It’s been some time since I last wrote a blog and I’ve missed it – a lot.

Here in the GreenSwede household we’ve been a bit under the weather and as these things go, it has dove tailed with the snow, cold and general sentiment that in is definately better than out.

Heaven only knows the extent of my gas bill since I decided to keep the heating on all day while the worst weather passes through. But as I work from home it simply has to be warm. Us Scandies can tolerate cold on the outside – but this notion of not being warm once you’re inside simply doesn’t wash with us. We like it toasty, insulated and ideally hot underfoot. Well, you can’t have everything….

So with my fractured wrist and my visiting mothers’ bad knee, we’ve been taking it rather easy. Eating lots of greens and pulses,  juicing vegetables, slow cooking bone broth (wonderful this time a year) and making Kombucha. In other words generally looking after ourselves which has felt novel and it struck me;

Are we seriously so busy in our day-to-day life that we need illness to slow us down? Ponder that one, people…

As another batch of Kombucha brews on the hob (see recipe below) I contemplate this new slow pace and why it is that I am liking it so much. I think it has got something to do with the notion of acceptance. After my dancing on ice performance in Germany a month ago, my right wrist has a fracture and it has made normal things like driving, washing up, opening jars and cleaning the juicer something of a challenge. It slows you down whether you like it or not. So you might as well like it – or gilla lāget as we say in Swedish. Roughly translated, it means like what is.

I’m mid flow in studies to become a clinical hypnotherapist which means I have to read a lot of various literature on neuroscience, hypnosis and general books about the mind and how to rewire the brain. What all agree on is that it is never a particular circumstance in life that really is the problem but rather how we relate to it. It is in fact our faulty thinking surrounding circumstances which causes us to suffer. We resist, dislike and wish things were different.

So today’s top tip! When life throws you stuff – just breathe and go with it. See where it takes you.

In the meantime, whilst accepting our fate, we can still have nutritious fayre in times of need. And one of the best things we can do is to keep our gut in optimal health – for our immunity’s sake as well as for our minds. Here is a simple way to add Kombucha to your life if you are a newbie. Once your production gets going, it will provide you with potions for months to come. If you’re a pro just keep it going – you know the benetfits.

Kombucha della Casa GreenSwede (I think it means homemade Kombucha 🙂

2 ltrs filtered water

85g sugar

2-4 teabags

1 scooby (starter culture – order from Happy Kombucha)

How to: Boil the water in a stainless steel pan and make sure you don’t stick your fingers in it, or anything else for that matter. Add the teabags, sugar and stir. Leave to stew for about 30min then remove the teabags and let cool in the pot. Once cooled, add the brew and your scooby to a large glass jar. Cover with a piece of muslin. Warning: A scooby, or starter culture,  is not a pleasant sight but go with it. Always keep the scooby in room temperature, never fridge or hot temperatures.

Let the brew stew for about 2 weeks and then funnel out the liquid into a glass bottle and store in the fridge. Kombucha doesn’t really go off so you can keep it in the fridge for a long time. The kombucha will often become effervescent and wonderfully refreshing. If it tastes too much of vinegar, just dilute with water. When your bottle is empty, just repeat the boiling water, tea and sugar procedure for as long as you like. It’s as easy as that to start a production line. Note: the scooby will divide itself and make ‘babies’. This means you can give another lucky soul a scooby to start his or her own Kombucha production. The lovely peeps at Happy Kombucha have great resources on their website for more information on all things Kombucha.

Enjoy!

Birgitta xx