If, like me, you go through tons of coconut milk, it may be advantageous for you to start making your own. First of all, it’s more economical. I can make it for $1 (or less) using coconut shavings, or I can buy it for $3.29 in Ottawa. Additionally, making your own is healthier. You get to control what goes into your milk; no weird binding agents or preservatives.

I’ve also been trying to be more conscious of reducing my waste. I could easily go through 2 tetra packs of coconut milk per week. That waste accumulates really quickly! I would much rather use and reuse my mason jars.

Make Your Own Coconut Milk (paleo, vegan, sugar free)

What you need
1 cup shredded coconut
3 cups boiling water
Blender
4 cup (1L) mason jar
Funnel
Fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag

What you do
Combine the boiling water and the shredded coconut in the blender. LET IT COOL DOWN. I didn’t wait, and I ended up burning myself. Because of the higher temperature, more pressure is required on the blender lid to stop it from overflowing. Avoid accidents by letting it cool down.

Once cooled down, blend for a few minutes. You won’t be able to get rid of all the coconut pieces so blend it until it’s to your desired thickness. Then, if you’re using a strainer, place your funnel in the jar mouth and the strainer on top of the funnel, and pour the coconut milk. If you’re using the nut milk bag, place it in a bowl and pour the coconut through the bag.

You can add a bit of vanilla and a liquid sweetener for taste, but it’s not necessary, if you want to skip that step.

Refrigerate for up to 5 days. A solid block of fat will form at the top. This can be blended in smoothies or heated to melt.

These days, so much research focuses on the importance of having a large variety of microorganisms in the gut for different health outcomes. Many people are turning to probiotic supplements, but fermented foods can also be helpful in many cases. However, there are also people who should proceed with caution when trying fermented foods. If you have SIBO, or if your acupuncturist has mentioned that you may have Dampness, start small. If fermented foods make you feel gassy or bloated, you may need to treat the root cause of the issue before trying to increase the variety of organisms in your gut.

All kinds of factors can harm the balance of organisms in the gut in the first place. Some medications, alcohol, sugar, stress, and pollution are just a fraction of the these factors.  A lack of balance in gut flora can lead to all sorts of health problems.

Sauerkraut that has been properly fermented can help balance gut flora, in the absence of SIBO and other similar issues. But why make sauerkraut when you can conveniently buy it at the supermarket? Unless otherwise specified, the jarred stuff you buy at the grocery store doesn’t have the probiotic benefits, especially if it’s on a shelf at room temperature. So, if you’re interested, let’s get started!

Probiotic Sauerkraut

What you need

1 cabbage (red or green)
Non-iodized salt (I use 1 tbsp, but work to your tastes)
A large bowl (or two)
Jars – I reused two pickle jars
Patience

How to proceed

Quarter the cabbage. Remove the really thick ribs and the core. Slice the cabbage as thinly as possible. Put the shreds into a large bowl. Add the salt.

This is where the fun begins. Start “massaging” the cabbage. Basically, you’ll be grabbing handfuls of shreds and making a fist with your hand, squeezing the cabbage. This helps squeeze the juice out of the cabbage and soften it. The salt helps speed up that process. Repeat until there’s enough of the cabbage juice to cover all the cabbage once you pack it down in a jar, which is precisely what you’ll need to do at this point.

Make sure the cabbage is packed down as much as it can be in the jar so that the juice level stays higher than the cabbage level. Any cabbage which isn’t covered runs the risk of developing unwelcome bacteria. Close the jar and set aside for a few days to allow it to ferment. It can take as little as 4 days, or can be left to ferment longer, depending on your taste.

Open the jar once a day to release the gasses. If your home is too warm, you may start to see mould. You can skim a thin layer of sauerkraut from the top without having to discard the whole batch, if that happens.

When it’s done, the finished product will be a different colour than the cabbage was when you bought it. A few days after it’s started fermenting, taste it once a day to decide when it’s at the point when you like it. When it gets to that point, transfer it to the fridge.

Because I dislike the taste of sauerkraut, I add a generous amount of olive oil and black pepper when I dish it out, and it actually turns out to be quite tasty. You can cook it or fry it or whatever it is that people do with it, but that gets rid of the probiotic benefits.

Some typical ingredients for baking contain hidden sources of gluten, corn, and whatever else you might have food sensitivities to. I’ve had to research every ingredient I use because I’ve had some bad surprises in the past. I had never really given much thought to what baking powder was until my Naturopathic Doctor pointed out that to heal properly, I’d need to cut out every source of corn (and other allergens), including baking powder.

You know how they say your life flashes before your eyes before you die? I think that something similar happens when you find out something you love is out of your reach (baking, in this case). After my ND mentioned the concern with baking powder, Jann Arden’s “Will You Remember Me” started playing in my head, as I remembered all those fun moments in my kitchen.

Let me say this. There’s nothing that’s going to stop me from baking. I decided to look up how to make my own corn free version. Don’t let the cost of cream of tartar deter you. That small container is actually so much bigger than it seems. Alternatively, you can buy it in bulk from a health food store or Bulk Barn for much cheaper.

This recipe yields one cup of baking powder. I keep it in a jar in my refrigerator. This makes it last longer, but make sure to put deodorising baking soda in your fridge, or the baking soda in this recipe will take up that job if your container isn’t well sealed. You’ll end up with baking powder that smells like the contents of your fridge.

Allergy Friendly Baking Powder (corn free)

Ingredients
1/2 cup cream of tartar
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup potato starch or arrowroot powder – arrowroot is more expensive though

Directions
Combine all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Simply use this as you would in any recipe that calls for baking powder!