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theperidotshade · 6 years ago

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So, I have to eat a low-histamine diet right now b/c it’s pollen season, which is making my allergy-induced cough variant asthma go haywire and even prednizone didn’t help. So I can’t consume anything fermented, aged, cultured, or cured for at least another three weeks. Which unfortunately includes vinegar, soy sauce, coconut aminos, cheese, bacon, yoghurt, and deli meats (except some sliced chicken or turkey breast). All of which adds up to my needing to get pretty creative with what I cook.

So I thought I’d share some of the tricks I’ve had to learn over the past few weeks.

1) you can in fact make pretty good stir-fry noodles without any fermented ingredients. The trick is to find something that supplies the savoriness/depth of flavor (umami)—I’ve been using sesame oil, garlic, and gozaimasu, balanced out with a bit of honey and lime juice. Or just go the Thai curry route and use a curry paste, lime juice, and coconut milk.

2) if you can eat nuts, almond meal is great for thickening sauces that would normally use cheese.

3) the best bet, however, is to make an enormous batch of each of your favorite soups and freeze or refrigerate them in pyrex containers for easy heating. If you’re having health problems and a low-histamine diet is medically necessary, you’re probably not feeling up to a lot of cooking, and it’s super easy to make soup in a slow cooker. Plus it’s gentle on your stomach, so win-win!

4) if you feel like something more solid/filling with minimal effort, a simple chicken and rice recipe with lots of veggies is one of my favorite go-to recipes. The one I use comes from my mom, who’s also got a chronic illness, and is just chicken, rice, chicken broth, and zucchini.

5) if there’s one thing I’ve learned from all my dietary restrictions shenanigans through the years, it’s that breakfast is the hardest to finagle. At this point, I’m just going for pre-cooked chicken apple sausage or scrambled eggs. Or a hot cereal with nuts that I can make in the microwave and drizzle with a little honey. Gluten free, of course, b/c like everyone else with Celiac Disease, my small intestine attacks itself whenever I consume anything containing wheat, barley or rye. Sigh. It’s pretty immediate for me, too—sick within 30 min. :(

6) you will have to do a lot of research. A lot of foods are obviously cured/cultured/fermented, but even more aren’t nearly as obvious. Like fish sauce. Even if you think you know what’s in something, read the ingredients list.

7) if you have a food processor, chickpeas/garbanzo beans, lemon juice, and some garlic, you can and should make your own hummus. It’s easy, and the vinegar is easily left out, unlike any hummus you’d buy in a store. Make a lot, b/c it’s the best option you’re gonna get for an easily transportable lunch, and it’s impossible to find a store-bought one you can eat safely. B/c dietary restrictions might have become more mainstream in the last decade, but the more specialized medically-necessary restrictions are still largely unheard-of.

That’s all I can think of for now. I’m off to try to get some actual sleep instead of weird semi-lucid dreaming. Good night!

#dietary restrictions #low-histamine

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electricoutdoors · 5 years ago

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Food Self-Sufficiency – 23 Foods to Become Self-Sufficient

Food Self-Sufficiency

Becoming self-sufficient is the end goal for a lot of us that have been prepping for a long time. Of all the different steps to becoming self-sufficient, getting completely food self-sufficient could be the most difficult!

How do you become food self-sufficient? You can start being self-sufficient by growing foods that are easy to store and grow like potatoes, tomatoes, winter squash, and leafy greens. Then, consider raising chickens and goats for eggs, milk, and meat. All of this can be done on relatively little land.

Self-sufficiency is achievable for almost anyone with a couple of acres of land. It’s even possible for those living on smaller lots (or even apartments) to become almost completely food self-sufficient. [wc_toggle title=“Table of Contents” padding=“” border_width=“” class=“food-self-sufficiency” layout=“box”]

Food Self-Sufficiency

Is Self-Sufficiency Possible?

Becoming Self-Sufficient

Is Growing Your Own Food Worth It?

How Much Land do You Need to be Self-Sufficient?

Fruits and Vegetables You Can Grow to Be Self-Sufficient

Staple Foods to Start Growing

How Much Money Can You Save Growing Your Own Vegetables?

Homestead Animals

How Many Acres of Land do Animals Need?

Conclusion

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Is Self-Sufficiency Possible?

It’s absolutely possible to become completely self-sufficient. The question really should be what are you willing to give up to do it?

I don’t see only eating what you produce as a goal for when things are good. I see the goal as being able to support yourself if there’s a long term disaster and more food isn’t being shipped into the grocery store. I know other people see it differently, but that’s where I’m coming from.

Regardless of if you want to be completely self-sufficient right now or just have the ability to provide for you and your family in a disaster, these tips will get you started down the right path.

Becoming Self-Sufficient

These ideas can help you get the level of self-sufficiency that you want!

Use a couple of these ideas to help offset the amount of money that you spend on food. Use them all to be completely self-sufficient!

Make sure you don’t fall into these traps when you start planning for self-sufficiency:

You can’t grow all of the vegetables that you’re used to buying from the grocery store. Trying to will hold you back and keep you from being as productive as you could be.

Plant your crops with how you plan to use them in mind. If you end up with 100’s of pounds of cucumbers all at once, what do you plan on doing with them?

Make sure that you plan your garden so plants don’t interfere with one another. An example of this is planting popcorn and sweetcorn too close together.

Is Growing Your Own Food Worth It?

One of the first things that you should do is really think about how serious you are about becoming completely self-sufficient.

It goes beyond just simply gardening as a hobby. It becomes a full-time job and takes up a lot of your free time.

Do you have that time to give up? Are you willing to work a full-time job just to come home to work in the garden?

For a lot of people, the answer is “no” and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a lot of work!

If you have the time and the desire to grow your own food, then I definitely think it’s worth it to grow your own food. There’s something special that comes from knowing where your food is coming from and knowing that you grew it yourself!

How Much Land do You Need to be Self-Sufficient?

The exact size of the lot that you’ll need in order to be self-sufficient is going to depend on where you live and how large your family is.

Small families can almost completely eliminate the need to buy produce with a garden as small as a tenth of an acre! This is after a couple seasons of growing and getting everything ironed out, but it’s certainly possible.

Larger families need more area to completely supplement their store-bought vegetables and fruit. I’ve found that the more experienced you are, the less land you need to produce more food.

Fruits and Vegetables You Can Grow to Be Self-Sufficient

Becoming self-sufficient begins with the types of vegetables and fruits that you grow.

Start with the staple foods that will provide you with the most calories and are easiest to grow at home. You also want to make sure that they can be easily stored or last for a long time. Make sure you know how to properly store the food you produce.

Staple Foods to Start Growing

Winter Squash - Winter squash covers a wide range of different types of squash. Acorn squash, amber cup squash, autumn cup squash, banana squash, butternut squash, buttercup squash, carnival squash, delica squash, pumpkin, and spaghetti squash are all varieties of winter squash.

They store for long periods of time as long as they’re kept cool and can be frozen indefinitely once they’re cooked.

Potatoes - Potatoes are one of the most common foods in the world. They’re easy to grow and can be stored for a long time.

Since potatoes can be prepared in so many ways and last for so long, they’re great for the homesteader! Potatoes alone can get you the close to being completely self-sufficient by themselves.

The average medium-sized potato contains 110 calories. As long as they’re stored properly, potatoes can last for 3-4 months in storage.

Sweet Potatoes - Sweet potatoes give you a little bit of a different flavor profile than regular potatoes but they don’t last as long.

You can expect them to last for up to a month without any kind of special preparation.

Tomatoes - Tomatoes are great for anyone striving to get self-sufficient. Just 16 plants can produce almost 200 pounds of fruit in a single year.

They can grow in most environments and are a great source of vitamin K, C, potassium, and folate.

Tomatoes last around 2 weeks in cold storage.

Radish - Radishes provide vitamins A, C, E, B6, and potassium.

They last for about two weeks in the refrigerator once they’re cut.

Beets - Beets are a great source of fiber, vitamin B9, manganese, potassium, iron, and vitamin C. They also have additional health benefits and are popular in health drinks and supplements.

Beets can be stored for up to 10 days in the refrigerator or cooked and frozen for use later.

Carrots - Carrots have a bunch of vitamins and antioxidants. They’re similar to beets in that they’re added to many health drinks and supplements.

Whole carrots will last for about a month in the refrigerator.

Greens - This includes things like kale, collard greens, spinach, cabbage, watercress, romaine lettuce, swiss chard, arugula, and endive.

Leafy greens are a good source of vitamin A, C, K, and folate and minerals iron and calcium. They’re also a good of fiber.

They don’t store for very long but they grow well and can do a lot to diversify your food intake.

Turnips - Turnips have fiber, protein, phosphorus, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins K, A, C, E, B1, B3, B5, B6, B2, and folate, as well as minerals like manganese, potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium, and copper.

Turnips last for about 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Onions - Onions don’t provide a massive amount of calories, but they do something else that’s extremely important…they provide flavor to your food! If you don’t enjoy what you’re eating, you’re less likely to stick to being self-sufficient.

Onions are high in vitamin C, a good source of dietary fiber, and folic acid. They also contain calcium and iron.

When onions are properly stored they can last for up to 2 months in the summer and 6 months in the winter.

Garlic - Garlic is another great way to change up the flavor of your food.

Garlic provides vitamin C, vitamin B6, and manganese, but its primary advantage comes in making food taste better.

An unpeeled clove of garlic will last up to a month.

Cabbage - Cabbage provides 22 calories per cup and provides vitamin K, C, B6, folate, calcium, potassium, and magnesium.

In a proper root cellar or in the refrigerator, cabbage can last up to two months.

Parsnips - A half of a cup of parsnips has 3 grams of fiber and 55 calories. They are a good source of vitamin C, folate, and manganese.

In cold storage, you can expect parsnips to last a couple of weeks.

Leeks - One cup of raw leeks has 54 calories. Leeks are high in vitamin A, and they’re a good source of vitamin C, vitamin K, and vitamin B6, as well as the minerals iron and manganese.

Raw leeks will last for up to 2 weeks in cold storage.

Corn - Corn is high in carbs, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. One of its best uses is in cornmeal.

Raw corn on the cob will keep for 1 to 3 days in cold storage. Cooked corn on the cob will usually stay good for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator and 10 to 12 months in the freezer.

Popcorn - Popcorn is an interesting crop that grows in many different areas well. You can grow it around your yard or even in your flower beds.

It’s heartier than traditional corn and can be dried and ground into cornmeal. Popcorn is a whole grain.

Just make sure that you grow sweet corn and popcorn away from each other (about 100 feet). They will cross-pollinate and the resulting corn will taste off.

Sunflowers - Sunflowers are great for their seeds and the color they bring to your yard. They’re very high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (the healthy fats).

Wheat - Wheat is an all-around great thing to have growing in your garden if you can!

Make sure you have a grain mill to grind your wheat into flour.

Legumes - These include lentils, peas, adzuki beans, black beans, soybeans, Anasazi beans, fava beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), kidney beans and lima beans. These foods are high in protein and carbohydrates but low in fat.

The exact type of legumes that make sense for you is going to depend on where you’re growing them.

How Much Money Can You Save Growing Your Own Vegetables?

The amount of money that you can save by growing your own vegetables can be pretty amazing.

According to money.com, the average family spends $750 a year on produce and close to $2,000 a year on eating out! Even a small garden plot can offset a majority of the cost of produce. A 600 sq/ft garden will cost about $70 a year to run and yield enough food to eliminate the need to buy most vegetables from the store.

Now, let’s look at the average cost of food per year for an American family, which is around $7,000. If you make the jump to self-sufficiency, that’s a lot of money that you can keep in you pocket!

Homestead Animals

Animals can go a long way to making you self sufficient and are a requirement if you want eggs, milk and meat. Growing animals for meat will increase the amount of land that you need.

I suggest starting small with chickens for eggs and a couple goats for milk. As you get used to taking care of chickens and a couple of goats, you can decide if having meat animals makes sense for you.

Cows - Cows are obviously a great source of milk. Cows can produce about 8 gallons of milk per day. Just keep in mind that you’re probably not used to drinking unpasteurized whole milk and you may need to ease into it.

If you’re going to slaughter the animal, they provide about 40% of their weight in usable meat. Be ready to store that much food!

Chickens - Chickens can be a really good source of daily protein. Hens will lay an egg about every 26 hours. This means that it’s just over one day per egg, so plan accordingly when you’re figuring out how many hens you should have around.

Chickens yield about 60-65% of their body weight in meat depending on the type of bird. Meat birds are going to have a lot more meat on them then laying hens do, but you can still eat them.

Goats - Goats can also be a solid source of milk if you live on a smaller tract of land. A good milk goat will provide 2.5. - 2.7 liters of milk per day over their 305 day lactation period.

A couple of milk goats could be all that you would need.

Goats usually provide about 45% of their body weight in meat when they’re slaughtered.

Pigs - Typically pigs are used for meat, but they can do a lot of things for your farm than that.

They’re great at turning everything you don’t want to eat, or can’t eat, into manure. They also root up the ground and can clean up an area after goats have been though.

A pig will result in about 40% of its weight in meat after it’s butchered.

How Many Acres of Land do Animals Need?

The exact amount of land that you need for animals depends on the type of animal, how many you have, and what you plan on doing with them.

Cows need about 1.8 acres per animal.

Goats need about 250 sq/ft each and prefer to at least have a partner so plan for 500 sq/ft as a minimum.

Pigs only need about 8 sq/ft per animal if they’re inside. Pigs left outside need more space because they need a small shelter at a minimum.

Chickens should have about 3 sq/ft inside of the coop and 8 to 10 sq/ft in an outside run per animal.

Conclusion

Starting off down the road to self-sufficiency can be intimidating! There’s so much to do initially that most people never even take the first steps.

If it’s something that you’re really interested in trying to do you should start with staple foods that are easy to grow and store, followed by chickens and two or three goats.

This should let you get to the point of being almost completely self-sufficient with little need for anything besides meat from the grocery store. If you decide that maintaining animals is something that you want to do, you can look into growing more chickens and goats or even some cows and pigs.

The previous blog post Food Self-Sufficiency – 23 Foods to Become Self-Sufficient is republished from: https://readylifestyle.com/

Food Self-Sufficiency – 23 Foods to Become Self-Sufficient published first on https://readylifesytle.tumblr.com

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foursprouthealth-blog · 7 years ago

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Here's How I Bought a Week’s Worth of Groceries at Whole Foods for Just $50

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/health/heres-how-i-bought-a-weekrsquos-worth-of-groceries-at-whole-foods-for-just-50/

Here's How I Bought a Week’s Worth of Groceries at Whole Foods for Just $50

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There’s a reason Whole Foods has earned the nickname Whole Paycheck: It can definitely get pricey (hello, $8 gelato pints). With a little strategic planning, however, it is possible to get seven days’ worth of groceries on a $50 budget. Below you’ll find my wallet-friendly shopping list, along with meal ideas to get you through the week feeling nourished and satisfied. (The list even includes several organic items and, yes, almond butter and avocados!) But first, here are a few general tips for saving at Whole Foods.

Stock up for vegetarian meals

One can of pulses (beans, chickpeas, or lentils) ranges from $0.79 to $1.49 per can, and provides at least two servings each. That’s as little as $0.40 per serving, and a huge savings from even non-organic ground beef (one of the lowest cost meats), which is $4.99 per pound on sale.

Compare animal proteins

You can buy organic animal proteins if you’re savvy about what you choose. For example, a 16-ounce container of organic cottage cheese costs $3.99 for four servings (or $1 per serving), compared to $1.59 per serving of Greek yogurt. Organic chicken thigh meat with the skin is $5.99 per pound, versus $9.99 per pound for skinless organic chicken breast. Canned tuna is $1.99 compared to $4.99 for canned salmon. And organic eggs are always a good bet at $3.99 per dozen, which you can stretch to six servings.

Buy store brand items

You’ll notice that several items on my grocery list below are 365, which is a Whole Foods brand. Sometimes referred to as private label, a store’s own brand costs less because the store doesn’t have to spend money on marketing, advertising, and promotions. Those savings are passed onto the consumer, and they can really add up. For example, the 365 almond butter is $6.99 per jar, compared to up to $14.99 for the same size container of a major brand’s product.

Make multiple meals at the same time

Waste is a big no-no when trying to save on food cost. If you open a container of cottage cheese or a can of chickpeas and only use half, you’re essentially paying double per serving. That’s why items on the list are used twice or more. To save time, make two meals at once and bring the second to work the next day for lunch, or stash it in the fridge to reheat later. Whipping up dishes that provide multiple servings is also a smart strategy. Below I suggest a frittata, which makes four servings at a total cost of about $1.40 per meal.

Splurge on satisfying superfoods

The biggest chunk of my $50 budget goes toward almond butter and avocados. Together they cost over 20% of the weekly budget. But their nutritional value, health benefits, and satisfaction factor make them worth every penny. And you’ll even have leftover servings of almond butter, which can eat as a snack straight off the spoon.

Without further ado, here’s a list of items for the week ahead that cost just under $50.

RELATED: The 20 Best Foods to Eat for Breakfast

Whole Foods Grocery List

Fresh Produce

3 bananas $0.49 (3 servings)

2 organic apples $1.69 (2 servings)

2 pears $1.69 (2 servings)

4 avocados $5.00 (8 servings)

1 organic sweet potato $0.99 (4 servings)

1 bag 365 Organic Baby Spinach $1.99 (4 servings)

1 pound of loose carrots $1.99 (2 servings)

1 pound of organic broccoli $3.49 (2 servings)

Refrigerated case

1 dozen 365 Organic Large Brown Eggs $3.99 (6 servings)

1 16-oz container 365 Organic Fat-Free Cottage Cheese $3.99 (4 servings)

Shelf stable

1 can 365 Chunk Light Tuna in water $1.99 (2 servings)

1 can 365 Black Beans $0.99 (2 servings)

1 can 365 Garbanzo Beans $0.99 (2 servings)

1 can 365 Cannellini Beans $0.79 (2 servings)

1 can Westbrae Organic Lentils $1.49 (2 servings)

1 jar 365 Creamy Almond Butter $6.99 (14 servings)

Bulk section

½ pound bulk basmati brown rice $1.50 (3 servings)

½ pound bulk quinoa $3.00 (6 servings)

Frozen aisle

1 16-oz bag 365 Frozen Mediterranean Veggie Blend $2.69 (5 servings)

Meat section

½ pound organic chicken thigh $3.00 (2 servings)

Total: $48.74

Now for how to turn your haul into tasty meals for the next seven days. (Note: the grocery list assumes you already have EVOO at home, as well as herbs and spices.)

Breakfasts

Two days a week enjoy two eggs (any way you like) over a bed of fresh spinach and quinoa, with half of an avocado, and fruit on the side. One day make it a sliced apple; the other a pear.

Four different days days mix a quarter cup of cottage cheese with a few tablespoons of almond butter, a quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and chopped fresh fruit—an apple one day, a pear another, and a banana on two days.

One day of the week make a bowl of ginger and cinnamon spiced quinoa, topped with sliced banana, and drizzled with two tablespoons of almond butter.

Lunches and Dinners

For four meals make a frittata, prepared with a layer of sliced sweet potato on the bottom, topped with eight whisked eggs, and EVOO and herb sautéed spinach and broccoli.

For two meals make black beans and brown rice, with EVOO and herb sautéed spinach, and half an avocado.

For two meals prepare broiled chicken, served with quinoa and EVOO and herb sautéed broccoli.

For two meals have lentils with EVOO oven-roasted carrots, and half an avocado.

For two meals sauté the frozen Mediterranean veggies with EVOO and herbs, add tuna, and cannellini beans.

For two meals serve chickpeas and quinoa with herb and EVOO sautéed Mediterranean veggies and half an avocado.

Give this plan a try! It proves eating healthfully on a budget is possible, even when Whole Foods is your go-to market.

Cynthia Sass is Health’s contributing nutrition editor, a New York Times best-selling author, and a consultant for the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets.

#Health

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foursprout-blog · 7 years ago