By Jasmin Schellenberg –
HEALTHY SNACKS AND WHY
Keep school lunches cool and your kids healthy with these mint-lime frozen bottles:
Ingredients
1 L home-made Kombucha tea
Juice of four fresh limes
A handful of fresh mint leaves
Method
Morning: Combine the Kombucha with lime juice and mint leaves in a jar and leave out until evening.
Evening: Strain the Kombucha to take out the mint leaves. Divide the Kombucha into plastic drink containers, leaving at least an inch of space. Close the tops and put upright in AQthe freezer overnight.
To use: In the morning put one bottle of frozen Kombucha in each child’s lunch bag. It will keep their lunch fresh and they are much more likely to drink up the probiotic, vitamin-rich beverage when it is icy cold.
Benefits: Kombucha naturally provides us with probiotics, which are great for the immune system. Back to school can mean higher exposure to foreign bacteria; keeping kids immune systems strong is one of the best ways you can support them in their education. Feeling healthy and full of energy is essential to encourage learning.
Enjoy!
NUTRIENT DENSE MEAL
Cabbage rolls (serves 4)
Ingredients
1 medium head cabbage
1 to 1-1/4 pounds ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 can (16 ounces) tomato sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple-cider vinegar
Method
Remove core from cabbage. Steam 12 large outer leaves until limp. Drain well.
In a bowl, combine ground beef, rice, onion, egg, and seasonings; mix well. Put about 1/3 cup meat mixture on each cabbage leaf. Fold in sides, starting at an unfolded edge, and roll up leaf completely to enclose filling. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling. Place rolls in a large skillet or slow cooker.
Combine tomato sauce, brown sugar, water, and lemon juice or vinegar; pour over cabbage rolls. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, spooning sauce over rolls occasionally during cooking.
Great to eat as is or add a green salad or bread.
Enjoy!
Tip: double the recipe and have snacks for the kids’ lunches or when they get home. Add extra flavor by fermenting the cabbage leaves for three days prior making the rolls.
MYTHS UNVEILED
Kombucha and its benefits
It is a fizzy fermented tea beverage with many benefits. More than 2,000 years ago, this probiotic drink was served in China and Russia. Give your children a chance to get used to Kombucha; it truly is a wonder drink.
Boost your immune system. Kombucha is loaded with antioxidants, probiotics, yeasts, and enzymes, and has detoxifying properties that will fight the bad bacteria resulting in a healthy, happy immune system.
Kombucha is great to clear up skin problems. It has anti-aging properties and helps keep grey hair away.
The antioxidants in Kombucha can help cleanse the liver and prevent cancer.
Kombucha is loaded with vitamins B and C, both are essential for optimum health. Vitamin B helps ease stress levels, curb sugar cravings, and help memory functions.
It helps with digestion by breaking down food for better nutrient absorption, promoting a healthy gut flora and maintaining a healthy PH level. Kombucha helps people with Irritable Bowl Syndrome, Crohn’s, Celiac disease, and Candida overgrowth.
Kombucha has butyric acid, which is known to have antimicrobial and anti-carcinogenic properties, and is known to strengthen the walls of your gut, kill parasites, and protect against yeast infections. It’s an interesting substance that promotes overall digestive health from the inside out.
Another amazing fact about Kombucha is that it contains naturally occurring glucosamine, which means this drink can help keep your joints healthy and moving correctly and even prevent against arthritis.
Kombucha has only 30 calories per cup.
Also, use as a facemask or add to your bath; your skin will love you for it.
All you really need is a large gallon glass jar, 4 teaspoons of green and 2 teaspoons of black tea, 1 cup sugar, 3 liters of water, a piece of cloth to cover, a rubber band, a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), and 1 cup of Kombucha juice. Heat up water (not boiling). Place tea in and let cool until room temperature, sieve out tealeaves, add sugar, juice, and SCOBY, and cover. Leave at room temperature for seven days. Transfer into jugs or mason jars, cover tightly, and put in fridge. Reuse SCOBY for next batch. Never use metal when handling the culture.
Get your SCOBY at Kinikinik Redstone free of charge for all of September.
A WALK THROUGH YOUR PANTRY:
GET RID OF: All commercial sodas. They are high in sugar and put your children on an emotional roller coaster.
REPLACE WITH: Homemade or store bought Kombucha, helping balancing the mood, boosting energy, and helping with digestion and immune systems.
Brought to you by Jasmin Schellenberg. Inspired by and resourced from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. For “Nourishing our Children” newsletters of the past visit www.thegreengazette.ca.
