Fermented Foods

For over three years I have used fermented foods as a way of getting more probiotics into our diets. The more I read about the benefits of fermented foods, the more convinced I become that everyone should be eating fermented foods regularly.

As you know, the title of my website “backtosomebasics” is all about going back. Not just wishfully to the simplicity of life, but to the foods our ancestors once ate. I guarantee you that YOUR ancestors ate fermented foods!

I have made sauerkraut, yogurt, dill pickles, dilly beans, peppers, water kefir, sourdough bread, as well as my latest addition, milk kefir.  I use both my milk kefir starter and sourdough starter on an ongoing basis, and they are always alive in my kitchen.

I could go on and on about the health benefits of fermented foods, but I won’t because you can just do a quick search titled “fermented foods health benefits” and get a boatload of info in seconds.

Instead, I am going to encourage you and in a way, challenge you, to just spend five or ten minutes reading a few articles from your search, and consider adding fermented foods to your own diet that you have made in your very own kitchen.

If you can tolerate milk, I HIGHLY recommend milk kefir as a place to start. It is BY FAR the easiest of all the fermented foods I have made. All you do is pour milk in a jar, add your milk kefir grains, cover the jar and let it sit for 24 hours.  We use milk kefir as the main ingredient in ranch salad dressing, make milkshakes or smoothies with it, and use it in place of (or in addition to) milk with some homemade granola on top.  It tastes a lot like yogurt.

A great source to purchase milk kefir grains or any type of fermented starter is www.culturesforhealth.com . I ordered water kefir grains from them a couple of years ago, and I can’t recommend them enough.  Their customer service is awesome, and they are always willing to answer questions. Their website also has a wealth of information on anything fermented, not to mention awesome recipes!  They also have many short videos with demonstrations.

So, once you are finished reading this, do a quick search on the health benefits of fermented foods, and start the process of reintroducing amazing good bacteria into your gut!  If you have any questions, let me know.  You can either comment, or email me at gwen@backtosomebasics.com.  I would be happy to help.