Cultured Food Life

In these summer months, has your kefir been fermenting faster and turning into curds and whey before you know it? In the summertime, kefir can change and many people think something is wrong with their kefir; then they throw it away which gives me complete anxiety! Don't throw it away, it's still good. Let me help you fix it. Check out the podcast for more info. Episode link: https://www.culturedf...

There are many ways to make kefir with many different types of milk, and believe me, I've tried them all. Mostly to try to help you. I have some of my favorites, but I will explain which ones you can use and let you know my favorites. There is a lot to understand about milk and the many ways you can consume it and use it to make kefir. Things like, "What do pasteurization and homogenization do to...

In the early days of making kombucha, I would often let my kombucha go too long and it would lose its bubbliness. There were a few times it turned so sour that it made me squint and gasp and nobody wanted to drink it. Here are the many ways you can help and use your overly tart kombucha. Episode link: https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/podcast/episode-162-is-your-kombucha-too-sour/ Check out this li...

You all keep asking . . . What do I do with all these SCOBYs?! If you are anything like me, you have a pile of SCOBYs in a massive SCOBY hotel just waiting. It feels somehow wrong to throw them away when you have taken care of them and watched them grow! Did you know you can eat your SCOBYs and that they're actually good for you and have health benefits? Check out all my recipes and ideas on what...

Fermenting, sprouting, and soaking are all ways I enhance my food. These are the heroes that help me stay healthy in spite of all that seems to tell me I need to fear aging and all the disease that could come my way. Sprouting seeds is similar to fermentation. Sprouting seeds makes certain nutrients easier to absorb than when the foods are in their non-sprouted form. Check out how easy it is to ma...

It's my favorite time of the year - when I have an abundance of fresh vegetables that I can ferment. Fermented vegetables can last nine months stored in the refrigerator. They can provide you with months of your own probiotics that are much stronger than supplements. We get a lot of questions about making cultured vegetables and we have lots of answers to help you. Check out 16 FAQs about cultured...

I love dates and so do my microbes since they're loaded with fiber and lots of nutrients. Here is what I've learned about dates and why date sugar is my favorite sweetener to use for baked goods. Dates are nature's healthy treats! Check out the podcast and article. Episode link: https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/podcast/episode-158-7-healthy-reasons-i-love-dates/ Check out this link: https://www.cu...

If I want to feel better from one meal, a salad is just the ticket I need. If I could teach you to eat a small salad every day it could change your life. If you want to feel better, you need salad and probiotic dressing with a little fat in them to help you absorb the nutrients in a more profound way. Eating salads provides fiber for your microbiome and this reduces inflammation and so much more....

Watching tea turn into kombucha is quite a thing to behold. You give it the ingredients and let it work its magic. Billions of microbes and yeasts transform the tea into a bubbly probiotic tea that you will love. When you first start making kombucha you might be concerned and not know what to expect, so I made something to help you. I took pictures day by day, step by step, as well as top and side...

The process of healing from seasonal allergies was a long process for me because there was much to learn and I continue to do so. Food is powerful medicine and learning to harness its power is really important and especially if you're struggling with allergies of any kind. Knowledge is key and there are special foods that can help you, but first let's start with your body's reaction to pollen. Tun...

Kefir is my favorite cultured food. It has the most probiotic strains of any cultured food (over 50 strains) and is also super easy to make. It was the first cultured food I tried and it made me well in so many ways that I started on a journey to learn all I could about this magical food. Kefir is a living food and can change in texture and taste as it adjusts to changing temperatures and fermenta...

I think carrots are something special and that we should include them in our diets as much as possible. I love the flavor of fresh carrots. Nothing shouts, "Get back to your roots!" quite like carrots. I have many recipes with cultured carrots and a carrot kombucha recipe which is pretty spectacular. Check out the podcast for 19 cultured carrot recipes! Episode link: https://www.culturedfoodlife.c...

Nobody really wants to talk about constipation and diarrhea, but it's something everybody deals with at some time in their life. I've had so many people find help with these ailments that despite most people not wanting to talk about elimination, it's something that can be your best teacher if you know what to look for and how to help your body. Check out this podcast to learn more. Episode link:...

Almost two decades ago I had a revelation. No longer could I rely on any individual to solve all my health problems even if it was a medical professional. Although I have a lot of respect for what they do, I realized that they are very limited since they only get two weeks of nutrition in medical school. That's simply not enough information and since we need to eat and drink to survive, and so do...

Jun is a cultured food similar to kombucha but supposedly its own separate thing. It is brewed with a SCOBY culture that is light in color and is made using green tea and honey. It ferments for a few days less than kombucha and has a wonderfully tangy floral taste that is lighter than traditional kombucha. There is a little confusion about where it came from and how to make it, so listen to today'...

I want to share with you my favorite cultured vegetable recipe and how it came to be. It's been quite a journey and I love all the things I learned from making cultured foods. Tune in, listen, and get the recipe too! Episode link: https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/podcast/episode-149-my-favorite-cultured-vegetable-recipe/ Check out these links: https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/my-favorite-cultured-...

I have used bone broths and collagen as a form of natural healing in my life and in the lives of my family members. The older I get, the more I find how essential these foods are to my body. I first noticed how crucial it is to consume these foods about eighteen years ago when my daughter had IBS. I made her tons of soups made with collagen-rich bone broths and she had at least one cultured food a...

Sometimes you have to fight through some bad days to find the best days of your life. As a young woman, I always had a sense of urgency but never knew what it was. When several crises hit I had to change and started looking for answers. The truth is all of us are going through a change. Maybe we're transforming from what we used to be to a higher, better version of ourselves - trying to find our w...

No, you do not need a starter culture to make cultured veggies. However, by using a starter you will receive more probiotics and a lot of other benefits. Let me explain your options and you can better choose which is the best method for you. Episode link: https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/podcast/episode-146-do-cultured-veggies-need-a-starter/ Check out this link: https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/d...

I've been making sourdough bread for almost 18 years and it is one of my very favorite cultured foods to make. Our baking traditions have changed down through the last few centuries. Sourdough starters used to be the standard mode for rising bread, but today so many don't use these anymore but rather instant yeasts that wreak havoc on their guts and bodies. Learn how to make your own bread and rea...

For many years people thought I was crazy for eating and making these cultured foods. I didn't care, for I had gone from hoping they would work, to believing, and then to a strong knowing that they would work. Nothing in the whole wide world could now convince me that these foods aren't powerful medicine that will heal and make well. Listen to learn how these foods can help you too. Episode link:...

More and more people are eating raw and unprocessed whole foods which is a good thing - unless they're loaded with enzyme inhibitors and phytates. From what I've seen, these can cause quite a disturbance in the body. There are special things you can do to allow more nutrient absorption and also remove inhibitors from these wonderful foods. Check out the podcast for more info. Episode link: https:/...

Fermentation or "culturing" is a special process of food preservation that has been around since the beginning of time. As humans learned the importance of this natural process, it helped them to keep foods safe in a powerful way - even before refrigeration was invented. It can help you in powerful ways too. Listen to learn more. Episode link: https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/podcast/episode-142-w...

Many gastrointestinal diseases are caused by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. H. pylori can cause gastric inflammation which may lead to gastritis, ulcers, and even gastric cancer. But here is the good news! Many traditional fermented foods and beverages that contain probiotic microbes can help with H.pylori in a powerful way. Check out the podcast to learn more. Episode link: https://ww...

When people think of miso, they mostly think of miso soup, but it is so much more. It has an incredible microbial makeup and is a nutritional powerhouse and is so simple to use. It has things that will help you stay healthy and I have lots of fun and easy ways to use miso. Check out this podcast to learn more. Episode link: https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/podcast/episode-140-the-many-reasons-you-...