Eat Fat, Lose Fat (43 page)

If using grains, rinse them with water and either use again or store in a jar in the refrigerator with about ½ cup water mixed with 1 tablespoon Rapadura, Sucanat, or maple sugar.

If using the powder, reserve about ½ cup liquid as a starter for the next batch—this will work for about 5 to 6 batches, then you will need to use powder again.

Store the soda in the original glass container in the refrigerator, or, for extra bubbly results, transfer to glass beer or soda bottles capped with wire-held caps. (See Resources.)

Note: Do not store soda in decorative vinegar bottles that have wire-held stoppers; these have a tendency to explode and can be quite dangerous!

Kefir Berry Soda

This soda is slightly more complicated, but well worth the effort. (Use kefir powder, not grains, to make this soda, as the grains tend to favor an alcoholic fermentation when the fructose content is high.) Make 2 cups puree of organic fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.) in a food processor. Pass through a strainer (to remove seeds) into a bowl. Add 1?2 cup Rapadura, Sucanat, or maple sugar, enough water to make 2 quarts, and 1 package powder. Cover with a towel and leave at room temperature 48 hours. Carefully skim off any foam that has risen to the top. Strain into bottles with wire-held caps. Leave at room temperature for 48 hours and then store in the refrigerator. To avoid large amounts of fizz, open bottles carefully while very cold.

This drink is essentially medicinal. You wouldn’t serve it to guests—but it has extraordinary healing powers. We’ve had more positive testimonials about beet kvass than about any other beverage in our book Nourishing Traditions.

Beets are loaded with nutrients. One 4-ounce glass of beet kvass, morning and night, is an excellent blood tonic, promotes regularity, aids digestion, alkalizes the blood, cleanses the liver, and is a good treatment for kidney stones.

The quality of the beets has a profound effect on the results. The final product should be somewhat thick and slightly bubbly. However, even if the drink is thin and not particularly bubbly, it will still provide many healing benefits.

Note: Do not use grated beets to make beet tonic. When grated, beets exude too much juice, resulting in too-rapid fermentation that favors production of alcohol rather than lactic acid. The beets should be coarsely chopped by hand.

Place beets, whey, and salt in a 2-quart glass container. Add filtered water to fill the container. Stir well and cover securely. Keep at room temperature for 2 days before transferring to refrigerator. To serve, pour through a strainer.

When most of the liquid has been drunk, you can fill up the container with water and keep it at room temperature another 2 days. The resulting brew will be slightly less strong than the first. After the second brew, discard the beets and start again. You may, however, reserve some of the liquid and use this as your inoculant instead of the whey.

Bring 3 quarts filtered water to boil in a large pot. Add sugar and salt, if using, and simmer until dissolved. Remove from heat, add tea bags, and allow tea to steep until water has completely cooled. Remove tea bags. Pour cooled liquid into a 4-quart Pyrex bowl and add 1?2 cup kombucha from previous batch. Place the mushroom on top of the liquid.

Make a crisscross over the bowl with masking tape, cover loosely with a cloth or towel, and transfer to a warm, dark place, away from contaminants and insects. In about 7 to 10 days the kombucha will be ready, depending on the temperature. It should be rather sour and possibly fizzy, with no taste of tea remaining. Transfer to covered glass containers and store in the refrigerator.

Note: Do not wash kombucha bowls in the dishwasher; however, you can wash the glass containers you store it in.

When the kombucha is ready, your mushroom will have grown a second spongy pancake. This can be used to make other batches or given away to friends. Store fresh mushrooms in the refrigerator in a glass or stainless-steel container—never plastic. A kombucha mushroom can be used dozens of times. If it begins to turn black, or if the resulting kombucha doesn’t sour properly, it’s a sign that the culture has become contaminated. When this happens, it’s best to throw away all your mushrooms and order a new clean one.

Note: White sugar, rather than honey or Rapadura, and black tea, rather than flavored teas, give the highest amounts of beneficial organic acids. Non-organic tea is high in fluoride, a known thyroid depressant, so always use organic tea.

A word of caution: Some people may have an allergic reaction to kombucha. If you have allergies, start with a small taste to observe any adverse effects. If you react badly, use Beet Kvass for several weeks to detoxify, then try again.

Depending on where you live, you’ll find most of the items listed below widely available in health food stores, specialty stores, upscale markets, or Asian markets. Below we’ve listed the brands you’re likely to find in stores, and even some national chains that carried them at the time of this writing. And if you can’t find particular products in your area, or your local retailers don’t carry our preferred brands, we’ve also listed mail-order sources for everything. Phone numbers, Internet addresses, and availability of products may change after this writing.

Coconut Products

Coconut Oil

We recommend virgin coconut oil, which is produced locally using low-tech, traditional processes, for all the recipes in this book.

Most commercial coconut oil is refined, bleached, and deodorized (RBD). The coconuts are transported great distances to a refining factory, where they are opened up and laid in the sun to dry. The dried coconut meat—called copra—becomes brown and rancid and may develop mold. Next, the meat is put into a huge press that extracts the oil at temperatures over 200°F (and this is called “cold-pressing”!) or treated with solvents and subjected to even higher temperatures. The oil then goes through a “refining” process that involves adding lye or caustic soda. After this it’s bleached, usually by passing it through acid and alkaline clays. Refining and bleaching deplete vitamin E and other nutrients. The final step involves deodorizing the oil, to remove any burnt or metallic taste, by heating the oil and bubbling gas through it while a vacuum pulls off the vapors. The result is a tasteless, odorless coconut oil that may contain solvent and lye residues. This highly industrialized process brings profits to large companies, not small producers. Even though deodorized, much industrially processed coconut oil has a burnt or metallic taste.

A particularly natural method for extracting the oil involves letting coconut milk stand in a covered bucket for about 24 hours. After 24 to 36 hours, the oil naturally separates from the water fraction, producing a pure oil with all the coconut scent. Brian Shilhavy of Tropical Traditions has been instrumental in reviving this traditional method and supporting artisanal coconut oil producers in the Philippines by importing the oil and providing it to consumers in the United States.

Virgin coconut oil is extracted from pressed fresh coconut meat by a variety of methods, including gentle heating, fermentation, refrigeration, enzymes, and mechanical centrifuge. Throughout, the temperature does not exceed about 170°F. Virgin coconut oil is white or cream colored and has a mild coconut flavor. Most virgin coconut oil is organic, but in any case, coconut palms are rarely sprayed. (For further information on coconut oil processing, visit tropicaltraditions.com.)

In stores:
Garden of Life (sold in the vitamin section)

Mail order:
Tropical Traditions (highly recommended), tropicaltraditions.com, (866) 311-2626

Coconut Milk

Canned coconut milk is widely available in stores and on the Internet. Unfortunately, most brands available in stores contain either an emulsifier, to keep the milk from separating, or a preservative. If you are making authentic Thai dishes or want to use the separated cream, you will need coconut milk without emulsifiers. Be sure to purchase
whole
coconut milk, not lite—lite coconut milk has most of the valuable fatty acids removed!

In stores:
Native Forest (contains guar gum, an emulsifier, yet it usually separates)

Mail order:
Wilderness Family Naturals, wildernessfamilynaturals.com, (866) 936-6457; carries the Coco Gem brand (contains no emulsifiers or preservatives)

Chef Shop, chefshop.com (877) 337-2491; carries its own brand (contains no emulsifiers or preservatives)

Pacific Rim Gourmet, pacificrim-gourmet.com, (800) 910-WOKS; carries Mae Ploy and Chaokoh brands

Asian Food Grocer, asianfoodgrocer.com, (877) 360-1855; carries Orchids brand

Coconut Cream

This is the thick creamy part that rises to the top of coconut milk. It actually can be whipped, like whipped cream.

In stores:
Usually available under various brand names at Asian markets.

Mail order:
Wilderness Family Naturals, wildernessfamilynaturals.com, (866) 936-6457

Coconut Oil Online, coconutoil-online.com, (800) 922-1744

Creamed Coconut

This is made by grinding coconut meat very finely, pressing it into blocks, and refrigerating. It resembles hard white butter. It can be reconstituted by gently melting with a small amount of water. You can use reconstituted creamed coconut like coconut milk, although it has a slightly gritty texture. Unfortunately, most brands contain sodium metabisulfate, a preservative.

In stores:
Usually available under various brand names at Asian markets.

Mail order:
Tropical Traditions, tropicaltraditions.com, (866) 311-2626

Available by the case from P. A. Tropical Products, (718) 763-5888.

Desiccated Coconut

Look for a product that does not contain preservatives.

In stores:
Widely available in health food stores and specialty markets

Mail order:
Coconut Oil Online, coconutoil-online.com, (800) 922-1744

Freeze-Dried Coconut

This delicious product is made by freeze-drying fresh coconut meat. It is naturally sweet and absolutely delicious. Comes in both coarse and fine cut.

In stores:
Balducci’s markets (New York and Washington, D.C.); sold as “fancy” coconut

Mail order:
Wilderness Family Naturals, wildernessfamilynaturals.com (866) 936-6457

Coconut Sugar

A wonderful natural sweetener made from the sap of coconut flowers. Also called “palm sugar,” it is less sweet than other natural sweeteners. It comes as a pale paste. Use in coconut desserts and soups, since (unlike other natural sweeteners) it won’t turn the white coconut milk brown.

In stores:
Available in Asian markets under various brand names.

Mail order:
Temple of Thai, templeofthai.com, (877) 811-8773

Taste of Asia, tasteofasia.com

Coconut Juice (Coconut Water)

The watery juice inside the immature coconut. It’s not hard to extract the water, as the immature coconuts are relatively soft, although you will need a good tool, such as a hammer and punch or a drill.

In stores:
Many upscale and Asian markets carry immature coconuts.

Mail order:
Best Oriental Produce, Los Angeles, primafresh.com, (213) 662-9385, sells immature coconuts by the case.

Wilderness Family Naturals, wildernessfamilynaturals.com, (866) 936-6457, sells packaged coconut water very reasonably in cases of 36 (200-ml) containers.

Glaser Organics, glaserorganicfarms.com, (305) 238-7954, ships fresh organic coconut water throughout the United States

Coconut Vinegar

In stores:
Available in Asian markets under various brand names.

Mail order:
Taste of Asia, tasteofasia.com

Coconut Rum

In stores:
Sold in most liquor stores.

Dolomite

A very inexpensive and useful calcium supplement for adding to Coconut Milk Tonic, quick broths, and other beverages. Be sure to purchase the powder, not the pills. One teaspoon contains the calcium provided by one quart of milk.

In stores:
KAL dolomite powder at Vitamin Shoppe stores

Mail order:
KAL dolomite powder at vitaminshoppe.com, (800) 223-1216

Raw Milk

For local sources and availability in your state, visit realmilk.com or contact a local chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation, listed at westonaprice.org, (202) 333-HEAL.

In stores:
Claravale Dairy raw whole cow’s milk (California)

Organic Pastures raw whole cow’s milk (California)

Note:
Organic Pastures raw milk may be available in health food stores in many states under the label SuperLeche.

Golden Fleece raw goat’s and cow’s milk (Florida)

Sweetwoods Dairy raw whole goat’s milk (New Mexico)

Mail order:
Organic Pastures, (559) 846-9732, organicpastures.com and mercola. com

Eggs and Meat Products, Pasture-Raised

See classified ads in
Wise Traditions
, the journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, (202) 333-HEAL, or contact a local chapter, listed at westonaprice.org. See also eatwild.com.

In stores:
Lamb from New Zealand or Iceland

Coleman’s beef and lamb

Prather Ranch beef

Niman Ranch pork

Welsh Family meats

Sunflower Field meats

Organic Pastures beef

Shelton’s poultry

Rocky chicken

Rosie chicken

Pollo Real chicken

Diestal turkey

Mail order:
Tropical Traditions, tropicaltraditions.com, (866) 311-2626

Real Foods Market, realfoodsmarket.com, (866) 284-7325

Fox Fire Farms lamb, (970) 563-4675

White Egret Farm natural meats, whiteegretfarm.com, (512) 276-7408

Peaceful Pastures grass-fed meats, peacefulpastures.com, (615) 683-4291

Meadow Raised grass-fed meats, (607) 278-5602

Grassland grass-fed beef, grasslandbeef.com, (877) 383-0051

Greatbeef, greatbeef.com

Ranch Foods Direct beef (not grass-fed, but naturally raised), ranchfoods direct.com, (866) 866-6328

Lacto-Fermented Beverage Supplies

You can make our fermented beverages using either kefir grains or kefir powder. The following products are available by mail order:

Milk Kefir Grains

Mail order:
G.E.M. Cultures, gemcultures.com, (707) 964-2922

Marilyn Jardembski, (419) 237-3095

Water Kefir Grains

For water-based beverages

Mail order:
Marilyn Jardembski, (419) 237-3095

Kefir Powder

For either milk or water-based beverages

Mail order:
Body Ecology, bodyecologydiet.com, (800) 511-2660

Wilderness Family Naturals, wildernessfamilynaturals.com, (866) 936-6457

Kombucha Mushrooms

Mail order:
Laurel Farms, (941) 351-2233

G.E.M. Cultures, gemcultures.com, (707) 964-2922

A. F. Kombucha, kombucha2000.com, (877) 566-2824

Kombucha (ready-made)

In stores:
Portland Brewing Co. kombucha drinks

Pro Natura kombucha tea

Mail order:
A. F. Kombucha, kombucha2000.com, (877) 566-2824

Bottles with Wire Stoppers

Mountain Homebrew & Wine Supply, mountainhomebrew.com, (425) 803-3996

Lacto-Fermented Condiments

In stores:
Real Pickles (sauerkraut, Asian sauerkraut, pickles)

Garden of Life lacto-fermented foods

Rejuvenative Foods cultured vegetables

Deep Root lacto-fermented vegetables

Sanga’s kimchi

Mail order:
Deep Root lacto-fermented vegetables, biolact.com

Wellspring Farm of Vermont sauerkraut, wellspringfarmvt.com, (802) 426-3890

Real Pickles, realpickles.com

Goldmine sauerkraut, goldminenaturalfood.com, (858) 537-9830

Rejuvenative Foods, rejuvenative.com, (800) 805-7957

Grain and Salt Society, celtic-seasalt.com, (800) 867-7258

Hawthorne Valley, hawthornevalleyfarm.com, (518) 672-7500

Stock

Many upscale markets make their own stock (chicken, fish, beef, and veal) and sell it frozen. Likewise, some farmers who sell grass-fed meats also make stock with the bones and sell it directly to consumers. To locate farmers who sell stock, contact a local chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation, weston aprice.org, (202) 333-HEAL. You may also purchase canned stock (see brand names listed below) and add dolomite (see recipe for
Quick Chicken Stock,
. For sources of bonito flakes (for making
Quick Fish Stock,
recipe). We do not recommend stock sold in boxes.

In stores:
Rich Addition (beef, fish, and chicken)

Just Take Stock/Copper Stockpot (fish, beef, chicken, and turkey)

Hay Day Country Market

Health Valley canned chicken and beef broth

Shelton’s canned chicken and beef broth

Mail order:
Just Take Stock/Copper Stock Pot, copperstockpot.com, (877) 827-8625

Sweeteners

In addition to the products below, check out Coconut Sugar.