My husband works out a lot and is generally athletic. He also has a job that doesn’t give him any time to eat a proper meal. Since commercial “energy” and “meal replacement” bars often contain toxic soy protein isolates, and are expensive, heavily processed, and generally yucky tasting, I decided to make him an ultra-nutritious, homemade bar to fortify his workouts and his work schedule.

These raw energy bars are absolutely packed with protein, healthy fats, low-glycemic carbs, enzymes, vitamins, omega-3s, calcium, magnesium, selenium, iodine and zinc—and they are yummy and will keep you going for a good while. They are also great for anyone on a Paleo, Primal, GAPS, SCD, low carb or vegan diet.

Raw Power Energy Bars
(adapted from The Raw Food Revolution Diet)

• Vitamix or strong blender
• Food processor
• Food dehydrator (optional, but strongly recommended)
• 3 cups chopped, fresh organic figs
• 2 cups purified water
• 1 cup almonds, soaked for 8 hours, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup Brazil nuts, soaked for 8 hours, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup walnuts or pecans, soaked for 3 hours, rinsed and drained
• 3 cups sesame seeds, soaked for 3 hours, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked for 3 hours, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cups sunflower seeds, soaked for 3 hours, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/4 cup dulse flakes
• 1 1/2 cups ground flaxseeds or flaxseed meal
• 1 cup dried goji berries, blueberries or raisins (if too dry, soak in a little purified water to plump them a bit)
• 2 Tbsps. organic cinnamon
• 1/3-1/2 cup raw honey or date paste, to taste
• 1/4 cup raw cacao nibs (optional)
• 1/2 cup dried, shredded coconut (optional)

1. Allow rinsed and drained nuts to air dry for two hours. (Or soak and dry them in advance.)
2. Soak the chia seeds in just enough pure water to cover them for 20 minutes. This will become a thick gel.
3. Soak the figs in pure water for 20 minutes.
4. Transfer the figs and their soaking water to a blender or Vitamix and process into a loose paste.
5. Using a food processor with an S-blade, grind almonds, Brazil nuts and walnuts or pecans into a fine meal. (Note: for a chunkier texture, chop the walnuts or pecans and add them with the flaxseed meal and berries, Step 7.)
6. Add the sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, dulse and cinnamon and pulse briefly. Do not overprocess; the mixture should have bits of seeds visible.
7. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
8. Stir in the chia seed gel, flaxseed meal, berries, cacao nibs, and coconut flakes (if using).
9. Stir in the honey or date paste, mixing until evenly incorporated.
10. If not dehydrating, spread the mixture evenly out on a large jelly roll pan, and carefully score into bars.
11. Dehydrating the bars is optional, but they hold together better and last longer if you do. To dehydrate them, spread the mixture evenly on each of 2-3 dehydrator trays lined with non-stick sheets. Using a spatula, carefully score each tray into bars.
12. Place an empty, unlined tray on top of your bars, flip the tray over, transferring the bars to the new tray, and carefully peel away the non-stick sheet. This will allow complete airflow during dehydration.
13. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 18-24 hours.
14. Stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator, dehydrated bars will keep for up to 2 months. If not dehydrated, they will keep for about 2 weeks.
15. Enjoy 1 or 2 anytime you need some energy or can’t eat a good meal.

_{Shared with Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love, Seasonal Celebration Sunday, Sunday School, My Meatless Mondays, Real food 101, Make Your Own Monday, Monday Mania, Savvy Homemade, Homestead Barn Hop, Fat Tuesdays, Teach Me Tuesdays, Hearth and Soul Hop, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Terrific Under Ten, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Wicked Awesome Wednesdays, Healthy 2day Wednesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Whole Food Wednesdays, Pennywise Platter, Creative Juice, The Mommy Club, Your Green Resource, Simple Lives Thursday, It’s a Keeper, Frugal Friday, Fight Back Fridays, Freaky Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, and the Weekend Bloggy Linkup}

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Kohlrabi Jicama Salad

• Vitamix or blender
• Food processor or grater
• 2 pounds of kohlrabi, grated
• 2 pounds of jicama, grated
• 1-1/2 cups expeller-pressed extra-virgin olive or safflower oil
• 3/4 cup raw apple cider or coconut vinegar
• 3/4 cup soaked, raw almonds
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. fresh basil, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh tarragon, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh oregano, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-4 Tbsp. raw honey OR 1-2 tsp. stevia powder, to taste

1. Peel and coarsely grate or process kohlrabi and jicama, and place in a bowl.
2. Put oil, vinegar, almonds, salt, spices and honey or stevia into a Vitamix or blender and blend until smooth.
3. Pour desired amount of dressing over kohlrabi/jicama mix, let sit for 10-15 minutes to marinate, and serve.

Tricolor Slaw

• Food processor or grater
• 2-3 medium golden beets, trimmed and peeled (you can use red beets, but they will color the whole salad pink.)
• 5-7 carrots
• 5-7 small kohlrabi or 2-3 larger kohlrabi, trimmed and peeled
• 3-4 Tbsp. expeller-pressed, extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. raw honey (optional)
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 1 sprig fresh dill, chopped, to taste
• Sea salt, to taste
• Sriracha, Tabasco or other hot sauce, to taste

1. Grate or process the beets in the food processor until medium fine. Place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Grate or process the carrots in the food processor until medium fine. Add to mixing bowl.
3. Grate or process the kohlrabi in the food processor until medium fine. Add to mixing bowl. (You want to end up with equal amounts of grated beet, grated carrot and grated kohlrabi.)
4. Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl (or blend in Vitamix or blender), then pour over the salad and mix until well combined.
5. Enjoy!

_{Shared with Seasonal Celebration Sunday, Real food 101, Make Your Own Monday,  Monday Mania, Savvy Homemade, Homestead Barn Hop, Fat Tuesdays, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Terrific Under Ten, Real Food Wednesday, Wicked Awesome Wednesdays, Healthy 2day Wednesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Whole Food Wednesdays, Creative Juice, The Mommy Club, Your Green Resource, Simple Lives Thursday, It’s a Keeper, Frugal Friday, Fight Back Fridays, Freaky Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, and the Weekend Bloggy Linkup
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Coconut milk is often a staple for people with food allergies, as well as an outstanding dairy replacement and healthy fat source for those who are adhere to a raw, GAPS or Paleo diet. Fortunately it is very easy and cheap to make at home.

Nutrition
Coconut is incredibly nutritious. Rich in trace minerals including manganese, copper, and selenium, it also contains modest amounts of calcium, iron, potassium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, thiamin and folate. Coconut is unusually high in healthy, medium-chain fatty acids like lauric acid (found otherwise only in human breast milk) and caprylic acid (a potent natural antiviral and antifungal). Oil from coconuts is shelf-stable at room temperature, making it resistant to rancidity and perfect for high-temperature cooking, baking or frying. Coconut oil is known to help reduce both your cholesterol ratio and your waistline, and if that weren’t enough, the water in a coconut has the same mineral and electrolyte profile as human blood plasma!

Selection
Most people use canned coconut milk in their recipes. However, canned coconut milk—like almost all canned foods—contains toxic BPA in the lining of the can which can leach into your food. Native Forest® coconut milk is currently the only brand that does not use BPA in their coconut milk cans, but they do add a bit of natural guar gum as a thickener.

Another option is to get coconut milk in Tetra paks or cartons. So Delicious® is a very good brand, but you should know their products contain natural guar gum, carageenan, and fortified vitamins and minerals, if that presents an allergy or digestive problem for you. You can also find coconut milk flash-frozen or in Tetra paks at any good Asian grocery store.

But, for fresher, more nutritious results—not to mention saving a lot of money—it’s easy to make your own coconut milk using dry, shredded coconut. Fresh, homemade coconut milk is far richer in vitamins, food enzymes and nutrients than coconut milk from a can or box. In fact, fresh coconut milk contains three times as much vitamin C as canned coconut milk and is richer in thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate and panthothenic acid, too. And, if you ferment your coconut milk into yogurt, you’ll get even more protein and nutrition, as well as a lot of probiotics for your digestive health.

Homemade Coconut Milk

• Vitamix or good blender
• Nut milk strainer bag, paint strainer bag or fine cheesecloth
• 2 cups unsweetened, shredded coconut
• 4 cups hot (not boiling), pure water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• 6 drops stevia (optional)

1. Place shredded coconut in a bowl of hot (not boiling), pure water. Let soak for 1-2 hours. Do NOT discard the water.
2. In the Vitamix or blender, combine coconut, soaking water, and vanilla and stevia, if using. Blend on the highest speed for about a minute.
3. Strain liquid through a nut milk bag, paint strainer bag or very, very fine cheesecloth, pressing out all the liquid you can.
4. Discard solids or save them for adding to baked treats.
5. Use immediately or store in the fridge. Good for 3-4 days. Since there are no preservatives or fillers, the fat in the coconut milk may separate on the top if stored in the fridge. Just shake or stir before using.

_{Shared with Sunday School, Monday Mania, Make Your Own Monday, Homemaker Monday, Savvy Homemade, Fat Tuesdays, Teach Me Tuesdays, Frugal Tuesday Tips, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Terrific Under Ten, Real Food Wednesday, Healthy 2day Wednesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Whole Food Wednesdays, Creative Juice, The Mommy Club, Simple Lives Thursday, Frugal Friday, Show and Tell, Fight Back Fridays, Freaky Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, and the Weekend Bloggy Linkup
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Like many households, we are passing around and getting over various winter bugs with their share of fevers, aches, sniffles, sneezes and coughs. Often hanging around for days (or even weeks) after the initial cold is gone, coughs are the worst. Anything that causes you to lose sleep while straining all the muscles in your chest, back and neck is something you want to heal as quickly as possible.

The recipe for getting better in our house is lots of homemade, pasture-raised chicken broth, Netflix videos, and one or two of these favorite homemade cough remedies.

I can’t take credit for inventing any of these natural cough relievers; they came to me over time and were adapted to fit our needs, just as they have probably been passed along with minor variations for thousands of years. So in the spirit of the generations of mothers who want desperately to soothe their child’s railing breath, I pass these recipes on to you.

Honey-Ginger Throat Salve
Take 2-3 times a day, as needed to soothe sore throat and dry coughing.

• A 2-inch knob of fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp. organic, raw honey*

1. Peel, then finely grate the ginger into a small bowl.
2. Squeeze the grated ginger through a fine mesh sieve (or just use your fingers) to release about 1 teaspoon of juice. Discard pulp.
3. Mix the teaspoon of ginger juice thoroughly into the Tablespoon of honey.
4. Take the syrup right away, swallowing slowly and deliberately.

* Do not give honey to infants under the age of 1.

Onion, Garlic and Ginger Cough Syrup
Take 2-3 times a day, as needed to soothe sore throat and wet or congested coughs.

• 1-2 onions (any type)
• 1-3 heads of garlic (any type)
• 1 large hand of ginger
• 3-4 cups dehydrated cane juice, Rapadura, panela or coconut sap sugar
• 1 Quart (1 L) Mason Jar

1. Peel and slice the onion, garlic and ginger as thinly as you can.
2. On the bottom of the Mason jar, layer slices of onion, garlic and ginger about an inch thick.
3. Pour dehydrated cane juice over the onion mixture until you can’t see it anymore from the top, making another layer about an inch deep.
4. Add another inch-thick layer of onions, garlic and ginger slices, then pour in the cane juice to cover. Repeat this process, making an onion and sugar “parfait” until the jar is almost full.
5. Top off with a bit more cane juice and close the lid tightly.
6. In one hour, the sugar will be soft. In two, you will start to see liquid forming in the bottom of the jar. In three hours, you will see the syrup forming, and in four hours, the syrup will be complete.
7. Don’t remove the onions, garlic and ginger from the syrup. Just press the mixture back with the spoon when you administer the syrup. Keeps for 6 months to a year unrefrigerated.

Thyme Oil Vapor Steam
This simple, time-tested remedy for clogged noses and congested lungs is also anti-bacterial.

• 1 large bowl full of fresh water. (Avoid chlorinated tap water if you can.)
• 10-30 drops thyme essential oil, to suit.

1. Boil the water till steaming, then fill the bowl with it.
2. Add the thyme oil, starting with 10 drops.
3. Cover your head with a towel and hold your face over the bowl, allowing the towel to form a steam tent around your head.
4. Inhale and breath deeply and calmly. If the scent of thyme is not strong enough to make a difference to your sinuses add another 5-10 drops, as needed.
   

Herbal Vapor Salve
This healthier version of the name-brand menthol rub can be applied to the neck, chest and upper back for relief of chest and sinus congestion.

Special trick: You’ll get maximum effectiveness from this remedy—especially for that nagging post-nasal drip cough—if you apply the Herbal Vapor Salve thickly to the soles of your feet, then put on warm socks and lie down. Really. It works. I don’t know why.

• 4-6 ounces of Un-Petroleum Jelly, or your favorite natural hand cream, cocoa butter, shea butter, coconut butter, etc. (You want something thick at room temperature to serve as a base cream.)
• 4+ drops peppermint essential oil (A half-ounce bottle of essential oil can last a very long time and be used for many things.)
• 4+ drops eucalyptus essential oil
• 3+ drops rosemary essential oil
• 3+ drops lavender essential oil
• 3+ drops camphor oil

1. Start by melting 4 ounces of the cream base you have chosen by placing it in a bowl inside a larger bowl full of hot water. (If you have a very small double boiler, that would work too.) Do not heat the cream directly.
2. You want your base to be as liquid and easy to mix as it can get. Remove from heat once it reaches this melted-chocolate consistency.
3. Once your base cream is soft, add the oils one at a time, mixing each drop thoroughly into the cream. If you need to return the cream to the heat to keep it easy to mix, that’s OK. Different bases melt and set at different temperatures.
4. Once you have thoroughly mixed the oils into the 4 ounces of base, let cool. Smell and test the batch on the inside of your wrist. Everyone has different skin sensitivities. If the salve is too strong for your skin, melt the salve again and blend in 1-2 more ounces of base cream to dilute. If the salve doesn’t smell strong enough, add 1 more drop of each essential oil until you reach the strength you desire.
5. Pour salve into a recycled jar and use when needed for colds, flu and muscle aches. Lasts indefinitely.

_{The post is part of Monday Mania, Make Your Own Monday, Fat Tuesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Healthy 2Day Wednesdays, The Mommy Club, Whole Food Wednesdays, Simple Lives Thursday and Fight Back Fridays, and Fresh Bites Friday.}

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In many parts of the country this week, streets and walkways are covered in snow and ice, and everyone is using salt, sand and other chemical de-icers to make their streets safe for travel. But not all de-icers are alike, and some are downright harmful to your pets, your children and your local streams and rivers.  

Urea, potassium nitrate (KNO3), rock salt, table salt (NaCl), and baking soda are common de-icers that are cheap and do a good job of melting ice. But when the snow melts and rain falls in the spring, the salts and nitrates in them quickly run off the streets and sidewalks where they kill soil life, grass, trees and other plants they come in contact with. Eventually these pollutants run off into the nearest waterway where they kill frogs, fish and other aquatic life.

Common de-icing salts are also notorious for tearing up or burning the paws of dogs and cats who walk on them, for sickening children who play in snow and ice that has been treated with them, and for causing metal corrosion on vehicles and roadway structures.

Instead of using salt this winter, head down to your local hardware store or shop online and pick up some “pet-safe” de-icer made from calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), potassium chloride (KCl), or calcium chloride (CaCl2) to melt the ice around your home or business. When these non-toxic de-icing products run off with the snowmelt, the minerals they contain can actually fertilize the plants they come into contact with.

Good brands include Pet Guard, Bare Ground and Keep It Green. Some of these products can be applied right before a snowstorm to help prevent the build up of ice and snow. And they are non-toxic and non-corrosive, so they won’t harm people, pets or property.

With the right de-icer, safe winter travel means streets that are both clear of snow and ice and free of harmful chemicals too!

Here’s a safe, cheap, non-toxic recipe to prevent ice build-up on your car windows.

White Vinegar and Water Window Deicer

• 3 cups white vinegar
• 1 cup lukewarm water

1. Mix 3 cups of white vinegar and 1 cup of lukewarm water in a bowl or pot.
2. Stir the mixture with a spoon and use a funnel to fill a spray bottle with the solution.
3. Spray the vinegar and water solution on to your car’s windshields, side windows and outer mirrors before you go to bed. The vinegar and water solution will help keep ice from forming on your car’s windshield overnight.

_{The post is part of Monday Mania, The Mommy Club, Fat Tuesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Healthy 2Day Wednesdays, Simple Lives Thursday.}

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These days, everyone is looking for ways to save some money. Fortunately for your wallet and the planet, the easiest way to save money in the laundry room is to make your own laundry detergent. If you are chemically sensitive or on the GAPS diet like we are, making your own laundry detergent will not only save you money, but will naturally avoid the toxic chemicals and noxious scents found in store-bought brands.

Laundry detergent ingredients pose a variety of health risks to humans, ranging from relatively minor—like skin irritation and allergies—to the severe—cancer, poisoning and neurological problems. These products can affect not only personal health, but also public and environmental health. The chemicals can go into the air, down the drain and into bodies of water, too.

I often wondered why my neighbor’s “April Fresh” aroma would give me migraines until a 2008 University of Washington study of top-selling laundry products found that the products emitted nearly 100 different volatile organic compounds. Results of the study showed 58 different volatile organic compounds above a high concentration of 300 micrograms per cubic meter. Of these, seven are regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal laws. All the products tested in the study gave off at least one chemical regulated as toxic or hazardous, but none of those chemicals was listed on the product labels.

Findings in a new 2011 study by the same researcher show that air vented from machines using the top-selling scented liquid laundry detergent and scented dryer sheet contains more than 25 volatile organic compounds, including seven hazardous air pollutants. Of those, two chemicals—acetaldehyde and benzene—are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as known carcinogens, for which the agency has established no safe exposure level. 

No wonder laundry products make an estimated 10% of the population feel so ill.

The researchers estimate that in the Seattle area, where the study was conducted, acetaldehyde emissions from the top five laundry detergent brands would constitute about 6 percent of automobiles’ acetaldehyde emissions. In the U.S. we regulate automobile emissions, but completely ignore the toxic pollution coming from our dryer vents—at our own peril.

And if the toxic fragrances weren’t enough, conventional laundry detergents also contain phosphates, sulfates, ammonia, naphthalene, phenol, optical brighteners, EDTA, and more. These chemicals can cause rashes, itches, allergies, sinus problems, endocrine disruption, and have long term toxic effects on the environment. Lastly, the embedded energy, natural resources and waste involved in mass-producing and transporting billions of gallons of plastic-packaged, toxic laundry detergents is just too significant for small footprint families to ignore.

Believe it or not, in the U.S., manufacturers are not required to list the ingredients used in laundry products, air fresheners and other household cleaning products. Personal-care products often contain similar fragrance chemicals too, and although cosmetics are required by the Food and Drug Administration to list ingredients, no law requires products of any kind to list the chemicals used in fragrances and perfumes. Even “green” or “eco-friendly” cleaning products are not required to disclose their ingredients, and may contain toxic fragrances or petroleum-derived ingredients.

The safest bet for your family and the planet is to make your own less toxic laundry detergent. Costing just pennies a load, you can get all the ingredients in bulk quantities online (links below), at Costco, or in your grocer’s laundry aisle.

(Note: Many do-it-yourself laundry detergent recipes call for Fels Naptha, Octagon or Zote bar soap, but all of them contain highly toxic ingredients like napthalene that you really don’t want near your skin or in your environment.)

Both the powder and liquid versions of this recipe work well in cold water and are safe for septic tanks, and both HE and front-loading washing machines. I’ve found no difference in washing quality between the homemade detergent and store-bought brands, and this recipe tends to work much better than most eco-friendly brands.

For extra softness, don’t forget to add a cup of white vinegar to your rinse cycle to soften your clothes, and you’ll never go back to conventional, toxic detergents or fabric softeners again!

Homemade Laundry Detergent Powder
Makes enough for about 300 loads

Ingredients

• 4 cups Borax
• 4 cups Washing soda
• 2 cups Baking soda
• 4 cups grated bar soap (2-4 bars) (Choose a non-toxic, real bar soap—not a “beauty bar” like Dove or a clear glycerine soap. We use both Kirk’s Castile and Grandma’s Lye soaps for laundry.)
• Essential oil (Optional for scent. Tea Tree oil is especially nice if you use this detergent for washing cloth diapers.)

Directions

1. Cut the bar soap into large chunks with a knife.
2. Grate the soap chunks with a fine cheese grater or throw the chunks into the food processor and blend into as fine of a powder as you can make. Let dust settle before opening processor, so as not to inhale it.
3. In a large plastic tub or bucket, mix the Borax, washing soda, and baking soda together. Wear a dusk mask or bandana to avoid breathing in the powder while you mix. You will need to let the dust settle a few times before continuing to stir. If you can seal the container, you can shake it vigorously to mix with no dust.
4. Stir in the grated/powdered bar soap.
5. Stir in 10-20 drops of essential oil, if tolerated. Tea tree oil is great for diapers as it has antiseptic qualities.
6. Store in a covered, airtight container.
7. If your powder has trouble completely dissolving, try mixing it in a little hot water before adding to the laundry.
8. Use 1-2 Tablespoons per load. (Adjust for your machine.)

Homemade Laundry Detergent Liquid
Makes enough for about 80 loads

Ingredients

• Hot water
• Clean 5-gallon bucket with lid
• 1 cup Borax
• 1 cup Washing soda
• 1/2 cup Baking soda
• 1 cup grated bar soap (1-2 bars) (Choose a non-toxic, real bar soap. Do not use a “beauty bar” like Dove or a clear glycerine soap! We use both Kirk’s Castile and Grandma’s Lye soaps for laundry.)
• Essential oil (Optional for scent. Tea Tree oil is especially nice if you use this detergent for washing cloth diapers.)

Directions

1. Cut the bar soap into large chunks with a knife.
2. Grate the soap chunks with a fine cheese grater or throw the chunks into the food processor and blend into as fine of a powder as you can make. Let dust settle before opening processor, so as not to inhale it.
3. Place grated bar soap in a pot. Cover with water and simmer over medium heat until all soap is melted, stirring occasionally.
4. Pour melted soap mixture into a clean 5-gallon bucket. Add washing soda, baking soda, and borax. Stir.
5. Add enough hot water to almost fill the bucket. Mix very well until all ingredients are dissolved. (I use a long ruler for this.)
6. If using essential oil, AFTER the mix has cooled down completely, mix in 10-20 drops, to taste.
7. Let sit overnight to gel. The gel will be loose and very gloppy—like egg-drop soup.
8. Use a funnel to pour the gel into clean, recycled detergent containers or leave in the bucket. Cover with an airtight lid if leaving in the bucket to protect children and pets.
9. Stir or shake well before using. Use 1/2 – 1 cup per load. (Adjust for your machine.)

_{This post is part of Seasonal Celebrations Sunday, Monday Mania, The Mommy Club, Real Food Wednesdays, Healthy 2Day Wednesdays, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Simple Lives Thursdays, Creative Juice Thursdays, and Fight Back Fridays.}

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During the holidays, it is traditional to eat a lot of rich, cooked food: Turkey (or Tofurkey!), ham or roast beef, mashed root vegetables with tons of butter, casseroles, soups, breads… By the time dessert comes, I am usually craving something sweet, but feeling far too full to indulge in another heavy dish.

So, this year I am lightening up the dessert course (and improving its nutrition!) by making raw sweet potato pie. Sweet and spicy like the Thanksgiving classic, but so much lighter and healthier after a decadent family meal—I think you will really enjoy this special holiday pie!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your own small footprint families!
May you have a safe and blessed holiday.

History of the Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes belong to an entirely different food family than either yams or the common potato that is such a large part of the American diet. Most of the vegetables that are labeled “yams” in the United States are really orange-colored sweet potatoes. While sweet potatoes and yams do look similar, once you experience the distinct taste and texture of the real African yam you will definitely know the difference, appreciating each of these root vegetables for their unique qualities.

Sweet potatoes are native to Central America and are one of the oldest vegetables known to man. They have been consumed since prehistoric times, and there are sweet potato relics dating back 10,000 years that have been discovered in Peruvian caves. Christopher Columbus brought sweet potatoes back to Europe after his first voyage to the New World in 1492. By the 16th century, Spanish explorers had carried them to the Philippines, and the Portuguese to Africa, India, Indonesia and southern Asia.

Around this same time, sweet potatoes began to be cultivated in the southern United States, where they remain a staple food in traditional Southern cuisine (and where sweet potato pie has its roots.) In the mid-20th century, the orange-fleshed sweet potato was introduced to the United States and given the name “yam” to distinguish it from other sweet potatoes. More recently, vibrant purple varieties of sweet potato from Asia have become available to U.S. consumers.

Nutrition

Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes may be one of nature’s unsurpassed sources of beta-carotene. Sweet potatoes are not always orange-fleshed on the inside but can also be white, as well as a spectacular purple color. The purple-fleshed sweet potato contains anthocyanins, which are nutrients that have important antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Particularly when passing through our digestive tract, anthocyanins may be able to lower the potential health risk posed by heavy metals and oxygen radicals. In addition to tons of beta-carotene, sweet potatoes are also a great source of vitamin C and manganese, and a good source of copper, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, potassium and iron.

It’s important to add some fat to your sweet potato dishes if you want to enjoy the full nutrition benefits of this root vegetable. Recent research has shown that a minimum of 3-5 grams of fat per meal significantly increases our uptake of beta-carotene from sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are particularly yummy with coconut oil or grass-fed butter.

How to Select and Store

Choose sweet potatoes that are firm and do not have any cracks, bruises or soft spots. Avoid those that are displayed in the refrigerated section of the produce department because cold temperatures will ruin their taste.

Sweet potatoes should be stored in a cool, dark and well-ventilated place, where they will keep fresh for up to two weeks. Do not refrigerate them! Rather, keep sweet potatoes in a cool, dry, dark place not above 60 degrees F /15 degrees C, which is similar to the conditions in a root cellar. Since most people don’t have root cellars, we’d suggest just keeping your sweet potatoes loose in a cotton or paper bag (not plastic), and storing them in a cool, dark, and well-ventilated cupboard away from sources of excess heat (like the stove).

Raw Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients
This pie has two different toppings to choose from: a traditional walnut crumble and a bright, citrus “glaze.” Choose your favorite, both or neither!

Crust:

• 2 cups almonds, pecans or walnuts, soaked and dehydrated
• 1/2 cup dates (soaked for at least 20 minutes and pitted)
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or 1/2 of an organic vanilla bean, scraped
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Filling:

• 5 cups chopped sweet potatoes (about 6 small-medium tubers)
• 8 dates (soaked for at least 20 minutes and pitted)
• 1/3 cup organic apple juice
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 1/8 tsp. Chinese 5-spice powder (if not available, use allspice)
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. Garam masala (if not available, use either nutmeg, cloves or additional 5 spice powder)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or 1/2 of an organic vanilla bean, scraped

Topping 1 (optional):
(This topping is more traditional, choose one or the other, or both)

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 – 1/3 tsp. sea salt

Topping 2 (optional):
(This topping is bright and delicious, choose one or the other, or both)

• Juice from 2 organic oranges
• 6 dates (soaked for at least 20 minutes and pitted)
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. almond butter
• 1 Tbsp. orange rind
• 1 tsp. lemon rind

Directions
Crust:

1. Blend nuts in food processor until fine.
2. Add dates, cinnamon, salt and vanilla, and process until smooth. Add a Tablespoon of water if crust is too dry and crumbly.
3. Press into pie pan.
4. Refrigerate.

Filling:

1. Scrub and peel potatoes, cut into chunks, process in food processor until well blended. To make this even easier and smoother, you can also push your yams or sweet potatoes through a Champion or Greenstar juicer with the homogenizing blank installed, and then purée with the rest of the ingredients in the food processor.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, process until very smooth. Take your time.
3. Pour into crust and refrigerate while you make the frosting.

Topping 1 (optional):

1. Process the walnuts to a coarse consistency.
2. Mix in the salt and honey.
3. Add on top of the yam sweet potato mixture, refrigerate, and serve.

Topping 2 (optional):

1. Blend all ingredients together and pour on pie.
2. This mix is very loose. Put the pie into fridge and the frosting will thicken as it melts into the pie.
3. Enjoy cold with your favorite ice cream or whipped topping!

This post is part of Fat Tuesdays, Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday!

Old fashioned cookies and milk is a treat that many food-allergic families have to give up—or settle for paltry substitutes. And if you maintain a Paleo, Primal or GAPS diet, then grain-free, canesugar-free treats that actually taste really good can be hard to come by too. So, at our house, I serve these rich, moist cookies alongside a tall glass of freshly-made coconut milk, and they never fail to satisfy even the most discerning cookie lover.

I call these “hodgepodge cookies” because they can be made with a hodgepodge of whatever cookie-type ingredients you have at hand. (That, and I like using old words like hodgepodge, persnickety and kerfuffle!) The last batch I made (pictured above) had pecans, shredded coconut and cacao nibs, and they disappeared in two days! I didn’t mind though, because these cookies are relatively nutritious, too.

Grain-Free Hodgepodge Cookies
(Makes about 3 dozen)

• 2-1/2 cups blanched almond and/or hazelnut flour (This is just finely ground, properly prepared nuts: I typically use half almond, half hazelnut flour.)
• 2 Tbsp. coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil or grass-fed butter
• 2 eggs, pasture-raised if you can get them
• 2 vanilla beanpods, scraped, or 1 Tbsp. gluten-free, real vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup honey

OPTIONAL HODGEPODGE INGREDIENTS (add up to 1 heaping cup total)

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, macadamias, or other nuts, properly prepared ahead of time
• 1/4 cup chopped prunes, apricots, cherries, raisins or other unsweetened, organic dried fruit
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut or dry carrot pulp from a juicer
• 2-3 Tbsp. cacao nibs, chia seeds, or other small seeds

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream the eggs, honey, and coconut oil or butter.
3. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix everything together well.
4. Drop 1-inch size balls of dough onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. The cookies don’t spread much, so you can space them closely, about 1-2 inches apart.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes, or until the tops are just barely tinged with brown.
6. Enjoy with a tall glass of your favorite milk!

This post is part of Sugar Free Sundays, Fat Tuesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Fight Back Fridays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love, and the Grain Free Real Food Carnival.

Did you know that August 7–13 is Fluoride Awareness Week?

Me neither till, well, this week…

But I’m excited about it because the Fluoride Action Network has a plan to END water fluoridation in both Canada and the United States, and they are hoping that by spreading mass awareness, Fluoride Awareness Week will bring us a lot closer to that goal. San Diego (where I live) just began water fluoridation this year, despite significant public protest, so we need all the help we can get!

The producers of this provocative film are allowing a FREE full-length preview through August 13th! You can also support Fluoride Action Network and their important work by purchasing the Professional Perspectives DVD at a special price of $10 during Fluoride Awareness Week.

Now… Why exactly should you “be aware” about fluoride this week? Isn’t that the stuff that keeps our teeth from falling out?

Ever wonder why most kids’ toothpastes have no fluoride? Because kids inevitably will swallow some paste, and fluoride is extremely TOXIC. In fact, eating a tube of toothpaste will kill a child (and seriously harm an adult), so be sure to keep any fluoride paste or mouthwash out of reach, just like you do with bathroom cleaners and medicines.

For me, this begs the question:

Why are we putting a toxic chemical that everyone agrees should never be swallowed into our food and water supply in the first place?

Most people don’t know that the type of fluoride added to water supplies, most toothpastes, and many beverages and foods is typically a waste product of the nuclear, aluminum, and phosphate (fertilizer) industries. The EPA has classified fluoride as a toxin. Fluoride is so toxic that, in addition to being a primary ingredient in rat and cockroach poisons, pest fumigants and crop pesticides, fluoride is also an active ingredient in anesthetic, hypnotic, and psychiatric drugs, as well as nerve gas used by the military.

Do we really want this stuff in our bodies at all?

Under the U.S. Safe Water Drinking Act, it is illegal to dump fluoride in lakes, streams and oceans, but, for some strange reason, it’s OK to dump fluoride into our food and water supplies and then rub it into our teeth and gums twice a day. Hmmmmm.

How Did We Get Here? – A Brief History of Fluoride
According to journalist Christopher Bryson, author of The Fluoride Deception, getting large quantities of fluoride into the water and food system was the result of the massive public relations campaigns sponsored by industries who were saddled with getting rid of toxic waste.

Fluoride is necessary for the processing or enriching of uranium. Much of the original proof that fluoride is “safe” for humans in low doses was fabricated in the 1940s by Manhattan Project A-bomb program scientists, who had been secretly ordered to provide “evidence useful in litigation” against defense contractors for fluoride injury to citizens. The first lawsuits against the U.S. A-bomb program were not over radiation, but over fluoride damage. Their pro-fluoride propaganda was successful in convincing juries and the public that not only was fluoride safe, but that it was beneficial for kids’ dental health!

Fluoride was used by both Hitler during WWII and also by the Russians in order to make the population more docile. Fluoride is also a principal ingredient in many antidepression drugs such as Prozac because of its ability to numb the mind. And fluoride was key in the worst air pollution disaster in U.S. history in Donora, Pennsylvania that killed 20 people and hospitalized over 7,000 between October 26 and 31, 1948.

Because of the mind altering affects of fluoride, in the early 1950′s, the notorious spin master and father of advertising, Edward Bernays, continued the campaign for adding fluoride to water supplies as an experiment in engineering human consent! Then the ADA picked up on the dental issue and endorsed sodium fluoride’s addition to water supplies.

For the last several decades, any dissenting health professionals with studies and reports against fluoride were usually dismissed as quacks regardless of their credentials. Despite this, in 1999, over 1500 professionals at the US EPA, including toxicologists and risk assessment experts voted unanimously to oppose the fluoridation initiative in California because of the health risks involved. But politics trumped science, and fluoridation was approved in most California municipalities anyway.

Fluoride’s Affects on Your Health
The fluoride used for water fluoridation does not have FDA approval and is considered by the FDA as an “unapproved drug.” The proper use of any drug requires an understanding of how much is too much. As they say, the dose makes the poison. Since fluoride is already in many foods and beverages, it is estimated that we’re regularly receive 300% or more of the American Dental Association’s recommended daily amount.

Generally, most fluoride entering the body is not easily eliminated. It tends to accumulate in the bones and teeth. Recently, it has been discovered to accumulate also in the thyroid gland as well as the pineal and pituitary glands, located in the middle of the brain.

The most common and obvious consequence of fluoride accumulation is dental and skeletal fluorosis which permanently stains and pits teeth and bones, and leaves them brittle. The incidence of dental fluorosis among U.S. children has increased from 10 percent to 22 percent in the past 25 years, says the ADA. Yet, the American Dental Association continues to promote fluoride, refusing to admit that instead of preventing tooth decay, fluoridation causes even more dental harm.

The flood of fluoride in water and food also creates other more serious health problems that are not widely publicized—even suppressed. Nevertheless, in addition to fluorosis, independent labs and reputable researchers have linked the following health issues with daily long term intake of fluoride:

• Cancer
• Genetic DNA Damage
• Thyroid Disruption – the pituitary gland is greatly affected by fluoride, which, in turn, affects the complete endocrine system and leads to obesity. (People with thyroid disease are advised to avoid fluoridated water.)
• Neurological Impairment – The toxic effects of fluoride on the central nervous system is confirmed by previously-classified government research. Two new epidemiological studies confirm fluoride’s neurotoxic effects on the brain and have shown that children exposed to high levels of fluoride had lower IQs.
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Birth Defects
• Cystic Acne – Also called fluoroderma.
• Melatonin Disruption - lowers immunity to cancer, accelerates aging, sleep disorders.
• Pineal Gland Disorder - calcification, which clogs this gland located in the middle of the brain.
• Osteoarthritis and Increased Risk of Bone Fractures - it is estimated that 1/3 of all osteoarthritis cases are caused by skeletal fluorosis.
  

Fluoride Proven Ineffective
You might be worried about how removing fluoride from our drinking water or toothpaste might affect our teeth. But you do not need to be.

All of the recent large-scale studies of water fluoridation have shown that there are no positive effects from the practice. According to statistics from the World Health Organization, the tooth decay rates of countries which do not fluoridate their water supplies are just as low, or even lower, than those countries which do. Further, several studies published since 2000 have reported that there has been no increase in tooth decay rates noted in communities which ended water fluoridation.

Fluoridation is illegal, banned or not used in an overwhelming number of countries, including many industrialized countries. Despite pressure from the dental industry, 99% of western Europe has rejected, banned, or stopped fluoridation due to environmental, health, legal, or ethical concerns. And yet, their children’s teeth are just as healthy as children’s teeth in the U.S. In fact, in many parts of Europe, they are healthier.

The good news is that the voice of concerned, unbiased science is beginning to overwhelm the voice of pro-fluoride industry propaganda. For example, in November 2006, the American Dental Association actually advised parents to avoid giving fluoridated water to babies or using it to make formula.

Take the advice, and protect yourself and your children by avoiding fluoride.

Reducing Fluoride Exposure
Fluoride can be found in tap and bottled tap water, soft drinks, juices and foods made with tap water, vitamins, non-organic produce, non-organic poultry, and of course, toothpaste and mouthwash.

One way to avoid fluoridated water is to buy spring water from a water service, but this is not always economical or environmental. Buying a filter that can remove fluoride from your tap water is the more cost-effective choice over the long term. You can even buy a whole-house filter and have fluoride-free water for cooking, drinking, bathing and toothbrushing!

• Reverse Osmosis Filtration. This is used to purify several types of bottled water (not all), so some bottled waters are not fluoridated. Reverse osmosis filtration systems are a bit pricey, but they remove fluoride, chlorine and most environmental toxins found in municipal tap water. However they also leave water flat, without any beneficial mineral ions, and are not the best choice if you want water that is nourishing, and tastes crisp and refreshing.
• Aluminum Oxide Defluoridation Filter. These filters often require frequent cartridge changes, but can be quite reasonably priced. Here is one of the better brands.
• Distillation Filtration. There are commercially available distillation filters that can be purchased to remove fluoride from water.

These Do NOT Remove Fluoride

• Brita, Pur, and most other water filters. Some websites about fluoride removal state otherwise, but I checked the product descriptions on the companies’ websites to confirm that fluoride is left in the water.
• Boiling Water. This will concentrate the fluoride rather than reduce it.
• Freezing Water. Freezing water does not affect the concentration of fluoride.

Steps to Reduce Fluoride Exposure

• Don’t take fluoride supplements. Read the labels on your and your children’s vitamins carefully.
• Read labels on bottled beverages and juices. Unless they are made using spring or reverse-osmosis water, they are probably made with fluoridated public tap water.
• Eat organic. Fluoride is a primary ingredient in several crop pesticides and warehouse fumigants, so you can find lots of fluoride in both conventional produce and also concentrated into conventional poultry, meat, eggs and dairy.
• Be wary of tinned fish and canned food items. Fluoride may be used as a preservative.
• Avoid using chewing tobacco. Ew. There are many, many reasons to avoid this, not just the fluoride.
• Avoid long term use of medication that contains fluorine. Certain antidepressants and medications for osteoporosis contain fluoride.
• Consider using fluoride-free toothpaste. There are many great brands like Tom’s of Maine, Weleda and more that contain no fluoride. Some can even be found at better drug stores. We usually make our own toothpaste (see recipe below), but when we run out or travel, we prefer Toothsoap as our all-natural, tooth hygiene alternative. Because it has no glycerine, Toothsoap leaves teeth “dental-visit” clean and ready to be remineralized via a good diet. It does taste a bit soapy though, so I usually make our own.

Homemade No-Fluoride Toothpaste
This is our family recipe for fluoride-free toothpaste. It helps remove stains, leaves a fresh feeling in the mouth, helps relieve sensitive teeth, and saves money.

• 3 Tbsp. baking soda
• 1 Tbsp. finely ground sea salt
• A few drops peppermint, wintergreen, anise, clove or cinnamon bark essential oil, according to the taste you want (be sparing, they are very strong)
• 1 tsp. xylitol or a few drops of liquid stevia (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. finely ground sage (optional antimicrobial)
• Extra Virgin coconut oil, softened but not liquified

1. Mix all ingredients but coconut oil to taste.
2. Mix in a teaspoon of coconut oil at a time until you find the right consistency for you.
3. Put into a small, sealable jar or squeezable container.
4. Brush!

How You Can Help Stop Water Fluoridation
Please, join the anti-fluoride movement in the United States, Canada and New Zealand by contacting the representative for your area below.

U.S. Communities Fighting Fluoridation:

1. New York City, NY:With the recent victory in Calgary, New York City is the next big emphasis. The anti-fluoridation movement has a great champion in New York City councilor Peter Vallone, Jr. who introduced legislation on January 18 “prohibiting the addition of fluoride to the water supply.”A victory there could signal the beginning of the end of fluoridation in the U.S. so it is a really big deal. The point person for this area is Carol Kopf, at the New York Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation (NYSCOF). Email her at NYSCOF@aol.com.
2. Austin, Texas: Join the effort by contacting Rae Nadler-Olenick at either: info@fluoridefreeaustin.com or fluoride.info@yahoo.com, or by regular mail or telephone:
   

   POB 7486
   Austin, Texas 78713
   Phone: (512) 371-3786

3. San Diego, California: Contact Patty Ducey-Brooks, publisher of the Presidio Sentinel at pbrooks936@aol.com .

Canadian Communities Fighting Fluoridation:

1. If you live in Ontario, Canada, please join the ongoing effort by contacting Diane Sprules at diane.sprules@cogeco.ca.
2. The point-of-contact for Toronto, Canada is Aliss Terpstra. You may email her at aliss@nutrimom.ca.

New Zealand Communities Fighting Fluoridation:

1. New Zealand: Contact Mary Byrne if you would like to be involved in stopping fluoridation in New Zealand. Email her at: mbyrne64@yahoo.co.nz

In addition, you can:

• Tell the EPA you expect them to uphold their duty to protect you and your children from this toxic food fumigant.
• Make a tax-deductible donation to the Fluoride Action Network to help them fight for fluoride-free food and water.
• Check out FAN’s Action Page, as they are working on multiple fronts to rid our food and water supplies of fluoride.
• Join the Fluoride Action Network Facebook page.

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays at Food Renegade!

These days, making homemade broth seems to be an anachronistic, if not redundant, thing to do, given the abundance of boxed, packaged and canned proxies available on grocery shelves. But if you look at the nutrition label on a box or can of store-bought broth (Yes, even the organic ones!), you’ll quickly realize that the industrially-produced version is an empty, processed food—barely deserving of the term that our grandparents and great-grandparents understood as a healing and nourishing culinary treasure: Broth.

Homemade broth has a reputation for curing what ails you, and that reputation is well-deserved. According to “Broth is Beautiful”:

Science validates what our grandmothers knew. Rich homemade chicken broths help cure colds. Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium, but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons–stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.

Additionally, when properly-made homemade broth is cooled, it congeals due to the gelatin that was cooked out of the bones in the pot. The use of gelatin as a therapeutic agent goes back to the ancient Chinese, although it enjoys worldwide reknown:

The French were the leaders in gelatin research, which continued up to the 1950s. Gelatin was found to be useful in the treatment of a long list of diseases including peptic ulcers, tuberculosis, diabetes, muscle diseases, infectious diseases, jaundice and cancer. Babies had fewer digestive problems when gelatin was added to their cow’s milk formula. The American researcher Francis Pottenger pointed out that as gelatin is a hydrophilic colloid, which means that it attracts and holds liquids, it facilitates digestion by attracting digestive juices to food in the gut.

Research on gelatin came to an end in the 1950s because U.S. food companies discovered how to produce meat-like flavors in the laboratory. Following the Second World War, food companies were introduced to monosodium glutamate (MSG), a food chemical invented in Japan in 1908 to enhance flavors by stimulating the meat-taste receptors on our tongues.

Once Big Food learned how to synthesize the flavor of meat in the laboratory using inexpensive proteins from grains and legumes, the door was opened to a flood of cheap, new products like bouillon cubes, dehydrated soup and sauce mixes and frozen dinners. These products became so ubiquitous that today, the “homemade” soup found in most homes and restaurants is actually a reconstituted, powdered soup base containing MSG—often hidden in ingredients called “hydrolyzed proteins” or “autolyzed yeast extracts.”

In contrast, homemade bone broth starts with whole food: meat, fat, bones. Add a few veggies and herbs, and you have a tasty bowl of MSG-free, bioavailable nutrition.

Consuming homemade bone broth daily is the basis of the GAPS Medical Diet, because the gelatin and amino acids glycine, proline and glutamine present in homemade broth help to heal and seal the lining of your gut, which in turn can relieve food sensitivities, digestive disorders, autoimmune conditions, and even psychological issues like autism and schizophrenia.

Since Babyzilla and I experience eczema, digestive issues, insomnia and irritability when we eat certain foods, I try to get broth into both of us every day. Fortunately, broth is an outstanding base for making soups and sauces, simmering meats and veggies, and even cooking beans and grains.

After a year of working on my recipe, I finally found a way to make chicken broth that satisfies my rigorous requirements:

1. The broth must gel, every time. For me, a good broth must be so thick after a day in the fridge that I have to spoon and scrape it out of the jar to reheat it. So thick, it could stop a bullet. This was the hardest part to master consistently until I got the ingredients right, but a good gel on your broth is a measure of its nutrition.
2. It must be low allergen. Babyzilla has a lot of trouble with celery, and I am very sensitive to garlic and bay leaf, so this broth has no mirepoix, but is very yummy nevertheless.
3. It must be simple. I put all my ingredients into cotton mesh bags in the stockpot, which makes straining my broth very easy. And with this recipe, after the initial boil, you can ignore your stockpot for 4 or 5 hours. Or, if it’s too hot this summer to make broth in your house, you can make this in a slow-cooker or thermal pot camped in your garage!
4. It must be yummy. I use pasture-raised hens with feet for this recipe, not only because they are small, and provide a greater ratio of bones to meat in my broth, but also because they simply taste better. Once you’ve mastered homemade chicken broth made with hens that foraged outdoors most of their lives, you’ll never go back to store-bought again.

I get pasture-raised hens either from my farmer’s market, when they are available, or from Whole Foods. The hens at the grocery store don’t have feet, so I buy a package of chicken feet from my favorite online meat vendor, U.S. Wellness Meats, just to make this recipe correctly.

Beautiful, Bulletproof Chicken Broth
(Makes 8-10 quarts)

• 2 (Yes, 2) pasture-raised hens (These are often quite small, and you should find 2 that will fit inside your stockpot or slow-cooker.)
• 4 organic or pasture-raised chicken feet (This is a crucial ingredient. If they didn’t come already attached to your hens, you can buy them bulk here.)
• 1 medium yellow onion, quartered OR 3-5 large leeks, roughly chopped
• Small handful (10-20) whole peppercorns
• Small handful (10-20) whole allspice berries
• 1-2 Tbsp. sea salt, to taste
• 1 tsp. white or other mild vinegar (optional)

1. Wash your hens, making sure there are no residual feathers, organs or packing materials remaining.
2. Place all ingredients except sea salt inside 1 or 2 cotton mesh bags, pull or tie them closed, and place them so they sit low in your stockpot. (You can buy Soup Socks for this purpose as well.) Alternately, you can strain your broth with a china cap when it is done.
3. Fill the stockpot or slow-cooker with fresh spring or filtered water, making sure the hens are fully submerged. Add salt and then vinegar, if using. Cover.
4. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer for 3-5 hours. I simmer longer for better gel. If you are using a slow-cooker, put it on low for 6-8 hours, though test it the first time, because slow-cookers can really vary.
5. After the broth has cooled a bit, remove the ingredient bags/Soup Socks and empty them into a large bowl. The chickens will completely fall apart. Separate the meat from the skin, sinews and bones and set aside to use in soup, salads, or other dishes, as you wish.
6. Once the pot has cooled enough to lift, start transferring the broth to Mason jars for storage in the freezer and fridge. If you like your broth particularly clear, you can strain it again through cheesecloth as you fill your jars. If you plan to freeze your broth, leave at least an inch of room in the jar for expansion, so your jars don’t break.
7. Check your broth after a day in the fridge to see how well it gelled! The thicker the better. You may also have a nice, yellow layer of chicken fat (schmaltz) on top, which you can skim to cook with, or stir into soups and sauces, as you like.
8. To add a nutritional boost and a deeper flavor to your dishes, use your broth wherever you might use water to cook veggies, meats, beans or grains.

Here’s a delicious, easy way to use your chicken broth to make an already outstanding summer dish even better for you!

Easy Summer Gazpacho
Makes about 4 servings

• 1 organic cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 small onion, minced (Try a Vidalia or sweet onion for a milder gazpacho!)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 large, meaty, organic tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced (heirloom or fresh-picked, if you can get them)
• 1 organic, sweet green or red bell pepper, seeded and diced fine
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves, minced (or 1 tsp. dried)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, packed, then minced (or 2-3 tsp. dried)
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce of your choice, to taste
• 1/2 tsp. salt, to taste, depending on saltiness of the broth
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 6 Tbsp. red wine or apple cider vinegar
• juice of half a lime
• avocado wedges, for garnish

1. Stir together all ingredients in a large bowl until very well combined; chill for at least 4 hours, until thoroughly chilled.
2. Quickly and gently pulse the chilled mixture in a blender until puréed, but still with a little bit of texture, to taste. Add more broth if the purée is too thick.
3. Reserve some of the chopped vegetables and avocado wedges for topping.
4. Enjoy on a hot summer night!

This post is part of Fight Back Friday and Real Food Wednesday!