The Garden of Our Gut

The Garden of Our Gut

I am not a doctor, but as a wife, mom, grandma and dealing with my own body, I am intimately involved in healthcare. We are all in the business of self-diagnosis to some degree or the other.  We each are our own best describers of how we feel and what things we do to help make our own body feel better.   My own body system has always seemed to struggle with digestive issues as well as extended family members dealing with Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease and a variety of other autoimmune issues.

One of the foundational building blocks for WellStone Gardens is “Food is Medicine” and across the board, everyone would agree that diet and exercise are fundamental in health and wellness. There is more to nutrition and the foods we eat than just the vitamin and mineral content.  There is the larger implication of how and if the healthy foods we eat can actually be absorbed and the waste disposed of properly, which is a big part of our digestive health. In terms of “gut” health there is a growing body of research focusing on the importance of a healthy gut biome and the impact of bacteria on our overall health and wellness.

I have been reading, researching and exploring in this area of our human microbiome. This post is meant to pass along a variety of resources that you might also enjoy investigating.

 

Cultured Foods – Grow Your Own

kombuchijar fermentedveggiesjar   kefironplate  

    

 About a year ago, I was introduced to the concept of making my own probiotic foods and beverages in the form of cultured vegetables,   kefir (a type of drinkable yogurt), and Komucha (a fermented tea beverage).    These are incredibly easy to make at home and so tasty and beneficial.

I have posted a couple of easy recipes:

 

 Orange Dreamsicle Kefir kefir cocktail  Easy Cultured Vegetables fermentedveggies

 

 

 

 

 


 

I don’t want to “reinvent the wheel” in this area. Instead, I want to send you to the resources of those who are far more experienced than I, that may help you understand how to use the “wheel” better. The easiest place to start is with Donna Schwenk at culturedfoodlife.com

She has two books you can find here:

Cultured Food for Lifeculturedfoodforlife Cultured Food for Healthculturedfoodhealth

 

 

 

In her latest post,   “How Many Calories in Kefir?”   Donna states- (which made me chuckle)…   “I make kefir. What’s your superpower?”

She has wonderful, step by step, easy to follow videos for free. She also offers all the resources you need to get started.

How to make kefir

How to make komucha

How to make cultured vegetables


 

Books and Research

You may be asking why our gut biome is so important?  For even more research and resource,  I highly recommend Dr. David Perlmutter, neurologist and author of the book  “Grain Brain”.   This book deals with how sugars, or anything that converts to sugar, can cause inflammation and inflammation causes disease.brain grain    braingrain

Dr. Perlmutter has a second book titled “Brain Maker”.  This book is the featured book this month here at WellStone Gardens.  Brain Maker focuses on the importance of our gut biome and the impact this has on a variety of aspects of our health including our brain.

 


More Resources to Explore

Hay House Radio    has some excellent radio broadcasts.    Free 14 day trial, then a very reasonable yearly fee.

Donna Schwenk titled “Our second brain: Does our gut bacteria control our behavior to get the best nutrients?” (Date: 2016-03-08)

Heather Dane and Caroline Barringer under Loving Yourself to Great Health titled “Leaky Gut and Leaky Brain” (Date: 2016-01-25)

Heather Dane is also co-author of another great book:

The Bone Broth Secretbonebroth

Websites:  

The Human Food Project

Buy cultured vegetables

Kombucha Kamp

Ubiome

Tend Your Garden Well

As with any garden, you can always replant and regrow those healthy bacteria needed in your system, as well as being watchful for those “weeds” of bacteria that are not helpful. I love watching my own kefir grains reproduce and my kombucha scoby grow. My cultured vegetables are on hand to use as an easy healthy side dish. I will write future posts going into more details on these areas of a healthy microbiome.  I wanted to give you a beginning point of reference.   The garden I am growing in my gut is as important as my garden outside and I love learning from others how to tend it well.

 littlewell

Orange Dreamsicle Kefir

Orange Dreamsicle Kefir

kefir cocktail

I have enjoyed getting back into making kefir.  When I first made kefir I used non dairy heavy coconut cream in the can from Trader Joe’s.  You can learn how by watching an easy video at Cultured Food Life.   When using non dairy milk you still must add about a quarter cup of whole milk in order to feed the kefir grains.

 

Orange Dreamsicle Kefir
 
This is my favorite kefir flavor. It is so easy to make and I sometimes just like to eat the orange pieces right out of the jar before blending. They are delicious fizzy oranges!
Author:
Course: Cultured Creations
Cuisine: Recipe
Ingredients
  • A little less than 1 quart whole organic or raw milk
  • 3 to 4 live kefir grains
  • 1 orange (peeled and cut into large chucks - save 1 slice for garnish if desired)
  • 2 Tbsp. monk fruit and/or chicory root sweetener
Instructions
  1. Place a little less than 1 quart of milk in glass quart mason jar (leave 1 inch at top open for expansion)
  2. Add kefir grains.
  3. Place lid on jar and set in cool dark place for 24 hours.
  4. Remove kefir grains (you can place them in a fresh jar to start your next batch).
  5. Add orange chucks and small piece of orange peel.
  6. Place lid on jar and set in cool dark place for another 24 hours.
  7. Remove lid and add sweetener
  8. Blend well (I use a Nutri-bullet or Vita-Mix)
  9. Garnish with orange slice (optional)

 

 

Easy Cultured Vegetables

Easy Cultured Vegetables

 

fermentedveggiestopview

I was introduced to kefir, komucha and cultured vegetables about a year ago.  I was very impressed with the different probiotics in all three.  I was a little skeptical of  growing  these crazy looking creatures in jars in my kitchen, but as a former homeschool mom, I was willing to try.  I was even blessed enough to take a wonderful “Trilogy” class through Donna Schwenk at beautiful Casa Somerset bed and breakfast.

I reluctantly admit, that I used the excuse of the busyness of life to set this incredible process aside for many months.  Through a variety of circumstances, the health benefits of fermentation as come back as a high priority for me and my family.  To my surprise and amazement, my komucha scoby’s and my water kefir grains were still very much alive and active.  (More information, stories and pictures in a later post).

I wanted to post a very easy and simple cultured vegetable recipe just to begin to introduce this onto our site.  Again, much more will be coming very soon on this topic.  To watch an expert doing this and to know where to buy materials I have placed the link here Cultured Food Life

Donna is the very best

Here is a picture of my first attempt back at cultured vegetable.  I made a gallon and I plan to store this mix in smaller quart jars in the refrigerator.

 

 

 

Easy Cultured Vegetables
 
I mixed together the veggies I like and tried to incorporate lots of colors (remember: eat the rainbow). I also used an air lock lid. Any extra that won't fit in the jar to leave room for expansion can be eaten as a fresh salad.
Author:
Course: Cultured Foods
Ingredients
  • 1 head organic cabbage
  • 2 organic red beets
  • 4 organic carrots
  • ⅛ cup red onion, chopped
  • ¼ cup organic red cabbage
  • ½ cup red kale, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. Celtic sea salt
  • 1 packet cultured vegetable starter
  • Filtered water
Instructions
  1. Open cultured vegetable starter and mix with 1 cup filtered water. Set aside.
  2. Shred all vegetables a food processor, and place in large mixing bowl. Toss gently until well mixed.
  3. Sprinkle with salt and mix well.
  4. Place mixture in gallon jar.
  5. Pour in cultured vegetable starter.
  6. Fill with filtered water, leaving 2-3 inches empty at the top of the jar to allow for expansion.
  7. Gently make sure all veggies are under the water.
  8. Cover with an air lock lid.
  9. Set in a cool place out of sunlight for 6-7 days.
  10. Remove air lock lid and replace with regular lid and refrigerate. (i place in smaller jars first)
  11. This mixture will last at least 9 months in the refrigerator.