Anyone else made the switch to a real foods diet? We have been transitioning for a few months now.
Although we aren't there 100%, we are feeling a million times better. After attempts with GF, vegetarian, paleo/crossfit lifestyle, etc, I came to traditional foods.
Here are some of the things that make regular appearances on our table:
kombucha & jun teas
sourdough bread, pancakes, fritters, and pasta/dumplings
more game meat (free! we also make our own jerky & sausage from this)
high quality animal fats such a grass-fed butter, ghee, lard (from forested pigs)
local vegetables & fruits (no spray farmers) - we now eat in season
lacto-fermented vegetables including homemade sauerkraut
daily dose of cod liver oil
pastured chicken - I roast whole, then save all the bones to make bone broth in the crock pot over the next days
pastured chicken and duck eggs
I love making all of these dishes now! They are simple and leave us feeling satisfied but never full/tired. We avoid refined sugars (and don't use many sweeteners at all) and I don't buy flours doused in pesticides. My husband's lifelong allergies to animals, mold, leaves, pollen, etc have cleared up through the diet change and ceasing to use laundry detergents (I wash everything with soap nuts). Understanding the difference between 'organic' and 'pastured' has helped heal my own health problems as well.
Simple Bone Broth
Save all bones, fat, cartilage, etc from whole, roasted pastured chicken. Save vegetable scraps in the freezer for a few days - trimmings from the ends of leeks, garlic, yellow or white onions, etc to flavor the broth. Put it all in a crock pot with 1/4 cup white vinegar and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 6 hours. Ladle broth through a sieve into mason jars to keep in the fridge (great for soups!) or to drink (there's a reason chicken soup got a reputation for healing illness). Cover bones with water a second time for more broth. I usually only do this through 2 batches unless the chicken had a LOT of fat - then 3 will work well.
Sourdough Rye
This bread is like the bread I ate living in Germany more than a decade ago. One slice will satisfy, and no, it will not make you fat. It has no instant yeast and relies on a healthy sourdough starter to ferment, helping break down the wheat to a more digestible food. Recent research suggests that even people with gluten sensitivity can tolerate true sourdough breads.
1/3 cup sourdough starter
2 cups rye flour
1.5 cups white bread flour
2 tablespoons honey
1.5 tablespoons caraway seeds
2 teaspoons sea salt (use sea salt for nutrients)
1.75-2 cups warm water
Combine all ingredients in a glass (non-reactive) mixing bowl. Stir water into the dough until it has a wet consistency but not runny. It should stick to the sides. Cover with an airtight lid or plastic wrap for 12-24 hours. The longer it ferments the more sour it will become. Put dough on flour surface and form a ball. Place the ball on a WELL floured towel in a bowl and cover for 4 hours. Bake on a baking stone for 35 minutes at 475.
Sourdough is unique to every baker, so change the directions above to suit your climate, tastes, and time.
Sauerkraut
1 cabbage head
1 tablespoon sea salt (don't use white dollar salt - it will taste horrible)
Shred the cabbage finely, and work the salt into the ribbons roughly until a brine begins to form. Continue until the brine will cover the cabbage. Place the cabbage and brine into a crock, pressing each layer to remove air bubbles. Make sure cabbage is completely submerged in the brine. Allow to ferment 1 month or longer, until it has reached the level of sourness you like. Initially I used mason jars until I invested in fermenting crocks. Mason jars are fine to begin - use ones without shoulders or it is hard to pack the cabbage. You will have to "burp" the jar periodically to make sure it doesn't bubble over as the fermenting process is underway.
So, those are just a few I've got going. I also brew a large crock of jun tea, and a smaller one of kombucha, bottling it to become fizzy when I want something besides water but of course we don't drink sodas and sugary juices.
Anyone else on the real foods bandwagon?