How Homemade Fermented Foods Kept Us Healthy This Winter

For quite some time I’ve heard about the connection between fermented foods, gut health, and the immune system.  I’ve dabbled in it here and there by making homemade kefir in the past, but found myself getting out of the habit of it.  I haven’t really gotten serious about making fermented foods until a good friend of mine shared the Cultured Food Life website with me.  I did not realize what I was missing out on by not keeping homemade cultured foods {such as kefir, kombucha, and cultured vegetables} on hand and as part of our regular diet!  These foods are not just foods, they are a medicine in and of themselves.

There is a benefit in consuming all three of the fermented foods on a regular basis.  Consuming just one is great for your health, consuming two is even better, but consuming all three of these cultured foods is just awesome.  Each cultured food has its own powerhouse of probiotic strains and vitamins.  When you combine all three of these foods, you are providing optimal nutrition for your intestinal health, which is where the big part of the immune system is.  When your gut is in the best of health, your immune system is working top notch, and you are providing your body with what it needs to heal and correct health problems.

How Homemade Fermented Foods Kept Us Healthy This Winter

Last fall I got a little more serious about adding cultured foods into our diet.  I made kefir, kombucha, and homemade sauerkraut.  I recommend starting with one cultured food and adding another one when you have it mastered!

Kefir

Kefir is a sour-tasting drink made from milk that is fermented with healthy bacteria.  It has the consistency of drinkable yogurt and is perfect to make smoothies with.  We really love the taste of the blueberry and strawberry kefir from our local store, but I prefer the majority of our kefir consumption to be from what I make myself.  Homemade kefir has many more strains of probiotics than store-bought.  You will get some benefit from the store-bought stuff, but nothing compared to what you can make.  {Source}  Kefir can be made from raw or pasteurized milk but can also be made with dairy-free milks such as coconut or almond.  You can also make kefir from water, but I have only used milk.

Resources for kefir-making:

• How To Make Kefir by Cultured Food Life
• Dairy-Free Kefir by Cultured Food Life
• How To Make Delicious Milk Kefir by Food Renegade

Click here to read the other 2 fermented foods I’m cooking up in my kitchen!