A no-nonsense holistic approach to living a happy healthy life – written by a free thinker who likes doing things HER way!

I’m talking about FERMENTING!

When you ferment, you preserve foods to make them more digestible and nutritious. Bread, cheese, yogurt, chocolate, coffee, wine and beer are all results of fermentation.

So why ferment?
Live, unpasteurized fermented foods carry healthy bacteria into our digestive systems, breaking down food and aiding digestion. The healthy bacteria break down the carbohydrates, fats, and proteins to create friendly microflora which supports the gastrointestinal system. These colonize in your intestines and work to keep the unfriendly intestinal organisms under control, such as yeast, parasites and viruses. A healthy gut helps to ensure a strong immune system, thereby helping our bodies to fight off and prevent diseases, like cancer.

Seventy percent of the immune system is located in or around the digestive tract.

As someone who suffered from digestive issues for a number of years, I can attest to the fact that when my digestive system is off…everything else in my body seems out of whack.

Every culture in the world has some form of fermented foods they eat with meals to aid in digestion, but we tend to shun away from the practice here in America. I’ll agree that fermented foods are often times an acquired taste, but do we really prefer our foods to be processed and pasteurized…or are we just afraid of messing around with the living micro-organisms and the work involved? When we first started experimenting with fermentation in my home, I was very nervous. In the beginning, I did more observing than participating, but I soon realized that it’s quite easy! Anyone can do it and you don’t need any strange equipment for your kitchen. Of course, you can purchase many of these items from your local grocery store, but it’s more fun to make your own! Fermented foods found in the store are normally pasteurized and quite expensive. By learning yourself, you’ll save money and you’ll be one step closer to becoming self reliant and less dependent on commercialized food.

If you’re interested in giving it a try, there are a lot of resources out there to help get you started – Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz is my favorite. Katz, who was diagnosed with AIDS back in the 1980s, attributes his continued health to the regular consumption of live fermented foods. He describes fermentation as “a gourmet art, a multicultural adventure, a form of activism, and a spiritual path, all rolled into one!” YEAH! It’s true!

We ferment A LOT in my home. At any given time, you can usually find the following items in my fridge:

KimChi – Amazing by itself and great for a stuffy nose. We make ours very spicy.
Sauerkraut – I love eating it with Dijon mustard (strange, I know).
Sour Beets – Great on salads or we use it to make borscht. I like my soup cold!
Fermented Carrots with Ginger – Best eaten right out of the jar.
Sour Pickles – A delicious on the go snack.
Kombucha – A sour tonic beverage made with black or green tea and a “mother”. We drink it plain, or add it to wine.
Rejuvelac – A fermented tonic with amazing health benefits, made with soft wheat berries.
Coconut Kefir – A bubbly, sweet and sour beverage. I sometimes let it sit extra long until it becomes thick, almost pudding like.

Here are some pictures of foods in my fridge right now:

Sour Pickles, Sour Beets, Sauerkraut (made with Red Cabbage)

Kefir Grains

We’ll use these grains for Coconut Kefir or a Raw Goat Milk Kefir for Denis.

Kombucha Mother (Scoby)

Kombucha fermenting

Kombucha

For more information and fermenting recipes, check out Vegetable Fermentation Further Simplified.

Let me know if you decide to give it a try!

**Posted as part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays!