Fermented Foods

wasn't sure where to post this. I see it as nutritional healing so this sub forum seemed appropriate.
Anyhoo due to SAD (standard American diet) playing havoc on my stomach and such I've been trying to eat some fermented food every day. I've started with raw sauerkraut and kimchee. I've made beet kvass a few times and need to get back in the habit. . I've dabbled with kefir and yogurt.


Any thoughts on other fermented food options?

 

bump

 

Try some probiotics. They did great things for me. Have you been ill recently and taken any antibiotics? that can mess you UP bad. I like you get to help me re-establish my gut bacteria after any round of antibiotics and take a capsule of probiotics also.

 

Every year I seem to get hammered with a sinus infection and then the antibiotics come. I've taken probiotics, probably need to stick to it longer. My eating habits are terrible, always on the run, traveling around in a work van.

 

There are oodles of options when it comes to fermenting vegetables of every sort: https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/category/natural-fermentation/

Kefir is great, too. There are two kinds: dairy and non-dairy. I have made the dairy-free kefir and it is awesome:
https://www.culturesforhealth.com/l...on-of-water-kefir-grains-bacteria-and-yeasts/
https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/water-kefir/water-kefir-frequently-asked-questions-faq/

BTW, do you enjoy hot peppers or hot sauce??

A friend used to be plagued by sinus infections every year. I suggested that he consume some form of hot peppers at the very beginning of sinus problems. Eat enough so that your nose runs. And for several hours before and after eating them, drink enough water to be more than well-hydrated.

Have handy, LOTS of tissues (my friend just grabs a giant roll of toilet paper). Your sinuses will soon liquidate and evacuate!

Since he has been doing this for the past several years, he has had NONE of the usual sinus problems. Also, he learned not to honk his nose like a foghorn, but to blow gently from both nostrils at one time. This prevents backup blockages from forming.


.

 

Back in the days when I was a dancer/trader on the Powwow trail, I was on the road quite a bit. Road food diet made me feel so bad that I started bringing my own healthy alternatives in frozen form, and fruits/veggies in fresh form with healthy homemade dip spreads on sprouted wheat tortillas (not made with flour, but only sprouted grains. I get mine from here: https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/...llas-9-inch-frozen-organic/7939?package=FG150

Also brought home-grilled meats, precooked, seasoned and pre-chopped to throw in with the veggies and dip. Wrapped tortillas around them for an easy to eat "fast food."

My energy levels soared! Feeling good tastes good, too.

.

 

P.S. I enjoy my homemade flour tortillas, but also love the Ezekial sprouted grain tortillas for the complete protein and very rich nutritional profile that it offers.



.

 

My "survivalist" grandmother made kraut. How long have they been making kraut in Europe -- no way of knowing. It keeps and it tastes good ... if you know what you are doing.

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/sauerkraut.html

I remember the tubs of kraut on the back porch "working".

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can6a_ferment.html

http://www.thebackyardpioneer.com/2014/07/29/preserve-food-fermentation/

You can find an infinite number of links online.

Today, may wife spent the entire afternoon making tomato paste from the tomatoes we grow in our garden. Today I picked around twenty more tomatoes. Also cut around 15 hot peppers (Thai). The peppers will be dried and ground and put in tiny jars. Raising your own peppers results in pepper perfection. Fresh peppers still have the pepper flavor. Janet is cooking something a bit spicy, I walk to the garden and back with ingredients.

 

Yes, fresh peppers! I love making a clear hot sauce with them and want to try my hand at making fermented hot sauce.

I am hankering to make some homemade Chimayo pepper sauce. Those Chimayos...yum yum good. Big on flavor.


.

 

Good morning Grizz,

I used to have sinus problems. To solve this health issue, I changed my diet to pizza loaded with red hot peppers and red pepper "sprinkles". Health issue resolved. Plus, it's a healthy and tasty food.

I used to "live" at airports. To solve a major problem of nourishment, started to carry my own food. It worked.

 

Good morning Old Geezer,

Vaguely recall that sour kraut originated in China when they started building the Great Wall.

 

I've started a war on the grocery store. Trying to make as many things as possible without buying all of their products. Though I am stuck buying their milk and heavy cream to do what I want. In the process I have been making lots of probiotic foods and didn't really think much of it until I started reading up on all the benefits. I was having a lot of thigh pain from overwork but it just seemed to hang on and on. I started drinking a couple of cups of kefir a day and it's all but gone now. I was getting acid reflux sometimes too but that is gone. My kitchen is now my mini laboratory. Sprouts and kefir on the counter, making yogurt and sour cream and homemade bread and homemade butter. What else can I do? hehe

 

Good afternoon Whisper,

Very interesting re "My kitchen ... my lab ...".

Re "What else ... ?";

Not a fermented food question but any commentary on raw honey versus pasteurized and other honey ?

 

I love japalino peppers and use hot sauce on nearly everything in the place of salt or pepper. I seem to have a taste for capsaicin and you are right it will open up your sinuses. I think that it is offering my body something that it needs because if I don't get it for a week or so I will sort of crave it. I do the same thing for vitamin C and when I need that I will eat lemons and they taste sweet instead of sour. I think that your taste buds are a two-fold tool. They are chemical analyzers and I think that through your taste changes it will guide you to eat what you need if you pay attention.

 

I always buy raw honey and have for a long time. I wish I knew how to bee keep. Maybe I'll try that next along with some worm bins. I want to try Manuka honey but haven't yet. Have you tried that?

 

Good afternoon Whisper,

Yes, Madam Pragmatist got some. I can't taste the difference and wondered if actually more nutritious than raw honey.

 

I can't help but believe that raw honey, if you source it local, is much healthier for you in just the allergy aspect alone, let alone your local ecosystem will have the microbes and good bacteria you need and raw honey will supply a lot of that.