Benefits of beets, beet juice and beet kvass

I'm writing this post to further continue my last post that contained the beet kvass recipe. I didn't have time to explain the benefits of beets and lacto-fermentation. But I wanted to do that because beets are amazing little roots with so many health benefits. Many people think they don't like beets, but I wonder how many of those people haven't even tried them as adults!! And maybe once you find out all the nutrition in them, you may be less reluctant to "develop a taste." And, selfishly, I'm hoping to convince my husband to drink the kvass I've got brewing!! :)

Beets are pure medicine for the blood! They are a blood cleanser and blood alkalizer. They lower blood pressure and decrease the risk of blood clots because they are converted to nitric acid in the body which works as a vasodilator. This means they actually help blood vessels open allowing blood and oxygen to flow more smoothly! Pretty impressive, I'd say!

Beets are also a liver cleanser--a perfect tonic, you might say. Beet Kvass is a good treatment for kidney stones.

Our family has enjoyed beets for years. Well, enjoyed may be too strong of a words for the other members of my family. They have eaten them, but I definitely enjoy them!! I love to add them to my juicing regiment as well.

But when I recently learned about beet kvass and the lacto-fermentation of beets, I was intrigued. I know that fermented food acts as strong probiotics to produce good gut flora--which is essential to a healthy lifestyle.

"Professor Zabel observed that sick people always lack digestive juices, not only during the acute phase of their illness but also for a longtime afterwards. In addition, he never saw a cancer victim that had a healthy intestinal flora....Thus, the different lacto-fermented foods are a valuable aid to the cancer patient. They are rich in vitamins and minerals and contain as well enzymes that cancer patients lack." ~~Annelies Schoneck Des Crudites Toute L'Annee  (Excerpt taken from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.)

Beet juice also contains quercetin, resveratrol, and other powerful antioxidants. Quercetin has been linked to supporting the immune system, clearing excess congestion, supporting bone health, and may aid in fighting mild allergy problems. My oldest son takes quercetin quite often during different times of the year. Quercetin and resveratrol are both polyphenols. Many scientists have realized that polyphenols are among the most effective natural agents for helping to prevent some of the chronic diseases of aging, including cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases—and perhaps for helping to slow the aging process itself.

So, after all of that, tell me you're not willing to even try it??? Come on! What do you have to lose? It's some pretty powerful stuff. You are what you eat, remember? People don't say that so much anymore, but it's still just as true! 

*The difference between lacto-fermentation and regular fermentation is that lacto-fermenation produces lactic acid; whereas regular fermentation produces alcohol.*

Beet Kvass:My first batch

I recently found a recipe for beet kvass--a fermented beet drink. I'm so excited about this as beets have so much nutrition and tons of vitamins. To see the benefits of beets, fermentation and beet kvass, see this post.

Recipe:
2 quart jar with lid
3 medium beets, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 tsp of sea salt
2 tsp of whey (or just double the salt instead of using whey)
1 lemon sliced
Chopped ginger
Filtered water

Put all ingredients into jar and fill with filtered water. Leave on counter for at least 2 days. Longer for more fermentation. I'm planning to leave 2 days and test. But probably will leave 3. After you've got it like you want it, put it in the frige.

The original recipe I saw didn't have ginger or lemons. Someone suggested those. I was going to add tumeric as well. I thought I had some but I didn't.

The beet greens I'm looking forward to juicing when my juicer comes Monday!!! (Hopefully Monday!!)

Raw "dessert"

I made some raw cookies yesterday in the dehydrator. I got this dehydrator a few months ago and posted once on here about the fruit leathers we made. They weren't such a huge success because they were very tart. I guess I need to work on the sweetness without sugar!! But yesterday I wanted to try some cookies in the dehydrator. They are so yummy and healthy all at the same time. The kids love them!! And I can even give them to Cedar knowing that they are good for him--full of live enzymes.  I forgot to take pictures until I spread the mixture out on the paraflexx sheet so sorry. And, I never measure so sorry about that as well!!

Ingredients:

Sesame seeds

raw coconut

raw dates

I probably used about 1/2 cup of sesame seeds (maybe a little less) and soaked them in water (just enough to cover them) for about 2-3 hours. Sesame seeds don't get "gelatiny" in water the way flax seeds do but the water make them "sprouted" and keep them a little sticky. Spoon the sesame seeds out into a food processor, add coconut (maybe 1/4 cup?) and about 6 big dates. Add some water from the sesame seeds as needed to keep mixture moist and sticking together. Process until everything is mixed well. The only thing I'll do differently next time is probably make the dates into a "paste" in the vitamix first. The food processor left bigger chunks than I wanted, and even though the taste was even, I'd like for there to be a more even look to it--just aesthetically speaking.

Then I spread the mixture out on a "Paraflexx" sheet for the dehydrator.

Then I scored it with a knife into squares.

Then I put it in the dehydrator. Raw foods should not be cooked above 105-116 degrees (depending on who you ask.) But the air in the dehydrator can be higher than that the first couple of hours because it takes a while for it to get warmed up. So I put the temp dial on 145 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours. After that I turn it down to 105. From the charts and examples I've looked at, the temp of the food never gets above 90 degrees doing it this way--which is the important part anyway. This speeds up the process by hours depending on what you are drying. I put this in yesterday around 2:30 at 145 degrees.  After 1 1/2 hours I turned the temp to 105. I took them out last night before bed at around 11. I would have liked to have left it in another couple of hours but not all night so I decided to get it out then. The cookies are a tiny bit chewier than I would like--but I've had them that way out of the bag as well. I do like these pretty crunchy. But Breck, Cama-Jane and Cedar have loved them!! Below is my lunchtime "dessert" with almond butter and coffee!! Yummy!! Breck enjoyed them with almond butter as well, but CJ liked hers plain.

Happy Eating!!

Almond Joy Pie

Here's a recipe that I "sort of" invented for a gluten free Thanksgiving pie. I had seen the ingredients but not in a pie, and I had no idea of the amounts! :) So #4 and I played and fiddled and tasted until we got it right. We had a great time!! :) And it was very yummy. So several people have asked me for the recipe, and I thought I'd just post it here. If you're gluten free or just want a healthier alternative this Christmas, here ya go. It's all raw except for the maple syrup--which I guess is debatable. I've heard that it is an ingredient in some raw cookbooks, but when I looked it up online most of what I found said it couldn't be raw because it is heated too much in the process of making it. For me, it wasn't a big deal either way because I'm not doing all raw right now anyway. Oh, and you can choose what kind of coconut you want. I just used already sweetened coconut because I didn't want to have to do one more step. But if you want to use unsweetened shredded coconut and sweeten it yourself, that would be great!! Let me know how you sweeten your coconut really well.

filling:
3/4 C coconut oil
3/4 C maple syrup
1 C raw cacoa powder
3 T raw honey
dash salt
shredded coconut

crust:
2 C almonds
1/2 C dates
1/4 C maple syrup

For filling, put all ingredients (except coconut) in a VitaMix or high powered blender and mix until smooth and creamy--about 30 to 45 seconds.

For crust, put all almonds (reserve 8 whole ones) into food processor and process on high until you get a powder. You may need to fish out a few big pieces and put them back in until they are all powdered. Do the same for the dates. Mix almond powder and date powder with maple syrup in a bowl. Press into a pie crust.

Sprinkle a layer of shredded coconut on top of the crust then pour the filling in. Sprinkle a thick layer of coconut on the top of the filling and then place 8 almonds around--one for each piece.