Sprouts, Soaps, Survival, Fermentation

 

Sprouts are very nutritious, and can make up for the lack of a garden in emergencies. They are nearly a perfect complete food.  They are a rich sourse of B Vitamins, C Vitamins, minerals, and ENZYMES!  The nutritional value of any grain, nut, or seed MULTIPLIES after sprouting.  There is no reason for hunger or malnutrition in this world, because anyone can sprout!  Where we live in the high desert, it is near impossible to garden successfully; but we can sprout!

Green Sprouts
alfalfa, broccoli, radish, cabbage, onion, broccoli, red clover

Plastic mesh from sewing/craft store, make walls, use toothpicks to hold up on cookie sheet, measure a thin covering of dry seeds and write down measurement.  Pour that amount of seeds into glass jar with tap water to cover.  Let sit 4-8 hours.  Strain off water and rinse seeds.  Pour out onto a flat sprouter, and cover completely with towel.  Shower (rinse and drain) seeds 3-4 times daily so they don’t dry out.  When you see 2 little leaves on the majority of seeds, remove towel and put in indirect light and keep rinsing and draining until leaves are really green.  A good mix is 1 Tbsp of plain alfalfa, and then 1 Tbsp of the others mixed equally.

Grain Sprouts
Just about any whole grain you can think of: hard red winter wheat, spring wheat, white pastry wheat, kamut wheat (very high in protein), rye berries, oat groats, buckwheat, millet, spelt, quinoa, etc.  For use as cereal, in soups, or on salads:

One cup of grain soaked in twice as much good drinking water 8 hours or so.  Drain, rinse, drain and cover with towel or cloth.  Drain rinse drain at least 3x a day until you see the little tips budding out.  That’s it!  To let go longer they start to look spidery and will be too strong tasting.

Legume Sprouts
lentils, mung beans, garbanzo beans, pinto, lima, navy, black, etc…  same info as the grains above.  If you use just lentils and mung beans, they are small and so you can mix them into the grains above.  Garbanzos can be ground into a paste to make hummus.

Seed Sprouts
flax, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin.  Soak these 4-8 hours in twice as much drinking water.  Drain, rinse, and store in the fridge.  Good for salads, in sprouted granola, in nut milk, or ground into a paste to make nut/seed butter or tahini ad add to homemade hummus.

Nut Sprouts
almonds, pecans, brazil nuts, hazel/filbert nuts, walnuts, cashews, macadamias, pine nuts.  All of these need to be RAW, organic, and untreated.  Soak in water.  Drain/rinse/drain and store in the fridge.  Soak seeds separately due to size and how they break down.

Grasses/Greens
wheatgrass, barley grass, rye grass and sunflower, buckwheat, and sweetpea greens.  These are grown in shallow soil – the cheapest potting soil is just fine as all the nutrition that is needed is w/in the grain/seed itself.  The grasses (wheat, barley, rye) are to be juiced in a grass juicer for amazingly optimal health and/or healing properties, and the greens are wonderful additions to salads and sandwiches.  Example: from RAW sunflower seeds, soak 4-12 hours, drain, rinse, plant in cheap potting soil.  The layer of soil only needs to be 1 inch deep.  Then put plastic lid on and keep watered until you can harvest.

The Art of Fermentation
Fermented foods provide probiotics/good bacteria for intestinal health that supports the health of the entire body.  There should be 3 pounds of fermented things in our system at all times for our gut. It is best to eat/drink most fermented probiotic foods at room temperature.  Fermentation needs darkness.  Light tends to destroy the microbes.  Fermentation needs a starter SOMETIMES.  Warmth can be beneficial.  Fermentation takes time and a little patience.  You can ferment veggies and grains and nuts and seeds without a starter.  For recipes on the computer, look for miso, tempeh, and kimchi.  Miso paste is good to use for soup bases.

Rejuvelac (fermented drink that is packed with live probiotics and essential B vitamins
You will need a clean giant jar (like for giant pickles).

1 ½ c. soft white pastry wheat berries, or rye, or combo
cover over with water twice as much as the berries

Let soak 4-8 hours with a piece of screen over the top so it can breathe. Pour off water, rinse, and pour off again and let sit covered with screen and a towel.  Depending on how hot it is, rinse about 3x daily for 2-4 days until a small budding appears.  When berries begin to sprout, give them one last rinse and pour off, and then fill the jar to the top with good drinking water.  Cover with a few layers of cheesecloth instead of screen and cover that with a towel to keep it dark.  Let sit on counter 3-5 days depending on heat.  Remove cheesecloth and with plastic spoon, scoop any scum from the top.  Put cheesecloth back on, and strain into pitcher, and keep in the fridge.  You can get a second soaking of the sprouted grains if you desire.  Drink 8-12 ounces per day; first thing in the morning at room temperature is best.  Not only is this good healthy bacteria, but it is high in B vitamins and very alkalizing.  It is helpful to keep ½ cup of a previous batch to pour into the new batch as a “starter” when you add the good drinking water.  You can also use up to ¼ cup of RAW apple cider vinegar.

Raw Sauerkraut
You can make raw sauerkraut without salt and without vinegar.  The fresher the cabbage, the better, as it still has lots of juice in the leaves.  Take the oldest leaves off 2 cabbage heads. Slice or shred them and 1 beet.  Smash or beat the ingredients until juicy.  Do your best not to contaminate with your fingers.  Put the juicy pulp into a CLEAN glass jar.  Loosely cover with the first peeled off leaves.  Put something heavy on top of the leaves to weigh everything down.  Cover with a towel and set somewhere dark for 7 days.  After 7 days, remove the weight and the yucky leaves and maybe skim off the top if it looks mucky.  It should be pleasantly tangy.  My friend Dana from Romania uses:  cabbage, herbs (dill, thyme, parsley, caraway seeds, maybe 1 chili pepper, black pepper, salt (about 25 gms salt per 1 liter of water).  She puts everything in a plastic container, covers well with water, and places a heavy plate on top, covered with a lid and placed in the basement. She says: The first week, I'm going to check every day for fermentation and I'll recirculate the water to aerate and prevent from blurring. Then I'll let it rest and it's ready in 6 weeks.  I will store it in the basement. If you don't have one, the garage will do. It needs a cool place.

Diatomaceous Earth- any feed store- don’t buy silicon form, buy emorphis form (powdery so you can add to smoothie), almost 100% silica, keeps colon clean

Raspberry Jam- From Taste of Home Tri-Berry Jam (makes about 13 half pints or 13 cups)
9 c. berries (fresh or frozen)
11 c. sugar
1 Tbsp butter (optional)
¼ c. lemon juice
2 pkg (1 ¾ oz each) powdered fruit pectin

Combine berries, lemon juice, and butter if using in large pot and crush fruit slightly.  Stir in pectin.  Bring to full rolling boil over high heat stirring constantly.  Stir in sugar and return to full rolling boil.  Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, skim off any foam.  Ladle into your washed hot jars, leaving ¼” headspace.  Process 10 minutes in boiling water canner.  This is for altitudes of 1000 ft or less.  Add an additional minute for every additional 1000 feet.  We made for our neighbors the Christmas of 2013 with raspberries and blackberries.  There’s nothing so sweet as a beautiful jar of homemade jam.  The half-pint jars are like gems!

Homemade Shampoo
¼ c. water or coconut milk (not canned)
¼ c. liquid soap, such as castile
½ tsp light vegetable oil (omit if you have very oily hair)
essential oil of choice for scent

Combine ingredients in an old shampoo bottle, and always shake before using.

 

Homemade Conditioner
Mix 1 part water, and 1 part ACV (apple cider vinegar), and 1 part olive oil.  You can add essential oils if you like too.  I can always smell the vinegar on my scalp for days since I only wash my hair twice a week.  Use as a rinse to get hair cleaner and increase shine.  Some people like a lot less ACV.  Do whatever works for you. 

Then after you shampoo, apply the homemade conditioner.  Rinse with cold water (try to get just your hair and not your body).  Dry and style as usual.  I always have a jar of coconut oil on my sink to rub into the ends of my hair if they’re looking dry.  I also use it to control frizz after blow-drying.  zx

Liquid Laundry Soap
½ bar Fels-napha soap, grated
Add to 1 qt. warm water; heat to dissolve.

In large container, add 7qts warm water.  Ad ½ c. Borax, ½ c. Arm-Hammer Washing Soda.  Add Fels-napha soap (from above) to Borax/Soda mixture and stir until dissolved.  Pour in containers.  This makes 2 gallons of liquid laundry soap.  Use ½ c. for medium load.  1 cup for large load.  Cut amounts in half for front loaders.  FYI: favorite stain removers from the store are Zout, Biz, and Oxi-Clean.

Dishwasher Soap
1 c. Borax
1 c. Soda

Mix together and place in airtight container.  Use 1 Tbsp per load in dishwasher or sinkful.

Hard Tack
Hardtack is a thick hard cracker made from flour, salt, and water. The great thing about hardtack is that as long as you keep it dry, it will last for years. Because it’s inexpensive to make, and lasts so long, it was carried by soldiers on long sea voyages.  It’s easier to eat when soaked in a hot drink, crumbled into soup, or fried with other foods.

3 cups of white flour
2 teaspoons of salt
1 cup of water
A cookie sheet
A mixing bowl
A knife
A common nail
Mix ingredients together and knead.  Dough should not be sticky.  Then roll out into a rectangle no more than half an inch thick, and slice into 9 equal squares.  Poke holes in the tops.  Bake at 375 on an ungreased cookie sheet for 30 minutes.  Turn over and bake for another 30 minutes.  The great thing about hardtack is it lasts for years without any special storage techniques.  I would put it in Ziploc bags and add it to your food cache,  and vehicle survival kits. It makes a great source of energy in emergency situations.

Natural Deodorant Recipe -powerootz

Finally…! A natural deodorant that actually works!

• 1/4 C + 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• 1/4 C Baking Soda
• 1/4 C Arrowroot Starch
• 2Tbsp Calcium Carbonate PowderOPTIONAL
• 3 Drops Essential Oil of choiceOPTIONAL (Tea Tree oil, and Grapefruit or Lime

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
2. Place mixture into an old deodorant stick or glass container
3. Place in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes until hardened. Remove deodorant stick and twist bottom until loosened.
4. Store in fridge. It will melt at room temp.

Remineralizing Toothpaste- Wellness Mama

• 5 parts Calcium powder
• 2 parts Baking Soda
• 3 parts Xylitol Powder– This ingredient is not completely necessary, but just keeps it from tasting bitter.
• 3-5 parts coconut oil to get desired texture
• Optional ingredients: Essential oils for flavor (mint, cinnamon, and orange are all good), Myrrh and Trace Minerals

1. Mix all powdered ingredients (calcium, Baking Soda, Xylitol) well in a bowl.
2. Add Coconut Oil one part at a time until you get desired consistency.
3. Add any optional ingredients, including Essential Oils for flavor (my favorite is Peppermint Orange)
4. Store in small container like ½ pint glass jar. To use, either dip clean toothbrush into it, or use Popsicle stick or spoon to put on toothbrush. I’ve also thought of storing in a plastic bag with a corner cut off to be able to squeeze like toothpaste, but haven’t tried it yet.

Homemade Whitening Toothpaste- The Hearty Soul
Heals cavities and gum disease

3 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp neem powder
3 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
1 Tbsp xylitol

Mix in a small glass container until it turns into a paste.  Will harden if it gets too cold.

It’s okay if your dream in life is to be a good wife and mother.  One of my favorite quotes from The Secret Garden:

After Mary bends down to kiss the crocuses all purple, orange and gold… “You never kiss a person in that way,” she said when she lifted her head.  “Flowers are so different.”
(Dickon) looked puzzled but smiled.
“Eh!” he said, “I’ve kissed mother many a time that way when I come in from th’ moor after a day’s roamin’ an’ she stood there at th’ door in th’ sun, lookin’ so glad an’ comfortable.”

“No matter how bleak the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the Life and Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations… Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”- Dieter F. Uchdorf (1 Corinthians 2:9)

“The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us.”- President Spencer W. Kimball

“We cannot and we must not allow the school, community, tv, or even church organizations to establish our children’s values.  The Lord has placed this duty with Mothers and Fathers.  It is one from which we cannot escape and one that cannot be delegated.  Others may help, but parents remain accountable.  Therefore, we must guard the sanctity of our homes, because that is where children develop their values, attitudes, and habits for everyday living.”- M. Russell Ballad.