DIY: Gluten Free Rice Milk

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Rice milk is killing my bank account. I love it, I drink it everyday, and when i don't have it it's all i think about. It's my addiction and since it's a healthy one I thought it was about time to start making my own - (like when a meth head realizes they can make their own meth lab! Except that is not healthy and they have to condemn tha' house after.)

* Since I found videos easier then the recipes online, I made a lil' vid showing my first attempt at making rice milk at home!
* This probably cost me around $5-10 dollars, to make 1.5 gallons of my own rice milk... when buying amazake 2-3 small drinks would cost me as much! I have no idea why companies charge huge amounts of $$$ for rice milk since making it actually doesn't cost much and a big part of the recipe is just water.

SUPPLIES YOU NEED ::::
*rice (brown is healthier)
*water
*Sweet Options: sweetener like honey, maple syrup or rice syrup, etc...
*Flavor options: vanilla, almonds, and/or other grains you can tolerate
*Pot, Spoon, Blender, Strainer (cheese cloth or stainless steal)



Do ya'll have any non dairy milk recipes? I would love to hear them! Almond, soy, and gang!

xoxoxox

The Sh!t I Don't Buy (or use)

For the last ten years I have not bought traditional (aka toxic) house cleaners, dish soaps, body soap, shampoo, conditioner, or deoderant. No, I don't shop lift them or get them for free... I stopped using that stuff and here is how it all started:::
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When I got diagnosed with Celiac Disease I was told that not only would my diet be changed but also anything I used as a personal care product, on any surface in my home or on my body needed to be gluten free also. Back in the day I already ate organic, and when I sent out nearly 100 letters and far more phone calls to companies trying to search for gluten free & healthy alternatives to clean up with not one company could say they were safe for me to use. Lawsuit worries, combined with the fact that gluten is in nearly every product Americans purchase in ways you would never guess.
What happened at the time was I was really sick, mostly bed ridden, mostly in a wheelchair and I thought 'what the hell, who needs that shit anyway!'
It wouldnt matter if I didn't use shampoo, it wasn't like I had a HAwT date while I was half dead and 80 pounds.
Much to my OCD mother's dismay, I began a life of chemical and gluten free discoveries about ways to naturally keep me and my home clean without creepy goops, sprays, lotions, potions that all came in wasteful packaging anyhow. My hair took a few weeks to adjust. My skin seemed to never care. My mom swore she suddenly could smell my armpitts (even though I had not put on deoderant for years prior to that time)... but I soldiered on.
And now ten years later...
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Here are the 'cleaners' I use instead of store bought products::::

1. Shampoo/Conditioner ---> Hot water plus Salt (or) Boiled lemon with lavender (or)Straight lemon squeeze (or) Vinegar (rarely unless i do something stupid like put olive oil in my hair to make it beautiful only to discover I can't get it to wash out for 3 weeks!)

2. Deoderant ---> I do like the europeans. Just wipe um' and go. Covering up your special hormonal scent is going to get ya in bed with the wrong kinda guy.

3. Mopping ---> I mop with water mixed with vinegar and baking soda. Alternately if you are not scent sensitive you can use an essential oil mixed in water to mop with, I use cypress.

4. Kitchen/Bathroom ---> A blender helps with this, cause if you blend ginger & lemon it makes an amazing surface cleaner. The ginger will eat through the nasty build up on your stove too! If you don't have a blender, using a lemon or vinegar straight up is good... i use apple cider vinegar cause it's gluten free.

5. Dishes ---> Hot water with fresh squeezed lemon. When something needs a scrub I use salt. If a pot has something caked/burned on the bottom boiling a lemon with water in that pot and letting it soak helps lift the skank.

6. Detergant ---> Baking soda ( and/or apple cider vinegar) works the best on clothes. Lemons are ok, but I don't think the PH is good for the clothes on a regular basis, especially natural fiber clothing.

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Much of the products people use these days are hype. We are led to believe by advertising that if we don't buy these things we will be covered in germs (I haven't caught a cold or flu or any contagious illness in many years), we are led to believe we will "stink" or be a "dirty hippy", or that babies shouldn't be allowed to crawl on our floor... but new studies have shown all our hand sanitizer use, anti bacterial shit, chemical for hair and body, and paranoia of the natural world (dirt & animals) is actually destroying our health. Doctors think that this faux cleanliness is the leading cause for allergies and autoimmune diseases, not to mention epidemic spreading of colds and flues.
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The saying is now "cleanliness is next to sickliness"...
and I believe it.
Read about it Here... here and at web MD here.
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Viva La NO SHAMPOO!

Xoxoxo

Eco Art: Glob Paints -Gluten Free, Chemical Free, Vegan!

Ya'll.... I am having a freak out! I have found gluten free, chemical free, vegan, food grade, 100% natural PAINTS!!! This is an idea I have been working on diligently for the last 2 years, compiling lists of pigments, experimenting with colors...... only to find someone has already figured out six of the best colors there are and they call them GLOB! Glob made their paint product so safe, you can use it on your body and flush it down the toilet with no environmental or health disasters.
I am so excited about these paint pigments being available that I have been running back and forth across the house announcing to anyone who will listen (cats and one terrified human) that I am going to be a painting diva-tron artist once again!
For my own plans to make pigments like this, I had planned on buying a dehydrator this spring for drying only paint pigments, then would grind them.... most my ideas are also food grade, but some are poisonous plants (like poke berries) we would not want to eat. The Glob Paints in the pic above are totally 100% food grade safe and affordable at 12$ for all six colors.... check out this diddy from their website:::

"You may have noticed that arts and crafts products do not list ingredients. Consumers rely upon "non toxic" certification, believing that their art materials have undergone sufficient testing to ensure the products they use are safe. Don't let these labels fool you.

Art pigments (colors) are commonly made from petrochemicals, and the actual hazards of these materials are not always known. In the US, chemicals that have never been tested for toxicity can be labeled "non-toxic." The rationale? There is no data to prove otherwise.*

Arts and crafts paints are exempt from consumer paint lead laws, and often contain lead, cadmium, and host of toxic ingredients* like formaldehyde (a carcinogen), one of the most common paint preservatives.

New environmental regulations and consumer demand has contributed to the numerous low to no VOC (volatile organic compounds) and environmentally friendly house paints now available.

Unfortunately, the artist market is far behind.

Paints may not only be hazardous to the consumer, but also the environment. Certified "non-toxic" pigments can still be toxic to fish and other wildlife.

GLOB™ products are sustainable and biodegradable, making them safe to wash down the sink and into our water supply.

Go ahead, Glob it on™!"

You best believe, I am going to glob it on... I am going to glob it on everything!

XoXo

Macrobiotic & Gluten Free Carrot Spaghetti Sauce

Holy Carrots! These are some organic carrots that grew in the garden here, aren't they girthy? I decided to make one of my favorite macrobiotic recipes with these big boys, a delicious carrot spaghetti sauce that uses NO tomatoes and gives this traditional (american-ized) Italian dish a sweet yummy twist! This carrot sauce can be used on anything you would use regular spaghetti sauce on- like noodles, lasagna, or gluten free pizza crust!

You will need:

• a bunch of carrots
• one small beet (to turn the sauce red!)
  
• red onion
• herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, bay leaf, sage etc..)
• celery
• shittake mushrooms (optional!)
• olive oil
• sea salt or ume paste
  

When I made this dish yesterday I didn't have all the ingredients on hand to get a picture of (no beets to turn it red and no mushrooms for extra flav'ah) , but it still came out delicious as always! Here is what you do:::

• Chop up the carrots, celery, and beet to simmer down till soft (30 mins or so)
• Put in a blender or smash up the carrots with a fork
• Add in herbs, salt and mushrooms to the carrrot sauce and cook in a pot another 10 mins
• In a separate pan saute the chopped onion (with some herbs) till soft (7 mins)
  
• Add onions to the blended carrot sauce and serve over noodles!

Voila! A tomato free spaghetti sauce that tastes better then the 'real' thing eva' did!
XoXOooo

Gluten Free & Organic Chickpea Burgers

Here is a recipe I made up a few years ago using chickpeas to make a nice yummy bean burger patty free of gluten, dairy, meat, and most any common food allergen! Each time I make it they come out a little bit different so I will share the basic recipe and you can make it your own with your favorite herbs, beans or spices. :)

What You'll Need:

• Eden Organic Canned Chickpeas (or other gluten free brand) - 2 cans
• Lundberg Organic Brown Rice -1/2 a cup
• Organic Herbs- rosemary, parsley, oregano or basil (whichever you like best, in amounts you like)
• Organic Red Onion - 1/3 chopped up
• Organic Olive Oil - couple teaspoons
• Ume Vinegar or Sea Salt- shake to personal salt preference

STEP 1: Cook the chickpeas and rice. I cooked mine with bay leaf, rosemary and ume plum for salt.

STEP 2: Smash the rice and chickpeas with a fork till textured. I made more rice then normal for this batch - a helpful hint is not too much rice and make sure all water is drained out, the burger will stick together better this way. Wet burgers will taste good but will fall apart.
STEP 3: Add chopped onion and herbs to the smooshed up chickpeas.

STEP 4: For pazzazz I added some grated carrot, then threw in the ume vinegar (salt source) & 3 teaspoons of olive oil.
STEP 5: Mix it all up and then form patties in your pan. You can cook them without oil, fry them with oil, or bake them to get an outside crunchy layer!!! I topped mine with baked shittake mushrooms and ate it straight out the pan with a fork. :) Mmmmmm. Goooood.
XoXOoo

Gluten Free & Organic Dried Fruits and Nuts!!! OMG!!!

Anyone with Celiac Disease or who is on a strict gluten free diet because of allergies knows what a pain in the A$$ finding basic & safe organic foods can be! I have literally searched for over 8 years to find organic replacements to my once healthy snacks of dried fruits and nuts, only to run into the problem of vendors dusting their packaging equipment with wheat every time. For a normal person this wheat dust practice ain't no thang but a chicken wang... for someone with Celiac this equals more symptoms then there are cowboy hats at a wild rodeo in Texas. People with Celiac Disease have been banned by faulty genetics from saving big bucks at the bulk food section in the health food store when seeking snacks because of vendor and store cross contamination, which may be the lamest thing about the diet for me. Screw bread, I want organic bulk whole foods that are safe!
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OK - so here is the kicker... I....Have....Found....ORGANIC...Dried fruits and NUTS safe for those with celiac! OMGAWD....
I found a company called Raw From The Farm online with the help of my good friend Noel, this store skips the middle man vendor BS and gets their goods straight from farmers. Now some farmers deal with these goodies plus gluten grains and so they will not be listed here, but for those products I asked about specifically here are the ones that the farmer themselves confirmed are gluten free:::

DRIED FRUITS:

• Raisins
• Dates
• Apricots
• Peaches
• Nectarines

Dried Nuts:

• Pecans
• Walnuts

NOT GLUTEN FREE: the sunflower seeds are not gluten free, which makes me wanna cry. Why Mr. Farmer WHy!?
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If you see other products on Raw From The Farm's website I didn't mention in this list please email them and ask them to write the farmers about the foods you are interested in - this company took the time to write each product I asked about and gave me the farmers response! How awesome is that?
To top the fact that these snacks listed are raw, organic, and gluten free the company also will package the goodies in your choice of a PVC/Plasticizer Free plastic bag or a compostable Eucalyptus Fiber baggie!! Holy eco coolness.

PS-- Does anyone know where someone with Celiac can order organic dried beans in bulk?

XoXOoooox