SuperMilkMama

Since my daughter started pre-school, we have been exposed to so many little bugs.  Some are picked up from school, some from birthday parties and so forth.  If you are a parent, you will understand. We get colds, influenza, sore throats, but the worst is the stomach flu.

According to Webmd, “Symptoms of gastroenteritis or stomach flu include abdominal cramps, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrheaa. You may also have fever, headache, and swollen lymph glands, depending on the type of bug that causes it.”

Being a health conscious Mom, I have been searching for a natural way to hydrate and nourish my children during this period.  Pedialite or gatorade is recommended to take to prevent dehydration, but some children completely resist drinking this due to its sweet and sour taste.

So what is the best tasting natural remedy for the stomach flu?

After a weeks long torture of the stomach flu, my husband discovered that coconut kefir and coconut water from young Thai coconuts completely stopped diarrhea within 24 hours.

We have tested this out 4 times and it has worked like a charm.

Last month after a children’s birthday party, several of the children came down with a stomach flu.  My daughter was one of them.  She looked green and threw up her breakfast.  We immediately bought a case of young Thai coconuts and gave her as much coconut water as she wanted and sure enough it worked.

After the first sips of coconut water, her stomach settled and that was it.  No more vomiting and absolutely no diarrhea.

Coconut water provides you with natural electrolytes and is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.

My theory is that it restores the lost electrolytes and kills the bacteria.  It’s quite simple and has worked like a charm.

So, when you or your child (or husband) gets sick with diarrhea or the stomach flu, open up a young Thai coconut and put in a straw and enjoy!

If you don’t have coconut kefir on hand, you can buy Tonix coconut water at your local health food store or Whole Foods.

Now if you are like me, I prefer to make my own.  It is fresh,  made with love and saves you money.

You can ferment it 12 hours for children and 24 hours for adults.

Please share your comments below on how this remedy has worked for you.

Blessings,

Ester

Coconut Kefir (water)

Ingredients:

coconut water from 4-9 young Thai coconuts ( you can make more or less, its up to you, I used 9 coconuts in the above photo) ( the coconut water is good if coconut meat is white, NOT pink or black, look at photo below.  The coconut meat on the left that is PINK is NOT EDIBLE, nor the water, the coconut meat and water on the right that is WHITE IS EDIBLE.)

*to safely open young Thai coconuts, watch my video:  How to Open a Young Coconut in 1 Minute or Less

1 package of kefir starter from Body Ecology

several large glass jars with lids (varies because some coconuts have more water than others)

optional (cooler)

Directions:

1) Open Young Thai coconuts and strain water into a large pot to make sure there are no shells.

2) Warm Young Thai coconut water on a low flame until it is lukewarm (this step is optional but your kefir ferments more quickly because the warm water helps the bacteria in the kefir wake up sooner)

3) Dissolve 1 package of kefir starter from Body Ecology in coconut water and stir with a wooden spoon.

4) Pour coconut water into glass jars and seal tight with lids.

5) Jars can be placed in a cooler or on counter with a towel wrapped around.

6) Check kefir after 12 -24 hours.  The water will look slightly cloudy.  If you like it slightly sweet and the water is cloudy, you can drink immediately or place in the refrigerator for later use.  If you want your kefir more potent, let it ferment for 24-48 hours.

7) Place a tape on top of lid labeling contents and that this is a first generation fermentation.  I like to write: Coconut Kefir 1G (see above photo).  Be sure to reserve 1/2 cup of already fermented coconut kefir to inoculate your next batch instead of opening up a new packet of kefir starter.  Use your 1/2 cup of coconut kefir intead of Step 3 of this recipe for your second batch of coconut kefir.  You can do this up to 6 or 7 times, but I personally like to use a new packet of kefir starter after the 4th generation just to make sure I have a hearty batch of coconut kefir.

Once you get the hang of making coconut kefir, it gets easier!  It helps to have a good cleaver or chefs knife.  Hang in there, the benefits are truly worth it!

Coconut water and coconut kefir are the best natural remedy for the stomach flu/diarrhea, for anyone of any age!

Are you a beginner to eating healthy?  Here are 5 basic goals to get you started on the right foot with healthy eating.

I recently posted that I had did a 30 day raw food cleanse.  I felt really great and learned so much about doing a cleanse, but, I got bored with eating nuts and went off.  I was missing the diversity of texture, warmth and variety of foods and was ready to come off.  I was suggested to stick with it for at least 4-6 months to completely heal my digestion and Vitiligo but that did not happen.  I am just being honest, I was not ready for a 6 month raw vegan detox.  But 30 days was a good start and I learned priceless recipes for healing!  One day my body will completely heal itself from all issues and I will tell you all about it!

But, something bad happened to my kids while on the vegan diet (mostly raw).  Both of their teeth began to decay again.  We had previously done Ramiel Nagel’s protocol from his book, Cure Tooth Decay and it worked! I posted this  I gave my daughter meats, fermented milk kefir and homemade yogurt, raw cheese and vegetables and some fruits.  She got very constipated, but her cavities began to reverse.  It was good on one side and bad on the other.  Ughh!!!  How frustrating!

So, we did the raw food and her constipation completely dissapeared, but after 45 days, her cavities came back with a vengeance, and then my sons teeth started to decay too and look transparent.

So, I went back to Ramiel Nagels protocol and guess what?  The decay stopped and my sons cavities reversed and my daughters decay has stopped growing.  His molars are white and shiny again.  But, my daughter is starting to get constipated again.  We are doing a diet elimination to figure out what foods don’t go well with her system.  My son does not have constipation whatsoever with the food.

Unfortunately, they both inherited my digestive issues.  But, that can be healed with time, effort, wholesome food and patience.

So now, I am trying to find the balance between giving her a good amount of raw food and animal protein.

I will figure it out, that is one thing I will not give up on.

The bottom line is that the cod liver oil, high vitamin butter oil, raw fermented milks and natural meats are remineralizing my kids teeth.  This is the second time I implement Ramiel Nagels protocol and it is working.  Not only for my children, but many other Moms out there are reversing their kids teeth cavities.

I want to share an amazing post that inspired me to try this diet again.  It is about a Mom who reversed her 2 year olds tooth decay with Ramiel Nagels protocol.  See her blog post below:

http://www.mommypotamus.com/can-a-weston-a-price-diet-reverse-tooth-decay/

I love eating sprouted quinoa.  It is one of my favorite gluten free grains.  Well, it’s actually not a grain, it is actually a seed that will sprout a leafy vegetable if not harvested in time. It is a pseudo cereal and related to species such as beets and spinach.  It is a native to the Andes, has a nutty flavor with a light and fluffy texture.

Quinoa is extremely nutritious.  Its protein content is very high (12–18%).  Quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids making it a complete protein, which is very rare among plant foods.  It is high in dietary fiber, phosphorus, magnesium and iron.  Sprouted quinoa can be eaten raw in salads or cooked.  I find that sprouted quinoa tastes much lighter and is very easy to digest.

This sprouted quinoa recipe is one of my favorite dishes to serve at potlucks or parties.  It is a hit with kids as well as adults.  Bon Apetit!

Ps.  If you are on The Body Ecology Diet, you can omit the beans.

Ingredients:

1 cup of sprouted quinoa (can be purchased at Whole Foods or online)

1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan salt

2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of coconut oil

3 garlic cloves peeled and minced

kernels off of one ear of corn

2 green onions chopped

1 cup of grape tomatoes

1 cup of black beans, drained

1/4 teaspoon of grated lime peel

Juice of 1-2 limes (I like it sour, but its up to your taste)

1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of onion powder

additional salt to taste

pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Place sprouted quinoa in fine-mesh strainer and rinse well under cold running water.  Transfer to a saucepan and add 2 cups of filtered water, 1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan salt and 1 teaspoon of coconut oil.  Stir and cover with a lid.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.  Let sit covered for another 5-7 minutes.  Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

2) In a skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil on medium heat.  Add minced garlic, chopped green onions, and kernels of corn.  Saute for about 3-5 minutes so that corn is slightly tender but still crunchy inside.

3) Add corn mixture to quinoa in large mixing bowl and toss gently with a wooden spoon.  Add grape tomatoes, black beans, lime peel, lime juice, ground cumin, onion powder and toss.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

For months I have been tinkering with the desire to make gluten free sandwich bread.  Someone recommended a Mom’s blog called www.elanaspantry.com and her recipes have inspired me to bake with almond flour.  I love connecting with other Moms on gluten free blogs because we truly inspire each other to be more creative in the kitchen.  Thanks Elana!  I have been missing bread so bad!  I really don’t like the gluten free breads on the market, they are so hard and stiff.  I wanted something moist but still packed with nutritional benefits.  Also, rye bread is my favorite and I miss that so much. This sandwich bread offers all of that!  It is soft, healthy and has caraway seeds that gives it an essence of rye bread.  It is very nutrient dense and full of good fiber, fats, and protein.  My favorite way to eat the gluten free bread is as an egg salad sandwich.  My kids love the classic, peanut butter and jelly.  You can make many variations with this basic gluten free bread recipe.  You can throw in berries, nuts, cinnamon and extra honey for a sweeter version.
Enjoy!

Yield: 1 medium sized gluten free bread loaf

Ingredients:

2 cups of freshly ground organic raw almonds
(preferably sprouted & dehydrated)

½ cup of flax meal

1 teaspoon of baking soda

½ teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of caraway seeds plus 1 more pinch for
sprinkling on top of bread

4 pastured eggs

2 Tablespoons of raw honey

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

8 Tablespoons of melted grass fed butter (luke
warm)

Directions:

1) In a mixing bowl, whisk together freshly ground almonds, flax meal, baking soda, salt and caraway seeds.

2) Make a hole in the center and add in eggs, raw honey, apple cider vinegar and luke warm melted butter.  Make sure butter is not too hot so it does not cook the eggs.

3) With a standing mixer, beat together all ingredients until well incorporated.

4) Butter a medium sized loaf pan.   You can place a piece of parchment paper along the side and center to fascilitate and quick and easy removal of loaf when ready.  Pour batter into loaf pan and sprinkle the top with caraway seeds.  Batter should be thick and sticky.

5) Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick in center comes out clean.  Allow to cool for at least 15 mintues before removing from pan.  If you put parchment paper.  Just pull up on the sides of the paper and place on a cutting board and let cool more or serve warm with butter and a nice hot soup.  Yum!  Bon Apetit!