What you need:

For the brine

• 4 cups filtered water
• 10 cloves local garlic
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 6 tsps fine sea salt

Per glass canning jar (I ended up w/ 3 pint sized jars)

• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 tsp dill seeds (or fresh dill if your house-sitter didn’t kill it while you were away)
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 – 2 locally grown organic cucumbers, cut in half and then lengthwise into spears

Simply bring the 4 cups of water to boil, add the garlic, and then simmer for 5 minutes. While you wait, cut the cucumbers and fill each jar with the spices. Once the garlic is cooked, split them evenly amongst your canning jars. Add the vinegar and salt to the cooking water and bring back to a boil until the salt is dissolved (will only take a couple of minutes). While you wait, pack the cucumber spears into the jars tightly. When the brine is ready, pour to the brim of each jar and allow to cool. Cover and refrigerate! These can be eaten after a few hours and will taste even better in the upcoming days. They will last up to 3 months in the fridge, IF you don’t eat them all before then!!

(Source)

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Preserve your fall harvest by storing your vegetables in a homemade outdoor root cellar.

The Garbage Can Cellar

Keeping water out is one of the challenges of a hole-in-the-ground pit cellar, but using a garbage can will help. Dig a hole slightly larger than the diameter of the can and deep enough so that the can’s lid will sit 6 inches or so below the soil level. Set the can inside the hole, then layer in the veggies with some straw or dead leaves. Set the lid on the can, use a stick to pack soil all the way down into the gap around the outside of the can, and then flare the soil out at a tidy angle around the opening. Long-keeping root vegetables will live happily down there, even in the coldest weather. Good storage apple varieties will too, but keep your veggies separate from them. (Apples release ethylene gas as they ripen, which will shorten the storage life of vegetables.)

Cut a couple of 2-inch-thick pieces of extruded polystyrene foam slightly larger than the diameter of the lid and place the foam on top of the can to keep out frost. Cut another circle of three-quarter-inch-thick exterior-grade plywood to about the same size and place it over the foam, with a stone on top to keep it securely in place.

This technique also works well with other containers — such as an old chest freezer or a wooden barrel — buried in a similar fashion.

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Do you use your freezer to preserve herbs, vegetables, or fruit? The freezer can be a powerful, overlooked method of preserving. Pesto, strawberry puree, tomato soup — stash them away now for colder times! One of my favorite ingredients, a handful of fresh herbs from the garden, is one of the simplest things to preserve in the freezer, and I just learned a new, better way to freeze herbs: In oil!

8 Steps for Freezing Herbs in Oil

1. Choose firm, fresh herbs, ideally from the market or your own garden.
2. If you wish, you can chop them fine. Or leave them in larger sprigs and leaves. Here I froze a combination of finely-chopped and whole herbs such as rosemary, fennel stalk, sage, and oregano.
3. Pack the wells of ice cube trays about 2/3 full of herbs.
4. You can mix up the herbs, too; think about freezing a mix of sage, thyme, and rosemary to add to winter roast chickens and potatoes!
5. Pour extra-virgin olive oil or melted, unsalted butter over the herbs.
6. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
7. Remove the frozen cubes and store in freezer containers or small bags.
8. Don’t forget to label each container or bag with the type of herb (and oil) inside!

(Source)

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Home gardens are a great way to produce healthy, nutritious fruits and vegetables. But healthy eating doesn’t have to stop when gardens quit producing. You can preserve the healthy, home-grown nutrition you value and make it available all year round with canning!

Here are two free guides to get you started:

USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning

Intro to Canning Guide by Ball

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Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 peaches, halved
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground black pepper

Directions
1. Whisk together oil and lemon juice and brush over peaches. Season with cinnamon and pepper. Grill for 3 minutes, turn, then grill 3 minutes more.

2. Remove from heat and let cool. Slice thinly.

Nutritional Facts per serving
Calories 50.4 cal
Fat 3.5 g
Saturated Fat 0.5 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 0.1 mg
Carbohydrates 5.2 g
Total Sugars 4.1 g
Dietary Fiber 0.8 g
Protein 0.5 g

Healthy Recipe Courtesy of OrganicGardening.com
Photo: Marcus Nilsson

The post Grilled Peaches – A creative way to prepare those yummy summer peaches appeared first on Grow Real Food — Organic Gardening, Homesteading & Real Food Recipes.

Time: about 1 hr 15 mins
Suggested portion: 1 slice
Yield: 1 cake
Serves: 4

“This amazing pancake stack is filled with natural goodness. By using organic veggies, you ensure a good cocktail of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants to boost the health of the whole family. If opting for organic veggies, you do not have to peel them, since most of the nutritional value is in or right beneath the skin or peel and it is a good source of dietary fibre. By including such as variety of organic veggies in a meal, one will ensure a good supply of minerals and anti-oxidants, both important to prevent serious degenerative diseases like cancer. Onions reduce water retention and mucous build-up, reduce inflammation, aid circulation and are beneficial for the heart.” – Heidi du Preez

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With a diet enriched with these foods, individuals allergic to spring can find comfort and relief

Citrus fruits. There are several studies that prove the power of vitamin C and what better way to get a load of C but with citrus fruits. Oranges, lemons and grapefruit, among others, are rich sources of this vitamin.

Red grapes. One of the most troublesome effects of allergies is the inflammation that comes with it. Eating foods rich in antioxidants can help lessen inflammation that may occur in the entire body. What antioxidants do is work for the protection of the cells from oxidative damage. Such may cause several diseases. Moreover, the red grapes skin is also rich in resveratrol which is equally effective for anti-inflammation.

Broccoli. A blocked up sinus can be relieved by eating broccoli. But that is not the only benefit to this produce. It is also enriched with vitamin C. As a matter of fact, according to researchers, a cup of raw broccoli contains up to 80mg of the vitamin.

Collard greens Collard greens contain phytochemicals, specifically carotenoids. This component is well known for easing allergic reactions. To further boost the effects of carotenoids contained in collard greens, allergy stricken individuals should consume the vegetable with a fat source.

Nuts. Nuts are filled with magnesium and vitamin E. Magnesium can work against wheezing that often comes with asthma. Vitamin E, on the other hand, can help improve immunity. This vitamin also works to aid the body’s protection against free radicals, thereby preventing inflammation and damage on the tissue.

Apples. According to a Crete diet study, individuals who eat apples regularly have greater chances of protection from allergies and asthma. This fruit contains quercetin which is a kind of flavonoid that is effective for use against inflammation. The peel from apple is also rich in antioxidants, specifically polyphenols which protect the cells from damage.

Fish. Fish is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids known for their anti-inflammatory properties. Omega-3s can also help improve the immune system so the body can better fight off allergies.

Onions and garlic. Onions and garlic are also rich in quercetin. As a matter of fact, they can act much like how an antihistamine does which make them very effective when incorporated to an anti-spring allergy diet.

There are plenty of food solutions around to compound the nasty effects of spring allergies. The best part is these are all natural solutions and they can be enjoyed as food as well. Individuals who are prone to suffering from spring allergies should ensure that their diet is packed with these eight kinds of food to better protect themselves and avoid suffering from all the uncomfortable and troublesome allergic reactions the season brings.

Sources for this article include

http://healthland.time.com

http://www.mnn.com

http://www.organicgardening.com

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1) ‘Low-fat’ is good for you. Modern society has largely been indoctrinated into the mindset that fat clogs your arteries and makes you fat, and should thus be avoided. But nothing could be further from the truth. Tropical oils like coconut and palm, as well as grass-fed butter and meat fat is actually quite healthy for you. These saturated fats help promote healthy brain function and regulate proper hormone production. Popular vegetable oils, on the other hand, which oftentimes are hydrogenated and morphed into trans fats, are a primary cause of heart disease and other illness, and should be avoided.

2) You need to eat less salt for better health. This claim assumes that most people are consuming high amounts of synthetic, refined table salt, which is highly toxic and responsible for causing widespread cellular inflammation, hence the many warnings about salt intake. But what most people do not know is that unrefined, all-natural sea and mineral salts are completely different, as they are packed with health-promoting minerals, electrolytes, and other important nutrients. Eating lots of sea and mineral salt, in other words, is actually good for your health.

3) Replacing refined sugar with agave, honey is better for you. In most cases, switching out that table sugar for honey or agave nectar in the name of improving health is a misnomer, as these popular sugar substitutes are sometimes just as refined and unhealthy as regular sugar. Agave, for instance, contains high levels of fructose, which is metabolized directly by the liver and turned into fat. And unless your honey is raw, unprocessed, and locally sourced, it is also a toxic offender when consumed liberally.

4) Eating eggs raises your cholesterol. The medical system has gone back and forth on this one, but the truth about eggs will always remain the same – pasture-raised eggs from healthy chickens are an excellent source of both protein and cholesterol, and are not in and of themselves a cause of heart disease. And removing egg yolks and eating only the whites, as many people now do, can actually be detrimental to your health, as eggs should be eaten in complete form for optimal nutrition.

5) Organic produce is no better than conventional produce. There are many who would have you believe that conventional produce grown on factory farms is no different than organic produce grown without synthetic interventions. But as evidenced by numerous studies over the years, including a 1993 study published in the Journal of Applied Nutrition, organic foods are higher in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, and are far less contaminated with toxic pesticide and herbicide residues compared to conventional produce.

6) All red meat is unhealthy. The mainstream media loves to target red meat these days, but the problem with telling people to limit their consumption of red meat in order to avoid heart disease is that not all red meat is the same. In fact, red meat from grass-fed, pasture-raised cattle is actually just as healthy as, and potentially even healthier than, wild-caught salmon. This contrasts sharply with factory-farmed red meat which is high in pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. It is all about how the animals are raised and what they are eating that determines the nutritional profile of meat in general, which is why it is always best to choose meat from local, naturally-raised sources.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.charlespoliquin.com

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/8-healthy-eating-myths-debunked.html

http://paleodietlifestyle.com/10-reasons-why-fructose-is-bad/

http://www.naturalnews.com/040560_thyroid_iodine_Dr_Brownstein.html

Written By Jonathan Benson, staff writer at NaturalNews.com

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A new study conducted by Dr. Michael Orlich of Loma Linda University in California is shedding more positive light on the benefits of switching to a vegetarian diet.

A truly vegetarian diet is one that avoids all products that come from animals, even eggs and milk. A vegetarian diet consists primarily of grains, nuts, beans, herbs, legumes, berries, vegetables, and fruits. According to a 2012 Gallup poll, only 5 percent of American’s eat this way. Others eat similar diets. Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy and eggs but not fish and meat. Pesco-vegetarians do eat fish.

At least 12 percent drop in mortality for those on vegetarian diet

According to Dr. Orlich’s study, people who eat the vegetarian way are less likely to die over any particular period of time. This proves that vegetables, herbs, fruits, nuts, and berries are more than food; they are valuable medicine, nourishing the cells of the human body, allowing for optimal function.

Dr. Orlich points out, “I think this adds to the evidence showing the possible beneficial effect of vegetarian diets in the prevention of chronic diseases and the improvement of longevity.”

Orlich’s study revolved around data from over 73,000 random volunteers from Seventh day Adventist churches between 2002 and 2007. He and his team of researchers analyzed the data at the end of 2009, comparing death rates of all the participants.

All participants were questioned about their eating habits before the study began. They were lumped into general categories, based on their eating habits. They listed how often they ate dairy, eggs, fish and meat.

Of the participants, only 8 percent were strictly vegan. These people don’t eat or use any animal products at all.

Twenty-nine percent were classified as lacto-vegetarians, or people who didn’t eat fish and meat, but did eat dairy and eggs. Fifteen percent occasionally ate fish and other meats. The rest were meat eaters.

At the end of a seven-year period, the researchers used their database of participants to see who was living and who had passed away.

They found that seven of every 1,000 meat eaters on average passed away each year.

Of the vegetarians, about five of every 1,000 passed away each year.

The vegetarians generally had a 25 percent lower death rate compared to meat eaters, and after controllable health variables were figured in like age, race, and exercise habits, the researchers concluded that a vegetarian diet brought down the groups mortality rate altogether by 12 percent. They also found out that men benefited the most from a vegetarian diet.

Orlich explained, pointing out that red and processed meat consumption leads to higher mortality rates, “cutting out meat could be the cause. It’s also possible that eating more plant foods like fruits and vegetables provides the death-defying benefits.”

It’s about more than just living and dying

Eating a vegetarian diet shouldn’t be just about avoiding death. Death comes to everyone. In the study though, a vegetarian diet delayed death significantly, compared to those who ate meat. This is great, but just basing diets on a matter of life and death isn’t fully appreciating all the benefits of a vegetarian-based diet. Living a life of quality is the most important aspect of eating a raw plant-based diet. Ten years of quality living trumps 20 years of pain. A vegetarian lifestyle is one with more energy, less pain, quality sleep, and a stable metabolism.

Alice Lichtenstein, direction of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory in Boston observed the vegetarian participants and believes they living a much healthier more quality life than the others.

Lichtenstein said, “It’s important to note that the vegetarians in this study were more highly educated, less likely to smoke, exercised more and were thinner.”

Sources for this article include:

http://www.reuters.com

http://www.doctorslounge.com/index.php/news/pb/38475

http://www.prevention.com

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