foods have been subject to irradiation, pasteurization and other treatment.  Raw milk, like any raw food, contains food enzymes – notably amylase, catalase, lactoperoxidase, lipase and phosphatase¹. These food enzymes play important physiological functions in the human body; notably, they help our bodies to better digest our foods.  Amylase helps our bodies to digest carbohydrates, while lipase helps us to digest fats. Lactase, though not an actual component of milk itself, but a result of the presence of beneficial bacteria in raw milk, helps to digest lactose, or milk sugar.  Raw milk is also a good source of beneficial bacteria – which are critical to human health (learn more about beneficial bacteria and lactic acid fermentation).  (...)
Click here to read the rest of I drink real milk: fresh, raw, local and full of fat. (722 words)

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]]> http://nourishedkitchen.com/drink-raw-milk/feed/ 108 http://nourishedkitchen.com/raw-milk-yogurt/ http://nourishedkitchen.com/raw-milk-yogurt/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:33:26 +0000 Jenny http://nourishedkitchen.com/?p=3755

Raw milk yogurt is a sort of holy grail for traditional foods enthusiasts, coupling the enzymatic and probiotic components of both fresh milk and fermentation in one glorious, creamy, lovely food.  Served over baked oatmeal or soaked oatmeal porridge, on its own or as a basis for savory dipping sauces, a good yogurt can find its way to nearly every meal if you let it.

Raw milk yogurt, thanks to the effects of food enzymes, has a tendency to be a touch runnier than the stuff you find in grocery stores or what you might make in your own kitchen from boiled or pasteurized milk.  For this reason some of the very best raw yogurt is prepared using a combination of fresh cream and fresh milk rather than milk exclusively.  If you follow the fermentation process with straining, as you would for labneh, the resulting product would be even thicker and creamier and you could, in turn, use the accompanying whey in properly preparing grains and flours through soaking or even as an addition to your morning smoothie.

In preparing a classic, or thermophilic, yogurt at home with raw milk, you do need to heat the milk slightly and culture it in a warmed environment.  We heat the milk only to 110° Fahrenheit (about 43° Celsius) which keeps food enzymes and naturally occurring beneficial bacteria intact and thriving. Other cultured dairy foods ferment at room temperature and can also be made with raw milk.  I also recommend culturing with Bulgarian or Greek starters which are available online (see sources) and which produce a rich, tangy and super creamy product.

Raw Milk Yogurt Tutorial(...)
Click here to read the rest of How to Make Raw Milk Yogurt (639 words)

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]]> http://nourishedkitchen.com/raw-milk-yogurt/feed/ 123 http://nourishedkitchen.com/labneh/ http://nourishedkitchen.com/labneh/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:00:03 +0000 Jenny http://nourishedkitchen.com/?p=2407

Labneh – a yogurt cheese of middle eastern origin – is remarkably versatile and very easy to make at home.   Alternately known as lebni, labni or laban, labneh is found all across the middle east where it’s popularly rolled into small balls, served with unrefined extra virgin olive oil and used as a condiment.   Preparing this labneh recipe at home requires little more than fresh yogurt and a swath of cheesecloth.   If cheese-making piques your interest, labneh is a very good cheese for beginners due to the little amount of expertise it requires, its minimal effort and its very high rate of success.

Labneh is versatile in its application in the kitchen.   In our home we often substitute labneh for regular cream cheese or for neufchâtel or even sour cream when none is available.   Mixing labneh with olive oil and fresh herbs such as parsley, dill or marjoram makes a dip for vegetables and breads that is charming and elegant in its simplicity.   Simple food is often the best food.

More about Dairy Foods

• 10 Cultured Dairy Foods and How to Use Them
• For the Love of Fresh Cream
• 10 Reasons to Drink Raw Milk

For your labneh, you’ll want to choose a good fresh yogurt.   In preparing my labneh, I prefer a homemade yogurt prepared from fresh raw milk.   Matsoni (pronounced madzoon) is a room temperature or mesophilic yogurt culture that is particularly well-suited to making labneh.   Its flavor is mildly sour and quite pleasant. You can find a matsoni or other yogurt starters online (see sources).   While I prefer matsoni, any yogurt will do and even kefir works quite well.

Labneh, like all cultured dairy foods is rich in beneficial bacteria.   As a probiotic food, labneh carries with it all the benefits of yogurt.   Foods rich in beneficial bacteria support proper immune system function, and the process of lactic acid fermentation increases the vitamin content of many foods.   If possible, source your milk or yogurt from healthy, grass-fed cows and keep it whole.   The butterfat of cows fed on grass is considerably higher in CLA than the milk of cows fed a conventional diet largely comprised of corn and soy.   (Read more about CLA Disease and Diet).

My Labneh Recipe

Each quart of yogurt will produce about 6 ounces of labneh, give or take, plus plenty of whey to use in other recipes.

Equipment Needed for Preparing Labneh

A Middle Eastern-inspired Lunch

• Labneh with Olive Oil
• Tomato & Cucumber Salad
• Moroccan-spiced Roast Chicken
• Preserved Lemon and Parsley Tapenade
• Rice Pilaf with Fresh Turmeric, Raisins and Pistachios
• Figs Stuffed with Almonds

• Cheesecloth or Butter Muslin (see sources)
• A Strainer or Fine Mesh Sieve
• A Bowl on which to rest your sieve
• A large, thick rubberband (optional)
• A Hook (optional)

Labneh Ingredients

1. 1 Quart   to ½ Gallon of Fresh Yogurt (see sources)
2. ½ Teaspoon Unrefined Salt per quart of yogurt
3. Extra Virgin Unrefined Olive Oil (see sources, optional ingredient)
4. Herbs (optional ingredient)

Labneh Instructions

1. Set your sieve above your bowl.
2. Fold the cheesecloth into quarters and set it inside the sieve.
3. Mix yogurt with unrefined sea salt.
4. Pour the yogurt and salt mixture into the sieve lined with cheesecloth.
5. The initial straining will happen quickly as the bulk of the liquid and some of the yogurt itself will strain through the cloth and sieve into the bowl.
6. After the initial straining (5 – 10 minutes or so), gradually and carefully fold the ends of the cheesecloth in toward the center and twist them gently into a nice, tight package of yogurt that can easily hang from a hook.
7. Tie the package together with a rubberband and hang it from a hook, placing your bowl beneath to catch any dripping whey.
8. If you do not have a hook set up, you can tie off the package and leave it in your strainer provided you watch the level of the whey, ensuring it never reaches the strainer.     Hanging from a hook speeds up the straining process.
9. Hang your yogurt for at least 12 hours and preferably 18 – 24.   The longer you hang the yogurt, the thicker your labneh will be.
10. After your yogurt has hung for a sufficient period of time, remove it from the hook and gently take off the cheesecloth.   You’ll find that the yogurt is smooth and thick like cream cheese.
11. You can store the yogurt in small mason jars in the refrigerator or store them in olive oil with herbs.
12. To store labneh with olive oil, roll the labneh into small walnut-sized balls and gently place them into a mason jar with fresh herbs.   I like to use violetta basil, but you can use any herbs that suit your preference.   Cover them with oil.   I have read that labneh can be stored this way at room temperature, but I store labneh in the refrigerator.
13. Store your whey for later use.

Remember: Preparing labneh at home leaves you with ample whey which is strained away from the semi-solid cheese.   This whey is similarly rich in beneficial bacteria and as such is slightly acidic.   Don’t throw it away, the thin faintly green-looking liquid is quite valuable.   You can use it to soak grains to render them more digestible, in bread baking, as a starter for fermented foods and in smoothies for extra protein and probiotics.   Whey should keep, refrigerated, for up to six months.   We usually use ours within two weeks.

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]]> http://nourishedkitchen.com/labneh/feed/ 27 http://nourishedkitchen.com/healthy-treats-for-kids/ http://nourishedkitchen.com/healthy-treats-for-kids/#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:39:20 +0000 Jenny http://nourishedkitchen.com/?p=1872

Preparing healthy treats for kids can be a challenge.   Picky palates seem to prefer junk over wholesome, natural and healthy treats, but even the pickiest kids may find a treat among this list of healthy treats for kids that suits their liking.   Many of these are stand-by healthy treats for my family: figs stuffed with almonds, raw cheese and apples while others like strawberry milkshakes (they’re good for you, promise!) and frozen bananas we eating only occasionally.   So give up the gogurts, the little debbies, the fruit leathers and handisnacks for these tasty and healthy treats for kids.

Healthy Treat #1:

Frozen Bananas Rolled in Walnuts and Coconut

Replacing frozen ice cream pops, we love frozen bananas rolled in walnuts and coconut as a delicious and healthy treat.   They’re super simple to prepare and pleasantly sweet with mouth-pleasing crunchy coating.

It’s simple, grab a few chopsticks, skewers or popsicle sticks and thread a banana on to it.   Next, melt a bit of coconut oil and prepare bowls of crushed walnuts and unsweetened shredded coconut. Slightly coat the banana in coconut oil and sprinkle it with walnuts and shredded coconut, then set it on a baking sheet greased with coconut and allow it to freeze overnight.

Bananas are rich in potassium, and prebiotic compounds that nourish the intestinal flora that helps to keep you and your little ones healthy.   Walnuts are a source of the amino acid L-arginine which is critical in maintaining a healthy circulatory system.   Nuts contain enzyme inhibitors and may upset the digestion, so take care to eat walnuts that have been soaked overnight in clean water slightly salted with sea salt and subsequently dehydrated.

Healthy Treat #2:

Strained Yogurt with Dried Fruit & Nuts

Consider this healthy treat before feeding your kids sugar- or high fructose corn syrup-sweetened yogurts and puddings.   Rich in probiotics, protein and wholesome fats, strained yogurt or greek-style yogurt is a fantastic treat for kids. We frequently serve it with raisins or currents and pecans, walnuts or even crushed almonds.   Some kids may find that real yogurt – plain yogurt – is too sour for their liking so consider mixing a few tablespoons of maple syrup or raw honey into the mix – decreasing it ever so slightly until they’re taste preferences become accustomed to yogurts natural sour flavor.

Healthy Treat #3:

Popcorn with Butter & Nutritional Yeast

A favorite healthy treat of ours is popcorn with butter, nutritional yeast and sea salt.   If your kids are craving something salty, this is a great treat and it’s super easy to make. We don’t do microwave popcorn around here (or microwave anything for that matter) partly due to the carcinogens present in the packaging.     Simply heat a few tablespoons of coconut oil over medium heat, and add a kernel or two of popcorn.   When the corn pops, add about 1/3 a cup of kernals and place the lid over your pot.   Agitate the pot over the flame until the sound of popping slows, then remove it from the heat.   Pour the corn into a bowl and top with plenty of melted butter (a great source of vitamin A and CLA).   Toss in some unrefined sea salt and as much nutritional yeast as your kids care for.   Nutritional yeast is a great source of those B-vitamins that we all need.

Healthy Treat #4:

Creme Fraiche with Fresh Vegetables

Kids love the animation and interactivity of dipping foods – perhaps because it’s the closest you can get to playing with your food without getting in trouble.   By preparing wholesome dips, like this creme fraiche dip you can serve them food they enjoy that is also wholesome and nourishing.   creme fraiche, like yogurt, is rich in beneficial lactic-acid producing bacteria and the vegetables provide an array of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.   Try this creme fraiche dip recipe and serve it with celery sticks, carrots, sliced salad turnips and radishes.

Healthy Treat #5:

Honey Custard

Ditch the handisnacks and powdered puddings in favor of a wholesome, natural custard sweetened only with a touch of honey.   The mildly sweet custard is easy to prepare, and rich in fat soluble vitamins.   It’s definitely a favorite in our home during springtime when both cream and eggs are plentiful and easy to find. Check out this recipe for honey custard.

Healthy Treat #6:

Caprese Salads

Another favorite in our household are caprese salads.   The wonderful flavors of summer: beautifully ripe heirloom tomatoes and brightly flavored basil leaves combine with fresh mozzarella, unrefined sea salt and unrefined extra virgin olive oil for a delicious treat that both children and grown-ups love.     The basil and tomatoes provide plenty of antioxidants while the unrefined olive oil supplies natural vitamin E.   Stack them into towers for extra fun.

Healthy Treat #7:

Strawberry Milkshakes

No child should be deprived of the delicious, creamy richness of a strawberry milkshake.   Fortunately, you can ditch the factory farmed milk and refined sugar for a wholesome, but equally delicious treat.   The milkshake is rich in nutrients and wholesome fats, which kids need, as well as the vitamin C and antioxidants that strawberries are known for.   Combine 1 ½ cups whole, raw milk with 1 cup frozen, hulled strawberries and a tablespoon of raw honey in a blender and blend until smooth and well-combined.

Healthy Treat #8:

Figs Stuffed with Almonds

Dried fruit and nuts always make for a good treat.   In this version, we combine dried figs with raw almonds for a sweet treat with a nice, satisfying crunch.   Figs are rich in soluble fiber, vitamin K, manganese and potassium while almonds represent a good source of vitamin E and riboflavin.   All you have to do is slightly pierce the skin of dried fig and insert a raw almond into its center.   A bag full of these is a great snack to bring to the park or on long road trips.

Healthy Treat #9:

Sweet Potato Chips

Instead of packing snack bags filled with crackers or potato chips, try preparing sweet potato chips at home in your dehydrator.   With a nice, midly sweet and salty flavor these sweet potato chips pack a great nutritional punch: they’re loaded with beta-carotene a known cancer fighter.   Take two or three sweet potatoes or garnet yams and slice them as thinly as you can manage.   Toss them with a teaspoon or so of olive oil and a bit of unrefined sea salt to taste before setting them on a mesh screen in your dehydrator.   Allow them to dry at about 105 º until they’re thoroughly crisp.

Healthy Treat #10:

Raw Milk Cheese with Sliced Apples & Pears

Lastly, we love raw milk cheeses with their fantastic flavors that vary from sour to salty paired with ripe apples and pears.   The fruit provides carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals while the cheese provides protein, fat, vitamins and food enzymes for good digestion.   This is a much more nutrient-dense and much more delicious version of that classic kid’s treat: processed cheese and crackers.

So there’s our top 10 healthy treats for kids.   What are your household standbys?

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]]> http://nourishedkitchen.com/healthy-treats-for-kids/feed/ 52 http://nourishedkitchen.com/10-reasons-drink-raw-milk/ http://nourishedkitchen.com/10-reasons-drink-raw-milk/#comments Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:45:40 +0000 Jenny http://nourishedkitchen.com/?p=1748

Reason to Drink Raw Milk #1:

Raw milk is a living food.

Unlike pasteurized and ultra-high-temperature (UHT) pasteurized milk, raw milk is a living food.   Several of milk’s natural components including beneficial bacteria, food enzymes, natural vitamins and immunoglobulins are heat-sensitive.   These health-promoting components of natural, raw milk are destroyed by heating and therefore not present in pasteurized or UHT milk.   Indeed, most foods – milk included – provide best nutrition when consumed in a raw or minimally cooked state.   While heating milk doesn’t change the mineral composition to any great degree, it does, however, change their bioavailability rendering all that lovely calcium less absorbable.

Reason to Drink Raw Milk #2:

Raw milk is rich in beneficial bacteria.

As a living food, raw milk is rich in beneficial bacteria.   These bacteria are critical to your health; indeed,beneficial bacteria are so critical to human health that you cannot live without them.   These bacteria are responsible for stimulating and training your immune system to function correctly.   They also work in conjunction with your immune system to keep pathogenic bacteria at bay.     Indeed, they can be effective in the prevention and treatment of e. coli, rotavirus and salmonella infections.   By consuming foods rich in beneficial bacteria – like raw dairy products and naturally fermented foods – you can help to optimize the levels of beneficial bacteria present in your gut.   These bacterial allies are destroyed by pasteurization and are absent in pasteurized and UHT milk.

Reason to Drink Raw Milk #3:

Raw milk is rich in food enzymes.

As a living food, raw milk is also rich in natural food enzymes: lactase, lipase and phosphatase number among many of these natural enzymes.   These enzymes help your body to better digest milk and better metabolize its vital nutrients.   Without these vital enzymes, the milk’s natural sugars, fats and proteins can cause reactions in individuals prone to food intolerances.   Enzymes like phosphatase help the body to better absorb milk’s calcium while other enzymes like amylase and lactase help you digest the sugars present in milk.   Lactoperoxidase, another enzyme found in raw milk, offers antimicrobial properties which, again, helps to keep potential pathogens at bay.   These enzymes are painfully delicate and very heat-sensitive, pasteurizing milk destroys them and the benefits they convey to you.

Reason to Drink Raw Milk #4

Raw milk is rich in natural vitamins.

The butterfat present in raw milk is rich in natural fat-soluble soluble vitamins, particularly preformed vitamin A, vitamin K and vitamin E.   (Learn more about fat soluble vitamins: vitamin a, d, e and k.) Raw milk is also rich in water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and B-complex vitamins.   A quart of raw milk from grassfed cows contains approximately 50% more vitamin E and 7% more folate than pasteurized milk.   Moreover, fresh raw milk naturally contains vitamin C which is completely absent from pasteurized milk.   Vitamins, like food enzymes, are delicate and are largely destroyed by heat; therefore, pasteurized milks are fortified with vitamins – and those fortifying vitamins are synthetic, laboratory-created versions of naturally-occuring vitamins.   They are not treated the same way as natural vitamins by your body.

Reason to Drink Raw Milk #5:

Raw butterfat is rich in Conjugated Linoleic Acid.

Meat and milk from grass-fed animals is rich in fatty compound called Conjugated Linoleic Acid or CLA.   Actually classified as a trans-fatty acid (but a good transfat!), CLA offers myriad myriad positive effects for those who consume it.   Indeed, research indicates that this substance is known to fight cancer (particularly breast, intestinal and bone cancers), hypertension and adipose obesity.   If you’re sourcing your raw milk well, you’re only sourcing it from grass-fed cows which means you’re consuming this important fatty acid – something that’s missing from that factory-farmed, pasteurized and skimmed milk at the grocery store (and yes, organic milk drinkers – there’s plenty of factory farming in the organic industry too!)

Reason to Drink Raw Milk #6:

Raw milk supports small farmers, not feedlots.

Pastuerization of milk was born out of necessity – as unhealthy cows from concentrated animal feed operations produce unhealthy milk.   Cows sickened by confinement and an unnatural diet of grain and mash produce lackluster, thin milk   poor in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients and rich in pathogenic bacteria.   Sick milk from sick cows makes for sick people.   Pasteurization kills pathogenic bacteria just as it kills beneficial bacteria.   Rather than tackle unsanitary practices and concentrated feed operations as the root cause of food illness caused by raw dairy products, government officials instead mandated pasteurization.   Such action allows industrial dairies to continue operating in a way that sickens their cattle.   When you purchase pasteurized milk at the store – unless you’re careful about your brand – you’re purchasing it from industrial farms that promote poor health among their herd.

By contrast, raw milk is not produced on a massive, concentrated scale.   Instead, raw milk producers operate small operations with fewer cattle spread out over a larger amount of space.   Cows aren’t fed on feedlot grain; rather, their given space on fresh pasture and spend their time outside with access to shelter when they need it – as in the case of inclement weather.   By choosing to drink raw milk and eschew pasteurized milk, you’re supporting small, local farmers who value both their customers and their herd.   You’re supporting sustainable agricultural operations not the dairy mega-industry.

Reason to Drink Raw Milk #7:

Raw milk is not homogenized.

Raw milk is not homogenized; rather, the beautiful fresh raw cream rises to the top to produce a lovely creamline.     You can skim this cream for use in making butter or a beautiful panna cotta, or just shake the jar up to evenly distribute the cream into the milk for drinking.   This cream and butterfat is in its whole state; it hasn’t been homogenized.   Homogenization is an intense process that forcefully breaks up the fat molecules present in butterfat thus allowing them to be suspended in rather than separated from the liquid milk itself.   This forceful and intense process leaves these delicate fats subject to oxidization.   Oxidized fats contribute to heart disease, hypertension and hyperlipidemia.   Homogenization spells bad news for your heart and your body as a whole.   Fresh, raw milk is not homogenized and so the fat molecules remain intact – wholesome and healthy.

Reason to Drink Raw Milk #8:

Raw milk is easier to digest.

Fresh, raw milk is easier on your stomach and digestive tract.   Components naturally present in raw milk, but killed by pasteurization, enable you to digest raw milk better than cooked, pasteurized milk.   Lipase, lactase and amylase – each enzymes mentioned above – work in conjunction with macronutrients present in milk – helping you to better digest the milk as a whole food.   Pasteurization, by contrast, renders milk hard to digest.   This is particularly true of the proteins present in milk which are denatured by high heat.

Reason to Drink Raw Milk #9:

Raw milk clabbers.

Leave a carton of pasteurized milk out on the counter for a day, and you’ll end up with a putrid, stinking glop.   By contrast, raw milk will clabber as its beneficial lactic-acid producing bacteria proliferate and turn raw milk into a probiotic-rich, yogurt-like food.   Bonny clabber is a traditional food originally from Scotland, though most peoples across the globe enjoy similarly clabbered milks through their traditional food heritage.   Clabbered raw milk is not only edible, but particularly healthful as its sugars have been metabolized by lactic-acid producing bacteria and continue to proliferate.   Since these bacteria have been killed by heat in pasteurized milk, such milk won’t clabber; rather, molds and yeasts will rot the milk.   Moreover, milk that has been subject to pasteurization at ultra-high temperatures isn’t even suitable for cheesemaking.

Reason to Drink Raw Milk #10.

Raw milk supports your local economy.

Raw milk is a delicate food and is not suited to traveling long distance, nor is it shelf-stable at room temperature.   Pasteurized milks and UHT milks in particular can and do travel long distances before arriving from the dairy to your door.   These milks are often mixed with the milks of several dairies prior to pasteurization so you, as a consumer, lose the opportunity to question your dairy farmer about the milk you serve your family.   Further, the money you spend on such milk is divied between your grocery store, the broker/supplier, the branded dairy and, lastly, the farmer.   By purchasing raw milk locally and farmer-direct, 100% of the money you spend on your milk stays in your farmers pocket and in your local economy.

For more information about raw milk, check out this post: How to Choose an Organic Raw Milk Dairy.

Cross-posted at Real Food Wednesdays.

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]]> http://nourishedkitchen.com/10-reasons-drink-raw-milk/feed/ 34 http://nourishedkitchen.com/cinnamon-honey-ice-cream/ http://nourishedkitchen.com/cinnamon-honey-ice-cream/#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:05:55 +0000 Jenny http://nourishedkitchen.com/?p=1686

Fresh cream is in season (don’t think of cream as a seasonal food? check out this post For the Love of Fresh Cream), and we’re making a lot of ice cream in our home.   It’s so simple to make, plus it helps me to get all those good fat soluble vitamins into my toddler’s body.   The ice cream we make is very much a raw food: raw milk, raw cream, raw egg yolks and raw honey comprise the basis for all the ice creams we make and each of those foods can be powerfully nourishing.   Indeed eggs are one of my Top 10 Nutritional Powerhouses.

This ice cream should be made from the freshest cream you can find and, preferably, raw.   Pastuerized cream tastes … well … cooked.   I like to serve this ice cream with wild apricot sauce which accompanies the cinnamon particularly well.

To make Cinnamon Honey Ice Cream, you’ll need:

• 1 Quart Fresh Cream
• 2 Cups Fresh Whole Milk
• 4 Raw Egg Yolks
• ½ Cup Raw Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Whisk together cream, milk, egg yolks and honey until the honey thoroughly incorporated into the cream and eggs.
2. Stir in the cinnamon.
3. Proceed according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

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]]> http://nourishedkitchen.com/cinnamon-honey-ice-cream/feed/ 20 http://nourishedkitchen.com/organic-raw-milk-dairy/ http://nourishedkitchen.com/organic-raw-milk-dairy/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 16:53:20 +0000 Jenny http://nourishedkitchen.com/?p=1414

Organic Raw Milk and Dairy Products

Fresh, organic raw milk and dairy items are a treat – and a worthy treat at that.   The consumption of organic raw milk and dairy products is linked to relief from asthma and eczema.   Furthermore, organic raw milk is a living food replete with enzymes and beneficial bacteria that would otherwise be killed through pasteurization.   Raw organic milk and dairy products like raw butter, raw cream, raw cheese and raw yogurt are rich in natural vitamins and other nutrients like conjugated linoleic acid – a known cancer fighter. So once you understand the benefits of consuming organic raw milk and dairy products, how to you go about finding an organic raw milk dairy or creamery?   There’s many factors to consider prior: legality, production standards, milking procedures, herd management, bottling and distribution number among them.

How to Find Organic Raw Milk and Dairy

In some states, organic raw milk and organic raw dairy products can be purchased at the store; however, in most locations selling organic raw milk directly to the public is illegal which forces health-minded consumers and farmers to circumnavigate the laws through cow share programs.     Cow share programs allow consumers to purchase a share in the farmer’s herd of dairy cows.   Then, as a partial owner in the herd, the consumer is entitled to a share of whatever that herd produces: namely, organic raw milk.   After all, the state can’t come after you for drinking milk from your own cow. You can find organic raw milk suppliers at your local farmers market, through the raw milk association in your state and by visiting Real Milk

.

Choosing an Organic Raw Milk Dairy

Once you’ve found your supplier or organic raw milk, examine their production standards, milking procedures, herd management, bottling and distribution procedures.   If your organic raw milk creamery is certified or part of a self-regulated state-wide raw milk organization, your farmer should be able to supply you with documentation that they operate according to standard and accepted procedures.   Please note, however, that not every state offers such a self-regulating agency and such an agency is not requisite to the operation of a high quality organic raw milk dairy.   As always, the best way to ensure the quality of the milk you purchase is to visit the farm yourself.   Know your farmer.

Organic Raw Milk Production Standards

• The milking station should be clean and free of hay, manure, dirt and dust to prevent the breeding of flies and rodents.
• The milking station should also be free of livestock when not in use except under extenuating circumstances (such as inclement weather, particularly during calving season).
• The milking station should also be swept clean before and after milking.
• Farmers should use sanitized stainless steel containers and sanitized silicon tubing when milking as both inhibit the growth of bacteria.
• Organic raw milk should be immediately bottled into sanitized containers.
• Organic raw milk should be immediately chilled to 40⁰ F after milking.
• Teats should be cleaned prior to milking.
• Cows are fed during milking and, most often, fed grain.   Take care that your farmer uses non-GMO grains.
• Cows should be fed exclusively or almost exclusively on fresh pasture; however, your farmer knows the nutrient composition of native grasses better than anyone else and may need to supplement those grasses with very limited quantities of other feed and natural supplements   to optimize the health of the herd and the taste of the milk.
• Animals should be tested for TB, brucellosis, mastitis and watched for other systemic illness.   Cows who are ill need to be milked last or on separate equipment, with their milk discarded.
• Cows should be, ideally, treated with holistic methods including the use of benign and homeopathic treatments.   If a sick cow does require the use of antibiotics, the cow should be removed from the cow share program.
• Dairy farmers should implement holistic pasture management to prevent over-grazing.   Pasture should be allowed to fully recover prior to allowing the cows to graze the same area again.
• Ideally, the cow’s calves should not be immediately removed from their mothers and subsequently bottle-raised as is commonly the practice even in organic dairies.
• Organic raw milk should be sampled and tested monthly for bacteria and pathogens and these reports should be   made available to you.
• Cows should be treated humanely with full-time access to pasture, free-flowing water and shelter.   Cows should be treated gently to minimize any stress.

Did you like this post? Please let me know by leaving a comment. Don't forget to find Nourished Kitchen on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. © Jenny for Nourished Kitchen, 2009. | Permalink |
]]> http://nourishedkitchen.com/organic-raw-milk-dairy/feed/ 12 http://nourishedkitchen.com/from-the-mouths-of-babes/ http://nourishedkitchen.com/from-the-mouths-of-babes/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:27:35 +0000 Jenny http://nourishedkitchen.com/?p=1298 AKA Let My 3-year old teach you about Real Food

I’ve written about the joys of nourishing my son: nourishing him with my body during his time in my womb, nourishing him with my milk first exclusively during his first six months and complemented for three more years, weaning him on to Real Food through the baby-led approach to solids.   You see, it warms me to know that his body is so well-nourished, but, beyond that, it tickles me to see that he’s made the connection between good health and good food.   So I thought I’d share a few real food gems from the littlest foodie in our home.   It certainly warms this nourished mama’s heart.   Or … maybe … we talk about real food just a touch too much in our house.

• More fermented turnips please!
• Fresh milk from Sweet Clover makes me grow big and strong.
• NO THANK YOU!   That has high fructose corn syrup and that is GMO. (When offered ketchup by a waitress.)
• I love kombucha.     It’s like tasty vinegar.
• We should not eat white sugar, it takes away B vitamins.
• I will drink the water, it is good for my kidneys.
• Chicken bone broth has lots of minerals.

How have your children shown their appreciation for good quality, real food?

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]]> http://nourishedkitchen.com/from-the-mouths-of-babes/feed/ 5 http://nourishedkitchen.com/devil-in-the-milk/ http://nourishedkitchen.com/devil-in-the-milk/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:40:34 +0000 Jenny http://nourishedkitchen.com/?p=1282

Keith Woodward’s ground-breaking work Devil in the Milk published by Chelsea Green outlines a scientific tale of modern diseases and their relationship to the food we consume.   Further, Devil in the Milk outlines how corporate interests can shape the way in which information about food and health is relayed to the public.   Woodward draws upon his experience as a professor of agribusiness to outline a story that may help in the fight against diabetes, cardiovascular disease, autism and even schizophrenia.

While not an easy read, Woodward’s Devil in the Milk is a worthy read.   Deeply science-based, Devil in the Milk assimilates several studies on just how cow’s milk is broken down by our bodies and how, when broken down, it can act to the betterment or the detriment of our health.

You see, milk is comprised of several different components that come together to produce one singularly unique food.   These components (cream, milk solids and whey) each interact with our bodies in different ways; however, the area of concern is not the cream or whey but the milk’s casein.   It seems there are two primary forms of casein contained in cow’s milk: A1 beta casein and A2 beta casein.   A2 beta casein is the elder of the two, while A1 beta casein is a genetic variant that scientists believe began appearing in cow’s milk a few thousand years ago.   Remember, a few thousand years is nothing on an evolutionary scale.

According to the theory outlined in Woodward’s Devil in the Milk which is backed up by mountains of scientific research, this variation in casein type results in cognitive, mental and physical illness among our society at large.   Because of a slight differentiation in the amino acid construction of the two types of casein, each type is broken down differently in our bodies.   Due to a weak bond between two amino acids, A1 beta casein breaks down to an opioid call betacasomorphin 7 or BCM7.

Woodward discusses the considerable evidence that BCM7 can negatively impact the health of both humans and animals.   BCM7 can trigger autoimmune reactions and is linked to neurological impairment similar to that seen in both autism and schizophrenia.   Further, due to BCM7′s ability to create a significant immune response, there’s a very direct connection between A1 milk and diabetes that is not paralleled by A2 milk.

Once the genetic mutation of A1 beta casein appeared, it spread rapidly.   Now, most dairy cows in North America produce A1 beta casein.   Asian, African and some European breeds still produce the older A2 beta casein that does not cause such negative health effects due to the fact that its amino acid bonds are strong and it doesn’t break down into BCM7 in the manner that A1 beta casein does.   Further, yaks, sheep and goats produce A2 milk exclusively.

When I initially heard about the A1/A2 beta casein controversy, I felt wary.   After all, the only information I could find on the subject came from the A2 milk corporation which Woodward discusses at length. Indeed, he addresses the A2 milk corporation and its science-based initiatives as well as the butting of heads that occurred between the A2 milk corporation and New Zealand’s Fonterra–a mega-corporation that represents New Zealand’s significant dairy industry.   After reading Devil in the Milk, I reminded myself that just because a corporation has a vested interest in a certain product does not necessarily mean that the scientific conclusions are wrong.   While it does raise a flag, such corporate interests do not provide cause to reject the scientific conclusions altogether.   In this case, as addressed by Devil in the Milk, the conclusion that A1 milk is detrimental human health is spot-on correct.

Ultimately, after reading Devil in the Milk, I’m thankful that the milk my family drinks is raw and comes from Guernsey cows (the dairy cows with the highest levels of A2 beta casein instead of milk from those darlings of the industrial dairy: holsteins whose milk is high in A1 casein.   Further, in purchasing dairy products outside of our cow share, I’ll choose sheep’s and goat’s milk cheeses.

Devil in the Milk is an eye-opening book that underlines the importance of truly traditional foods: don’t simply choose whole foods, but eat foods as that we evolved on.   Devil in the Milk is published by Chelsea Green and is also available on Amazon; it’s worth checking out.

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]]> http://nourishedkitchen.com/devil-in-the-milk/feed/ 13 http://nourishedkitchen.com/honey-blackberry-ice-cream-recipe/ http://nourishedkitchen.com/honey-blackberry-ice-cream-recipe/#comments Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:26:24 +0000 Jenny http://nourishedkitchen.com/recipes/?p=435 In the spring and summer months, when cows are grazing on fresh, green grass raw ice cream is a staple in our home.   Unlike conventional, cloyingly sweet ice creams, this ice cream is milder in is sweetness which allows you to more fully appreciate the flavor of fresh, raw cream and milk.

To make a quart or so of this honey and blackberry, raw milk ice cream:

• 3 Cups Fresh, Raw Cream from Grass-fed Cows
• 1 Cup Fresh, Raw Whole Milk from Grass-fed Cows
• ½ Cup Raw Wildflower Honey
• 4 Egg Yolks from Pastured Hens
• 1 Cup Fresh Blackberries

Instructions:

1. Mix cream and milk together.
2. Rapidly whisk in the honey and continue to whisk until the honey is fully incorporated.
3. Whisk in egg yolks and continue mixing until the entire mixture is uniform.
4. Pour mixture into your ice cream maker.
5. Add berries.
6. Mix according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.
7. Place in freezer to harden.

Did you like this post? Please let me know by leaving a comment. Don't forget to find Nourished Kitchen on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. © Jenny for Nourished Kitchen, 2009. | Permalink |
]]> http://nourishedkitchen.com/honey-blackberry-ice-cream-recipe/feed/ 10 http://nourishedkitchen.com/foodbuzz-24-24-24-criminal-tastes-an-illegal-supper/ http://nourishedkitchen.com/foodbuzz-24-24-24-criminal-tastes-an-illegal-supper/#comments Sun, 21 Sep 2008 07:47:10 +0000 Jenny http://nourishedkitchen.com/?p=183 In celebration of Foodbuzz‘s offical launch – if you haven’t checked them out do so now and tell them the nourished kitchen sent you   – I’m taking part in their global blogging event.   The event, dubbed “24, 24, 24″ honors 24 food bloggers all across the globe posting about 24 meals within 24 hours.   I’m delighted to participate in this event.

So … onto the food!

Criminal Chicken and Criminally Dressed Vegetables

The leaves are turning in Crested Butte and nothing heralds Autumn quite like Vinotok – a harvest festival that ends in eccentric and near-naked revelry around a bonfire.   I could think of nothing more apt than first celebrating the festival with our own eccentric celebration of the autumnal harvest.

But, you see, this autumnal supper is special.   Indeed, every dish I served to my guests harbored a criminal secret – illegal ingredients.   Ludicrous as it sounds, many foods simply cannot be purchased in their simplest and most natural state.   Farmers can’t sell their eggs without special licensing.   Ranchers can raise their animals, assist in their birth, but can’t participate in their slaughter.

Fresh milk from healthy cows – unadulterated by pasteurization – cannot be purchased where I live.   Some of the most beautiful cheeses produced by some of the most skillful artisans cannot be sold in the United States because they were made from fresh, raw milk and aged fewer than two months time.   Many farmers cannot sell their eggs without first procuring license to do so from the state.   Beyond that, an animal can live its entire life on a ranch but must then be transported to be slaughtered.     Just ask Joel Salatin; everything he wants to do is illegal.

Illegal Cheeses but Perfectly Legal Fruit

So for this special meal, and in celebration of our farmers who find ways to skirt the laws and still provide the public with such delicious and healthful options as raw milk or fresh eggs from unlicensed hens pecking surreptitiously on native grass, our menu includes these wonderful, delicious and criminal foods.

Beet Terrine Filling Featuring Raw Milk Goat Cheese

Tonight with friends and family, we joked about the FDA or the state Department of Health knocking at our door as we dined on the following menu:

• Beet and Chèvre Terrine featuring a homemade raw milk cheese aged only a few weeks.
• Fruit and Artisan Cheese Plate featuring illegaly, but deliciously, imported French raw milk cheeses and a homemade raw milk cheese.
• Simple Green Salad topped with with boiled eggs from those dangerously unlicensed hens I warned you about earlier (recipe here).
• Beef Consommé with Autumn Vegetables made featuring stock made from the bones of an animal slaughtered by the farmer on his own farm (recipe here).
• Roasted Chicken with Prosciutto & Herbs starring an unfortunate chicken who had been fortunate enough to live outside in grass and peck at grubs before being processed on the farm instead of a processing plant hundreds of miles from home (recipe here).
• Braised Fennel with Basil created with raw butter (recipe here).
• Honey-glazed Carrots also created with that pesky raw butter and illegal chicken bones (recipe here).
• Radishes Sauteed in Butter with Parsley featuring what else but that butter again (recipe here).
• Salt Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with raw butter (recipe here).
• Apple Clafoutis created with both raw cream and unlicensed eggs – yes, we’re getting really felonious now.
• Honeyed Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries made with delicious raw cream from grass-fed cows (recipe here).
• Fresh Raw Milk to drink.
• Homemade Hard Cider Oh yes.   We like moonshine here, but only for the beneficial bacteria.   I swear.

Criminally Delicious Panna Cotta

We enjoyed the meal–in all its skirting of the law–but it’s important to note that many people may view these laws as a way to ensure that the public limit exposure to potential pathogens.   Yet, the laws favor industrial agriculture and interfere with both the small farmers’ ability to making farming economically viable and the consumers’ ability to make an informed choice.

Indeed, though I consistently choose to include these foods that skirt the law and bend health codes, they’ve never made me sick; rather, my health has improved with the inclusion of pasture-fed chicken, grass-fed meats and raw milk.   Consider that spinach, tomatoes, lettuce, beef and a slew of other legal, industrial foods have made people across the US sick due to contamination with pathogens like e. coli and salmonella.

There is a great deal more accountability when you can look the person who produces your food straight in the eye.   We should trust our farmers and ourselves without relying on the state to determine what we can and cannot enjoy.

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