The Cultured Life
As I write this I am looking out one of our sun room windows with a view of Pikes Peak. I see our sprawling 35 acres surrounding me, cows on the property across the street, chickens behind our house and goats to the west of us in our lower pasture. I see the beginnings of our 25′ x 48′ first-ever no-dig garden and the remnants of firewood on our back patio as we slowly crawl out of this long winter season. We haven’t always owned land, raised chickens and goats or grew large gardens. For the first 14 years of our marriage – we lived in suburban neighborhoods. We shopped at the local grocery store and ate at the myriad of fast food restaurants lining our busy city streets. Soda, ice cream and chips always filled our fridge and pantry. We didn’t have any issue with this, because it was normal.
Neither of us knew any different. It’s true that the environment you grow up in really does shape your routine and the paths you take in life. But…there were many other things that were also “normal” and just chalked it up to “this is just me”. I always had to deal with certain health issues that were consistent and frustrating. Migraines, extreme PMS symptoms, fatigue, sinus issues and nausea after eating, especially eating at restaurants. Again, this was just “normal” for me.
At thirty-three years old and coming to the end of my second pregnancy, I was introduced to a book on hormones and how food affects our endocrine system. I loved the recipes and was fascinated with the information. Mostly because I was beginning to see what was possibly the reason for so many of my health issues. I pulled out a book that I had received about 7 years prior about the connection between the SAD (Standard American Diet) and poor gut and digestive health – and this is where it all started. Truthfully, I couldn’t get enough of the information. I was reading things that I heard my grandmother talk about and learning that the way they ate on the farm wasn’t as bad as everyone had always said. Real butter, whole milk, red meat and even lard and tallow. What? I had always been taught that these were bad, that it’s what made some of my family members sick later on in life (not realizing that they didn’t get sick until years and years of eating the Standard American Diet).
At that time, what I had learned from our society was: we needed skim milk, low-fat foods, margarine, lean meat (never red meat and always trim any fat), and processed convenience foods. Soy products were the thing and eating six small meals a day was the answer to any weight issue.
Why did all this even matter to me at such a young age? Well, I had always had stomach issues – literally, for as long as I could remember. In my elementary school days, staying the night at a friend’s house meant my dad coming to pick me up in the middle of the night because I’d be vomiting. My menstrual cycle was a mess since it’s onset – headaches, awful cramping and heavy bleeding. From the time I was in Junior High until my early 30’s – migraines were common and often. Both of my pregnancies were hard – I was sick for the entire pregnancy with both kids. Nauseated 24/7 for nine months each time, unable to eat anything but a couple food items and being diagnosed with anemia. As the nurse said when he called, “You are dangerously anemic.” But, again, this was always just normal for me. Some people have issues and that’s just how it is.
For years I tried all the latest fads in diets, products and supplements to see if anything would help me. Nothing did, in fact, I believe I slowly became worse. So, when I started reading information about traditional foods and preparation methods and even hormones, I may have been so excited because I had always been looking for something new to help me. Yet, as I continued in my research – my eyes were opened to a whole new world.
I was introduced to Sally Fallon, Jordan Rubin, Dr. Don Colbert, Dr. Michael Aziz, and so many others. And once again, I went back to the knowledge of my amazing and beautiful grandmother.
This is when I dove head first into trying to eat more real, clean and traditional foods, along with preparing them the old fashioned way. Culturing, fermenting, soaking. Techniques I never heard much about, and none that I had done in my own kitchen. My counter starting looking like one big science experiment. I began switching out foods and filling our fridge and pantry with healthier options. Now, it took several years for us to turn our food choices and eating habits 180 degrees – lifelong habits and tastes are hard to break sometimes. Over time we switched to whole milk that is low-heat pasteurized (it is not legal to sell raw milk in retail stores in Colorado) and as of the last three years, we have dairy goats and get raw milk from them. We also started buying organic meats and produce. We began reducing the amount of processed foods we bought and I began doing more from-scratch cooking and baking.
I had realized that I didn’t need to wait to have something more or different to be healthy, but I could start right where I was at – so I started in my kitchen. At that time I didn’t even know I would eventually desire to have land to raise animals that would help feed us even healthier foods. So, there in our little kitchen I started my real food, traditional food journey that is still going today. Had I not experienced so many problems with my own health, I may have never gone down this path.
As time went on, I learned more and more – but I also learned that everything is a process. I started buying healthier food. Then I started growing healthier food. Now we are growing and raising healthier food. We still continue to buy healthier foods – but what I consider healthy has even changed over the years.
I love teaching people how to start culturing these simple beverages that you can always have on hand. Not only are they delicious, but they are extremely healthy. Changing how I fed myself and family has changed our lives, and it can change yours too. You’ll see that you will save money when you replace store bought beverages with these and you (and your family) will most likely start feeling better, physically.
These recipes are great to begin with f you are just beginning with culturing or fermenting and they are amazing for your health – just icing on the cake! Watch out though, because the bug may hit you too.
After I started changing stuff up in my kitchen, I grew my first garden in 2010 and was hooked. Today we live on 35 acres, raise chickens and goats, I make and sell small-batch skin care products, create herbal formulas and remedies including tinctures and teas (many herbs, flowers, and roots I get from wild-harvesting flowers from our property), and we are beginning a kitchen garden (25′ x 48′) at our high altitude of 9200ft (it took me 4 years to plan how to make this work with our short growing season).
This all started with a couple books on health and a few cultured beverages made in my kitchen.
Water kefir was my first experiment and I chose this over kombucha due to reviews saying it was a lighter beverage than kombucha. The entire family loved it and I’ve been making it now for over 14 years. Beet kvass was my second cultured beverage endeavor. I wanted to try it because of the amazing health benefits of beets. The only problem was I had never been a fan of beets, so when it was done, I had a hard time drinking it! I decided to pass it along to my grandma who absolutely loved and craved this beverage. I continued to make it for her over the years and I would drink a little each time so I could get used to it. I was bound and determined to be able to drink something that would be so good for my physical body and I am happy to say that it finally happened and it is now on the list of drinks I can make and enjoy! Last, kombucha. We had been purchasing this popular beverage from our health food store for quite some time and it was the beverage of choice my husband consumed as he decided to quit soda – which he was addicted to. Making it has saved us a lot of money over the years and gives us the freedom to experiment with different flavors each batch we make. Enjoy these recipes that are staples in our kitchen. Get creative with flavors and remember that it may take some getting used to, so give it time. The benefits are worth it. I hope they spark a change in you like they did me!