Fermented Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I’ve seen a number of lactofermented hummus recipes out there so I know I’m not venturing into new territory.  Of course I still have to put my own twist on this yummy version of hummus.  My favorite hummus recipe has always included roasted red peppers.  It makes it such a pretty orange color too.  The hardest part about this ferment is not eating it before it’s done fermenting!  This tastes great when used as a dip for crackers, pita bread or veggies.

Fermented Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves (a great use for fermented garlic cloves)
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1 Indian Hot Lemon (any preserved lemon or 2 tbsp lemon juice)
• 1 roasted red pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable culture (or fresh whey)

Combine everything in a food processor and process until it is a smooth paste (might take a while).  Pour into a quart sized mason jar and set at room temp for about 3 days.

Part of Fight Back Friday, Sunday School Blog Carnival, Make Your Own Monday

9 Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat Healthy

I have 4 boys who have all gone through various stages of refusing eat anything healthy.  All of them ate whatever I set before them until just before they turned 2 when all of a sudden either their tastes buds changed or they figured out they can say no.  From 2 until about 8 it seems like it’s a constant struggle to get them to eat the food I prepare for them and I’m a darn good cook!

Here are a few tricks I’ve learned over the years on getting my kids to eat.  If you have any of your own, please comment!  We can all learn from each other’s experiences.

#1 Give Them Choices
Do you want carrot sticks for your veggie, green beans or peas?  I might get some groans from the choices but they make their choice and eat it.  If I just put what I thought they might want on their plate, it’s a fight to get it to their mouths.

#2 Kids Night
I let the boys pick a night of the week where they are in charge of dinner.  They pick out the main dish and veggies and help me prepare it.

#3 Be Sneaky
They hate liver. Hate. Liver.  It’s hard to believe they are my children.  When I was little, I would actually order it at a restaurant if they had it on the menu.  Yeah, I’m a freak.  But I have awesome iron levels!  So I sneak it in hamburgers, meatloaf and meatballs.  Just a little.  Too much and they are on to me.  I keep hoping to up the amount a little at a time but each time I put in more, they figure it out.
Vegetables are easy to hide in pasta sauce like my Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce.
Salmon cakes aren’t just made out of salmon.  They have pureed carrots, onions and celery.  Process them into a paste before adding to the salmon and they’ll never know!

#4 Appeal to their competitive spirit.
Who can finish their veggies the fastest without choking!  At least for my boys, this works.

#5  Gross them out
I love this method.  The first time I tried getting them to take cod liver oil, I told them how absolutely disgusting it was.  Horrible!  Kids would hide under their bed trying to get out of taking it.
I double dog dare you to try it.  I bet your brother will.
Close your eyes.
Plug your nose.
Take a deep breath….
Not so bad?  I guess I was wrong.

#6 Don’t underestimate their intelligence.
Educate them so they understand why eating the way we do is worth it.  Let them watch Food Inc and Sugar: The Bitter Truth (Short version).  You might be surprised.  Our goal after all is for them to continue making good nutrition choices throughout their life.  We homeschool and part of our curriculum is Food Renegade’s Real Food Nutrition for Kids.  Even if you don’t homeschool, you can still teach your kids about nutrition.

# 7 Reward Good Choices.
We don’t normally do dessert but I do like to have some reward for finishing their meal.  I’ve never cared for the idea of making kids lick their plates clean but I do want them to have a well rounded meal.  Their first plate of food is very sparse.  Just a spoonful of everything served.  If they are still hungry, they can always have seconds or thirds but they are to at least eat everything on their first plate.  So for a reward I’ll let them have a snack while we watch a movie, like popcorn, dates or cereal and occasionally ice cream.  But only if they ate their dinner.
With an extra picky eater, we trade off bites.  One bite of yucky and then one bit of tasty.

#8 Practice what you preach.
Don’t expect them to give up all their Halloween candy if they know you’re just going to eat it for them after they go to bed.  Don’t tell them they can’t have a soda while you indulge in one yourself.  Actions speak so much louder than words.

#9 Train their taste buds the right way.
I don’t allow babies to eat sugar or any junk food at all.  I even serve them yogurt unsweetened (which they all have gobbled up by the way).  Don’t let them get used to over sweetened, highly processed foods.  I wish I could hide sweets and junk food from them forever but eventually they get a taste when they are out of my control.  I always offer a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and nuts. Instead of a box of crackers for a snack, they can choose an apple, nuts, yogurt or a tall glass of whole fat milk.

Part of Fight Back Friday, Freaky Friday, Fat Tuesday…

Chocolate Dipped Mandarin Slices

After dipping a pound of bacon the other day, we still had chocolate left over.  I glanced over at my box of fresh citrus my sister-in-law sent me from Ripe To You full of Meyer Lemons, mandarins and navel oranges, all picked and packed at peak taste, and thought chocolate dipped mandarin slices… Mmm!

My husband is returning from deployment tonight, a day after Valentine’s, so we are celebrating Valentine’s Day tonight with these chocolate dipped yummies.  Of course we had to do a taste test and they were as tasty as I had hoped they would be.  They make a fun juicy burst in your mouth.  Love it!

Chocolate Dipped Mandarins

• 4 mandarin oranges, peeled and divided
• 1 bag Enjoy Life chocolate chips (or chocolate of your choice)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Melt chocolate and coconut oil together in a double boiler or small sauce pan.  

Dip mandarin slices and set on a tray lined with wax paper.  Set in the fridge or freezer until chocolate is set.

Chocolate Covered Bacon

Yes, yes I did.  I fried up some bacon, melted some chocolate and dipped the bacon in the chocolate.  Crazy?  Either it would be the worst thing ever or the best thing ever.  Best. Thing. Ever. Further proof the bacon does indeed make everything better.  The salty sweetness is actually quite delicious with a good dark chocolate.  And for a little fun on Valentine’s Day, which I have to spend apart from my sweetie, I shaped the bacon into hearts.  I was going to make my own chocolate coating with raw cacao, cocoa butter and rapadura but there was no cocoa butter to be found in my town.  So I settled for Enjoy Life chocolate chips which weren’t too bad.  It contains evaporated cane juice, chocolate liquor, and cocoa butter which wasn’t too far off from what I was going to use anyway.

Chocolate Covered Bacon

• 1 lb bacon, nitrate free
• 10 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (Enjoy Life is what I used)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

To make heart shaped bacon, cut in half and over lap like this:

Bake at 400F for about 12-15 mins.  You’ll want them crispy.  Remove from oven, drain fat and let cool enough to handle.
Melt chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler or small saucepan.
Dip bacon into chocolate and set on a wax paper lined tray.  Set in the fridge (or freezer) to let the chocolate set.

Part of Traditional Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Whole Food Wednesday 

Orange Cream Kefir

Inspired by Cultured Food Life’s post about second fermentation of milk kefir, I made this yummy breakfast.  I’m normally not a huge fan of kefir but a second fermentation was all it needed to push me into the fan category.
The second fermentation takes the edge off the kefir giving it a more pleasant taste and you can impart other flavors in it like we do with water kefir and kombucha. It also increases the B vitamins.  Yay for B vitamins!  My first experiment is with orange zest and vanilla extract.

Orange Cream Kefir

• 1 quart raw milk
• kefir grains
• zest from 1 orange
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Add kefir grains to your milk and let culture at room temp for about 24 hours.  Strain kefir grains.  

Add orange zest and vanilla, mix well and let set for about 8 hrs to a full day.  At this point the kefir may have separated. Just give it a good shake.  

I’m thinking this would be equally good in kombucha and water kefir.  I’ll let you know!

ETA: I made some orange cream water kefir this week and cracked open a bottle this afternoon.  Yum!

Part of Fat Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday…

Fermented Bean Dip

I was just going to skip Ferment Friday this week but I’ve been wanting to try this for a while anyway.  If I were a sports fan, I might have thought ahead and posted this before the Superbowl but I’m not a big baseball fan anyway.

This is based on Nourishing Tradition’s Bean Paste recipe but I found it too salty to be palatable and it needed some spices.  I halved the salt and used Caldwell’s vegetable starter along with some of my favorite Mexican herbs/spices.  Perfect!  It has the most interesting tang but interesting in a very good way.

Fermented Bean Dip

• 3 cups cooked pinto beans (I bet black beans would be tasty too)
• 1/2 med onion, chopped
• 2 tsp cumin seed
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 4 tbsp vegetable culture or fresh whey, divided

Combine everything, reserving 1 tbsp of culture, in a food processor.  Process until smooth and transfer to a quart sized mason jar.  Smooth top and clean the edges.  Top with remaining tbsp of culture. Let set at room temperature for about 3 days and then move to the fridge.

**A word of caution though, leave enough head space in the jar for the beans to expand because they will expand (ask me how I know, lol!). 3″ should be enough but just in case of overflow, place on a plate to catch any drippings. **

To serve, bring to room temp and enjoy with corn chips, pita bread, veggie dip.  Mix with fermented salsa or shredded cheese for more yum!

For the record, I’m just kidding.  I know the Superbowl is for basketball.

Part of Fight Back Friday, Freaky Friday, Fat Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday…

Lemonade Kombucha

Lemonade Kombucha… I think I’m in love.  I did use juice from my preserved lemons in this but you don’t have to.  Regular lemon juice works great.  This recipe is perfect if you kombucha is a bit on the sweet side.  

Lemonade Kombucha
1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
11 oz of kombucha

I have 12 oz flip top bottles so I just add 1-2 tbsp lemon juice (depending on how sweet the kombucha is) and fill the rest of the way with kombucha.  Cover tightly and let set at room temp for about 2 days.

Orange Ginger Beet Kvass

I know it’s not Ferment Friday yet, but this is too good to wait.


Beet kvass that actually tastes good?  Is it even possible?!  I’ve been determined to make a beet kvass that I not only can drink but actually like.  I think I found it thanks to Jenny from Nourished Kitchen’s Fermented Beets with Orange and Ginger.  I thought I would add orange zest and ginger slices to my normal beet kvass recipe.  That is exactly what was needed.  It tastes great as is but add a second fermentation with orange or apple juice for some extra yum!


What is beet kvass? It’s a lactofermented beverage, it can be fizzy but not necessarily. If you do a second ferment in an airtight container, you have a higher chance of it being fizzy.


Use this beet kvass to make some Lactofermented Purple Eggs. It also colors yogurt a beautiful pink and just a little doesn’t alter the taste.

Orange Ginger Beet Kvass

• 6 medium beets, scrubbed and very roughly chopped
• 2″ knob of ginger, sliced thin
• Zest and juice of 1 orange (since we’re using the skin, I recommend using organic oranges)
• 4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable culture, reserved kvass from a previous batch, whey or an extra 2 tbsp sea salt
• Filtered water

Place beets, ginger, orange (zest and juice), salt and culture in a 1 gallon jar.  Top with filtered water and cover loosely.  Let set at room temperature for 3 days.  Strain and bottle the rich red liquid.  Use strained beets again for another batch.

For a second fermentation, fill air tight bottles like these flip top bottles, about 3/4 full.  Fill the rest of the way with orange juice (apple juice is great too) cover tightly and set 12-24 hrs at room temp.  Move to fridge and enjoy!


Part of Fat Tuesday, Whole Food Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Fight Back Friday

Lactofermented Mushrooms

Why, oh why had I not thought of this earlier?  Pickled mushrooms are one of my favorite pickles and I’ve only ever had the vinegar pickled kind.  Of course mushroom ought to make a great lactoferment!  These are great on their own or as a salad topping.  Flavoring with thyme and marjoram just seemed right.

Ever on a mission to perfect my mad fermenting skilz, I mixed things up quite a bit this week.  First, I ordered some Caldwell Starter Culture for vegetables from Cultures for Health.  Why use this instead of whey?  Because it contains bacteria that is found in soil not milk, which is perfect for vegetables.  It contains b.plantarum, Ln.mesenteroides, and Pc.acidilactici. Yes, whey works and I’ve never had a problem with it, but that’s not the case for everyone.  The thing that kept me from using it all my fermenting years was the price.  I have a ready supply of whey and didn’t want to spend money on something extra.  But curiosity got the best of me.  I want to see the difference.  In the coming weeks as I’ll use the culture more and more, I’ll let you know my opinion.

Second change?  I’m going to be using a 3.6% salt brine solution instead of just guessing.  I don’t like guessing.  It usually works out but sometimes it doesn’t.  I put too much salt in one of my ferments making it unpalatable.  To obtain a 3.6% solution, mix in 4 tbsp sea salt per 8 cups filtered water (or for smaller batches, 2 tbsp salt per 4 cups water).  If I wanted to be extra cautious, I would weigh the salt but I haven’t reached that level of crazy yet.  Fermenting for me needs to be easy.

I expect great things from these changes.  Here is the first great thing.

Lactofermented Mushrooms

• 8-16 oz mushrooms (I used crimini)
• 1/4 cup whey or vegetable culture or an extra tbsp of sea salt
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme
• a few sprigs of fresh marjoram
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 3.6% salt water brine to cover (4 tbsp sea salt dissolved in 8 cups filtered water)

Makes 1 quart.

Quarter mushrooms and layer into a quart sized mason jar with thyme, marjoram and garlic.  Fill to the top with the brine solution. Use a weight to hold the mushroom under water (I just used a small spice jar filled with water that fits nicely inside my jar). Cover loosely and let set for 3-5 days.  If you don’t use all the brine, place remaining in the fridge for future use.

One thing to keep in mind with mushrooms, they are filled with quite a bit of air.  I found that I had to add some brine throughout the week to keep the mushroom submerged and take extra care to hold them under the water.  Try placing a few cabbage leaves on top of the mushrooms and weighing it down with something.  You’ll also notice this jar is only half full.  It was full when I started.  Next time I might try pressing more mushrooms in.

Part of Friday Food Flicks, Freaky Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Living Well Blog Hop, Fight Back Friday, Traditional Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Whole Food Wednesday