Green Bean & Saffron Lamb Stew

The authentic flavors of Morocco, bursting with flavorful superfood spices! Free of gluten, dairy, soy, nuts, grains, and a long-winded story about my childhood that forces you to scroll down for eight minutes before finally arriving at the recipe. So… enjoy! 😉

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb organic lamb stew meat, cut into chunks
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp ground turmeric root
• 3/4 tsp saffron threads
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 stalks of celery, diced
• 3 large heirloom tomatoes, chopped with juice retained
• 1 lb fresh green beans, cut in half
• 1/8 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 lime

Instructions:

1. In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the lamb, garlic, turmeric, saffron, onions, celery, salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Add the tomatoes with their juice and 1 cup of water, cover and cook for 40 minutes.
3. Add the beans and cook for another 15 minutes on medium heat.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the mint. Cut the lime in half, and squeeze all of its juice into the pot. Stir well and serve hot.

Warmly,

Megan Normansell (Kerkhoff), CHC, AADP, CFH

Certified Holistic Practitioner/Holistic Nutrition/Herbalist/Wild Edibles Guide

Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more recipes and healthy living ideas!

Interested in healing your body naturally?
Get the answers you’ve been searching for, and heal your body for good… naturally.  We have successfully helped thousands of people across the country live a healthier life than they ever could have imagined, and specialize in dozens of different health concerns. Curious? Schedule your complimentary consultation with me today! Read the incredible reviews we’ve received over the years here.

http://www.aayushealth.com     –     megan@aayushealth.com    –    920-327-2221

 

Copyright Megan Normansell 2019 All rights reserved. 

Organic Egg Taste Test- Which to Buy and Which to Ditch? (Round 2)

Last year my little family of foodies did a taste test to find out which organic chicken eggs were the best quality- you can read it here.  Little Theo was just a speck in my tummy for the last test and isn’t old enough today to indulge with us (sorry little bean!), but I included my husband Matt along with our five year-old daughter Eliana and her questionable egg-describing adjectives again.

We know that of all the options in the grocery store organic eggs are the best choice; an organic certification means the hens must be fed organic feed and have access to the outdoors; animal by-products and GMO crops in feed are prohibited. There can be no traces of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. Forced molting is not allowed, the animals cannot be caged, and the certification requires maintenance of basic animal welfare standards.

Having access to your own home-raised organic chickens is obviously even better, but for those of us who don’t live in an area where it is legal to keep chickens, we need another option. It seems the number of organic brands is growing by the day… which to choose? But don’t fret- we are again taking all of the guesswork out of finding the best eggs and are putting our previous champion Blue Sky Family Farms up against four new contenders.

I purchased all five of the organic products at Woodman’s in Appleton, WI.  To stay consistent with what a typical mom’s shopping trip may look like, I used the very scientific method of “I just got done with work and need to grab the first eggs I see because I need to get home as soon as possible and make dinner.” All were fairly similar in appearance, each carton of eggs having slight variance in color, mottling, and size.

When they were cracked open, we found there were some pretty noticeable differences in the color of the yolks though. Full Circle Organics had a slightly thinner shell.

All had similar sell-by dates, were cooked at the same time in a cast iron pan at the same temperature, and were unsalted.

 

Our observations were as follows:

BRAND	PRICE	LOCATION	PACKAGE CLAIMS	MATT’S REVIEW	MEGAN’S REVIEW	5 YEAR OLD’S REVIEW
Farmer’s Hen House Organics (free range)	$3.99 per dozen	Kalona, IA	“Amish/Mennonite farms, free range, certified humane”	“A little bit of richness. Tasting fat, but not much depth. Clean with no aftertaste.”	“A little big chemically? Good, but not much depth.”	“Tastes like eggs.”
Farmer’s Hen House Organics (pastured)	$4.89 per dozen	Kalona, IA	“Pastured, 108 sq ft per bird guaranteed, certified humane”	“Definitely more flavor than the first, with the same richness.”	“Rich, better than their free range version. Not complex.”	“Tastes better than the last one.”
Pete & Gerry’s Organics	$4.99 per dozen	Monroe, NH	“Free range, small family farms, certified humane, vegetarian feed & outdoor forage”	“Rich but less complex flavor compared to the last two. The white is very good.”	“Creamy, but it feels like it should have more flavor given the texture of it.”	“Mushrooms. Mushroom eggs.”
Blue Sky Family Farm Organics	$5.79 per dozen	Warsaw, IN	“Pastured, outside 365 days a year, certified humane.”	“Much more full flavor. You experience the taste across the whole of your tongue. The whites have more flavor than the others.”	“Mmm. That’s really good. Rich, deep, savory.”	“Buttery”
Full Circle Organics	$4.19 per dozen	Skokie, IL	“Feed does not contain processed animal proteins, free roaming hens”	“Well-rounded flavor. The whites are better than all of the others.”	“Good and rich. But with a weird flavor that sticks to my tongue.”	“Bleeegh. But good.”

What was particularly interesting to me was that of the same Farmer’s Hen House brand, you could clearly taste and see the difference in the eggs that were from pastured chickens vs the ones from free range chickens. According to the rather broad “free range” regulations the chickens must be allowed to move unrestricted without being confined, and eat a vegetarian diet. Which is odd to me, because chickens are not natural vegetarians. There is no requirement for access to pasture, they must only be allowed gravel or dirt.  Pastured chickens on the other hand, must have access to pasture and have the opportunity to eat a more healthful, natural diet for them which includes bugs, worms, and other non-vegetarian things.

So which were the best and which failed the test?

#1- Blue Sky Family Farms  (again! our reigning champion!)

#2- Full Circle Organics ( I must note, my husband and I disagreed on this- I felt it was tied with Pete & Gerry’s)

#3- Pete & Gerry’s

#4- Farmer’s Hen House Pastured

#5- Farmer’s Hen House Free Range

So there you go! While I must say they all were good (and much better tasting than the cheap eggs) it was yet another interesting experiment. I’m rather impressed with Blue Sky Family Farm’s consistency and exceptional quality, and they are now officially our best pick out of NINE organic products. The old adage “you get what you pay for” certainly rung true yet again; Blue Sky was well-worth the extra cash, and the cheapest of the five was the only one I would never buy again. Stay tuned and follow my blog and facebook page– I’ll be sourcing more brands to taste test in the future. Which eggs would you like to see tested? Let me know!

Warmly,

Megan Normansell (Kerkhoff), CHC, AADP, CFH

Certified Holistic Practitioner/Holistic Nutrition/Herbalist/Wild Edibles Guide

Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more recipes and healthy living ideas!

Interested in healing your body naturally?
Get the answers you’ve been searching for, and heal your body for good… naturally.  We have successfully helped thousands of people across the country live a healthier life than they ever could have imagined, and specialize in dozens of different health concerns. Curious? Schedule your complimentary consultation with me today! Read the incredible reviews we’ve received over the years here.

http://www.aayushealth.com     –     megan@aayushealth.com    –    920-327-2221

 

Copyright Megan Normansell 2019 All rights reserved. 

Organic Egg Taste Test- Which to Buy and Which to Ditch?

Being as frugal as they come, I tend to choose my eggs based on price. It’s certainly difficult to tell which taste best when weeks go by between your consumption of different brands. Being health conscious, my husband and I always purchase organic, preferably from local farms. An organic certification means the hens must be fed organic feed and have access to the outdoors; animal by-products and GMO crops in feed are prohibited. There can be no traces of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. Forced molting is not allowed, the animals cannot be caged, and the certification requires maintenance of basic animal welfare standards.

So as foodies we decided to do a taste test to see which ones were truly worth the extra cash and which ones to pass on,  and of course included our four year old daughter Eliana. (We were a bit suspicious that she may have been born with a more sophisticated palate than us, until her adjectives got a bit questionable.)

We purchased all five of the organic brands that were available at Woodman’s in Appleton, WI.  All brands were fairly similar in appearance, each carton of eggs having slight variance in color, mottling, and size.

We noticed some very slight differences in the color of the yolks and whites.

All had similar sell-by dates, were cooked at the same time in a cast iron pan at the same temperature, and were unsalted.

I let chef Matt do the honors

Our observations were as follows:

BRAND	PRICE	LOCATION	PACKAGE CLAIMS	MATT’S REVIEW	MEGAN’S REVIEW	THE TODDLER REVIEW
Milo’s Poultry Farms Organic Omega 3 Eggs	$4.29 per dozen	Bonduel, WI	“Pastured as much as possible”	Mild, no off taste, not much depth. The shells are very thin, which leads me to believe the chickens have poor calcium intake.	Not much flavor, but pleasant.	Good. Kind of gross.
Eggland’s Best Organic eggs	$4.39 per dozen	Does not disclose	“Vegetarian fed, cage free”	Fattier. Whites are clean and firm.	Buttery, rich, creamy, hearty.	Kind of tastes like olives.
Phil’s Organic Omega 3 Eggs	$4.19 per dozen	Forreston, IL	“Free range, whole grain fed”	Rubbery.	Firm, blah, not much flavor. The whites taste like paper.	Kind of good.
Organic Valley Organic Eggs	$4.79 per dozen	Wisconsin	“Free range”	Rich, creamy.	Creamy, melts in your mouth. A bit umami.	Good. Tastes like avocados and oranges.
Blue Sky Family Farms Organic Eggs	$4.99 per dozen	Warsaw, IN	“Pastured, outside 365 days a year, certified humane.”	Strongest natural rich yolk flavor.	Rich, buttery, satisfying, creamy.	Grapes.

The littlest food critic

So which were the best and which failed the test?

#1- Blue Sky Family Farms  (ding ding ding, winner winner chicken dinner!)

#2- Eggland’s Best

#3- Organic Valley

#4- Phil’s

#5- Milo’s Poultry Farms

 

So there you go! I’ll gladly be spending the extra $.80 on tastier, creamier eggs from now on. It was interesting to me that there was indeed a correlation between price and quality. Stay tuned and follow my blog and facebook page– I’ll be sourcing more local brands to taste test in the coming months. Which brands would you like to see? Let me know!

Warmly,

Megan Normansell (Kerkhoff), CHC, AADP, CFH

Certified Holistic Practitioner/Holistic Nutrition/Herbalist/Wild Edibles Guide

Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more recipes and healthy living ideas!

Interested in healing your body naturally?
Get the answers you’ve been searching for, and heal your body for good… naturally.  We have successfully helped thousands of people across the country live a healthier life than they ever could have imagined, and specialize in dozens of different health concerns. Curious? Schedule your complimentary consultation with me today! Read the incredible reviews we’ve received over the years here.

http://www.aayushealth.com     –     megan@aayushealth.com    –    920-327-2221

 

Copyright Megan Normansell 2018 All rights reserved. 

8 Incredible Reasons to Eat Star Anise

Star Anise is an aromatic, liquorice- flavored spice that is widely used in Indian, Malay, Chinese, and Indonesian cuisine. As with all herbs, it is not only a culinary delight but has some powerful medicinal properties. Find it in the spice aisle of your local grocery store, preferably organic.

1. Star Anise has antibacterial, anti-viral properties and helps to fight infection. Almost all of the world’s star anise crop is used for extraction of shikimic acid, the chemical used in the synthesis of Tamiflu. Can you imagine how much safer it must be to use the unadulterated, whole food form of the medicine? This herb is indicated specifically for the flu, sinus infections and bronchial infections. Take it at the first sign of illness and each day you are ill, preferably in the tea form. See my recipe below.

2. It has compounds such as creosol and alpha-pimene that clear mucus from air passages, soothe a sore throat, and make dry, irritating coughs more productive. The Greeks used to make teas with it to help asthma and other respiratory ailments.

3. Alleviates constipation.

4. It is carminitive (relieves gas) and is good for indigestion.

5. Is helpful for PMS and menopausal symptoms, and gently encourages childbirth.

6. Supplies calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, zinc, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A, and five B vitamins.

7. The seeds from this powerfully scented herb have been used as a tea for thousands of years to help treat bad breath.

8. Star Anise contains a compound called anethol, which has been reported to increase sex drive in women.

Here we used star anise to make a flavorful immune boosting tea with a handful of Wisconsin chaga mushroom chunks, 1 cinnamon bark stick, and 1/4 cup of elderberries in a stock pot.  If you want a no fuss, ready-to-go star anise option, check out my organic Star Anise tincture. 

Explore the many culinary applications to get the benefits of this wonderful medicine provided by nature!

Warmly,

Megan Normansell, CHC, AADP, CFH

Certified Holistic Practitioner/Holistic Nutrition/Herbalist/Wild Edibles Guide

Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more recipes and healthy living ideas!

Interested in healing your body naturally?
Get the answers you’ve been searching for, and heal your body for good… naturally.  We have successfully helped thousands of people across the country live a healthier life than they ever could have imagined, and specialize in dozens of different health concerns. Curious? Schedule your complimentary consultation with me today! Read the incredible reviews we’ve received over the years here.

http://www.aayushealth.com     –     megan@aayushealth.com    –    920-327-2221

*please consult your herbalist or other health care practitioner before beginning a new herbal regimen like these.

Copyright Megan Normansell 2018 All rights reserved.