Kombucha is my new best friend!

Well, about a month ago I had a sip of kombucha for the first time and I was a little intrigued.  Kombucha is a fermented tea that basically becomes a healthy soda.  It has tons of benefits for the body.  It is naturally loaded with Vitamin B, which my body struggles to maintain (due to food intolerance).  I found that kombucha helps stops food reactions. Stop food reactions...that is major for me!  I can't explain how it does it.  I know it helps with digestion.  To read more about this amazing beverage click here.

Since I am sensitive to so many things, I was surprised that I could even drink this beverage.  I actually can't drink regular tea, but that is the funny thing about fermentation.  Most of the caffeine, sugar, and bad stuff that I am sensitive to is eaten by the culture so it can grow!  However the by-product is great for me.
 
This beverage can be found at most groceries stores, but it cost about $4 for 16 oz.  Once I saw the benefits, I wanted to incorporate it into my diet daily like a supplement.  The problem became the cost!  YouTube offered tons of video on making it from scratch.  So today, I started making my first batch.  I am hoping to see a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria & yeast) form in about 2 weeks.  I hope this goes better than my attempt at sour dough bread.

Watching the videos has been very educational.  Funny I keep doing all these science projects (soap, sour dough, and now fermenting tea).  The steps:

• first step is to create the SCOBY by purchasing a plain version (raw, not flavored - see small jar in picture) of kombucha from grocery store.  Place in a large glass jar for about 2 weeks.  Cover with fabric so it can breathe but keep things out like dust - tips here
• brew tea and let it cool (heat will kill the SCOBY), then pour cool tea into the SCOBY mixture along with sugar. This will need to sit for few more weeks 
• next step is pouring the mixture into bottles and leaving it at room temperature for 24 hour. This steps creates the fizz. By placing the lid on the mixture it locks in the CO2. At this stage is also when flavors can be added like ginger or juice.  Also adding the natural sugar from fruit increases the fizz, but only a limited amount to reduce over fizzing.
• after the 24 hours the bottled drink should be refrigerated to slow down the fermenting and it taste better cold.  It can also be mixed with juices at this stage too.

That is it.  I am so excited. I will update you on my progress.  I am looking forward to adding some flavors that work for like lime, pomegranate, pear, and golden delicious apple.  I can also usually handle a few craisins, so I may add a few of those for flavor and to increase fizz.  Also, I am curious if a little ginger may work - probably pushing my food intolerance!  That will be the fun part - controlling the ingredients and adding amounts that I can handle.  I actually can not drink sodas and most juices, so it will be nice to add something more than water and pear juice to my diet. Calories are low too since most of the sugar is eaten by the culture.

Update you in a few weeks.

-Fanuppa


UPDATE - Oct 5, 2015 (original post 3/7/15):  I enjoyed kombucha for about 6 months, then I started having reactions.  I really think the enzymes in it helps with digestions and stomach reactions.  However, it possibly caused me some lower back pain and becomes a negative factor when my histamine levels are raised.  Kombucha contains histamines, and the levels can become high if not properly kept at lower temperatures.  It was a hard decision, but I have currently removed it from my diet. 

My Weekly FMD Chart

I'm trying to make my eating goals more routine and seamless.  I have tons of pictures of what I have been eating on my TwoGrand app.  So, I finally put together a chart of some of my favorites.  It should help me plan better, and eat my favorites more often.  Also drop those extra holiday pounds!  Hope you enjoy.  

Pictures of some of my favorite food combinations for each phase.



Brainstorming about soaps for new year

FARMER'S MARKET DISPLAY

It is that time of year that I think about one year ending and a new one beginning.  I am happy with my soap business for the year.  I got out and did the farmer's market for several weeks, and did a few craft fairs, and enjoyed online sales.  It was fun and rewarding.  Now I must set some goals for next year. 

GOALS

• I will focus on improving packaging.  
• I will group my products into the following categories: classic collection, hair set, facial set, feet set, sensitive skin collection, and butterfly collection.

-Fanuppa Soaps

FMD - Phase 2 - Breakfast

The goal for Fast Metabolism - Phase 2 Breakfast is to eat protein and vegetables.  Having vegetables for breakfast was a foreign concept for me until a few months ago.  A bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit is still my favorite breakfast.  However, it doesn't pass the diet challenge!  I also have to try again and make a biscuit in Phase 3 with gluten free flour. Oat flour for biscuit didn't work that great. Turkey bacon has become my new best friend. My favorite breakfast in Phase 2 is egg white omelet with turkey bacon.  My recipe for Phase 2 breakfast is egg white omelet with turkey bacon.

VEGGIE OMELET
6 TBS liquid egg white (buy in milk shaped carton at grocery or separate from 2 eggs)
Vegetables of choice (chopped baby kale, red onion, bell peppers, ...)
1 slice turkey bacon (chopped)
1 tsp cheese (a splurge - skip if really true to plan!)
Salt to taste

Place all ingredients in microwavable omelet container (Omelet container is great for steaming and keeping shape of omelet-Makes life easier. Find at grocery store or other retailers). Close the container and microwave for 1 minute and 15 seconds.

Some days I keep the turkey bacon separate and enjoy the crisp of the bacon with the omelet.  Enjoy!

FMD - Phase 1 - Snack

Fast Metabolism Diet and Phase 1 snack is really easy.  I just eat fresh fruit for my snack (no bananas - high in sugar).  The challenge is my sensitivity to salicylates.  My food intolernace (salicylate sensitivity) limits which fruits that I can eat. I can eat golden delicious (yellow) apples.  Ninety percent of the time, that is my snack.  Here is a list of other fruits that I can enjoy - click. 

FMD - Phase 1 - Lunch

Most of us love a good pasta dish. The challenge is making it work for my diet. Gluten-free pasta has become more poplar so it is easy to find brown-rice and quinoa blend pastas.  Now we must improve the sauce.  Pasta is great with alfredo sauce, but how do we make a lower-calorie and dairy-free pasta sauce.  The answer is an updated white sauce!  It is a great base and can be seasoned with onions, garlic, parsley, pesto, little parmesan, bacon bits, and the list goes on. 

WHITE SAUCE (2 Servings - double for family)
1 cup rice milk
2 TBS rice flour
1 TBS butter
1 TBS sunflower oil
Seasonings and herbs of choice (salt, pepper, garlic, pesto, ...)

Combine all ingredients including the seasonings in a sauce pan and heat on high until it begins to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer until the sauce thickens.

Add your cooked chicken or shrimp, broccoli...Enjoy.

FMD Phase 1 - Breakfast

Well, I am trying to get back focused.  So, I'm blogging about some of my favorites in each phase.  I enjoyed a waffle with blueberries this morning.  Phase 1 (Monday and Tuesday) breakfast is a grain and fruit. Yesterday, I had oatmeal and blueberries for breakfast.  Today, I took those same ingredients and jazzed it up a little. 

WAFFLE RECIPE
1/2 cup oat flour (grind dry oatmeal in coffee grinder or food processor or purchase oat flour)
1/2 cup rice milk
1 tsp baking soda
Cooking oil spray (splurge, so limit)

Combine all ingredients.  Spray oil on waffle iron.  Pour batter on the waffle iron.  (If temperature setting option, then set to high for crunchy texture. Otherwise, you get mushy oatmeal texture!)

BLUEBERRY TOPPING
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Place the blueberries in a glass or ceramic bowl/cup.  Microwave for 1 minutes and 30 seconds.