Sarah Wilson A round up of some of your favourite sugar, gluten and dairy-free desserts I’ve posted in the last few years. For your indulgently healthy pleasures.
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1. My Sugar-Free Raspberry Ripe. The most popular dessert recipe on the blog! Simple, moorish, minimal-ingredients-required “assemblages”, brimful of nutrients and wholesome sweetness. (Sugar and gluten free.)
A growing number of modern ills –in particular, autoimmune diseases – are now deemed to stem from the gut. And many of us have guts that are a little leaky and nervous and cranky. So healing the gut is probably at the top of your wellness to-do list, right? Today, all my gut-health posts in one place, for your ongoing reference (and healthy gut flora.)
Moody? Flat? It might be your leaky gut. A straightforward post involving factoids and a list. You’ve been warned. Basically I’m going to outline some interesting stuff that explain why problems with your gut are causing the mood and energy issues you might be having.
And here, a gut health post with a focus on why you need to boost your stomach acid, especially if you suffer from autoimmune disease.
Lacto-fermentation has been around for eons as a health trick – all cultures have a history of fermenting veggies, dairy, nuts, grains etc for medicinal and digestion purposes. I’ve been fermenting my veggies for a while now.
If you’ve been following this blog for a while you’ll know I’m rather committed to keeping my home ecologically and ergonomically minimal and sustainable. I’m also into lowering the toxic load where possible.
Perhaps it all started when I was told I had to move out of my apartment. I wrote about it on the blog here: The scary reason I have to move out of my apartment. And so, I began the process of detoxing my home. I still have a way to go.
Own less. Go to the shops less. Buy less. Consume less. Recycle less (recycling should be a last resort). Less furniture. Less gadgets. Use up what you have first. Improvise. Make do. Use the same thing for two purposes. Need less. Here’s how I do it. Here’s what I don’t own.
Five small hazards to avoid. Building biologist Nicole Bijlsma shares a few of her favourite tips for cleaning up your home. I asked her to share easy, everyday stuff – five simple, inexpensive swaps or choices to make.
The basics. The idea of tossing stuff out that still works, even if it’s not the ideal choice….I find abhorrent.
I’ve been obsessively experimenting with fermenting projects at home for a while now. Did you have a go at making kombucha? Like the idea of glass jars brimful of bacteria filling up your kitchen and healing your gut? Look no further. Today, a compilation of my favourite fermented beverage recipes. (And here’s my favourite fermented veggie recipes too… just to really keep everything in one place!)
Kombucha. A few week’s back I shared my complete kombucha kit. Everyone’s favourite gut-health tonic, kombucha is easily made and you can have fun playing around with different flavour combinations too.
Addicted to the thrill of fermenting projects filling up your kitchen? Today, I present you with everything you need to know about home fermentation. How-to guides, tips and tricks and fermenting recipes a-plenty.
1. To start you off. I’ve covered off the pros and cons on which fermenting starter is better, salt or whey?
2. Don’t have any whey lying around? Here’s my recipe for homemade (gut-friendly) cream cheese. It has
What do you think of this?
It’s a message I’m trying on for size after seeing outdoor brand Patagonia give it a crack as part of their anti-consumerist campaign. Patagonia ran with the slogan “Don’t Buy This Jacket” a few years back as a series of print ads.
The irony, of course, is that it translated as “Let’s Buy That Jacket” for many suitably inspired consumers and the company went on to experience double-digit growth. Patagonia is now running a repair campaign – Worn Wear – across the US. The company is promising to combat disposable consumerism by making products that last, and to repair, resell, or recycle them along the way. Consumers are then asked to be respectful consumers – buy only what they need and mend and recycle what they’ve got.
Face value, it’s valiant. Critics, of course, are saying it’s hypocritical because the concept is geared at growth. But I am heartened. Growth is not bad in itself. And it is possible to “consume” or purchase stuff that doesn’t waste resources. Plus, there is a possible future where manufacturers can get on board with us and give us what we want – fun, roundy-fonted branding and consumer experience that’s mindful and respectful and …less.
Actually, I’m quite exhilarated by it all. (What would take it that stupendous step further is if Patagonia staff
In tribute to the Northern Hemisphere summer happening right now: my slow food and hiking guides to Europe, all in one place. I’ve said before, if I get 100 people to leave their comfort zone and get out of the city to move and eat real food in regional areas…well, I will die in peace knowing my job is done.
1. My slow food and hiking guide to Sardinia #1. Sardinia is perfect for fans of the outdoors, especially anyone who likes a robust dose of uncertainty spiking their travel plans. It’s a wild, “rustic” island with a rugged history that very much determines both the feel of the place, the outlook of the people and various longevity factors such as diet and exercise.
While I’m out of here, would you mind telling me what you want from this site in my “new year” (when I get back). This is not an idle call out that’s secretly geared at “including the community” and “crowd sourcing”. I actually need some interesting insights to come home to.
1. What bits of the site are plain dumb and boring?
2. What bits do you want more of?
3. Do you like short or long reads here?
4. Do you like it when I interview other people?
5. Book reviews? Or recommendations?
You’ve probably heard of kombucha by now, the fizzy, fermented, gut-healing tea. If you haven’t had a go at making it yet, here’s my complete DIY guide to everyone’s favourite gut health tonic. It’s simple, cheap and you can get creative with flavour combinations. I bring some unique tricks to my kombucha approach, too, you’ll … Read more
In my first kombucha recipe, one of the concerns some of you had was the use of sugar to feed the yeast and bacteria. As I pointed out, very little sugar is left behind. But if you’re drinking a few nips of the stuff per day, it can add up to several teaspoons. So I gave things a crack using rice malt syrup, which contains no fructose.
RMS is a blend of complex carbohydrates, maltose and glucose. It’s fructose free, slow releasing and doesn’t dump on the liver like pure glucose. This recipe below was previously included in my fructose-free chai kombucha post, but I felt it was lost amongst the star anise and cinnamon sticks, so I’m sharing it here as a stand alone.
I’d read that honey doesn’t work when making kombucha – the theory being the antibacterial agents kill the SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast). So I was a little concerned about rice malt syrup – it’s a fermented product and I had a picture of the different bacteria squabbling for attention in the bowl, eventually annihilating each other. Plus, I’d used RMS to make my Fermented Ginger-Ade and found it needed to be a