Easy Healthy Waffles or Pancakes!

In 1982 I met mom who had her 10th baby around the same time as I had our first! She shared with me a wonderfully easy way to turn whole wheat berries into delicious healthy waffles or pancakes. You can make the batter in about 10 minutes and deliver a healthy meal or snack! I’ve been making these for four decades modifying the original recipe in a variety of ways!

Flour is made by grinding wheat berries. White flour is sifted. The nutritional value of the wheat is at its maximum just after milling, and decreases over time. Fresh ground flour has the highest nutritional value. This recipe uses the entire wheat berry, and instantly grinds it into flour in your blender giving you the maximum nutritional benefit. Wheat berries can be found where other whole ‘healthy’ dried grains are sold and come in two varieties: hard (mostly for bread) or soft (better for pastries). You can use either for this recipe, but soft is preferred. You can also use Einkhorn or other ancient grains if you can find them. Organic is best.

  • 1 Cup wheat berries.
  • 1 Cup milk, sour milk or kefir. You can also use water without too much difference in the result. The dairy option will provide more nutrition.

Blend the wheat berries and liquid in a blender. Start on low speed and depending on the power of your blender, blend for about 3 minutes. A Vitamix on high speed can be faster. The goal is to have a smooth non gritty texture!

  • Add 1/4-1/3 more milk to get the mixture extremely smooth.
  • 1/2-1 apple. (optional addition) Cut the apple into pieces and add to the blender as it is running.
  • 1/4-1/2 cup of oats. Add while blender is running.
  • 3 – 6 eggs. The more eggs, the higher protein. Use less if you’re about to run out of eggs! Less eggs may require more liquid.
  • 4 teaspoons of baking powder.
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
  • +/- 2 Tablespoons of softened butter or coconut oil

Blend until everything is mixed. If the mixture is too thick to blend, add more milk (or liquid). If the mixture seems too runny, add more oats. Waffle batter may need to be slightly thicker.

Pour onto hot skillet for pancakes or into hot waffle maker. Serve with butter, syrup, berries, fruit, yogurt, cheese, jam, or anything you like! I always like to add a bit of lemon juice and cinnamon.

The batter can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Waffles or pancakes can be stored in a zip lock bag in the freezer for future quick easy snacks.

Enjoy!

Becky Hastings collects information on health and tries her best to discover and share truth. By God’s grace, through Jesus Christ, I was saved from the life of a rebel. I’ve been blessed with a husband of 41 years, and five precious babies all grown up. I now get to delight as nine grandchildren grow! Together we can help each other discover a healthy path in this crazy upside down world. Please subscribe (below) so you don’t miss any future blogs!

When is Kefir ready?

When first starting to make kefir from milk there is a learning curve to know what ‘ready’ looks like. I made this video to show a perfect batch of kefir and what it looks like. The quality of the video is what could be produced by my phone, but hopefully it will help!

Becky Hastings, passionate about Jesus, health, family, truth and healing foods.

Best Wellness Tip EVER!

Kefir is an amazing living food that provides multiple benefits especially when ingested every day. Kefir is known to play a curative role in diabetes, cancer, autism, gastritis, IBS, arthritis, and many more. In fact regularly ingesting kefir might be the single most beneficial thing you can do to ensure wellness!

Kefir has the benefits of a pro-biotic since it is rich in vitamins, minerals and polysaccharides, with a diversity of bacteria, yeast and mould which are beneficial to the human micro-biome.

Kefir provides over 70 different pro-biotic species which keep harmful bacteria in check, help bring healing to the gut, and enhance immune function. Even people who are lactose intolerant are able to consume kefir because the live organisms consume the lactose leaving it 97% lactose free.

Making kefir is simple – far easier than making yogurt – but you can use it in all the same ways as yogurt, or just drink it straight to make sure you get the daily benefits. Add to soup, stews, waffles, breakfast, salad dressings, etc.

Your kefir grains are often dehydrated for travel and delivery.

  • To revitalize your kefir grains, place in a glass jar and pour in milk – leaving about a 1 inch space at the top. Cover with a piece of paper towel held by a rubber band. Choose the size of jar based on the amount of kefir you desire. A bigger jar of milk will take longer than a smaller jar.
  • Leave the jar sitting on the kitchen counter. Kefir is ready when you shake the jar and it jiggles. The first batch from dried grains may take slightly longer, but generally kefir is ready in 24 – 36 hours.
  • If you leave kefir for too long – several days – it can separate into ‘curds’ and ‘whey’. It is still fine to consume, just mix. Or if you like it thick you can pour off the whey, or use it in soup or baking, and have a thick creamy kefir.
  • Once kefir is firm you can remove the grains and begin your next batch.
  • To remove the grains you can try with a plastic fork, simply stir around and see if you find the firm kefir grains. This works if the grains are near the top. Other times it is more difficult to find and you need to work the kefir through a plastic Place a large funnel into a clean glass jar then put the plastic colander on top. Pour in the kefir in batches and use a spatula to push it through the holes. You will know when you find the grains because they will not go through the holes!
  • If you don’t have time to strain, but the kefir is firm, place the jar ‘as is’ into the refrigerator. It will be fine for many days like that, until you have a chance to strain it.
  • If you know you are going to be away from home for a week or more, or you just want a bit of a break from making kefir, you want to keep your kefir grains alive. Place the kefir grains in a jar, pour milk just to cover, put on a top and keep it in the refrigerator. It will hibernate. When you are ready to make your next batch of kefir, pour out the milk, rinse the grains in spring/filtered water or fresh milk, then place in a glass jar and start at the top. Never expose your kefir to tap water than contains fluoride.
  • When kefir grains have multiplied they will work faster in producing the thick kefir. You can divide the grains, share some of your grains with a friend, add them to smoothies, freeze some in milk, or dry them. To share fresh kefir grains simply put them in a jar of milk, or pure water if they won’t be there for too long. The milk provides food to the living organisms.
  • To dry them, after straining rinse with pure water or fresh milk, place them on a piece of parchment paper. It will dry in a few days. Dried kefir grains can safely be mailed in an envelope so you can share with family or friends far away!

Historically, kefir grains originate in the Caucasus Mountains between Russian and Georgia where the local people have consumed kefir and experienced remarkable health throughout history. “The census of 1970, revealed that 5,000 centenarians then lived in the Caucasus.”[1] Because of the beneficial probiotics in kefir, regular “consumption reinforces the intestinal flora, helps with digestion, restores the digestive system and strongly stimulates the immune system.” [2]

Kefir grains were considered part of the family’s wealth and the tribe’s wealth and they were passed on from generation to generation. For centuries the people of the northern Caucasus enjoyed this food without sharing it with anyone else. Other peoples occasionally heard strange tales of this unusual beverage, which was said to have magical properties. Marco Polo mentioned kefir in the chronicles of his travels in the East.[1]

The BIG Bonus!

From my reading, it would seem that homemade kefir made using raw cow’s milk provides a good source of GCMAF, which has been used to treat and heal autism and other serious brain disorders. GCMAF is a harmless and naturally occurring glycoprotein with a profound potential to heal. It is produced in human breast milk and plays a significant role in innate immunity. All higher order animals have this glycoprotein which functions to transport Vitamin D to all the cells in our body, including our immune cells. Lack of this protein causes immune suppression.

Becky Hastings, a wife, mom, grandmother, passionate follower of Jesus, health promoter, breastfeeding counsellor helping moms for 22+ years, and someone who seeks to research, understand and share truth so people can make wise choices in our crazy mixed up, deceived world! Sometimes I share recipes and homespun teaching videos.

[1] Sharla. Kefir – The Mystical Side. Web. 11 Aug. 2017. .

[2] Sekkal-Taleb, Nezha. “Chemical and microbiological composition of Kefir and its natural benefits.” Mediterranean Journal of Biosciences1.4 (2016): 174-83. Web. 11 Aug. 2017. .

Straining Milk Kefir Video

I just made a homespun video to show you how easy it is to strain out your milk kefir grains. This must be done after every batch of kefir so that you can make another batch! The kefir grains will multiply over time so that you will be able to share the joys of kefir making with your friends.

I’ve posted other information on kefir, including some of my favorite recipes:

I prefer to use local jersey raw milk because there are many benefits. Recently I have learned that one of the benefits is that it contains GCMAF. Do some research on the benefits!

Many people who have been diagnosed with CDif or other serious intestinal infections are looking for kefir. You can become a source of kefir grains as you spread the wonder of kefir!

Let me know if you have questions about kefir!

Becky Hastings, a wife, mom, grandmother, passionate follower of Jesus, health promoter, breastfeeding counsellor helping moms for 22+ years, and someone who seeks to research, understand and share truth so people can make wise choices in our crazy mixed up, deceived world! Sometimes I share recipes and homespun teaching videos.

 

 

Make Your Own Easy Milk Kefir

I just made a quick video to show how easy it is to make your own milk kefir! I’ve been making my own milk kefir for around 3 years. When I started it was a bit of a daunting procedure, but I’ve figured out how to make it easy and delicious. In this under 3 minute video I share some great tips and insight I’ve discovered. This is the real me. Not too much make-up, and just a normal kitchen. My daughter helped me by recording, but we only had one take!

Adding probiotics to our diet has a lot of immune boosting benefits. Here are some of my recipes that contain kefir:

Chia Breakfast Salad
GF Waffles
The Best Curry You Ever Made
GF Banana Bread

If you’d like some dried kefir grains, I have a limited supply, but am happy to send them to you for the cost of postage.

Thanksgiving 2015

Author: Becky Hastings is a wife, mother, grandmother, and passionate follower of Jesus and truth. As a breastfeeding counselor for over 23 years Becky is devoted to helping parents make wise decisions for the long-term health and wellbeing of their babies. As a member of a Vaccine Safety Education Coalition, Becky writes and speaks on the topic of vaccine safety. From time to time Becky shares easy recipes that can help you have a healthier life!