Monday, February 1, 2010

Nutrition Monday ~ Let Me Count the Wheys

Raise your hand if you know where whey comes from!  Whey is a byproduct of cultured dairy products; mainly cheese.  Making kefir cheese was when I at not only created my own raw cheese for the first time, but it's also when we produced our first quart of homemade whey.  If you're wanting to use whey to lacto-ferment things, you will need to be sure it's raw whey.  We need those organisms (probiotics) to be alive and well to do their little culturing job, and if your cheese is being heated higher than 104ยบ, those little buddies die off.  Also, if you're thinking of using whey powder?  Forgetaboutit.  There's no living cultures in there.

Some easy ways of using... whey is putting some in smoothies, yogurts, and puddings (after it's been cooked. You don't want to kill the little bacteria guys with heat). Also, if you add a couple tablespoons to the water you soak your beans in, it helps release a very helpful enzyme called phytase. I'll get more into soaking and phytic acid on another Monday...

A personal favorite way to use whey is making oatmeal. My kids love calling it porridge. Here's a quick how-to:
Soak 2 cups oats in 2 cups filtered water,

and 4 tablespoons whey (or other cultured dairy product) overnight in a covered bowl.


In the morning, pour your oats in a saucepan, add 2 more cups water. Cover, bring to a boil, spoon out any foam, then simmer to desired consistency. The oats finish cooking in a fraction of the time when they're soaked overnight. My kids like to eat it with a little milk and rapadura. Mmmm.


Do you have some leftover oatmeal?  Here's something for you: save it in the fridge and take it back out when you need a snack or another breakfast. Make fried mush out of it! Doesn't that sound delicious? Well, my kids think so. They get so excited when they see me making it. All ya do is heat up 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet,


mix about 1 1/2 cups of yer leftover porridge with 1 beaten egg,


add a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon,


mash it all together with a fork,


and fry 'em up like pancakes.


Flip 'em to brown the other side, of course.


Drizzle them with syrup and yummo! No waste, re-use of leftovers, healthy, quick goodness. And do you know what else you can make with whey?   Sauerkraut!  Suddenly craving a Rueben sandwich?  Me too.

16 comments:

  1. Every time I read your blog I wonder when you are going to start a homemaking class and when can I sign up! :) Seriously, you are so amazing and I love you. We need to get together soon so I can pick your brain about being a mommy and ask you about being a stay at home mom. :)

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  2. Yummy! Can't wait to make cheese...among other things!! Thanks for all your great ideas, I enjoy reading your blog!

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  3. I totally put whey in my kids smoothie yesterday

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  4. how long can you keep the whey?

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  5. Your photo's are beautiful. I would love to learn how to make cheese. I may try it. Thank you...

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  6. Love the post! You're inspiring me to tackle the too many jars in my fridge, which I should do anyway as part of my September challenge.

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  7. Good information on whey. I have some left over from making cheese and I like the idea of using it in smoothies.

    -Brenda

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  8. wow great photos I need to find more time to try projects such as this

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  9. Thanks for the porridge recipe. I've been looking for a soaked one so am going to give this a go!

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  10. ohhh I love the leftover mush recipe, I make our mush with polenta but these look FAB!

    Thanks for linking up to Just Another Meatless Monday!

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  11. What a great idea for all that leftover porridge in my fridge;) I usually make mine in the slow cooker. Works beautifully, and I tend to make lots so I'll be trying this one on the kids tomorrow:) Thx!

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  12. Katie,
    Thanks for the fried mush idea!!! I hate waste, but found myself constantly throwing out old oatmeal that I thought I'd use. My kid's loved it!!

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  13. Great stuff our children love them!

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  14. These fell to bits when I tried to flip them, I had to leave them much longer than I expected, but they were delicious.

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