This time of year and every change of season our body needs help to adjust. The healing spices in this turmeric tea have been used for centuries. We need to maintain our body temperature every day and when the outside environment is up and down that can be a stressful task for the body (cue fever!).
Spices have a long tradition in every culture to help support the body by providing essential nutrients as building blocks. Turmeric, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, black pepper, cloves, cacao and nutmeg all have a rich tradition as healing herbs. Any combination of these is going to help to support, boost, calm and restore the body during any up and down period (stress included).
I love to make this at the beginning or end of the day. Especially when I am feeling run down, cold, stressed or pre-menstrual. The combination of the herbs gives a big dose of nutrients and healing power. I sometimes make it with milk (I tend to use this coconut cream or cashew milk), I also make it with hot water and a dash of coconut cream.
Simply make up a jar of this mix and add what you like. I especially like to add it to my hot chocolate recipe! The kids like it too….
Turmeric Tea
2018-02-08 12:11:53
Yields 20
A warming cuddle in a mug. Perfect to boost the immune system and calm the nervous system.
Either warm a cup of milk (any milk) and pour into cup, stirring while pouring
Boil kettle and take off just before boiled. fill mug stirring whilst pouring.
Enjoy
Notes
The sweetness may need to be adjusted for your palate. If it is too spicey for you, adjust rather than not drinking it at all
By Louise Kane Buckley
Loula Natural https://loulanatural.com/
I normally get big bags of herbs from my favourite brands on iherb, here are my links here (I get a bonus if you buy through these links) however you can find them elsewhere too.
Kimchi is a traditional Korean ferment. There are hundreds of variations using cabbage, radish, scallion or cucumber as the main ingredient. The paste can contain a variety of ingredients. There may be more than 187 different varieties, all from different regions of Korea. Traditional ingredients will may use garlic, ginger, red pepper, some also add sugar, vinegar, fish sauce or paste to add to their recipe. Families will pass on their different seasonal varieties and they are traditionally buried in the ground to ferment.
Traditionally made by brining the vegetables and then mixing in a paste before packing it into a fermentation vessel to become full of probiotic bacteria and flavour.
Fermented cabbage has a long history of providing benefits for many different health conditions (see my sauerkraut here and a flavoured version here). The fermentation process produces the living probiotic microorganisms that are beneficial to the digestive and immune system, plus making nutrients in the foods being fermented come to life and are more accessible.
The fermentation process increases the bioavailability of nutrients rendering Kimchi even more nutritious than the original starting points.
Salt is one of the most amazing natural products. Hugely beneficial to the body when consumed in the right way. I am often asked which salt to use- these are my salts of choice:
Sea salt – originates from drying the sea water in the sun, salt lakes or other methods. This is what I prefer and generally prefer those from Wales, France or Scotland. Sea salt nutrients can vary and may contain up to 80 or more minerals than table salt (which is refined down to one or two) it will hugely depend on where the sea salt was obtained. In addition to sodium and chlorine, you are likely to find potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sulfur. Trace minerals in sea salt can include iron, iodine, manganese, zinc, bromine, boron, copper.
Pink Himalayan salt – this salt is traditionally harvested in the Pakistan side of the Himalayan mountain range and the pink colour may be due to the salt containing iron oxide. Harvested from caves of ocean salt settled into geological pockets. It is an unrefined, unprocessed raw mineral, mainly mined by hand. The salt can be up to 250 million years old, which is pretty cool! Its nutrient content is similar to sea salt (since they both originated from the sea).
I use these two salts in fermenting, in cooking, in the bath, as a scrub, as salt lamps and also on the carpets to help deep clean them.
Kimchi
2015-12-15 09:34:53
This is a basic Kimchi recipe. There are around 187 different variations of Kimchi, this one uses Chinese cabbage, daikon radish and carrot. I have made this one sugar free and suitable for vegans and vegetarians as it is also seafood free.
Weigh cabbage, radish and carrot to work out how much salt is needed.
Try and retain one of the out side leaves for later. Add the thinly sliced cabbage to a non reactive bowl (plastic or ceramic)..
Weigh and add the salt to the vegetable in water. Mix into the cabbage with your hands to massage and work in the salt. Leave for 1-8 hours.
Make the paste by adding the remaining ingredients to a mini chopper and pulsing until a paste.
Drain the vegetables from the brine, taste to determine saltiness. (note the saltiness will mellow). Rinse if necessary.
Wearing gloves, mix in the paste, massaging the vegetables.
Add to your fido jar pushing the vegetables down with a wooden spoon, potato masher or fingers. You will notice the brine being created and rising up to the top of the cabbage.
When all the vegetables are in the jar then you place the retained cabbage leaf on the top- this will ensure all the stray bits remain under the brine. You may weigh down the cabbage with either ceramic baking beads, marbles, rocks or a shot glass. This step is not compulsory but does help the first few days of fermenting as it makes it easy to continue to push the kraut down to keep the cabbage in the brine.
Leave for 1-2 weeks on the counter and taste, depending on the temperature and humidity levels of your fermenting spot- leave for up to 28 days. Ferment to taste so continue to taste and then refrigerate when you like it!
Notes
It is optional to use 1tsp fish paste, you can also use seaweed in the paste.
By Louise Buckley
Loula Natural https://loulanatural.com/
Here is my video on how to make the paste to add to your vegetables:
When it comes to flavoring your Kimchi the only limitations are what you have available!
You can add anything. Play with other root vegetables, using vinegar, fish sauce and other spices in your paste (like turmeric, cumin or coriander).
Kimchi is added to most foods, soups, noodles, stews, pancakes and so on. It is really nice mixed in to sauces like BBQ, mayo and ketchup. Kimchi is also delicious with cheese and also eggs…
This spicy, tart and juicy Christmas Kraut is a match made in heaven for your plate, throughout the holiday season.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Traditional Christmas foods are naturally rich in fats, nutrients and, of course, sugar! Many of us will also be enjoying a tipple or two at parties over the coming weeks. Adding a fermented aspect to these meals, this Christmas Kraut may help the body to deal with and digest all these excess foods and drinks. Hopefully lessening the fatigue, bloating, hangovers, sugar highs (and lows) and of course the noxious fumes that generally comes with turkey, sprouts et al.
Perfect on the plate at the main event or served with cheese, this Christmas Kraut will totally change some of your Christmas traditions!! It will certainly be on the menu for me for years to come.
So simple, if you are in a warmish climate you could ferment this in a week and have it ready for your Christmas table this year.
2tsp Pumpkin pie spice (or use a mix of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and star anise)
Instructions
Retain 1/2 of the outside cabbage leaves for later.
Make sauerkraut by mixing the cabbage with the salt. Massage the cabbage until it starts to wilt and release water.
Add and combine the cranberries, orange and spices.
Press the mixture into a fido (airtight sealable jar) jar and keep pressing down to release liquid.
When the mixture is all in the jar and there is liquid covering the top, press down the outside cabbage leaves to keep any stray bits of cabbage from floating to the surface of the liquid.
Seal and leave to ferment on the counter for a week-28 days. Keep tasting the kraut every few days.
Put in the fridge for an additional week.
Enjoy, Merry Christmas
Notes
This recipe is especially nice with cheese or an alternative to cranberry sauce.
Basic Sauerkraut is so delicious (see my how to here). I have it with eggs, add it so my coleslaw (kraut slaw here) and try to have it with any meat dish as a side. The sour flavour works well to stimulate gastric acids too so it a great primer for any fat, protein rich foods.
Since cabbage has so many health giving properties (read here), combining it with beetroot and ginger makes so much sense. The rich, sweetness and earthiness of the beetroot goes so well with the heat of the ginger and the sourness of the kraut. It hits all of the senses on the palate and really satisfy the taste buds.
Of course the rich myriad of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and blood boosting qualities of the beetroot with the anti-inflammatory, warming and nourishing properties of ginger are made even more available to the body with the fermentation process. The presence of a well balanced symbiosis of bacteria allows the body access to these nutrients, to absorb and use them to help promote wellbeing and healing.
Start in the same way as you would with the basic sauerkraut. When the cabbage and salt have been massaged together, combine the beetroot and ginger (I have used raw and powdered ginger and both work well) before packing it all into your jar.
Beetroot and Ginger Sauerkraut
2015-11-17 15:06:31
A rich nutritious flavouring of sauerkraut. Great to assist in the body's wellbeing and healing process. Really good to help digestion of fat or protein rich foods in a meal.
1 inch of fresh ginger grated or 1tbsp of dried ginger
Instructions
Retain 1/2 of the outside cabbage leaves for later.
Make sauerkraut by mixing the cabbage with the salt. Massage the cabbage until it starts to wilt and release water.
Add and combine the grated beetroot and ginger.
Press the mixture into a fido (airtight sealable jar) jar and keep pressing down to release liquid.
When the mixture is all in the jar and there is liquid covering the top, press down the outside cabbage leaves to keep any stray bits of cabbage from floating to the surface of the liquid.
Seal and leave to ferment on the counter for a week-28 days. Keep tasting the kraut every few days.
Put in the fridge for an additional week.
Enjoy!
Notes
You can flavour your kraut in this way with anything you choose! be creative!
By Louise Buckley
Loula Natural https://loulanatural.com/
If you like fermented recipes come and checkout my dedicated board on pinterest:
I absolutely love lemon curd (here is my version). I whipped up a batch as it is packed with healthy fats (butter and eggs) and I don’t worry so much when I use coconut sugar to flavour it- we like it tart anyway. It is a great way to really treat the kids.
We also love making these coconut cookies– so when my daughter asked me to make them again I thought of combining the two. The result is really delicious! Lemon and ginger of course being a match in heaven- and great for the immune system as the change of season is upon us.
Coconut and Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies
2014-08-24 03:18:13
I twist on my coconut ginger cookies- adding a dollop of my freshly made lemon curd. Light, delicious and good for the immune system! Full of healthy fats. Really easy recipe to make with the kids
