If you were to open my refrigerator, you’d find dozens of bottles, mason jars, and glass containers filled with broth, drinks, and different foods. Aside from making food from unprocessed ingredients, I eat and drink certain things throughout the day to keep myself and my family healthy.
I start my day off with a small glass of beet kvass. Now, it’s not a recipe I’d ever feature on my blog because well, it isn’t delicious, but it does stimulate the liver to dump toxins. It’s a salty, fermented beet juice that’s incredibly easy and cheap to make, lasts for weeks in the fridge and helps cleanse my system daily. You simply take 3-4 beets, cut them in large pieces, place them in a 2 quart pitcher, fill the pitcher with water, add 1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt and stir. Cover the mixture and leave at room temperature for 3-4 days to ferment. After it ferments I store it in the fridge and take a shot of it every morning as soon as I wake up. It’s great stuff.
I’m also a huge fan of stock. I make chicken stock weekly in my home and store the stock in mason jars in the refrigerator. I try to consume three cups of stock a day to strengthen my immune system, plus it just tastes so darn good.
A few months ago, I shared my love of kombucha. If you’re not familiar, kombucha is a sweet fizzy fermented tea that’s wonderful for detoxing the liver. Each Tuesday I make a fresh batch of kombucha. I bought a few pretty Italian bottles at Sur La Table and pour my fresh kombucha into those and then boil up some water for the next batch. We’ve all gotten a bit addicted to this drink and it’s fun for the kids to have a sweet drink after school that isn’t soda, and is incredibly healthy for them.
A healthy gut is super important for your health. If your gut has the wrong kind of bacteria growing in it, all sorts of things can go awry. Kombucha is filled with probiotics and stock is also good for the gut, but another food I make and eat regularly is sauerkraut. I know, a little strange right? I thought so the first time I read about it. Here’s a great recipe. (Don’t be intimidated, it’s super easy to make.)
I didn’t tell you all of this to overwhelm you but to give you some new ideas of foods you can use to keep your body performing at it’s optimum level. These foods and drinks are usually the topics of conversation when friends come over because they see the inside of my fridge and start asking questions. The kids eat/drink all of these things too so it’s totally possible to get your family on board…it might take a while, but they’ll eventually come around.
Instead of leaving you with a recipe for stock, I’m giving you a great, quick dinner that’s nutritious and something for all ages. The salmon is coated in honey and soy sauce then broiled. Then you stir-fry some vegetables and rice noodles and serve them all up together. To make this quicker to prepare at the end of a hectic day, you can boil the noodles a day ahead of time, toss them in sesame oil (to prevent sticking) and store them in the fridge. The next evening, throw the salmon in the oven, chop your vegetables and saute them up with the noodles and you’ll have a nutritious meal on the table in less than twenty minutes!
Serves: Serves 2
Inspired by Delicious Magazine.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces thai rice noodles
- 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons fermented soy sauce
- 8 ounces wild salmon fillet, cut into two pieces
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
- 4 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 cups baby spinach
Instructions
- Preheat broiler and oil the bottom of an oven-safe dish. Cook noodles according to package directions, drain, and drizzle with sesame seed oil to prevent them from sticking together. Whisk the honey and soy sauce in a small flat dish. Place salmon in the honey-soy mixture, turning fish to coat both sides. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove the salmon from the honey-soy mixture and place in the oiled baking pan. Broil for 6-7 minutes, until cooked. Reserve any leftover honey-soy mixture.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds and toast for about 1 minute until golden brown (the seeds can burn very quickly so keep an eye on them). Remove the seeds from the pan and pour into a bowl. Heat coconut oil in the pan. Add the green onions, bell pepper, spinach, and noodles and saute for 3-4 minutes. Pour in noodles and any remaining honey-soy mixture and toss until noodles are heated through. Add a teaspoon or so of soy sauce if needed for flavor. Serve noodles and vegetables with salmon and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Cathy/ShowFoodChef
Maryea {Happy Healthy Mama}
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Jen D
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