Self Reliance Tip# 33 Ah Nuts!!

Ah nuts...


(Think with me the newest nursery rhyme sure to be recited next to all the other famous Mother Goose poems for generations...)


Nuts are awesome!
Nuts are great!
Nuts give me something
to Celebrate!


Ok, maybe not, but it could catch on!


Nuts are an excellent source of the good fat. They contain trace minerals (because of deep tree roots), calcium, magnesium, phosphorus (which by the way you need all three of these for your body to absorb the calcium) iron, selenium, potassium, manganese and vitamin B complex vitamins. Pecans especially contain all these.


In Sally Fallon's book "Nourishing Traditions" she says:
"Nuts are an extremely nutritious food if properly prepared...Nuts are easier to digest and their nutrients are more readily available, if they are first soaked in salt water overnight, then dried in a warm oven. (You may also use a dehydrator.) ...Salt in soaking water activates enzymes that neutralize enzyme inhibitors. An excellent snack is crispy nuts with raw cheese."


There's that word again...enzyme inhibitors? When I first read that I thought..."That's so much work to just eat nuts." But I tried it anyway. My family loves it! My husband especially loves it! My first try was doing it with walnuts. It takes out the bitterness and you don't get that super heavy feeling if you eat more than 2 or 3.



Here's a recipe:


4 C Walnuts (halves and pieces)
2 t sea salt
filtered water


Mix walnuts with salt and water and leave in a warm place for at least 7 hours or overnight. Drain in a colander. Spread on a cookie sheet and place in a warm oven for 12 to 24 hours turning occasionally until completely dry and crisp. Store in an airtight container.


On my oven, when I'm turning it on it will "click" before the "warm" setting. That is where I let it sit. You don't want the temperature to get above 150 degrees.


And another thing....


Garden plants can be kind of fussy. They have their friends and they have those they don't really like to be by. Sounds like grade school kids if you ask me. Plants already need so much...good soil, the right nutrients, the right amount of time in the sunlight. But when they grow and mature, it all pays off. Also like grade school kids.


Here is a chart that may help you when you're trying to keep the trouble makers separated.

http://peaceofpreparedness.com/Resource%20Library/Gardening/Companion%20Planting%20Chart%20for%20Vegetables.pdf

Self Reliance Tip # 32

Goal this month: Make one recipe with just the basics from food you have stored.

Not everyone can tolerate whole wheat. If you are one of them, I'm sorry. There is nothing like warm wheat bread with real butter melting on it... MMMmmmMMm. However, if you are in a long term "grind my own wheat" circumstance, chances are you won't be making bread all that much. Why? Well, in my experience, if I grind 4 cups of wheat to make 2 loaves of bread, it takes about 30 minutes of grinding....and THEN you make the bread.

It is a good idea to have several "quick bread" recipes in your repertoire. Quick bread recipes also use less wheat making what you have stored stretch a little.

Here are some facts on wheat.
http://goodlookingcook.blogspot.com/2009/02/one-grain-at-time_27.html

My family LOVES this recipe. They especially love it when we have fresh strawberries. In the case their isn't fresh available, I can mix together re-hydrated strawberries and some strawberry preserves. You can also substitute the flour for 3/4 C wheat and 1/4 C white - if you do that you can mix the gluten.

Strawberry Crepes
1 C ground wheat flour
1 tsp vital gluten
1 tsp salt
1/4 C powdered sugar
1 C milk
2 eggs


Strawberries (sliced and a little sugar/honey/br.sugar stirred in to make syrup-y)
REAL whipped cream. ( I found this recipe for "in a pinch" whipping cream, but haven't tried it yet).
http://www.ehow.com/how_2083537_make-whipped-cream-from-dry.html

Directions: blend everything but strawberries and whipping cream together until smooth. Add more milk if needed. Make very thin. Melt butter on griddle and use a spoon to thin out the crepe. Fry both sides on medium heat. Fill crepes with strawberries and whipping cream, fold and then add another dabble of cream on top to keep it closed. Enjoy!


And another thing...


In our lesson on Sunday, I mentioned that President Benson (before he was President Benson) encouraged the gathering of leather along with many other needful things. Below you will find a link to this talk. I said it was given in 1976, when it was actually 1974.

http://lds.org/ensign/1974/01/prepare-ye?lang=eng&query=ezra+taft+supply+leather

In a little further reading, I also found that one of the first things God did for Adam and Eve is make clothing for them - out of skins. This was in an effort to clothe their nakedness. You can find that here.

Genesis 3: 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make acoats of skins, and bclothed them.

You learn somethin' new every day :).

Self Reliance Tip #31

This month we will be focusing on getting back to basics with food storage. When you talk about beans, it is way more than the musical fruit. Beans are the MAGICAL fruit. When prepared properly they are loaded with nutrients. I just made this salad last night and I was surprised with how well my family received it. It could easily be turned into a year supply meal.

http://goodlookingcook.blogspot.com/2009/07/black-bean-salad.html

Soaking and sprouting beans and other grains breaks down the stuff in them that make them hard to digest causing the need for "beano".

The referenced website teaches:

Sprouting changes the composition of starch molecules, converting them into vegetable sugars, so the body recognizes and digests sprouted grains as a vegetable. Enzymes are also created that aid digestion, complex sugars are broken down which can eliminate painful gas, and vitamin and mineral levels increase. Furthermore, sprouting neutralizes carcinogens and enzyme inhibitors, as phytic acid that inhibits absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc.

"Enzyme inhibitors" sounds like a pretty sophisticated thing. That basically means the seed is protected until it time for planting to grow a new plant. Sprouting takes more time than soaking, but makes it even better for you.

Beans beans....oh yeah!

And another thing....


....From Heavenly Father's medicine cabinet.

Remember, I'm not trying to be anyone's doctor. I've discovered some cool stuff along the way and wanted to share. Self-reliance has many faces.

I have been dying for years to be able to say this. Let me give you a little background first.

Ours has been a journey of many days of strep-throat. We had been on antibiotics for several months when we lived in Thatcher (partly because of mold in the walls of our home). I know what it looks like, I know what it smells like and it has stricken fear in me many times "Oh, not again!" When we moved to Safford it stopped for a while, but it started up again and I was so desperate. After many prayers and trial and error, I discovered that Oregon Grape Root extract (also called a tincture) would kill Step in my son and husband, but it wouldn't kill it when I got it.

Well, Kayla had it just recently and Oregon Grape Root didn't kill it for her either. But a friend told me that Golden Seal Root extract would also kill it. Well, I got some and it worked! I also used Mullein tea to bring the swelling and inflammation down in her throat. And last but not least, I used Yarrow to clean her blood. It worked swimmingly!