TF questions (science, Sally Fallon, time and $ constraints...) - Page 3

[Astrea]

Thanks Katie! It's looking a little bubbly now and smelling sour, after being fed for just over a week, but it doesn't really ever "rise up" like the instructions say it should. Is that normal? I'm going to try baking with it today... we'll see.

I think my non-sourdough Artisan Bread in 5 is actually pretty decent, because I always add 2-3 T of whey to the dough and it always sits for somewhere between 24 hours to 2 weeks before being used. That makes it pretty well soaked, right?

[CherryBomb]

I never really understand what they mean by "rise" with starter. I know mine is ready when it's bubbly and a bit frothy and has a nice sour smell. It kind of puffs up on the top, but I don't know that I'd call it "risen?"

I do old school starter, 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of warm water, and I cover and leave it in a warm place till it catches some good yeast. I usually store mine in the fridge because I'm really the only one that likes sourdough (trying to change that!) but I find it easy to revive- I mix it up well and add 1 cup warm water, 1/2 cup flour, and 1tsp sugar. I usually start my bread with a nice sponge, so once my starter is revived I mix together 1 cup of starter, 2 cups of warm water, and 2.5 cups of flour. I like to let my sponge sit at least over night before i use it. Whatever leftover sponge I have I use to feed my starter before it goes back in the fridge.

I think 24 hours is a good sitting time, and definitley it would be well soaked by 2 weeks, lol!

[Chicharronita]

What a great thread! Before I reply to a PP, I agree with several posters who've said to take it slow and easy because TF has a long learning curve.

Originally Posted by azgirl

I love Dr. Eades and he is a great science-based, mainstream-ish source.

[...]

I also love his book recs and his links to other interesting nutrition folks from a less crunchy corner of the web...

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/c...des%2C+M.D.%29

http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/07/07/the...act-or-fallac/

The latter link is to Denise Minger's excellent blog. I highly recommend the various posts she's written dismantling The China Study. The book and writer Dr. Campbell have lost all credibility with me after reading them, although I admit I was already skeptical of him after reading Colpo and Masterjohn's articles on the book.

Dr. Eades' post about The China Study is merely frosting on Minger's cake.

[Astrea]

I've read most of those China Study posts and I'm not really convinced Denise's posts constitute a true take-down. YMMV, of course.

My sourdough bread turned out well. We had it for breakfast with coconut oil and raw peanut butter, with homemade yogurt and raspberries. I did still add some yeast because I'm not sure if the starter has sufficient rising power yet. I'll use less yeast next time, and hopefully keep on reducing it down to nothing or next to nothing over time.

I realized my yogurt-making issues stemmed from incubating the inoculated milk for too long--it was curdling and separating. I incubated it for around 3.5 hours last night and then refrigerated it, and it turned out very well. I'm straining it right now (I like thick Greek-style yogurt; I save the whey for use in recipes).

I got on the mailing list for our local cow-share co-op (raw milk source) but I need to read more about it. DH and I agree that the benefits of getting raw milk vs. organic grass-fed non-homogenized pasteurized milk need to be pretty significant to outweigh the added expense and inconvenience. Anyone want to convince me?

[velcromom]

I think that Minger did say that she felt that the China Study wasn't exactly 100% incorrect, but more that she felt it was incomplete in its conclusions. I got the impression she wasn't out for the total "takedown" but to show bias and truncated logic.

I just made my first sourdough bread after getting a starter going two weeks ago, it turned out really well. I wanted a loaf similar to the rosemary olive oil bread I like, so I added two tbs of crushed dry rosemary and drizzled the top with olive oil before baking. Rosemary bread makes the very best grilled sandwiches!!

I don't have any hard data about raw milk. I do know that my own child, who tests allergic to milk, can drink raw. Even if we didn't have that issue I'd prefer milk from a grassfed source.

[Astrea]

I bit the bullet and signed up for the wait list for the cow share. I should have raw milk in 1-2 months I'm hoping to be able to use the cream from the milk to make butter in my KitchenAid. Is that a reasonable idea?

DD is a very picky eater (despite baby-led weaning, etc.) and gets a lot of her calories from milk, so it seems like a good place to invest some serious money.

My sourdough is awesome and has a nice sour taste already. I expect it'll only get better. I used these instrux if anyone's interested:
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1284

I'm reading Real Food by Planck now, and I'm enjoying it a lot. Thanks to those who suggested it!

[CherryBomb]

Originally Posted by Astrea

I'm reading Real Food by Planck now, and I'm enjoying it a lot. Thanks to those who suggested it!

I just got done reading it, it was great!

[blessedmama59]

Originally Posted by Astrea

I bit the bullet and signed up for the wait list for the cow share. I should have raw milk in 1-2 months I'm hoping to be able to use the cream from the milk to make butter in my KitchenAid. Is that a reasonable idea?

DD is a very picky eater (despite baby-led weaning, etc.) and gets a lot of her calories from milk, so it seems like a good place to invest some serious money.

My sourdough is awesome and has a nice sour taste already. I expect it'll only get better. I used these instrux if anyone's interested:
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1284

I'm reading Real Food by Planck now, and I'm enjoying it a lot. Thanks to those who suggested it!

You can make butter in your mixer! I've only done it once, but basically you just turn it on and beat the heck out of it until it separates. I'm getting a butter churn soon!

[Astrea]

Sweet! Can't wait to try it. I'll have to see whether it's more cost effective to get premade butter through the cow share, or to make my own from the milk I get. I guess it'll depend partly on how much cream there is on the milk (it's Jersey milk).

I've been putting my raw coconut oil on my tea and coffee. Very tasty and easy to drink. Curious to see if it'll help with weight loss a la Eat Fat, Lose Fat.

[Altair]

Thank you for this thread-- took the words literally right out of my mouth! I was saying this exact thing to my partner last night and emailing it to a friend just this morning. I find WAPF and NT just makes my racism/orientalism/primitivism/etc. etc hackles go up and the science is just not convincing in the way it is presented in such over the top ways. When I read silly things like "autism and ADHD and ... will all be cured... it's all in the gut" I just roll my eyes. It's just not so simple.

But I love the more Pollan "Food Rules"-ish kind of way of thinking about traditional foods.

I've been eating more Eat-to-Live the past few weeks to lose my baby fat (vegan, low grain, low fat, low salt, no sugar, nothing too processed) and it worked. So now that I got over that hump I want to add things back in and just eat better. My BIGGEST problem is time. I work FT and my partner works FT and yet we use no childcare-- tag team parenting resulting in us not seeing each other and neither of us having time to cook and clean if we want to play with our boy (though now that he's a toddler he's more willing to cook/clean with us). I'm a teacher so I've been off all summer and I've had the time to make my own hummus and smoothies and shop at the farmers markets twice a week and chop chop chop produce and all that. It's been great but reality hits in one more week. During the year I can commit myself to weekend bone broths but I need QUICK dinners that don't involve too much weekend time since it's our only time together as a family and we like to be out and about.

Anyway, would love to hear from working moms who manage to eat all whole foods. and some tricks of the trade!

[Astrea]

Originally Posted by Altair

... I've had the time to make my own hummus and smoothies and shop at the farmers markets twice a week and chop chop chop produce and all that. It's been great but reality hits in one more week. During the year I can commit myself to weekend bone broths but I need QUICK dinners that don't involve too much weekend time since it's our only time together as a family and we like to be out and about.

Anyway, would love to hear from working moms who manage to eat all whole foods. and some tricks of the trade!

[CherryBomb]

I love making sausage meatballs and serving them with some wilted greens. It's pretty quick. I just do an egg and some parmesan in the meat and bake them (drizzle with some evoo), while they're cooking I do the greens however I want. Real simple is just cook them down in some olive oil and add in some balsamic vinegar and minced garlic.

[Astrea]

Mmm that sounds so good. What do you use for the "sausage" part of the meatballs (recovering veg*n here, talk to me using small words )

[mbravebird]

I think it is much harder to work full time and do TF. But it can be done -- I think you just need to be gentle on yourself with the learning curve, and the adjustment to planning. And as you find recipes that are quick enough. But even the quick enough recipes usually require advance thought, even if they don't take too much time altogether. I think that's the hardest part to get used to.

So, three of my quick meals are Beef Tikki Masala, Shepherd's Pie, and Curry Chicken Soup. Each of them took some practice to get down pat, but now I can do any of them in 30-45 minutes, start to finish.

I wish we all could have a once-a-month cooking fest together, and freeze the result!! That would be fun.

[mbravebird]

P.S. I think another good trick is to find a "sort of TF" quickie meal that is totally low-stress, and be willing to have that a lot while you are learning the other meals. Ours is Tinkyada spaghetti (whole grain rice spagetti that actually acts/tastes like spaghetti) with a meat marinara sauce (good jarred tomato sauce combined with saute'd onions and ground beef). That one takes like 20 minutes, and I always have it on hand for when my better brain and intentions fail me.

[Astrea]

Originally Posted by mbravebird

So, three of my quick meals are Beef Tikki Masala, Shepherd's Pie, and Curry Chicken Soup. Each of them took some practice to get down pat, but now I can do any of them in 30-45 minutes, start to finish.

I wish we all could have a once-a-month cooking fest together, and freeze the result!! That would be fun.

ITA!

Would you be willing to share those recipes? They all sound to me.

[mbravebird]

Originally Posted by Astrea

ITA!

Would you be willing to share those recipes? They all sound to me.

Yes, I would love to, except that I'm going on a trip tomorrow and haven't packed yet! Will you bump this thread next week to remind me??

[Astrea]

For sure. Have a good trip!