I grew up eating sauerkraut from a can.  I liked it pretty well, but then I was introduced to REAL sauerkraut!  I’m talking about lacto-fermented sauerkraut, alive and health-giving.   There’s no way to describe the difference between canned sauerkraut and fresh, real sauerkraut!

(I haven’t taken any pictures of my sauerkraut, so I’ll give you a few links that explain the process.)

(It’s important to remember that these new ways of eating and cooking get so much easier with time.  So, if things feel awkward at first, don’t be concerned. )

Crystal Miller shares: How to make sauerkraut-Step by Step.

Debbie Apple shows how she makes sauerkraut.

Have you ever made sauerkraut?  Do you make other fermented veggies or have a favorite recipe to share?

Go to Food Renegade for Fight Back Friday to learn more about great food!

I can’t tell you how excited I was to find a recipe for soaked banana bread!

My children really like to eat bananas for snack time, but sometimes we have a few left over.

Banana bread is great for using up really ripe bananas, so it’s very frugal.

The only problem is that banana bread usually has a lot of sugar and white flour.

It was a happy day when I found this recipe that has no refined sugar, whole grain flour and is also soaked to neutralize the phytic acid in the flour.  Whoo Hoo!

Here is the link for the recipe so you can make your very own tasty banana bread!

For more healthy living info, go to Food Renegade for Fight Back Fridays.

I got this recipe for crock pot yogurt at Nourishing Days.  If you are interested in nourishing foods and wondering how they will fit into your life, this is the blog for you!  Shannon makes healthy cooking easy and has great recipes.

Here is how my yogurt turned out:

It was thinner than store bought yogurt because it’s without any extra thickeners.  I usually sweeten it with unsulfered molasses, pure maple syrup and pure vanilla extract.  I also add a little water in it and we drink it like keiffer.  I used these sweeteners because of their high iron and calcium content.

We only use cultured dairy and a little organic cheese.  I just buy organic, lightly pasteurized milk at the store and make our own yogurt.  I’d rather be using raw milk, but the culturing process adds back most of the enzymes and vitamins lost in the pasteurization process.

This is SO easy! You’ll have a lot of fun making this.  I’ve made about 4 batches and it’s turned out great every time!

This is the time schedule that works well for us:

3:30 pm- pour the milk into the crock pot and cook it on low

6:00pm- turn off the heat and let it sit covered with the lid

9:00pm- stir in the 1/2 cup of yogurt and cover with towels

9:00am (the following morning)- take out 1/2 cup of yogurt to use next time, stir and and enjoy!

I also made yogurt cheese with one batch. It was so good that the kids and I dipped our veggies in it. Yum!

I laid a piece of cheesecloth over a mesh colander, put the colander into a large bowl and poured the yogurt over it.  The whey drained out in a few hours and I was left with the yogurt cheese…so easy!

For more yogurt info be sure to stop by Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s blog. She just did a great post on yogurt and the comments people left were very informative and helpful.

If you’d like to learn more healthy recipes go to Fight Back Fridays at Food Renegade.

If you try making your own yogurt or have some tips to share, please comment below. I’d really like to hear what works for you!

Lindsay from Passionate Homemaking has the greatest recipes on her blog.

I made the Banana Bread this week and it was great.

The kids kept asking, “Can I have a muffin?” over and over!

Here is the recipe.   By the way this is a tasty way to use up bananas that are going spotty.