Making And Eating Healthful Food At Home

 

The Song:  Never Forgotten

Artists:  Michael Hoppe / Tim Wheater

In the early afternoon...

I decided to slice up the Japanese Sweet Potatoes from yesterday's cooking session...

in preparation for their dehydration.

I took them out of the fridge...

put on some nice music...

and I then sat at the counter and began slicing each one.

I sliced them as thinly as I could...

without making them too floppy to easily handle.

But...

no matter...

I will dehydrate them for at least a week.

After slicing them...

and after chopping up some of the thicker pieces for a healthful topping to Bandi's food...

I then sat down to a midday snack of a whole sweet potato and a portion of my homemade yogurt.

For most of my late adult life...

I had mostly eaten but once a day...

and at most...

twice a day.

However...

in order to fuel my slowly increasing exercise regimen...

and to feed my gut more anti-inflammatory foods...

I will incorporate a very light meal of my homemade yogurt topped with fruit

in the early afternoon or late morning.

I really love my yogurt.

I will be eating it every day.

While I usually hadn't eaten but once in the evening...

and instead of a breakfast...

I would only have cold black coffee...

I will now add in one yogurt to eat with my coffee.

It is so refreshing...

a treat really.

And to know that it is a very pleasant and naturally healthful

way of taking care of my gut health... 

and so...

the overly reactive inflammatory response in my body...

it all adds up to a major plus for me.

This isn't enough to curb my appetite for my one big meal later in the day.

 I consider it as medicine...

a very delicious way to help heal my body.

I keep the fruit handy as I eat...

as I keep adding more fruit as I consume what I had already put in the yogurt.

I like a lot of fruit in each bite.

And of course...

I shared the blueberries with Bandi.

She loves fruit.

Bandi just sat like a lady and patiently awaited another piece of fruit

as I hand fed her.

She is so cute...

she is just irresistible. 

Having a dog is also very healthful for humans.

The great pureness of their nature...

their sweetness and open affection keep certain hormones and neuro-chemicals 

flowing and in balance in humans.

They add so much to happiness in life...

both, in the giving...

and in the receiving...

of one of the purest forms of love.

We, as humans, simply have so much to learn from dogs.

After I finished the yogurt...

I took the bowl filled with the sliced Japanese sweet potatoes...

and I arranged them on just 9 of the 20 dehydrator trays.

I then turned it on for the first of at least 7 days of dehydration.

In reality...

just three or four days is usually enough...

but I want the resulting sweet potato chips to be extra dry for long term storage.

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I cannot recommend enough...

the great value of a large capacity dehydrator...

especially for people who live high in the mountains...

as going to the grocery store on a daily...

or even more than on a once weekly basis

would not be a habit that would be sustained for long.

Not only because a half hour drive each way would eat up unnecessary gas...

but being high up in the mountains is being subjected to the whims 

of the weather.

With this device...

you may dehydrate many fungi, fruits, and vegetables that you simply cannot 

preserve in any other easy manner.

You may buy in bulk...

 dehydrate in bulk...

all the while being efficient in both.

Simplifying life is one of the keys to enjoying it so much more.

It also greatly adds to ease of food preparation...

as you will not have to bother with vegetable preparation ahead of each meal.

-------------

Another great buy I had made was my yogurt maker.

There are a variety of yogurt makers available on Amazon.

I had chosen this particular one because I liked the separate

individual portion sized containers.

After the yogurt is ready for transfer...

you just place the containers inside the fridge...

 and then simply take out one per meal.

It is so easy

(especially if you use powdered whole milk).

And...

yogurt...

especially ones you tailor fit with the particular strain of bacteria 

that would be most beneficial for your gut...

is a delicious way to eat your way to better health.

The fruit you add...

or even honey or vanilla bean...

is so easily tailored to your particular taste.

As I will have a continual supply of my favorite yogurt...

it is an essential component of my kitchen...

and from now on...

an essential part of my daily life.

I had never thought that making my own yogurt could be so easy...

so healthful...

and so delicious.

I now have three basic ways of eating healthfully at home...

without the need to rely upon frequent trips to a supermarket.

My seed sprouter...

my dehydrator...

and my yogurt maker.

These are the big three which I think are absolutely essential

for any person living in the mountains...

and really...

for anyone interested in good health...

while being extremely efficient and economical at the same time...

and most importantly...

being prepared for any zombie apocalypse that may come our way  :)

Although I am partially joking...

with these three...

and with all the necessary dried ingredients in stock...

you may live in good health for as long as your supplies last...

which should be measured in years.

(Powdered milk for the yogurt / Seeds for the sprouter / other ingredients

already dehydrated you will already have at hand...

the means for survival...

a complete protein...

and all the necessary vitamins and minerals...

will be yours to enjoy...

and all with very long shelf lives).