Pumpkin Soup

1 small onion, chopped (or 3 TBSP onion flakes)
2 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
20 oz can pureed pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
2 cups broth, veggie or chicken
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1.5 cups milk
salt to taste

Use a medium size pot. Saute onion and olive oil for 3-5 minutes. Add cumin and ginger. Stir. Add pumpkin and broth. Simmer to slow boil for 15 minutes. Reduce heat. Add milk, ground peppers and salt. Heat (do not boil) for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

*good additions are diced mushrooms and celery (saute with onion)
*can make the day before without milk; just heat with milk prior to serving; herb flavor really stands out when this is done

New research on anti-oxidants

Another reason to eat whole, real foods instead of trying to pick and choose which supplements and enriched foods to eat.

Omega 3s are recently the trendy thing to eat because of current research showing their utmost importance to brain function and many, many other processes in the body. Before that it was anti-oxidants or a certain vitamin or certain mineral, etc.

We know that anti-oxidants taken in the form of a whole food (like a blueberry or leaf of spinach) provide protection. What we don't know is how these ingredients interact with each other in the body when they are taken together in a whole food. What we also don't know is what other ingredients are still to be discovered that also assist in the process of bodily absorption or use of such substance. Hence why taking just the anti-oxidant in pill form is not the best idea.

Eat a diverse diet of whole, real foods and you won't have to guess what will be beneficial and in what amount in order to be healthy.

Butter

I visited a dairy farm/creamery in Iowa last week and sampled the best ice cream and chocolate milk I have ever had. While there I purchased some cream and learned how to make butter in my own kitchen. A picture of the wonderful result is to the left.

How I did it:

Using a counter mixer, I put the cold cream in the bowl and put the mixer on level 7 (on my mixer the lowest speed is 1, highest is 10) for just over 5 minutes. It will begin to froth up at about 2-3 minutes and then right around 4.5 - 5 minutes butter forms and separates from the buttermilk.

Pour off the buttermilk and save for biscuits, muffins, pancakes or whatever. Take the butter and press until no more liquid comes out (use a cheesecloth, 2 plates, whatever works for you). You can salt at this time or add herbs/spices for flavoring. Refrigerate.

Next on the agenda: homemade yogurt

Dried nonfat milk powder

Since learning about the oxidized cholesterol present in milk powder (and even more so in egg powder) I have avoided it at all cost. Why introduce free radicals to the body when it's completely unnecessary? I have also learned that the ingredients list will not show it as nonfat milk powder. It will simply say nonfat milk. Or in the case of milk, it can be added as a filler or even possibly totally made up of powder.

So, when I looked at the ingredients list to my Mountain High Original Style Vanilla Yoghurt and saw nonfat milk, I became suspicious. After emailing and confirming that they do in fact add nonfat milk powder to their products I will be limiting our purchase to the low fat style. I have found that Brown Cow or Stonyfield yogurt tastes much better anyway, without the fillers. A serious look will be made into other brands to completely eliminate Mountain High out of our home.

I also double checked on Royal Crest milk and they do not add nonfat milk powder to any of their milk. Yay!

Welcome

I began this blog as a forum for mamas (and papas too!) to share and learn about anything and everything to do with real food so that they can offer a nutritionally sound diet to their family.

Here you will find various mamas with information, recent research, nutrition benefits, recipes, opinions, ideas, etc. about real food and how they prepare it for their families.

I look forward to the interaction here! We learn so much from each other!