Eat The Good Bugs - Healthy Gut Healthy Life

Eat The Good Bugs
a guide to fermented foods
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A Note From Kelsey
Congratulations on taking the first step to a healthier
gut! I’m so excited to share with you the joys and
benefits of fermented foods and the impact they
can have on your life.
I’ m a registered dietition which means that I went
to school to learn about nutrition and it’s effect
on the body. I’ll be first to admit that refistered
dietitions don’t ger a lot of training on gut health
in school (honestly, we barely even touch on it), but
I found the concept was so fascinating and the
more i read, the more I felt it had the potential to
address a wide variety of health issues. It was then
that I was hooked. I read, researched, and dove
head-first into the topic myself and realized that
probiotics (good bacteria) were the way of the
future. Now, I use this information with my clients so
that they can achieve their health goals.
Forget Apples - I truly believe that eating a
fermented food a day keeps the doctor away, and
I’m here to show you exactly how you can do it.
Welcome!
MS, RD, CDN
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Fermented Food 101
Fermented Food...
What Does That Mean?
Glad you asked! Fermentation is the process by
which bacteria “eat” the carbohydrates contained
in a food and create acid or alcohol (yep, wine
is a fermented food ­ just not the kind we’ll be
focusing on!). When acid is formed (lactic acid, to
be exact), a food is said to be lacto-­fermented
and it contains lots of healthy bacteria called
lactobacilli. You might be familiar with some of
these foods, like yogurt, kombucha or cheese, but
there is a whole world of fermented foods out there!
As Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation, puts it,
fermentation is “the flavorful space between fresh and
rotten”. While that certainly doesn’t sound appealing,
think about all the foods that are fermented:
yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, kvass, kombucha ­the list
goes on. All these foods aren’t “fresh” and they’re
certainly not “rotten”, but they lie in a special space
between those two, packed with flavor. While it
can sometimes take a while to get used to the
expressive flavors of fermented foods, once you find
some you love, you’ll start to crave them (promise!).
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Why Eat Fermented Foods?
Did you know you have waaaaay more bacteria in your gut than you
have human cells? We’re actually more bacteria than we are human! Crazy,
huh? Our gut is a reservoir of bacteria (both good and bad) and the
balance of the good bacteria versus the bad is one of the main influencers
of our overall health. In fact, imbalanced bacteria has been associated
with health problems such as irritable bowel syndrom, Crohn’s disease,
diverticulitis, depression, acne, rheumatoid arthritis, and more. As you can
see, the effects of an unbalanced gut are far-ranging.
If you’ve ever taken an antibiotic, you’ve disripted the balance of your flora.
If you’ve relied too much on high-sugar junk foods for a while, you’ve done it
again. If your stress level is high, this too disrupts your bacterial balance! But
you can turn it around. It’s vital to have more good bugs than we do bad
bugs, and the best way to do this it o consume fermented foods balance
our gut flora, they also help us digest our food better and enhance the
absorption of vitamins and minerals. Pretty sweet!
Our ancestors knew the importance of consuming fermented foods to keep
their gut bacteria in good shape - from kimchi to kvass, humans have been
eating the good bugs for a long time! Why shouldn’t we follow suit?
Why don’t we eat the good
bugs anymore?
With new technology came new ways of making “fermented“ foods without
fermentation. This made it easier for food manufacturers to make and sell
these foods, and it didn’t require the time investment of fermentation. You’ll
now see foods that were traditionally fermented, like sauerkraut, sold in nonfermented form (they’ll be sitting on the shelf and not in the refrigerator).
Eaier for the manufacturer; worse for our health.
Thankfully, many awesome companies have realized this and have stepped
in to bring back the fermented versions. Don’t worry, we’ll talk more about
who they are later1 You can also easily make fermented foods yourself.
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Making Fermented Food
Making Your Own v. Buying It
Now that you know fermented foods taste great and are wonderful
for your health, you’ll want to start thinking about how you can
incorporate them into your diet. Should you make your own? Should
you buy them? Truly, it doesn’t matter! As long as you’re eating
fermented foods on a regular basis, your gut bacteria will be happy.
If you’re feeling motivated to make your own, go for it. But if you want to
buy them, that’s totally cool too. Below, you’ll find recipes for my favorite
fermented foods, plus my favorite brands if you decide to buy. Enjoy!
Making Fermented Food Yourself
No matter what you make, you’ll probably want to use mason jars They’re
cheap, easy, and can be used for almost all recipes. Make sure you
get the wide­-mouth jars as this makes life a lot easier when you’re trying
to pack as many veggies as possible in there! You can also use leftover
jars from pasta sauce, salsa etc ­ so make sure to start saving those.
If you’re making a fermented drink like our probiotic soda, you may
also want to consider getting some fliptop bottles (or saving recycled
bottles). These are perfect for making sure your drinks get extra fizzy!
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Recipes I Love
Pssst...need help making these recipes? I have videos of
me making ALL the recipes in the booklet to help you!
Just $5 and they’re all yours - click here to purchase
1. Lemon-ginger probiotic soda
3. Yogurt
Finally, a healthy soda replacement. This stuff is seriously addicting.
You’ll start by making your “ginger bug” and then make your soda
with that - because of the two-­step process, this recipe takes
a little longer than the others. And don’t worry - if you avoid
sugar in your diet, the bacteria will eat up the sugar for you
in this recipe so you don’t have to! Lastly, if you prefer a different
flavor soda, swap the lemon juice for a juice of your choice.
Yogurt is loved by many, and for good reason ­ this tangy ferment is
absolutely delicious. To make it easy, use store­-bought yogurt to start
the culture.
4 Kimchi
Kimchi is a spicy, crunchy Korean treat that fills you with the good
bugs! If you’re not a fan of spicy foods, you can decrease the amount
of red chili pepper powder to suit your taste buds or make baek
(white) kimchi which does not contain red chili pepper powder at all.
2. Dill Pickles
Sour, crunchy and packed with flavor, these pickles are so freakin’ good.
I add tea for its tannin content, which help to keep the pickles crisp.
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Lemon-Ginger Probiotic Soda
for the ginger bug
Need help? Buy the video for this recipe here
Prep time: 10 minutes Ferment time:
3 days Ingredients
• a large piece of ginger
• 2 TB sugar
• 1 cup filtered water
MAKES 1 QUART
Directions:
1. Chop about 2 TB of ginger into small pieces
(alternatively, you can use a microplane to
grate the ginger).
2. Add ginger to quart-sized mason jar with
water.
3.
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Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
4.
For the next three days, add 1 TB freshly
chopped ginger, 1 TB sugar, and 1 TB water to
the mixture each day. Your bug should start to
bubble and fizz.
5.
After the third day, the bug should be
ready to use!
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Lemon-Ginger Probiotic Soda
for the soda
Need help? Buy the video for this recipe here
Prep time: Ingredients
30 minutes Ferment time:
3-5 days •
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1/4 cup ginger root
2 lemons
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp molasses
1 quart filtered water
MAKES 1 QUART
Directions:
1. Strain 1/4 cup of your bug and place in a flip top
bottle or recycled plastic bottle (I like to use plastic
kefir bottles). The idea here is that the container has
a very tight seal (this helps make it fizzy because
carbon dioxide builds up in the bottle). The bottle
should be able to hold ~32 oz of liquid; if you only
have smaller jars that’s okay, but you will want to
make 1 batch of the soda mixture and then split it
between the smaller jars.
4. Add sugar and molasses to the pot and fill with
8.
5.Turn
bottle.
about 2 cups of filtered water. Stir.
on the burner to medium-high until the
mixture boils. Once boiling, turn down the heat to
low and let simmer for 10 minutes.
6.
leaving about 1” of space at the top. Cap the
9. Place in a dark area. Check on the soda every
day - if you are using a plastic bottle, you can
Take pot off the heat and add the juice from
squeeze the bottle to see how firm it is (the firmer
the remaining half of the lemon you cut, plus the
it is, the more gas has built up, leaving you with
juice of an additional lemon (1 1/2 lemons total)
a fizzier soda). If using a mason jar or other glass
2. Slice ginger and place into a medium-sized pot. and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
3. Slice half a lemon into 2-3 slices and put in the 7.Once at room temperature, add the mixture to
pot with the ginger.
Fill the rest of the bottle with filtered water,
your bottle with the bug in it.
bottle, open the top to let out some air once in a
while and consume when it is fizzy enough.
10. Once the fizziness is to your liking, store in the
refrigerator.
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Dill Pickles
Need help? Buy the video for this recipe here
Prep time: 20 minutes Ferment time:
3-5 days Directions:
1. Chop off the ends of the cucumbers.
2.
Slice cucumbers in half lengthwise, then
again into quarters to make long slivers. Pack
tightly into mason jar.
Ingredients
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2-4 kirby cucumbers
2 cups filtered water
2 TB salt
2 garlic cloves 1 tsp red chili pepper 1 tsp mustard seed 1 tsp corriander seeds
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
3 sprigs fresh dill
1 green tea bag
MAKES 1 QUART
4.
Place garlic cloves in jar on top of the
cucumbers
5.
Add the remaining spices to the jar.
3. Split open garlic cloves by lightly pressing 6. Mix 1 cup water with the salt until dissolved.
on them with a knife (you want to open them
and expose their flavor but not crush them into
small pieces ­ they should still for the most part
be whole).
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Pour into jar.
7.
Fill jar the rest of the way with remaining
water, leaving approximately 1” of space to the
top of the jar and cover.
8. Add the tea bag to the jar.
9.
Keep in a dark place for 1 day, then take
out the tea bag. Wait about 2 more days and
try a pickle. If they taste soured enough, place
them in the fridge to slow down the fermentation
process. If they don’t taste soured enough,
leave for a few more days, tasting each day
for done­ness
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Yogurt
Need help? Buy the video for this recipe here
Prep time:
2 hours
Ferment time:
7-24 hours
Directions:
1. Place store-bought yogurt on the counter to
bring to room temperature as you complete all
other steps.
2. Heat the milk in a large pot to 185 °F on
low heat.
3. Take the milk off the heat and let cool to
110 °F. At this point it should feel warm but not
hot.
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Ingredients
• half gallon full - fat fresh milk,
preferably grass-fed and
unhomogenized (commercial milk works
too!) • 1/2 cup plain, full-fat yogurt (I use
Stoneyfield Farms )
• 4 tsp gelatin (this brand is my favorite)
• filtered water
• a thermometer
MAKES A HALF GALLON
4.
Mix gelatin with cold water and let bloom.
Add to cooled milk.
5. Add 1/2 cup yogurt to the milk. Mix very
7. Pre-heat oven to 200 °F, then turn oven off.
Place crock pot (or other container you used) in
the oven with the pilot light on.
well.
6. Transfer mixture to a crock pot or other
temperature-holding container (thermos, etc).
If using a crock pot, set on warm for 1 hour.
If you do not have a temperature-holding
container, you can use a mason jar. Wrap
mason jar in towels.
8. Keep in the oven for at least 7 hours, and
up to 24 hours. Note that the longer you let
it ferment, the less sweet it will taste. If you are
lactose intolerant, you are more likely to tolerate
yogurt that has been fermenting longer.
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Kimchi
Need help? Buy the video for this recipe here
Ingredients
• 1head napa cabbage (2lbs)
Prep time:
• 4 green onions, trimmed & cut to 1” pieces
2.5 hours
• 3/4 cup coarse sea salt
• 1/4-1/2 cup red chili pepper powder (can
be found at local Asian supermarket or online.
Ferment time:
Omit if making white kimchi)
3-4 days
• 31/4 cups filtered water
• 2 TB chopped garlic
• 1 tsp finely grated ginger
• 2 TB fish sauce
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Directions:
1. Discard the outer leaves of the cabbage.
2. Cut cabbage lengthwise into quarters.
3. Cut into small pieces, about 1” each (bitesize), and place in a large bowl.
4.
Dissolve salt in 3 cups of filtered water and
pour over cabbage. Add additional water so
that the cabbage is covered. Toss well.
• 2 tsp sugar
MAKES ONE QUART
6. Mix red chili pepper powder, garlic, ginger,
fish sauce, toasted sesame oil, and sugar
with 1/2 cup water to make a paste. Use an
immersion blender if you have one, otherwise a
food processor works well.
7.
Drain cabbage. Add scallions to the
colander with cabbage and rinse the mixture
a few times to remove excess salt. Place mixture
back in the large bowl.
5. Let cabbage sit for about two hours. After 8.
two hours, the cabbage should be bendable.
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Add spice paste to cabbage and mix
thoroughly. Use your hands (with gloves) or a
kitchen tool (I use a rolling pin with no handles)
to repeatedly pack down the cabbage. After
a couple minutes, it should start to release its
juices.
9.
Pack kimchi into a mason jar - make sure to
push it down so that the brine rises above the
cabbage.
10.
Place jar in a dark place and let ferment
for 3-4 days, tasting each day for doneness.
Once it reaches a level of fermentation that you
enjoy, place it in the fridge.
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How Safe?
Fermented Foods, Huh... You’re Sure They’re Safe to Eat?
Trust me, you will know if a batch goes bad ­- I promise! Your fermented foods should smell fresh, tangy and
slightly effervescent, but not bad or rotten. If it smells like you wouldn't want to eat it, don't! Fermentation
is a bit of an art, so things may not always come out perfectly. Don’t be discouraged, just try again!
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Brands I Love
If you can’t find some of these brands, don’t
worry. Check out your health food store, Whole
Foods, farmer’s market, etc., and ask for the local
fermented food companies. Support your local
businesses!
Brands We Love
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BOA Fermented Food and Drink -
NY
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Bubbies - CA
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Cultures for Health - SD
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Fab Ferments - OH
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Farmhouse Culture Sauekrats
- CA
smoked jalapeno, horseradish leek, garlid dill, & ginger beet sauerkraut
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Firefly Kitchens - WA
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Flack Family Farms - VT
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Glasser Organic Farms - FL
Gold Mine Sauerkrauts
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- CA
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GT’s
Hawthorne Valley Farm
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- NY
Lifeway Kefir
kefir (purchase plain, full-fat version!)
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Tropical Traditions
Vital Choice - WA
Wild Mountain Paleo Market
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Wise Choice Vegetables
sauerkrauts, beets & beet juice, carrots & carrot juice, kimchi
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Zukay Love Foods
- PA
veggie kvass, fruit kvass, dressings
Maple Hill Creamery
yogurt (plain, full - fat)
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The Brinery - MI
beverages, vegetables, snacks, dressings, starters
beet kvass, sauerkrauts, hot sauce, kimchi, ginger carrot
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- CA
beets, garlic flowers, kimchi, sauerkrauts
kombucha
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Straus Family Creamery
atchara (green papaya)
sauekrats
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Spirit Creek Farms - WI
pickles, kimchi, sauerkraut, kvass
sauerkrauts, pickles
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- NY
yogurt, sour cream
cultured raw vegetables, sauerkrauts, kimchi, daikon ginger relish
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Ronnybrook Farm
green beans, beets, ginger carrots, sauerkraut, kimchi
multiple flavors of krauts, kimchi, and carrots
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- CA
yogurt (plain, full-fat)
sauerkraut, kimchi, spicy dill, curry, and 3 types of beet kvass
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Rejuvenated Foods
salsa, ketchup, pickles, tahini, kimchi, sauerkraut
fermentation starters
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Real Pickles - MA
pickles, hot sauce, kraut, kimchi, ginger carrots, beets & beet kvass
pickles, sauerkraut, horseradish
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- CA
sauerkraut
BBQ/hot sauce, ketchup, raw slaw, kombucha, and other beverages
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Pickled Planet
click on the brand to be directed to the website
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A Serving a Day
= A Healthy Gut
(and a healthy life)
A serving of fermented foods a day will change your life - really! Our gut bacteria play a huge
role in our overall health and well-­being and it’s our job to nourish them.
Aim for a 1/2 cup (solid) or 8 oz (liquid) serving a day and you’re on the path to a healthy
gut and a healthy life. If you’ve never eaten a fermented food before, I recommend that you
ramp up your intake slowly - start with a few bites your first day and work your way up to a full
serving. Also remember that you don’t have to eat your full serving in one sitting. In fact, some
people do better when they split up their fermented food intake over the course of the day
(especially when they first start). Find what works for you!
Cheers to a healthy gut and a healthy life!
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