Sunday, December 6, 2009

A lesson in Kombacha...

I first heard of Kombucha from Paige of Running Around Normal. She drinks the stuff all the time and raves about it's deliciousness and healthfulness. I began researching Kombacha and where I could get some after seeing it spread like wild fire in blogland. Hence, this is why I asked "Zevia or Kombacha" in the This-or-That activity from a few days ago. Which, by the way, you all seemed to love! Thanks for humoring me and my nosiness!


So here are the Kombucha varieties I've located: Citrus, Original, and Multi-Green
The Original flavor tastes like a milder version of Welch's Sparking Cider, to a tee. Taste-wise it was fine. The fizzies gave me a bit of a tummy ache and I didn't enjoy the aesthetics of the floating organisms!! You could seeeeeeeeee them! Kinda cool, but not fun to look at in a beverage! All in all...

Taste: C-
Healthfulness: A-
The reason I don't think Kombucha is a can't-live-without-it health food is simply because all that it contains can be found in other foods. And I tend to stay away from beverages with a caloric content.


Kombucha (kom-BOO-cha) is a Chinese tea which is cultured for 30 days. Each bottle contains all B-vitamins, antioxidants, and probiotics -- 1 billion Lactobacillus Bacterium organisms and 1 billion S. Boulardii organisms.


Here's the label -- nothing shocking here.

I do find it funny that the bottle reads:
"Please note: Due to fermentation, this product may contain a trace amount of alcohol (less than 0.5%)."
I read this as I was drinking the Kombucha and driving. I put the lid on and put it in my purse...just in case!


This portion of the label is stating that Kombucha is a raw food and that cultures (bacteria organisms) can be seen with the nekked eye. And, it's true. There's definitely floaters in the tea.

Morgan (brave soul that she is) of Live, Love, Eat, and Play attempted making her own Kombucha! Read about it here.

I made a recipe tonight from Kalyn's Kitchen -- Roasted Brussel's Sprouts with Pecans and Gorgonzola. Yummmm!! Her recipes ALWAYS look gourmet and delicious. And yet, doable for the average kitchen talent ;)

I tossed the brussel's sprouts with EVOO, salt, pepper, chopped pecans, and fresh minced garlic. I organized them in a single-layer on a Pyrex dish sprayed with cooking spray. I baked at 375 F for 30 minutes.


 During the last 5 minutes of baking, I took the sprouts out and sprinkled gorgonzola over the top and placed them back into the oven for a final 5 minutes of cooking.

Result: DELICIOUS!
Husband was like, "Um, ew." (verbatim) when I told him I was making brussel's sprouts. Well, let's just say he went back for seconds of the sprouts before even finishing his dinner plate.

 
 Tonight's dinner was the brussel's sprouts with leftover spaghetti squash topped with a homemade marinara containing diced tomatoes, Chianti, mussels, EVOO, garlic, Italian seasoning, and fresh chopped basil.

Today we had our friends take a family shot of us for our Christmas card. We tried getting our snake, Pinky, in the picture, but Lily doesn't understand that her brother is not edible. Here was our best take...
 

Giveaway Alert!
Nutritious is Delicious is having a Pizzey Flax/Omega-3 bar giveaway! Go here to enter!
and
Iowa Girl Eats is having a Larabar giveaway! Go here to enter!

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful weekend! Yours truly scored a goal in my hockey game today. It was a pretty sweet shot...if I do say so myself! However, we lost 5-3. : (


Question: Do you sometimes feel over-whelmed with the number of blogs you follow each day? 
I LOVE to read, especially foodie blogs...but it's a lot of catching up to do every day! Does Google Reader help you stay organized? I want to stay up to speed with you all!

16 comments:

  1. Thanks for the shout out!

    CUTE picture!

    I may be the only blogger who hasn't tried Kombacha yet...but little dudes floating around in my drink..hmmm...!? haha

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  2. I have never tried Kombucha either...

    The Brussels Sprouts recipe sounds great!

    Yes, I follow a lot of blogs, and it can get overwhelming when there are soooo many new posts in my Google reader... And I love them all! So I never want to miss them...

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  3. I actually love the way it tastes! But it is WAY too pricey. Those brussels look delish ;-)

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  4. That looks like a perfect Christmas card picture! :D

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  5. Thanks for the review on Kombacha! I've seen it around in the blog world, but have yet to actually look at it and develop any opinions of my own.

    You got your hubby to try brussel sprouts? Now that's a feat I don't know that I could conquer. Nick won't even smell my brussel sprouts when I make them! I'm impressed.

    Your tree, and family photo look great!

    Regarding reading blogs, yes, I get overwhelmed. Especially now that I have all of a sudden reached the point where I get 40 comments per post. Hence the reason I only post every other day now.

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  6. Oh wow, I just wrote a really long comment and I don't think it even got posted! I could be wrong...but I won't re-write it. Basically, I love your photo, I appreciate the drink review, and CONGRATS on getting the hubby to eat brussel sprouts!

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  7. Thanks for all the link love!
    Your Christmas picture is too cute, and those brussel sprouts look amazing!
    I do get overwhelmed...so thankful for Google Reader!

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  8. sometimes i do feel overwelhmed htinking about it..but once im reading im fine! GREAT picture!! and thanks for the Kombacha lesson..never tried it!

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  9. Oh those brussel sprouts look great!

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  10. Haven't tried Kombucha yet. It was fun reading your review!

    Love your Christmas card picture!

    Yes, reading blogs and keeping track of all of them is really hard! It's very overwhelming sometimes! I was just thinking about this the other day, actually! There's just so many blogs, so many blog posts to read! Sometimes I try to cut down on the amount of blogs I read - and that will only work for a little bit because I'll either start reading all of them again or I'll find a ton of new ones to read! Let me know if you come up with a good system!

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  11. Floaters...... Some of the fruit juices here have chunks of aloe in them. Grosses me out - only the juice please! Love catching up with your blog - I missed it last week ;).

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  12. hahahaha. we had brussel sprouts with dinner last night. my husband made them. He just steamed though and we ate them plain. HE said they were his FAVORITE veggie growing up.
    I like them too! I dont know why they get such a bad rap! :)
    Google reader helps, but I have so many blogs, I do not have time to read them all. I can sit for a whole day and read, and still not be caught up! IT is bad!

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  13. Yes I find it hard sometimes to stay caught up. I have learned nnot to beat myself up over missing a day of reading or not getting to them all. If I am busy then I am busy, I need my sleep to stay healthy too. I agree too, I do not like to drink my calories, and if I can get it from a food, it is much better.

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  14. That does look very tasty, and I don't even like brussel sprouts! Love the photo for the Christmas cards. LOL, yeah I guess it would be difficult getting a dog and snake to sit together.

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  15. I could really use some help with vegetable recipes! So I'm looking forward to following your blog!

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  16. Thanks for you Kombucha review! I have yet to try the elusive drink. :-) I won't lie....I saw one look at the cost and thought, "I can get a beer for that much at a bar!" I am curious but don't want to get hooked - my wallet doesn't want that, either.

    I love the family picture! You all look so happy.

    And yes, I do get VERY overwhelmed with blogs...it's just so hard to keep up with them all the time - ya know? Thankfully I can, um, comment on them during the day (at work). But I have to watch it...don't want to get in trouble! ;-)

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