Raw Almond Milk

My children are on a dairy-free diet, and here in KSA we had three options fresh organic goats milk's from a friends farm or camel milk, or organic soy milk. However the goat's milk was super thick for the kids, camel milk was too sour and soy we prefer not to give to much of. So we had to find an alternate, and I started making our own Almond milk. It's a great and nutritious option for even those without any allergies.

Health benefits of Almond milk

• Helps loss weight
• High in calcium
• Rich in Vitamins such as Vitamin D and E. Vitamin E helps keep your bodies moisture and keeps it looking young and fresh.
• You can learn more about the health benefits on LIVESTRONG

Why soak the almonds?

In simple words it makes them more nutritious! The soaking process helps rid a toxic enzyme inhibitor from them, also another acid called phytic acid is reduced, which helps make mineral absorption easier. Soaked almonds are much easier for the body to digest. Eating soaked almonds is known to be the best brain tonic, they are enhance memory and intelligence. My great grandmother was a Hakeem (ones who have expertise in natural remedies and Islamic medicine), she use to always say the one should eat at least 4 to 6 soaked almond every morning, it has many benefits.

Ingredient you'll need

• 1cup raw almonds 
• 4 cups of water
• 3 Californian dates (Madjool), honey 
• 2 cups of water for soaking
• 1/2 cup Fresh strawberries or 2 tbsp raw cacao powder for chocolate flavors (optional)

Soak the almonds overnight or at least 8 hours. 

Blend the soaked almonds, 3 cups of water and madjool dates together (add the strawberries or cacao powder now too) . Blend on high speed until the mixture is smooth. Strain the mixture using a nut bag or a cheese cloth or a very fine sieve, and press it down with a spoon to strain completely. Put the mixture back in the blender and add the remaining 1 cup of water and blend again for 30 seconds, strain again. I like to do this because I like to strain the milk out as much possible, so this way to get the most out of the pulp.

Almond milk will last 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. Enjoy your fresh homemade almond milk!

A lot of the raw foodist's use the leftover pulp in many of their recipes. I like to add my pulp to pancakes, smoothies, and just to sprinkle over our honey nut bread.

You can alter this recipe with other nuts and even coconuts to make coconut milk!

NOTE: You will need a high power/speed blender to have best results. One good choice and investment is a vita-mix. I'll do a product review on it soon.

Banana Oatmeal

I always think about making something different, health, EASY to make breakfasts for the kids. It also helps them get different nutrients everyday. All kids are different but the beautiful thing is that when the siblings see each other eat different things they are willing to try it too. Ar didn't like oatmeal EVER! but he had been watching H eat it for the longest time and now about a month ago he started it as well. Although I have to say thanks to both his grandmothers he would LOVE to eat Parathas and Eggs everyday!!

So this is a simple YUMMY! nutritious breakfast. 

You will need:

• ANY plain oatmeal (quick cook) I used Quaker.
• Milk or Water
• A banana cut into small pieces
• Honey, you may also use Maple syrup (but i prefer the honey for the kids)
• 2 pinches of powdered cinnamon

Instructions:

Boil the oat in the milk or water. Add the bananas and cinnamon, let it sit for a few minutes. top with honey and server the Little majesties.

Enjoy!

Dr. Sears- Avoid the Bad Words on Nutrition Labels

Nutri-Tip--- Avoid the Bad Words on Nutrition Labels

Think about how valuable your child’s brain is. It enables your child to learn and to love; to laugh and to cry. More than any other organ, the brain is affected- for better or worse-by what your child eats. Kids are more sensitive to additives than adults are. A child’s growing brain is more vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of chemical food additives. Many food products on store shelves are filled with additives. There are over 6,000 chemicals used in commercially produced foods. It is estimated that adults will ingest up to 5 pounds of chemical additives in a year's time. You may feel like you need a degree in science to decipher many of today's food labels. The NDD Book lists many ways your family can make better-informed choices on the foods you buy to feed your family. Reading labels; know what’s in your food. The easiest way to separate junk food from real food is to avoid certain foods containing the following artificial additives. I've created a list of "bad words" commonly found on labels for you to avoid.

“Bad words” to avoid:

• MSG
• hydrolyzed vegetable protein
• BHT and other preservatives
• red #40
• blue #1
• yellow #6
• any other color-number combo
• aspartame
• High fructose corn syrup
• Hydrogenated oils

Not only are these additives harmful for your family’s health, they are guilty by association. As a general rule, if a packaged food contains any of these chemicals, the rest of the ingredients are nutritionally suspect.

- Dr. Sears

Food Pyrmid changed to MyPlate

NEW MY PLATE FOOD GUIDELINES UNVEILED AT USDA

I like how the Harvard medical school add the healthy oils. Click here to read the article.

Honey nut bread

Simple, easy, and a nutritious snack!

This snack is great for adults and children. I sometimes like to have it with tea.

Ingredients

• Slice of Whole grain bread 
• Dash of flax seed (I sometimes alternate/add Cinnamon powder)
• 1 to 2 Tbsp of finely powdered assorted nuts or left over almond pulp from almond milk.
• Honey

Directions:

Spread the honey on the bread, sprinkle the flax seed and powdered nuts. Slightly press the powdered nuts into the honey so it sticks together. Cut into small triangles or squares, or better yet, give the kids cookie cutters to cut and eat!

Health benefits of Honey

• Fights cholesterol
• Antiseptic
• Antioxidant
• Carries great cleansing properties for our body and health, internally and externally. (InshaAllah I will be sharing some amazing homemade skin care recipes made from Honey in the future)
• Amazing tissue healing properties
• Anti-inflammatory
• Anti-aging properties
• Great for weight loss!
• Amazing energy booster
• Great for coughs

Allah swt says in the Quran. "And the Lord inspired the bee, saying: Take your habitations in the mountains and in the trees and in what they erect. Then, eat of all fruits and follow the ways of your Lord made easy (for you)'. There comes forth from their bellies a drink of varying colors wherein is healing for men. Verily in this is indeed a sign for people who think." [16:68-69]

Prophet Muhammad saw said: "Make use of the two remedies: honey and the Quran." (At-Tirmithi)

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Assalamualikum wa rahmatullhe wa barakatuhu

I would like to welcome you all 'All About Kitchening'. This blog will entail the secrets of my kitchen which I would love to benefit you with (with the permission of Allah).

I am a mother of two beautiful and lively kids, I love getting them involved in the kitchen, just how my mom always kept us involved. Also happily married (MashaAllah) to a husband who claims to love everything I cook, Alhumdulillah. I have always enjoyed baking, however cooking meals was not one of my favorite things. Ever since we moved to the Middle East and I had (for the first time) my own personal kitchen space, I have to say I've simply been in love with cooking, trying new and healthy recipes, mixing recipes and sharing the kitchen space with my two little ones. I was amazed to find my hidden liking for cooking :)

On this blog you will also find some tips (from my humble experience) on how to convert the kitchen into a child friendly space and how we can involve them in the kitchen and kitchening activities.

Hope you enjoy and benefit. InshaAllah (If Allah wills).

The Problem with Nutrition: The Praise of Raw Foods

Ehrenfried Pfeiffer's asked Rudolf Steiner why people today appear unable to develop and act according to all they learn and seem to know. Steiner replied: “This is a problem of nutrition.”

In Waldorf schools worldwide, there is a conscious effort to keep school snacks and meals as natural as possible. Most schools have a garden and encourage the growing of vegetable and the grinding of grain. Salads, fruits, nuts and simple soups are the staple of most schools. Rudolf Steiner gave many indications regarding the plant and animal kingdoms and proper nutrition for adults and children.

“One thing must be thoroughly and fully recognized for this age in a child’s life: the physical body creates its own scale of measurement for what is beneficial to it. It does this by properly developing craving and desire. Generally speaking, we may say that the healthy physical body desires what is good for it. In the growing human being, so long that it is the physical body that is important, we should pay the closest attention to what healthy, craving desire and delight require. Pleasure and delight are the forces that most properly enliven and call forth the organs’ physical forms.

In this manner it is all too easy to do harm by failing to bring children into the proper physical relationship with their environment. This may happen especially in regard to their instincts for food. Children may be overfed with things that make them lose completely their healthy instinct for food, whereas by giving them the proper nourishment, the instinct can be preserved so that they always want what is wholesome for them under the circumstances.” ~Rudolf Steiner

Consider This

“A wise man, who still knew the secrets of the origin of the world, related; “From a giant arose Heaven and Earth – from his bones the rocks and stones; from his blood the rivers, seas and brooks; from his flesh the crumbly soil; from his hair the grass; the clouds from his thoughts; the wind from his breath. But from the heart of the giant arose the sun. Even today the giant body of Earth is sustained by the Sun as by a warmth-giving and loving heart.  After man came upon the earth, the plants were transformed. God willed that men should see as in a mirror a picture of themselves – the perfect as well as the imperfect – in he plants, which serve them also for nourishment and healing. For this reason the plants have become so many and so different. ~ The Living World of Plants by Dr. Gerbert Grohmann

Steiner Said

Raw foods contain the sunlight energies that are stored in their tissues through the process of photosynthesis. He believed that the spiritual progress of humanity as a whole would be enhanced by a progressive increase in a vegetarian eating pattern. Conversely, he felt that a meat/flesh eating diet would exert a negative influence regarding an interest in spiritual life. According to Steiner, plants supply us with their store of the outer light of the sun, which stimulates our INNER light during the process of assimilation. The light released by the plant world helps to stimulate, form and maintain our nervous system. In this way, the taking in of plant food makes a cyclic connection of our inner light with the outer light of the solar system and plant world.

This is a common belief in the practice of Anthroposophical medicine. Steiner said “Nothing clouds the nervous system when nourishment comes from the plant realm. Humanity can more easily delve into the cosmic interrelationships which take place beyond the constricted limitation of the mundane personality.”

According to Dr. Gabriel Cousens, “A strong solar resonance field promotes the evolution of humanity to reach our full potential as human ‘sun beings’. Light supports evolution, and a lack of photons in our bodies hinders it. Light and consciousness are interconnected. Rudolf Steiner taught that the release of the outer light into our systems stimulates the release of an equal amount of inner light within ourselves. The more we increase our ability to absorb and assimilate light, the more conscious we become. The more we transform ourselves by enhancing our absorption of light, the more we become that light.”  ~ Source: Conscious Eating

Source: WaldorfHomeschoolers

When I read this article it shock me a bit especially the part about how bad nutrition inhibits us from implementing what we learn! As Muslims this is what we are all about, to implement what we learn. To put our knowledge into action and not be like the donkey how only carries the load as scholars say. So when I read this article I thought to myself, "Eat of the good things (halal) that We have provided you, and be grateful to Allah." Scholars have talked intensively about the types of food and drinks that are considered Tayib and Halal.  

Yogurt Lemon cake

This is by far the most yummiest lemon cake recipe! We make it often and even then the plate is empty in less then 3 DAYS!! I love this cake because its tasty, quick and easy and makes a nice treat when visiting  friends and family.

My son enjoys making this cake because the recipe requires the hand whisk, each he loves using. Also because of his love for lemon (he gets that from his grandfather.).

Here is the Yummy Recipe for lemon lovers (or not)!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan, non-stick or rubber bundt cake pan. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.

Then EAT IT!!