NT December Thread

[Gale Force]

Hey ladies. I couldn't find the new thread, so I took matters into my own hands.

I'm beginning a big detox month with a renewed focus on nutrition. I'll be working up a number of fermented beverages and vegetables and, of course, tis the season for soup.

We bought a whole steer this summer and have been LOVING the bone broth. I crave it. We will be out of shanks and neck before anything else. I've been making a basic soup which is basically any veggie we have around, sauteed, potatoes thrown into the broth. All cooked then food processed. Add clam or crab, salt to taste. Done. I make a gallon or two at a time and it disappears. I've eaten up to 3 bowls in a serving.

Tomorrow is my one month anniversary since I last used shampoo and anti-perspirant/deodorant.

[cjr]

Tomorrow is my one month anniversary since I last used shampoo and anti-perspirant/deodorant

You are a brave woman. I don't mind shampoo but I know I need to do something about my anti-perpirant. Thing is that I sweat. I was so embarraced last Sunday. I was helping out the soccer club and it was cold, but I was sweating and ended up with wet pits and very smelly. It was awful.

I love making soups. I always have soup in the freezer. I freeze a basic soup and then add to it later. I usually have chicken or beef with celery and carrots, plus seasoning. Today I added orzo and zucchini to the chicken soup. I find it just as handy as having canned soups, but I can add whatever I need to use up. I need to get to the market for beef bones. Another salmanila outbreak here. Makes me so thankful I buy from our organic butcher.

[toraji]

I have finally ventured into raw meat land and it's actually pretty tasty. I made the Korean raw beef except not chopped, just razor thin slices.

Soup is a big staple around here!

[mountain mom]

Hi All!

Way to go Toraji!

So I am still working on my research study for the flora program I am writing. Its going very well. In the new year I am going to start writing it into the book format.

We leave tomorrow to go and check out a property we have been eyeing for some time. Wish us luck! This could be our big land break we have been looking for.

Thanks for starting the thread Amanda!

[heldt123]

hopping on..

[Goddess3_2005]

Hi, I'm new at the NT thing but I have a Q for you all. I just bought 2 gallons of raw milk today, directly from the Dairy Farm, YEAY. But tell me when the cream separates do you skim it off or do you ust mix back in?

[RidentMama]

If you're just going to drink the milk, shake the cream back into the milk. However, you can skim a good portion of it off and use it for so much! I like to make butter whenever I get the opportunity...it's so different to have good, rich butter in comparison with the anemic stuff I get out of the grocery store (the resulting buttermilk is also a bonus! What incredible pancakes!). So it all depends on what you want to do with it. But whatever you do, don't waste it!

[Goddess3_2005]

Ooh yummm Fresh butter and buttermilk! Ok now I am thinking I totally picked the wrong containers for my milk. I am using wahed out gallon apple juice jugs. I don't know how I am going to be able to skim the cream off the top!

[TopazBlueMama]

When we drank the fresh cow's milk, we always would shake the cream back in and buy cream and butter separately. That's awesome you found some!

I've been keeping up with drinking the beet kvass everyday and have more brewing now. I guess I've gotten used to the taste, it's pretty drinkable now! lol

[Neldavi]

Originally Posted by Goddess3_2005

Ooh yummm Fresh butter and buttermilk! Ok now I am thinking I totally picked the wrong containers for my milk. I am using wahed out gallon apple juice jugs. I don't know how I am going to be able to skim the cream off the top!

I use a turkey baster to take it off. As long as they are clear containers you can see when you've gotten all the cream.

[Hibou]

I'm beginning a big detox month with a renewed focus on nutrition. I'll be working up a number of fermented beverages and vegetables and, of course, tis the season for soup.

Gale force, that's great. I hope it goes well for you. My dh is looking at doing the Master Cleanse, and I am so envious. I am starting to really feel the blah of winter. I need to put some energy towards making some more fermented foods too- I think it will help me to feel better. I've thought a lot in the last year or so about real nutrition, but now that winter is here I am beginning to understand that my diet needs to change with the seasons too. That, and I need to focus on getting more physical activity into my day. In the summer we're so active, but I find it easy to just stay indoors in the winter because I get cold so easily, but that's a whole other issue I'm sure and I'm just not there yet. One layer of the onion at a time.

I'm getting fresh milk, cream, eggs, and soup bones today- yay! always something to look forward to!

I don't mind shampoo but I know I need to do something about my anti-perpirant. Thing is that I sweat. I was so embarraced last Sunday. I was helping out the soccer club and it was cold, but I was sweating and ended up with wet pits and very smelly. It was awful.

cjr, have you tried a deodorant stone (crystal)? I can sweat pretty good too sometimes, but I find the stone works wonderfully, and I only have to use it once a day. I have tried herbal deodorants, but they never really worked for me.

[Goddess3_2005]

Originally Posted by sarahverlinda

I use a turkey baster to take it off. As long as they are clear containers you can see when you've gotten all the cream.

Ohh perfect! Thanks!

I use rubbing alchol and EO's for deoderent and it works great!

[Brisen]

Subbing and seconding the deoderant crystal recommendation! I bought one for $5 at WalMart. It lasted 5+ years, and that was with dh using it for a while too. I decided he needed to have his own when I kept wondering what that good smell was when I was putting on the deoderant... finally I thought to smell the deoderant itself, it smelled like dh's muskiness. It only gets rid of the smell from the sweat-eating bacteria, not the musky part. Which is fine with me.

Dh is not so much into using natural stuff, but he definately likes it better than "normal" deoderant. It is not an antiperspirant, but strangely I find I do sweat less with it on, maybe because I found regular deoderant/antiperspirant irritating? The friend who introduced me to it says she sweats less with it on, too. When I say I sweat less, I mean I don't sweat buckets I can sympathize, cjr. I'm a nervous sweater. I can be at home with the kids for a week, playing and working, and I don't start to get smelly unless I don't manage to shower for the week and haven't changed for a couple of days. But freshly showered and deoderant crystal-ed out at a mall or church, I sweat buckets and smell like a pubescent boy.

I'm up to my elbows in eggs right now. I would like to make some mayo and make deviled eggs for snacks for the kids (and dh and I, we all love them), but now that I'm getting farm fresh eggs, they peel *horribly*. Should I leave them out overnight before I boil them or what?

Also, I would muchly prefer, when I'm making egg nog, to leave the whites in. I know SF recommends against eating them. But I would waste less and feel like making egg nog more often if I could just plop in the whole egg in and be done. Anyone have any thoughts on this? At this point, I'm thinking the advantages of drinking egg nog regularly with the whites in is greater than just not drinking it at all. Does whipping denature the protein? Does that make any difference?

[gardenmommy]

OK, so glad to be back home! I know that we need to jump back on the NT wagon, but I think I will just wait until after Christmas. I think we'll wait until everyone stops making all those yummy holiday goodies! Cinnamon rolls, ginger cookies, apple cider, pumpkin rolls, mmmmm!

Gale Force, I will look forward to hearing about your success with your diet!

Toraji, you are so brave to try raw meat! I just cannot get my mind around eating it raw!

Goddess, we both skim it and shake the cream back in. Since our milk is at my parents' farm, I can just get a couple of quarts of cream whenever I want to make something special with it. Otherwise, I really like the milk whole. Buttermilk makes for good baking, too!

I use a crystal, have for almost 10 yrs. Regular deodorants make my skin break out and itch like crazy! Since I've been using stones, I've bought two (first one broke when I dropped it on a tile floor), and used the spray. I prefer the spray, but don't mind the stone. Works well for foot odor, as well.

[OceanMomma]

In January, I will be 2 yrs no poo. I use a natural deodorant still.

Summer here so we're into salads & also lots of soups as we're in what is nicely termed a cool climate. Cabbage & kale grow all year round

I was reading the international sourdough page as I have lost my sourdough starter. I was very inspired to read about this lady in Tasmania who put a jar of flour & water on a chair in the middle of a paddock to catch the local wild yeasts. I'm going to wait for all the kanuka in the bush out the back to flower & I'll put a jar of flour & water up there & see what happens.

I have a couple of questions. Firstly, arthritis. I don't have it but my Mum has just had her second hip replacement. She's in her 70s. I don't know much about arthritis but I know there must be some preventative measures I can take. Any ideas ?

Secondly eyesight. I am sure someone here said they were looking at nutritional ways to improve eyesight. I did a google & all I found was a story about a woman who ate a quart of sprouts a day.

With the raw meat. I make jerky in the dehydrator. Not sure I'm game enuf to do totally raw meat yet.

[lao80]

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[toraji]

Originally Posted by Brisen

I'm up to my elbows in eggs right now. I would like to make some mayo and make deviled eggs for snacks for the kids (and dh and I, we all love them), but now that I'm getting farm fresh eggs, they peel *horribly*. Should I leave them out overnight before I boil them or what?

Poke a hole in the BIG end of the egg with a needle or pin (I use a safety pin) and then boil. You'll get some leakage through the hole but overall a much easier peeling experience.

Re: raw meat, to be honest I still prefer the cooked flavor but I'm getting braver. I swallowed a chunk of raw liver last night, but took it like a supplement with water! It's probably going to be a while before I'm as brave as mountain mom.

[Gale Force]

Wow, this thread is hopping.

Right now in my diet I am really just focusing on everything I try to do all the time and am more or less successful. So I've got cabbage fermenting, the usual kefir, some kefir grains fermenting apple juice. We're eating truck loads of vegetables. Our garden is on vacation, so my husband came home Saturday with a car load from the farmer's market. I worked Saturday evening and half of yesterday on the haul and we won't be hungry, that's for sure. And we've got vegetables to cook or for salads for at least a week.

Frederick still nurses *a bit* so I can't go all out. It looked like he was down to once every few days, but he's back up again to a couple of times a day.

On that broth that's now soup -- I have been craving this broth. I've got some chicken broth in the freezer and it doesn't sound good. I've gotten soup bones from Whole Foods and they didn't do this to me. I crave it. I had 3 big bowls of soup yesterday and proceeded to slosh around the house.

toraji -- my mom has had a Korean dish with raw meat and reports highly on it. My only raw meat experience is sushi. I'm willing to try it, but haven't had the energy or inclination to learn a new area.

mountain mom -- I'll be checking back to hear your report.

Brisen -- I think I am sweating less too than I would have guessed with no antiperspirant.

In these dry winter months, check out the thread in Natural Home and Body called "Oil Cleansing Method." You use a combination of Extra Virgin Olive oIl and Castor Oil -- massage it into your face, steam it, clean it with a wash cloth. You don't need a moisturizer after and your skin isn't oily. I use a similar method on my legs and arms when they are dry, about 2X/week.

[OceanMomma]

I'm not sure as I told you all my kefir grains story.

I had been neglecting them as I had been getting some cultured buttermilk instead. I just figured they'd be OK in the fridge in some raw milk. Anyways, the fridge started to smell like something hd died in it & I traced it to the kefir. So I tossed the jar outside in a plant pot. I give my compost to the chooks so I wasn't sure if I should give it to them. That was last autumn. When spring came & I started to get milk again I remembered about the kefir jar so I thought I'd better wash it out. I retrieved it out of the plant pot & went to go throw it on one of my horse poo piles. I opened the lid & tossed most of it out before I realised it had no smell. Or not a lot. Now I've been told that you can make clabber with raw milk to have over winter. What you do is leave it out to sour. It gets really smelly & then the smell goes away. So I took what was left of the kefir, rinsed it all off & put it back in a jar with some raw milk. 3 days later I rinsed it off & put some more raw milk in it. The next day it made some kefir!!!

Not sure about the olive oil cleanser on my face, my skin bungs up at the slightest excuse which is very annoying as the only natural sunblock/moisturiser I can get blocks up my pores & gives me zits. I am going to give it a go on my arms & legs tho.

[Gale Force]

What a kefir grain story!

Originally Posted by OceanMomma

Not sure about the olive oil cleanser on my face, my skin bungs up at the slightest excuse which is very annoying as the only natural sunblock/moisturiser I can get blocks up my pores & gives me zits. I am going to give it a go on my arms & legs tho.

Read the testimonials in that thread. It's pretty amazing what people are reporting who have had blemish problems. My problem is more with the greasies.