Kombucha: Brewing My First Batch of 'Booch

 Home-brewed Kombucha.

Two words I've been pondering for quite some time... And now I am making it a reality.

     Kombucha has so many great health benefits including liver support, detoxification, aiding digestion, and it can help with weight loss. It is a great drink to add to your daily liquid intake and I know I feel so good and regulated when I'm on it. The problem: Store bought kombucha is priced ridiculously! I started calculating how easy and inexpensive it is to home brew your own: once you have all the equipment, the reoccurring cost for a one gallon brew is $2, which per serving is only fifteen cents!!! Or you can just shill out $3.49 for a store bought one. I knew this would be my new fun experiment and hopefully a new part of my routine.

     Every kombucha is based around the living, slimy-looking scoby = symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. You can find an allotment of good scobies on Amazon, but I decided to go with etsy.com. I really like the idea of supporting small businesses when I have the opportunity, and I know that is what Etsy is made up of. I found a really good inexpensive culturing seller who does all sorts of things like scobies, water kefir grains, and milk kefir grains. Her site's here. She was having a sale on organic scobies for only $3.99 with $3.99 shipping! Umm, yes please, I'll take ten... oh wait, that is what is awesome about scobies, they make babies each time, so if you take good care of him, he will keep producing new ones.
     So I will admit, I killed my first scoby! And it was like loosing a pet, I was really sad! So after burying him with tears streaking down my cheeks, I... just kidding. I reordered a new one from my Etsy pal, and she was so sweet and sent me two scobies (probably from pity). She also gave me free trials of milk kefir which was an awesome addition I had been wanting to try as well.

*Ideally I would love to be able to have a whole fermentation area dedicated to kombuchas, 

kefirs, sauerkraut, and pickling veggies. But as I have mentioned before, I kind of jump 

into things too quickly, so Justin lovingly reminded me to get good at kombucha first, then 

we can add on another project. Fermentation is also a great homesteading act that we 

can start learning with I have talked about wanting to do in my blog post A Homestead.*

      I decided to do a green tea base. After researching, you need to choose either a black, green, or oolong tea. If using white, rooibos, or herbal, you have to mix around 40%/60% with either one that they say to use for optimal scoby health. As I've said, it is all about the scoby! I decided to go with green tea since most research points to the higher health benefits of green opposed to black tea. Also the usual kombucha I opted to buy at the store was the GT's Multigreen Kombucha which is green tea based, so knew I would like the flavor. Kombucha brewing is actually a very simple, easy process, and like most fermentation, depends on patience to let the bacteria and yeast do its work.
Here are my steps to brewing and I will note where I messed up and killed my first scoby to hopefully save you from the pitiful death of your own.
 One, make sure you have all the equipment which needs to be cleaned carefully since you are dealing with a healthy live bacteria. You do not want the potential of bad bacteria to grow and cause harmful mold. This is the equipment for a gallon brew of kombucha.

      A gallon glass jar (preferably with a large top opening for the scoby to grow). Good organic sugar. Black or green tea from a reputable source making sure the ingredient is camellia sinensis, proving it is real tea leaves. A healthy scoby, starter kombucha from a previous batch or a store boughten plain kombucha like GT's Original. Choose either a cheese cloth, paper towel, or kitchen towel. Since I am doing a secondary fermentation to produce a carbonated kombucha, I also got mason jars (or you can use flip-top jars -anything airtight).
 Two, you start with making your sweet tea. I brew about half a gallon of purified water, do not use tap water. Since I used green tea, I stopped the heating of the water at 170 degrees instead of boiling so as not to burn my tea leaves. There are many different amounts of tea you can use (every 'booch maker has their unique take), I decided 10 packets would be a good first batch. I let steep for 10 minutes, then took out the bags and added 2 cups of sugar. It usually only calls for 1 cup, but when it's your first batch with a new scoby, its better to chunk him with more sugar than less!

***IMPORTANT! You must be patient and wait for the tea to cool to below 81 degrees or your scoby perishes!!*** yes it was late at night and I had just put Cedric down to bed, I was impatient (when am I not?)... RIP poor Toby the Scoby. I realized if I didn't use the whole gallon of water during the sweet tea making, I can pour the cool rest of the gallon into the tea to help speed up the cooling process.
Three, once the tea is at room temperature, you can put all the water in your CLEAN gallon glass jar. I got mine for pretty cheap at World Market, I was having trouble finding a large open mouth jar in normal grocery stores.
Four, pour in the 1 cup starter kombucha, store bought or from previous batch (many times when you order your scoby, the provider will send enough starter liquid to help preserve the scoby during shipment and to help in your first batch). That is the one negative point from my Etsy lady, I did not think I had enough starter fluid which is my second mistake from my first batch ***Have at least 1 cup starter liquid to make sure the scoby will survive too.***
Five, you are now ready to touch that weird creepy-looking scoby. Do not fret, it didn't feel as slimy as I thought it would (or maybe I just feel in love with my little pet so it didn't matter!? Sort of like cleaning your baby's diaper, you love them, so you get pass the stench. For me it did not feel as weird in my hands as expected) Just handle carefully and make sure your hands are clean!!! And by all means do not have anti-bacterial soap on your hands, that would kill your poor bacterial yeasty pal.
Six, cover with a loose cloth and rubber band to keep in place. You are done! Put in a room without direct sunlight and preferably a warm place. When in a cold area, it takes longer to ferment. I keep mine in the nursery room since at night there is a heater to keep Cedric's little feeties warm.

Smart to add the date you started each batch to keep track of time!

      Fermentation is a great practice for me, helping with my patience. You have to wait anywhere from 7-30 days depending on how sweet you want the kombucha. I, being sugar-free these days, wanted the scoby to feast on most of the sugar so I am not drinking a sugar-filled drink. Anytime after 7 days you can put a straw in and get a taste. The longer you wait the more tart the kombucha will be. My first batch I put into the mason jars to have their second fermentation for carbonation. When I tried it after three days, it was still really sweet. I am thinking since I had put 2 cups of sugar for the first batch that it had made the kombucha way sweeter then a normal batch would be with the same fermentation time. So I am hoping with my next batch that I have already started that I won't have to wait 30 days to make it less sweet!

Look at those nice carbonation bubbles!

       Also with this next batch, I am going to add berries, ginger, and a few drops of liquid stevia to the second fermentation to add a different flavor. I am very excited. The flavor mixtures are endless and can't wait to perfect my kombucha making.

  If anyone ever wants to try making their own kombucha just let me know. I will gladly let you adopt one of my baby scobies! I would feel so wasteful if I ended up just throwing them away when they have produced too many. And look at how beautiful and healthy they look?!?  That, or I read they can help make an awesome mulch.

Have you tried kombucha before? Ever think of making it on your own? Have you tried fermenting other things?

Chicory Root Tea, My Coffee Substitute

         As I have written in my previous post here about my 21 Day Hormone Reset, the hardest part of the detox had been giving up my yummy, warm, caffeinated morning coffee.There is just something so comforting and intoxicating about coffee (probably the caffeine addiction). After researching more about coffee, I really see the need to stop drinking it daily. An occasional sweet delicious cappuccino from the espresso maker never hurts, but I do not want to get my energy only from my caffeine kick. And now that I am sugar-free,why not kick my minor addiction too! After I had been in my reset for two weeks which was caffeine free, my sleepy headaches went away and I had some natural energy back. Now being off it for over a month again, I miss the taste, but I am glad I can let my body produce its own natural energy. Detoxing from caffeine is never a pretty sight, just like my sugar withdrawals haven't been fun. I just have to see the big picture and know that after a few weeks, the withdrawals lessen and things only get better. With it finally being decently cold in these California early mornings, I still want a comforting warm beverage in the morning. I always start off with a hot tea of lemon, coconut oil, and a little stevia (for taste) to cleanse my system first off, but that isn't comforting nor really delicious.

Chicory Root (left) and Dandelion Root (right)

       So I discovered the chicory root. Everywhere I read about chicory told me it was the closest taste to coffee (even looks like ground coffee), but of course was naturally caffeine-free. So I decided to order a bulk of loose chicory root from the online site called iherb.com, which has great prices, definitely on bulk items. If you want to check it out I have a $5 off handy promo code you just enter at checkout: HKS957. As I brewed the chicory root, it sure looked dark and inviting like coffee. Smelled a little more nutty though. When I tasted it, it had a good strong, nutty earthy taste with quite the peppery, bitter aftertaste. I was mildly disappointed. So I did more searching, and found that many people mix it with dandelion root to help balance the bitterness. Weird, since if you have ever had dandelion greens, you would know they are extremely bitter. But I think the two bitters must counteract, because what I made with them tasted really good. BUT STILL needed some tweaking, it was just a little strong and dark, like a dark roast coffee, so if you prefer your coffee black, you're set on just that combination. So I made it into a mocha and it turned out AMAZING!
Here is my recipe for a mug size:

Chicory and Dandelion Mocha
1/2 tablespoon chicory root
1/2 tablespoon dandelion root
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 warmed almond milk
1 tsp cocoa powder
dash of vanilla
2 packets of stevia powder
dash of organic half n half *
I put the chicory and dandelion root in a french press with the boiling water and steep for 7-10 minutes. If you don't have a french press, you could use a tea steeper. While that is steeping, on the stove top add the rest of the ingredients in a small pot to warm and mix. Once the roots are steeped, pour both mixtures into a mug. 
Sip and enjoy!
 *You can of course leave out the half n half for a dairy free version, but I found the dash of cream helped with the bitter taste.

Besides the amazing taste result of this mixture, there are many benefits of drinking 

chicory and dandelion root.

The chicory plant dates back 5000 years to the Egyptians who used it for medicinal purposes. Also the Romans and Greeks would call chicory the 'Friend of the Liver' since it's supposed to help stimulate that organ. Throughout the years it has been used as a liver tonic, to relieve upset stomachs, calm the nerves, detoxify, and treat diabetes.

Chicory Root

Today people have done more research and still see all the good properties of chicory. The chicory root, which is what I use for the tea, contains a lot of inulin, which is a fiber that helps feed the digestive flora in the intestines. With high amount of inulin in the intestines it enhances digestion, helps regulate blood sugar levels, and helps push out stool which helps release and get rid of toxins.

Dandelion Root

Alongside that, chicory is special with having a small amount of almost every essential vitamin. Two main ones are selenium and manganese. Selenium helps regulate your thyroid hormones and the immune system and manganese helps with healthy bones, tissues, and maintenance of blood sugar levels and nerves. There is also a nice amount of potassium which is essential for kidney function, and phosphorus which metabolizes protein, sugar, and calcium.
The addition of dandelion helps even more with the chicory benefits. It is a digestive aid, aids in kidney function, improves liver function, it is high in antioxidants, regulates blood sugar (which is really good for diabetics), and can boost the immune system.
With drinking these two "superfoods" instead of coffee daily, there are only positive outcomes awaiting you. It is amazing how many nutrients can be packed in two little weed-like plants!

Have you heard or tried chicory root before? Would you consider cutting back on coffee for a scrumptious, beneficial alternative?

All or Nothing: Sugar Addiction

         I have come to the terms that I am an all or nothing kind of person. That is derived straight from my dad. He has an intense, amazing testimony of getting out of alcoholism. One taste as a teen led to a long stretch of addiction and it's such blessing that God has saved him from that vicious cycle. Click here if you want to read his whole testimony. Even though he has been alcohol-free for 30+ years, you can still see the addiction to other things still there. It is so crazy how an addictive personality is genetic. One of our twin favorites is of course sweets. I am often baffled by people who can eat sugar in moderation, the ones who can take that one square of chocolate and put the rest of the bar away for the rest of the week. Really? Is that even worth it?! To me, it's like, "Oh, well I already had a piece, might as well finish the bar so it won't be laying around just tempting me."

         It's funny since my husband Justin says I'm like this with everything. Say I haven't run in a few months, then suddenly, "Oh, I feel like running!" *run a few miles* "I feel great!" Next day, "I can't get up, probably should have eased into that one..." :( Or if I find something new I really like, I may just jump into it without really reading up about it all before starting it.

         So I've realized, people like me cannot just say we are going to have a moderate amount of anything. And since I am an addictive person, I want to surround myself with healthy, good things that I can get addicted to! Like kombucha brewing, nightly walks with Cedric, home cooked meals, and drinking lots of water. 

        In today's culture, it doesn't help that we are bombarded with those great advertising mottos like "Bigger is always better," and "Let's super-size that order please!"

So I will say my confession: 
 I am a health freak with an unhealthy addiction. 
I don't want to be a hypocrite to myself!

  
      A drug is defined as any absorbed substance that changes or enhances any physical or psychological function in the body. Sugar is a drug, and I am addicted to it. I have cut so many things out of my diet that I can live without, gluten, most grains, soda, processed foods, fast food, but sugar is just one that keeps sneaking its way back into my diet. It really frustrates me. I always think, I would be so in shape if I didn't have a sweet tooth. Well, I have come to the cold hard fact that I have to cold turkey this one. I am over being addicted to anything harmful for my body. I did some research on the white drug; it pretty much solidifies what I thought about it.

Dr. Robert Lustig, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, wrote in The Atlantic that:

"The brain's pleasure center, called the nucleus accumbens, is essential for our survival as a species… When you consume any substance of abuse, including sugar, the nucleus accumbens receives a dopamine signal, from which you experience pleasure. And so you consume more. The problem is that with prolonged exposure, the signal attenuates, gets weaker. So you have to consume more to get the same effect -- tolerance. And if you pull back on the substance, you go into withdrawal. Tolerance and withdrawal constitute addiction."

        Have you ever tried to take sugar completely out of your system? You will feel the withdrawal just like caffeine! Dr. Mercola says: "Sugar addiction obviously begins when you crave anything that contains this sweet ingredient. Eating sugar triggers production of natural opioids in your brain. These hormones aid in relieving the pain and are triggered in the same way one would consume illegal drugs." A personal example of sugar being a pain reliever drug is when we used sugar to numb Cedric for his circumcision. Our mohel, a Jewish circumcision specialist, who did the circumcision in our home had me make up a brown sugar water concoction for Cedric to drink before the process began. And oh how it had put Cedric in a sugar-high, stupor state! He barely fussed for the whole procedure, and it really isn't a FUN procedure.  
         It's crazy how we usually just go through the day consuming so much sugar and without even thinking about how addicted our culture has become to it. The scary part is that sugar consumption is now starting at such a young age. Just look at the ingredients of doctor-recommended PediaSure. The second ingredient is sugar and the third corn maltodextrin. How creepy is that?!? There are also a lot of added sugars in fruit juices and in savory foods as a preservative. There is a reason why obesity and diabetes has been rising steadily every year. The Centers for Disease Control project a double- or triple-fold increase in the proportions of Americans with diabetes by 2050. All that has led me to declare:

I Bree Lynn Meissner, am giving up all sugar products for a year starting today, 

November 19, 2015. 

And very happy to say Justin agreed to give it up with me!!!

  

       Yes, I am writing this to the world so that everyone can keep me accountable and not gift me with anything sugary. (But if you do, I will obligingly deny it after giving you a loathing glare for even offering it to me!) I am cutting processed sugar and cane sugar, and will extremely limit natural sugars such as honey and maple syrup. The first few months I will not have any, if I say yes to one of those, I feel like it will keep my sugar addiction going, and I need to cut it all out completely. Justin on the other hand doesn't have my crazy addictive personality and is only cutting out processed sugars and cane sugar.
       I am hopeful that many of you will read this and feel motivated to take a moment and assess your sugar intake as well. NO, I am not saying go extremist like I need to do for myself, but maybe count how much sugar you are consuming in a week. I did some research on the statistics of an average family's sugar intake... it's a bit scary.

      The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that the average American consumes anywhere between 150 to 170 pounds of refined sugars in one year! Just a few decades ago it was only 7 pounds a year!!! And as Dr. Mercola mentions on his site: "The main problem with sugar, and processed fructose in particular, is the fact that your liver has a very limited capacity to metabolize it. According to Dr. Lustig, you can safely metabolize about six teaspoons of added sugar per day. But the average American consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day." That leads to cavities, weight gain, and worse things like diabetes. 

     So all in all, it's a bitter-sweet (yes I went there) goodbye to sugar. I may have in the last few days gotten my sugar binge on a little a lot, so I am over it (or until my withdrawal kicks in) and ready to get my body on its complete clean eating track! I am so grateful for the stevia leaf, it has had my back on many a sweet craving when I knew I shouldn't have sugar, and it will now be my helper as I cut all sugary sweeteners.

     Ever try and take sugar out of your diet? Let me know if you ever need a supporter to

 help you kick the addiction! I'll keep you up to date on how my year goes, and hopefully 

last longer then that!

21 Day Hormone Reset Challenge

       Today I am starting a twenty-one day diet to help reset my hormones. Why should I and many if not all woman do this from time to time? Let me take you through some background...
     
       A few years back I went for the first time to my now holistic doctor, questioning my fatigue and terrible pain around and during my period. I was fit, ate decently healthy, and was angry that my body would be so messed up during a whole week of every month. I would binge eat during my period, not have any energy to exercise, and I felt miserable. When I went to Dr. Vincent Medici (very eccentric, very wise health expert!!!) he told me I was estrogen dominant. Wait, I thought it's good for women to have lots of estrogen and men to have lots of testosterone. Duh... No. Women should have a good mix of estrogen and progesterone. When estrogen takes over, a lot of issues start arising. It is really easy to become estrogen dominant with all the xenoestrogens (fake estrogen) we are exposed to everyday. A few daily occurrences include exhaust from cars, using plastic, being on birth control, using makeups and lotions, and eating hormonal red meats.
       
         Dr. Medici recommended for me to read What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About

Premenopause- Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty, by John R. Lee and Jesse Hanley. Yes, I'm not thirty yet, but it is scary that with processed foods and exhaust and other factors, increasingly younger ages are being affected by hormonal imbalances. You know there are problems when girls younger then ten are getting their periods... The interesting part is that the book goes on to say estrogen dominance can affect women who have low levels of estrogen, too. Estrogen dominance "describes a condition where a woman can have deficient, normal or excessive estrogen but has little or no progesterone to balance its effects in the body." (p. 45), so either way, estrogen dominates. The book recommends to counter the estrogen with taking progesterone cream, which I had been taking before I got pregnant. Two weeks ago I was pleasantly surprised when I came across a diet book sitting on my mom-in-law's table describing how to help fix the hormone imbalance many struggle with.
         Before I get into the diet, I'll tell you some of the symptoms of hormonal imbalance, and see if you can relate to any of these: PMS, breast tenderness, hypoglycemia, foggy thinking, infertility, mood swings, irregular menstrual periods, osteoporosis, depression, insomnia, fatigue, polycystic ovaries, fat gain, and much much more. I have struggled with hypoglycemia, irregular periods, and fatigue and mood swings around my periods. Enough is enough. I know my dreaded period will start up once again when I stop breastfeeding in the months to come, and I do not want to dread it anymore. I am praying this is a successful diet that will really reset my body.
       The book I read was The Hormone Reset Diet by Dr. Sara Gottfried, and she simply goes through seven components that most people consume daily that should be cut out, if only for the twenty-one days, to reset and clean out the body. She makes it really easy with taking out one of the seven elements every seventy-two hours (three days) which helps reset that hormonal issue. These are the seven components taken out:

1. Going Meatless: Red meat and alcohol really cause estrogen dominance. Some signs of estrogen dominance are ovarian cysts, breast tenderness. and difficulty losing weight. 
2. Going Sugar-free: Sugar causes insulin resistance. This causes weight gain and sugar addiction. 
3. Going Fruitless: High glycemic fruits cause high leptin. This causes excessive hunger and weight gain.
4. Going Caffeine-free: Caffeine causes imbalanced cortisol which leads to stress, poor sleep, and hunger.
5. Going Grain-free: Grains (including gluten) cause high thyroid/insulin resistance which causes bloating, exhaustion, and hair loss. 
6. Going Dairy-free: Dairy results in imbalanced growth hormones. This causes stuffy/runny nose, frequent skin reactions, and tendency toward sinusitis. 
7. Toxin-free: Toxins cause testosterone imbalance which leads to fatigue, achy joints, and frequent colds.

      This seems like you're taking out EVERYTHING, but it actually leaves the healthy basics, and it is really only for twenty-one days (three weeks) so I think completely doable. It is so important for your health. You start the first three days or seventy-two hours with just going meatless (and no alcohol). You then move on every three days to the next subtracted element. This is what the eating program looks like as you take out more elements:

• consume a pound of veggies a day
• eat at least eighty grams of protein on hormone-free, grass-fed, free range chicken, eggs, turkey, or fish
• eat beans, lentils, seeds, and nuts for other protein
• consume good fats from coconut oil, avocados, olive oil, clarified ghee
• add probiotic foods such as sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi
• drink a lot of water 
• consume at least 25 grams of fiber a day

      Dr. Sara emphases to do this diet with a friend and keep a journal to help stay accountable. I have recruited my mother Becky, my mother-in-law Sue, and my sister Marianne. I am so excited to see the results physically and mentally that are sure to come from this reset. Each week I will update you on how we are doing and the real struggles and successes we are experiencing!

       Questions or interested about this reset? Would love to talk about the benefits of a hormonal reset and encourage you to research more about it!