Fermenting: Cultured/Fermented Veggies, Water Kefir Grains, Vegan Coconut Kefir, Vegan Almond Milk Kefir, Kefir “Sodas”, and Homemade Vegan Coconut Milk Yogurt

Right this minute my kitchen is FULL of bacteria.

And I couldn’t be more pleased

I’m talking about the “good bacteria”.  Cultured, probiotic-filled fermented foods that are so good for the gut.

So, it all started with an innocent batch of kimchi.  Hubby and I were wanting to dip our toes into the Land of Fermented Veggies, so we browsed a few kimchi recipes online to guide us.  That first batch of kimchi was a great success — and since then, we have been making fermented veggies by the gallon jar on a regular basis.  We vary the recipe each time according to what veggies we have on hand, and the kids love it too — a gallon doesn’t last long around here:

**this gallon jar is loaded with veggies –  organic cabbage, organic carrots, organic onions, organic garlic, organic napa cabbage, organic leeks, organic ginger**

After my hubby and I mastered fermented veggies, I set my sights on more fermented goodies.  I was on a fermentation mission!  I’ve been doing a lot of reading on why fermented foods and drinks are so good for you, and I was really eager to add them to our vegan  diet and begin consuming them on a regular basis.

I decided to see what other fermented delights I could make.  For instance, we LOVE  So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt, but we’ve only purchased it a handful of times — it is pretty pricey and the ingredient list is a little long for my liking.  So, vegan coconut milk yogurt was tops on my list of things to learn to make.  I also wanted to learn to make coconut kefir, which I see in the health food store all the time.  And lastly, I wanted to start using water kefir grains to make sweet fermented water kefirs to add to homemade juices and smoothies, and to make homemade organic kefir sodas.

I did my research and then I got busy — I placed some supply orders, got my supplies together, and began fermenting all sorts of yummy things.

These are the Water Kefir Grains I bought.  They came in dehydrated form and I spent some time carefully re-hydrating them:

I have been feeding them well and they have quadrupled in size in no time.  Happy little kefir grains!  I pay close attention to time each batch as it is fermenting and make note of when it will be finished so that nothing over-ferments.

I use the finished water kefir in various ways, and often we do a second ferment to make fizzy kefir sodas, and explore various flavors and add-ins.  It’s fun and such a treat for the kids to have kefir “soda”, and it does get good and fizzy.

** the gallon on the left is a batch of finished water kefir, to which I added organic lemon slices to become fizzy lemonade. the gallon on the right contains water kefir grains in the process of making a batch of water kefir**

** another batch: here I added some fresh organic lemon juice to the finished kefir water, sealed the lid tightly, and let it ferment again to get fizzy. it turns into the most delicious, refreshing fizzy lemonade**

** jar on the left contains apple-lemon kefir, jar on the right is water kefir grains mixed with organic unsulphured molasses**

** this is a glass of pomegranate-lemon kefir juice**

** one little guy enjoying his homemade pom-lemon kefir**

I’ve been experimenting with flavoring the finished kefir water to make homemade drinks, although sometimes I don’t flavor it at all and instead we substitute it in place of water in things like homemade green smoothies, veggie juices, and batches of ice creams.

Next up, I learned how to make coconut milk kefir and almond milk kefir (this is entirely separate from the water kefir grains process I showed you above).  I’d seen coconut kefir on several blogs, and I was eager to try my own version, and I also wanted to make an almond milk kefir.  The homemade coconut milk or almond milk kefir turns out sweet and tangy and deliciously creamy every single time.  We love adding it to vegan shakes and smoothies for a great dose of probiotics.  So good!  So creamy!  So good for our tummies!

**this is a jar of almond milk kefir, using homemade organic almond milk**

** this is a jar of homemade organic coconut milk kefir**

Our favorite way to use the homemade organic coconut milk or almond milk kefir is this — first we pour it into the Blendtec:

** homemade organic coconut kefir, all frothy and yummy **

Then we add a big scoop of organic hempseeds, a big scoop of raw organic cacao powder, and an organic vanilla bean:

**the fixin’s for a delicious organic kefir shake**

And then we blend it all up and end up with this chocolatey goodness, loaded with all sorts of great probiotics — a creamy dreamy vegan kefir shake:

We can pour it on homemade raw cereal:

** almond milk kefir**

OR we can drink it by the glass.  It makes the most decadent chocolate shake:

And then I set my sights on  making coconut yogurt.  Tricky!  My first few batches flopped and didn’t thicken but I think I have the hang of it now.  Instead of buying a yogurt maker, I make it in my dehydrator turned on very low.  Works like a charm!  Sometimes I make big batches at a time to stock the fridge:

** the flecks you see in these bowls of homemade coconut yogurt are fresh ground flax meal, chia seeds, and fresh ground vanilla beans**

This (below) is a batch of vanilla-flax coconut yogurt.  I added freshly ground vanilla beans (you can see the flecks) and fresh ground flax meal to it.  In a word, it was…AWESOME.  And thick!  This batch was gone in a flash!

** thick homemade organic vanilla-flax coconut yogurt**

This (below) is a batch of homemade organic vanilla-chia coconut yogurt.  I layered it on top of freshly sliced bananas (which you can see buried under the yogurt):

And then, for a really FUN breakfast, I made parfaits –  I layered bananas, fresh homemade coconut-vanilla-chia yogurt, a layer of thawed frozen organic strawberries and blueberries, and various tasty toppings.

And my many little parfait-monsters gobbled those delicious parfaits right up:

** vegan parfait using homemade organic vanilla-chia-coconut yogurt**

So, that’s what I’ve been up to in the kitchen lately.  I’ve become a Fermenting Fool

~~ I wish I could blog step-by-step tutorials and type all the recipes out for these goodies (especially that yummy coconut yogurt!), but I am a busy homeschooling mama to 5 munchkins, and blogging time is scarce for me…

How about you — have you tried your hand at fermenting  yet?  I’d love to hear!

Monthly Organic Vegan Bulk Food Orders

Once, a long time ago, our organic grocery bill used to be THROUGH THE ROOF.  We had less children than we do now, but our grocery bill was a MONSTER.

Shopping in-person at the health food store for all of our organic groceries used to result in a grocery bill so sizeable that it made my hubby gasp out loud when he saw it.

(That is never a Good Thing.)

We’ve been buying in bulk for several years now, and although our family size has grown over that time, our organic grocery bill has actually decreased substantially.

And hubby no longer gasps at the grocery bill 

We shop in bulk for the sake of our budget (the bigger the quantity, the cheaper the price per pound = big savings) and our planet (better for the earth, less packaging waste).  We really do save a lot of money shopping this way, and we feel good about minimizing our packaging waste where we can.

We’ve implemented a smooth bulk food storage system over the years to keep our pantry and food storage area well-stocked.  It means I have to stay on top of our food storage and stay carefully organized so I know what we have and when we’re running low on things, but it is SO worth it.  We’ve got a great big family of whole food vegans to feed, we eat almost entirely organic, and these vegan kids, well, they eat a LOT!!  Bulk buying is definitely the best choice for our family.

As I do every month, before placing my bulk co-op order for February, I checked our storage area and pantry to see what things we were running low on.  For instance, things like nutritional yeast (in a 6 pound bucket), Dr. Bronners castile soap (ordered by the gallon jug), dried beans (ordered in 25 pound bags),  and gluten free grains (usually ordered in 25 pound bags) are not pictured because we are still stocked up on those items and I didn’t need to re-order them yet.

Here’s our monthly organic bulk food order from our co-op for February:

From left to right:

• one case of organic coconut milk (I use this to make coconut kefir and also to make coconut yogurt)
• one case of gluten-free brown rice tortillas
• a 25 pound case of organic raw almonds
• a 25 pound case of organic raw cashews
• a 20 pound case of frozen organic wild blueberries
• a case of organic unsalted blue corn tortilla chips
• a 5 pound bag of Nutiva organic hemp seeds
• a 3 pound bag of Nutiva organic hemp protein (nothing in this except hemp)
• a bottle of organic unsulphured blackstrap molasses
• two jugs of organic maple syrup, Grade B
• one jar of South River organic miso
• 1 pound of organic garlic powder (foil bag)
• one gallon tub of Nutiva organic non-GMO coconut oil
• an 11 pound case of organic medjool dates
• a box of Simply Organic pure organic vanilla extracts (case of 6)

Below is another pile of bulk organic goodies that we purchased here and there in February (from Amazon and Vitacost online, and from Costco in person).  Stored properly, these items can last quite a while (though we do use some things up sooner than others — the brazilnuts are being quickly used up in homemade brazilnut milk and raw desserts, and we’ve made quite a dent in the organic lollipops already!):

Left to right:

• 3 (1 litre) bottles of organic extra virgin olive oil (from Costco)
• a 10 pound bag of dried organic split green peas
• a 5 pound bag of Yummy Earth organic lollipops (no chemical dyes, no artificial flavors, dairy free, soy free, gluten free)
• 2 boxes of Prince of peace organic teabags (one is organic green tea, one is organic oolong tea)
• one large bottle of Nutiva organic Hemp Oil
• 6 boxes of NUMI organic teas (organic rooibos tea and organic lemon green tea)
• 2 bottles of organic flax oil
• one 5 pound bag of organic raw brazilnuts
• foil bag of one pound of organic rooibos tea (loose leaf)
• foil bag of one pound of organic spirulina powder
• 2 jars of organic chili powder

Most of the items pictured above will last longer than a month, with the exception of just a few things.

My grocery store trips are SO EASY.  Almost all I usually have to shop for in-person each month is fresh organic produce, plus a couple things at Costco.  Nearly everything else is purchased in bulk.  This simplifies my life so much when I visit the grocery store — I am able to dash through the organic produce section fairly quickly.

And with 5 kids in tow, dashing in and out of the grocery store quickly is a MUST if I want to keep my sanity! (KIDDING.  sort of)

** If you want to take a peek at our organic bulk food orders for December and January, click here.

How about you?  Are you a bulk shopper?  Any favorite places that you order from?

Have a great Wednesday
Sheri

Feeding Vegan Kids: Sunday Morning Raw Section Plates and Raw Vegan Banana-Blueberry Ice Cream

Today I woke with a spring in my step and little boy requesting ice cream for breakfast.

And I was MORE than happy to make it for him,  because ice cream for breakfast is one of the sweet pleasures in life!

(and also because I really wanted some too)

I made the kiddos a raw vegan feast for breakfast,with big bowls of raw vegan blueberry-banana ice cream for all my little loves:

To make the raw vegan blueberry-banana ice cream, I loaded the food processor with all sorts of goodies:

Here’s what I put in there:

• 10 medium-large frozen organic bananas
• 2 cups frozen organic wild blueberries
• 4 tablespoons organic unrefined coconut oil
• 4 tablespoons organic chia seeds
• 4 tablespoons freshly ground organic flax meal
• 4 tablespoons organic hempseeds

Then I just turned the food processor on and let it do its thing while I prepped the section plates.

Several minutes later, I had creamy smooth raw vegan blueberry-banana ice cream, bursting with super-duper purple antioxidants:

(SEE the purplelicious antioxidant-power in this beautiful bowl of frosty goodness?)

But we thought it looked a little naked, so we added some toppings to spruce it up.

MUCH better!

Tasty Toppings:

• raw organic hempseeds
• raw organic (homemade) buckwheaties
• raw organic goji berries
• raw organic cacao nibs
• and a big sprinkling of love love love

Sunday Morning Breakfast:

Clockwise from the top:

• raw vegan blueberry-banana ice cream
• 2 chocolate covered almonds (treats for breakfast!)
• a scoop of organic raw cashews
• chopped fresh pineapple
• homemade organic raw vegan truffles
• a scoop of raw organic pumpkin seeds

Sunday Morning Baby-Breakfast:

Sunday Morning Breakfast Table:

Sunday Morning Smiles:

Sunday Morning Lego:

Sunday Morning Poker (these kids are little card-sharks):

Sunday Morning Raw Vegan Truffles:

It was such a peaceful and relaxing Sunday morning that I thought a Family-Nap would be just the perfect addition to our day.

Unfortunately, the kids were DEFINITELY against that idea.

So I put Plan B into action and we had a marathon Family Cleaning & Decluttering Session instead.

I think the kids were wishing they’d just said “yes” to that Family Nap after all.

Hope your Sunday has been fabulous too!

Feeding Vegan Kids: Section Plate Breakfasts of Veggies and Dip

As a mama-to-many, there are some things I just don’t say “NO” to.

Like when my little guy wakes up and demands guacamole and veggies….for breakfast!

He had no interest whatsoever in our usual breakfast fare  — no green smoothies, no breakfast sundaes….

He had nothing but guacamole on his mind.

I can do that!

So I headed to the kitchen to fulfill his guacamole-demands.

I whipped out my section plates, and oodles of avocadoes, and I got busy.

VERY busy:

Please excuse the dim photos — it was barely dawn and I was up to my armpits in avocadoes in a semi-dark kitchen.

While I was whipping up a feast for my wee guacamole-lover, there was a wooden picnic (minus the guacamole) going on in the playroom:

My baby is so lucky to have so many doting older siblings.  She forces them to sit down for ENDLESS picnics of wee wooden food, and they don’t mind one bit. They happily sip cup after cup of pretend tea and munch wee little wood pineapple slices and platefuls of wood turnips.

I got breakfast made while that wonderful picnic was going on.  Here’s our raw vegan breakfast (entirely raw except for the unsalted tortilla chips):

Close-up of section-plate goodness, clockwise from top:

• one big bowl of guacamole, with an organic green onion perched on top
• handful of organic raw brazilnuts
• sliced organic mushrooms
• sliced organic carrot sticks (with peel left on) and sugar snap peas
• organic cucumber slices (with peel left on)
• unsalted gluten free organic Guiltless Gourmet tortilla chips, for dippin’!

My little guy, the one with the pre-dawn guacamole demands, dug right in:

I think I fulfilled his gigantic guac-craving.

Here is my baby’s breakfast plate — she had a mini-version of her sibling’s plates (the little round things at the front of the plate are her brazilnuts all chopped up –  too choking-hazardy to leave them whole):

After her busy morning of pretend-picnics, this wee gal was pretty hungry and she pounced all over that colorful breakfast:

Nothing like a little-boy with a fierce guacamole-craving before the sun was even up for the day!

I just hope his next big craving strikes AFTER the hour of 7:00  in the morning.

Have a fantastic Friday

Sheri

Feeding Vegan Kids: Section Plates, Snacks, Veggies, Vegan Cocoa and Green Juice

Hi all!

Hope everyone’s week is going well!   Ours has been good (and busy).  ALWAYS busy with this big gang…but a good kind of busy!

We had a recent day where it rained on and off all day, so we stayed in and had a “home day”.  A “home day” is a blissful day spent entirely at home.  Oh, I really like home days.  They don’t happen that often — with homeschool classes and activities and music lessons and playdates and errands and family outings it seems we’re always heading somewhere, so we really enjoy those home days when they happen.

A WHOLE DAY at home with nowhere to be?  Yes please!!

We pretty much just played and ate all day long.

AWESOME.

Here’s a peek at some of (but not all of) our scrumptious eats from the day.

We had some green juice — added lots of lemon and ginger to wake up our tastebuds!

notice the little hand trying to steal the green juice from mama

• organic romaine
• organic kale
• organic spinach
• organic lemon (leave the peel on for extra nutrition!)
• organic ginger
• organic apples
• organic celery
• organic cucumber

And there were section plates full of snacks:

With a cute little imp peering over the edge of the counter:

I am CERTAIN he was waiting for the perfect moment to swipe a cookie.

Close-up of section plate snacks:

Clockwise from the top:

• organic grapefruit
• organic medjool date
• two organic raw macaroons made in the dehydrator (loaded with extras like goji berries, hempseeds, and chia)
• one organic raw cookie made in the dehydrator (made with leftover almond pulp and yummy organic additions like raw sprouted/dehydrated buckwheaties, raw sprouted/dehydrated quinoa, banana, homemade raw almond butter, homemade raw tahini, goji berries, agave, sesame seeds, oats, chia seeds, hempseeds, fresh ground flax meal)
• one section full of organic pecans, organic goji berries, organic dried mango, organic crystallized ginger
• slices of organic quince

Here’s my baby’s section plates snackies — she has a mini version of her big siblings’ snack plates, with the addition of organic oranges:

Happy vegan baby digging in to her little feast:

After snacks, there was a rowdy game of Risk:

We each munched a great big bowl of leafy-green-goodness:

• organic romaine
• organic tomato
• organic carrot
• a liberal sprinkling of lightly roasted and seasoned organic nuts and seeds (cashews, pecans, pumpkin seeds)
• a big dollop of homemade organic hummus (two types: regular, and sundried tomato, mixed together)

And we munched a delicious stir fry — a bed of organic rice with still-crisp, barely cooked veggies piled on top — lots of CRUNCH! This was eaten with chopsticks just for fun:

those crunchy garlicky green beans were the very best part

There was a lively game of poker amongst my little card sharks:

I made a big vat of organic cocoa made from homemade almond milk:

homemade organic almond milk, organic raw cacao powder, organic agave, organic vanilla extract

Yay for vegan cocoa mustaches!

Not pictured: laundry.  Stinky kid-laundry.  Mountains of it!

Enjoy your day!

Sheri

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