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How to Become a Better Cook by Washing Dishes

9/30/2015

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In my experience, the most difficult part of preparing your own meals on a consistent basis is not coming up with recipes, or learning how to cook, but the cleanup that needs to happen after. When your belly is full and satisfied, the last thing you want to do is spend an extra half hour or longer cleaning up the kitchen. I imagine if we all had people to clean up our messes, we would spend a lot more time in the kitchen and eat higher quality food. The trick is becoming that person yourself.

Working in professional kitchens and spending countless hours washing dishes that never seemed to stop was how I got over the hump of not wanting washing dishes. After a while it becomes a form of meditation or a craft for which we can hone our skill and efficiency. Now it is just a habit whenever I have an extra couple minutes to stay ahead of the kitchen mess and not even let the sink get full of dishes.

To spare you the time of applying to work as a dishwasher in a local restaurant (though if you’re inspired and have the time, please go for it!), I will offer some quick tips on how to be a better dishwasher and therefore a better cook.

Be mindful and keep it simple

The easiest way to make dishwashing more efficient is to not make as big a mess to begin with. Keep your meals simple and use only as many dishes as you need. Live with the end in mind and every time you pull something out of a cabinet to use, be aware that you will at some point need to clean it. Practice making one-pot or one-pan meals and using fewer ingredients.

It is also really key to be aware of your emotional and mental state during the act of washing dishes. Are you experiencing anger or frustration at having to clean up? Is your mind drifting off to “important” things that need to get done instead of washing dishes? When you wash the dishes, be with the dishes and see the cleanup portion of the cooking process as a necessary and beautiful part. Treat it as meditation and stay present-minded by trying to be as efficient and effective as possible.

Organize the kitchen

The great thing about small kitchens is that even at their messiest, they are still pretty quick to clean completely. The less stuff you have, the less potential mess there can be. Do you really need thirty mugs and fifty plates? When you run out of clean dishes you can just wash the dirty ones instead of delaying the inevitable and hoping someone else will do it. Having less leaves more opportunities to be creative with how you use your things. There’s really not much at stake here, just let it go.

Wash as you go

This is a standard tip you might have heard before, but I want to encourage you to actually do it. This starts by cleaning the kitchen before you even get started. If you start with an empty sink and clean counters, not only will there be a smaller mess later, but you will be more motivated to maintain the cleanliness. This works on other people too. For instance, if you have a guest with a dirty dish and they see a clean and empty sink, they are much more likely to wash that dish than if they see a sink full of dirty dishes. In psychology, this is called the broken window effect, and we can use it in the kitchen.

Just wash the dishes

There will be moments where you really don’t want to clean up. It is so easy to just leave a dirty kitchen as something to deal with tomorrow. It as these moments it is most crucial to stay focused and strong. When we do what is right even though it is hard, we are making the world a better place and making a dent in the karma that countless generations of humans have left us. It may seem strange to apply this to dishwashing, but remember that how you do anything is how you do everything. If you habitually opt for toxic convenience food because your kitchen is a mess, I wouldn’t be surprised if this reflects other aspects of your life.

The good news is that if you do feel like your life is so cluttered and overwhelming that it doesn’t let you take care of yourself, the solution is simple: just wash the dishes. Literally washing dishes is practice for when you have to overcome the same obstacles on a bigger scale in your life. You can get to more cooking and creation when you have a cleaner kitchen with less clutter. Practice staying on top of the mess and cleaning as you go to not let it get to the point where it becomes overwhelming. And when the dishes do end up piling high sometimes as they inevitably will, just stay calm, sink into a meditative state and just wash the dishes one at a time.


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Simple Bison Stew

9/11/2015

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Why eat beef when you can eat bison? Bison is as close as it gets to wild game without having to go hunting. It has a grassy, gamier flavor even when compared to grass fed beef. To me that hints that there’s likely to be more of the dense nutrition I’m seeking. The bigger, tougher cuts like roasts are full of tissue-building, gut-healing collagen and the low and slow cooking process carefully breaks down that collagen into the broth and leaves a moist and tender meat. This is a bare bones recipe just to get you started. I hope you can play around with the things you might have lying around such as fresh herbs (add 30-40 minutes before done), fresh garlic or a nice organic dry white wine (the alcohol never fully evaporates, so no drinking broth and driving!). The more culinarily inclined among you may enjoy searing this before going to the crock.


Ingredients:

3 - 4 lb Bison chuck roast (also works well with beef)

1 yellow onion, rough chopped

6-8 large carrots, rough chopped

Water + sea salt to taste or just broth

1 tsp cracked black peppercorns


Assembly:

The easiest way to do this is with a slow cooker. Roughly chop the onions and make a layer on the bottom of the crock. Add the peppercorns then place roast on top of onions with fatty side up. Spread the carrots evenly around the roast. Add enough salt water or broth until the level of the liquid is half way up the side of the roast. Cook on low 5-8 hours or until it reaches desired tenderness. When done, take roast out and pull apart (it should come apart easily). Place back in the broth so the meat can absorb maximum goodness. Taste broth to see if it needs more salt. Serve with a generous slab of grass fed butter!
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Baked Bacon Brussels

9/11/2015

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Bacon is basically the poster child for the paleo or ancestral health movement. It’s perfect for making just about anything better and hits that spot in the taste buds that other things just can’t. People tend to like their bacon thin and crispy, but when I have really good bacon, I like it thick and chewy. This recipe utilizes a wet cooking method (steaming) to cook the bacon. What results is a tender and chewy piece that preserves more of the inherent flavor within the bacon, rather than rendering it out in the fat.


Ingredients:

1-2 lb Brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved

½ medium onion, thinly sliced or cut to your preference

¼ - ½  lb bacon, cut into small pieces

2 - 3 cloves fresh garlic, roughly chopped and crushed

Heavy pinch sea salt

Splash of water

1 – 2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 – 2 raw egg yolk (omit if you haven’t gotten over fear) -Not permitted during the 29 day elimination  diet portion of UR29


Assembly:

Preheat oven to 375F. Mix everything together except mustard and egg yolk and add to oven safe dish like Pyrex. Add just enough water to not even cover the bottom. Wrap dish tightly in aluminum foil and put into hot oven. After 20 minutes, check every 5 minutes. The brussels should be soft and the bacon should be opaque and cooked through. When done, remove from oven and remove foil. Let cool a minute or two then stir in mustard and egg yolk. These two ingredients act to both cut the fattiness with acidity and emulsify the bacon grease on the bottom of the pan to turn it into a tasty sauce. Taste to check for salt, then serve immediately.
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Avo-Berry Salad

9/11/2015

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This simple and satisfying fruit salad comes together quick for those times when you just need to eat something. The creamy coolness of avocado goes surprisingly well with the sweet tartness of berries. Try it for yourself to see just how easy it is!


Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
½ - 1 cup berries of your choice, fresh or frozen
Juice of half a lemon could also try Lemon Essential Oil 


Assembly:
Cube avocado and put into a bowl. Add berries and lemon juice. Gently fold until well mixed.
Enjoy!




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Sauerkraut 101

9/9/2015

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Probiotics and probiotic foods are becoming all the rage as we start to discover the role of the microbiome in disease prevention and health cultivation. When people catch a cold they blame it on some external “germs” that they “caught” from some sick person. Life grows where ever it can and just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there. Living a human life is the act of being bombarded by germs and it is not the external germs’ fault that you got sick, it is your lack of internal germs (immune system) that would normally have been able to neutralize any potentially harmful external germs.

It is a common story to hear that once people start taking care of themselves, they don’t get sick anymore. There are many ways we can strengthen our internal microculture (immune system), but today I will focus on the probiotic methods to do this. If we are nothing but the collection of trillions of bacteria, fungi and other living things, by bringing awareness and intention to the kinds of microflora we invite into our ecosystems, we can have more control over our health and wellbeing. The science behind this is so new that nobody really knows the best way to do this, so I look to traditional cultures for inspiration.

Sauerkraut is a time-tested, traditional fermented food that has a long history of consumption for various cultures. The reason I chose sauerkraut for today’s post is its relative popularity and for its ease of cultivation. All you need is cabbage, sea salt, and time and you can have a potent microcultured superfood that can be an integral part of any consciousness shift. As a bonus it’s also quite tasty, especially in salads or with heavier meat or fatty dishes!

Ingredients:

1 head cabbage

2-4 tbsp sea salt (depending on size of cabbage)


Equipment:

Cutting board

Sharp knife

Large bowl

Large glass or non-reactive fermentation vessel

Fermentation weight (clean rock or heavy piece of ceramic, I used a shot glass)

Rubber band

Breatheable cloth (I used paper towel)


Method:

  1. Peel cabbage and reserve outer leaves for later use, cut in half, trim and remove the hard stem part at the base of the cabbage

  2. Cut cabbage into small, thin strips

  3. Spread cabbage in even layer over cutting board and generously salt. Immediately move to large bowl

  4. (Optional) Let sit 15-30 mins to let salt pull moisture out of the cabbage. This will make the next step considerably easier.

  5. Using clean hands, strongly squeeze more liquid from the cabbage. This takes time and work, so stick with it! You want there to be close to a cup of released liquid before moving to fermentation vessel. If this is exceedingly difficult, add more salt.

  6. This is the point where you would add any extra flavoring ingredients if you’d like, such as mustard seed, garlic, dill, chiles, spices, other vegetables, herbs, etc.

  7. Once you have a sizeable pool of liquid, transfer cabbage and brine to the fermentation vessel, packing the cabbage down well to squeeze out more liquid. Press cabbage until it is at least one inch below the brine. If you are having trouble squeezing enough juice out of the cabbage, you can always make a brine of about 1 Tbsp sea salt per quart of non-chlorinated water and just add enough to get the cabbage completely submerged.

  8. Press one of the reserved outer leaves down on top of the cabbage, and put the clean fermentation weight on top of that, so that all the cabbage is completely submerged.

  9. Cover jar so that air can circulate, but bugs cannot get in. If not possible, you can just seal the jar airtight and open once a day to let gas escape.

  10. Set in shaded but warm spot and allow to ferment until desired consistency, anywhere from three to fourteen days (I would start with three).

  11. If there are any discolored cabbage pieces or foam on top of the brine at any point during fermentation, skim off. Anything above the brine level will not ferment with desirable bacteria.

  12. After fermented to desired consistency, remove weight and move to refrigeration.

  13. If new to fermented foods, start with one spoonful at meal times, then work up to as much as your body desires!



Recipe By: Brad “Bee” Zayac B.S., C.N.C.

Psychology B.S, Certified Nutritional Consultant, CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach, Permaculture Design Certificate


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Whats In Your Fridge? 

9/2/2015

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Things we keep stocked in our fridges

Shopping list  

Suggested Purchases

1.Crockpot
2.Veggie Noodle maker for zucchinis and squashes



*Herbs and Spices that are sugar Free
*Coconut Oil
*Lard and Tallow from Fatworks or another grass fed options
*Avocado oil
*Full Mineral Salt
*Fermented vegetables ex. sauerkraut
* Apple Cider Vinegar
*coconut flour


Go to Vegetables on Unrefined that we suggest you have in your fridge

  1. Broccoli
  2. brussel sprouts
  3. cabbage
  4. lettuce/spinach/ kale
  5. Asparagus
  6. Carrots
  7. Cucumber
  8. Sweet potatoes
  9. Onion
  10. Avocados
  11. Squash
  12. Zucchini
  13. cauliflower


Meats we suggest: Grass fed/Local/ Organic 


  1. Whole chicken
  2. Lamb: shoulder
  3. Beef: Ground, Steak
  4. Chicken wings
  5. Pork
  6. Bacon sugar free
  7. Soup Bones
  8. Organ Meats
  9. Bone Marrow to bake
  10. Salmon we love smoked but read they can not have sweetners 

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