Fermented Vegetables One of the best ways to consume vegetables is to ferment them. This is so simple. You're basically chopping vegetables and placing them in a jar, adding a culture, and then letting them ferment for a few days. You get to watch as they bubble and ferment on your counter. Then they turn tart and fill those veggies with billions of probiotics and extra vitamins. Fermentation makes food safe I want to explain to you how safe these foods are and why you don’t need to be afraid. The process of fermenting vegetables has been used for thousands of years in a number of culture ..read more

Kombucha & Kefir Soda Kombucha and kefir soda are both fermented probiotic drinks, and boy, are they delicious and good for you. They are bubbly, living, raw beverages that tend to have minds of their own. They ferment differently in the winter than in the summer, so understanding the process can make a huge difference. Each of them has different bacterial and yeast species, so they do different things. Both of these drinks have the probiotic yeast called Saccharomyces boulardii. S. boulardii is one of the most researched probiotics and has been used worldwide to support gastrointesti ..read more

The Special Superfood Smoothie Scroll down to check out the video and recipe! If you've been sick and not feeling well and trying to recover, or you are just trying to reset your gut, this is a quick and easy smoothie that starts the ball rolling in the right direction. It is fantastic for restoring your microbiome, boosting your immune system, and giving you a delicious way to do it. It helps to lower 19 inflammatory markers in the body that can cause you to feel miserable and sick. It has four components that all work together, and you can make it your morning smoothie to flood your b ..read more

Kefir the Immune Booster This is one of my more popular recipes, and I love it because I can make several of them ahead of time to have a fast and easy breakfast. Kefir is a necessity for my family and me during cold and flu season. Whether you are trying to keep colds and flu at bay or keeping your gut flora thriving, kefir is the easiest cultured food to make with the most probiotics of any cultured food. Kefir has many species of Lactobacillus, 19 in all. These are extremely important for keeping your lungs healthy and keeping respiratory infections from spiraling into pneumonia and b ..read more

Einkorn Mini Pies I love Valentine's Day, and I love einkorn flour, so the two always go together. I have been using einkorn flour for everything lately, including these little jam pies, so I can't wait to share the recipe and video   I made, along with my new Einkorn eBook for Members! I will be speaking about einkorn bread at the Sourdough Festival at 123 farms on  February 17th, 2024, which I participate in almost every year around February. Check out the venue. I really love einkorn and think it is the answer to the gluten problem so many are having. It is also a powerful way ..read more

There are a million reasons why you shouldn’t drink regular sodas that are laden with high fructose corn syrup, dyes, and chemicals that are hard on the body. Water kefir can provide minerals and probiotics, and they are easy and fun to make. Replace your drinks with water kefir or kombucha, and you will have fewer cravings for sugary soft drinks. Remember, the sugar in water kefir is not for you but for the good yeasts and bacteria to consume while they create a naturally occurring probiotic carbonation. These drinks will contain no artificial chemicals or artificial ingredients - plus ..read more

L. Reuteri the super strong microbe L. Reuteri Yogurt I have always said that L. reuteri has a mind of its own. It's a very strong strain of bacteria, and they even use this bacteria to clean out fermentation vats that have other undesirable bacteria. Many yogurt manufacturers felt L. reuteri couldn't be made into yogurt. But that is no longer the case. More and more people are making this powerful yogurt with many health benefits; however, sometimes it can act up and separate into whey and curds and smell and taste really strong. After working with this yogurt for a few years, I know much ..read more

Matcha Tea and Me Being and staying healthy is an ever-evolving journey. As I change and grow older, I have found new things that have profoundly impacted my life. In comparison, these don't always mean cultured foods, but sometimes they are prebiotics that my body needs. I am a coffee lover, but it didn't love me lately. I started to feel more acidic, and the caffeine started bothering me. So I started looking around for drinks to replace it and switched to Matcha tea (ceremonial grade). I was amazed at how great it made me feel and how much I enjoyed it. I drink it once or twice a day, a ..read more

Happy New Year! Wow, I can't believe 2023 is coming to an end, and what a year it has been! As I sit down to reflect on the past twelve months, I can't help but marvel at the unexpected twists and turns that have shaped my journey with cultured foods. In the last few years, my journey with cultured foods has taken a thrilling turn with the introduction of L. Reuteri, L. Gasseri, Yogurt Plus, Natto and the delightful addition of Kefir Soda. It's been an exciting, delicious, and gut-changing experience. What's even more thrilling is that we have more new cultures, ones that you have ..read more

History of Milk Many of the foods we eat have been deemed either bad or good. Throughout my life, I have witnessed that many foods once deemed to be super healthy are now being deemed bad for you - and dairy is one of them. Often it is not the food, it's what we have done to the food and what we have done to our guts that is the problem. Since so many people have stopped drinking dairy, their bodies stopped producing the enzyme that helps them digest it. Combine that with taking antibiotics that kill strains of bacteria that are needed for proper digestion and problems ensue. Researchers ..read more