Cultured vegetables what are they? They are one of my secret weapons. I am crazy for these foods. They are more than food to me. They work like magic. Here is my story of cultured veggies and there magic they have preformed for me and my family.

First it was Maci and her terrible IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). She had them at every meal about a heaping spoonful. They help heal her gut and help her digest her foods. They were huge in her recovery, and she eats them everyday to this day.

It was many years ago and my husband, Maci and I ate some bad artichoke dip and food poisoning ensued. It was awful.  As I laid in bed moaning I began to get mad and decided that I was not going down without a fight. I dragged myself to the kitchen and ate 2 big spoonfuls of cultured veggies then went back to bed. It was about 30 minutes and I was up doing dishes. Maci and Ron were almost crying as they asked me how I could walk around and behave normally. It was those veggies. They work like a swat team inside your body. They will fight off all kinds of virus, and bacterium.  Did you know they gave these vegetables to the chickens with birdflu  and the chickens recovered. It’s because these veggies are awesome!!!  This is always in my arsenal for any sickness. Colds, flu what ever, just take them they work.

Now my latest discover is what they do for seasonal allergies. I have had allergies to pollen since I was 15. Every spring I stay inside and suffered. These last few years since I discovered cultured foods my allergies started to get better. Every year my 8 weeks of misery was getting smaller and smaller. Last year it was cut down to 4 days. One of the things I discovered was that the more cultured veggies I took, the better it got. I take about 1/2 cup 2 to 3 times a day and I do great. I also take a lot of dessicated liver  and kombucha and those are important too. I can go outside and enjoy the spring time. It is a beautiful thing. Those veggies are loaded with vitamin c and they fight inflammation both very important for your immune system when it is struggling with pollen.

 Super Food For Super Health

 

Raw cultured vegetables are powerful super food. These super foods include sauerkraut, kimchi,   pickles and many others. There is a major difference between the foods eaten today as compared to long ago. Years ago fermented vegetables were used as a way to prevent spoilage in food. They were also used on the voyages of Captain Cook to prevent scurvy with his shipmates.  The main difference today, as compared to long ago, is that cultured vegetables, such as pickles and sauerkraut have been pasteurized ,thus in part, destroying the many strains of health promoting bacteria’s and naturally occurring enzymes that help with digestion and a slew of other things. These foods are so powerful that in Asia, where they were experiencing the bird flu, they fed an extract of kimchi, a fermented food, to 13 infected chickens – and a week later 11 of them had started recovering. Many times when I or someone close to me has been sick I have given them a tbsp. or two of cultured vegetables and watched, at the remarkable speed of their recovery.

How To Make cultured Vegetables.

Sauerkraut without a culture package:

A couple heads of cabbage
2 to 3 tbsp Celtic sea salt (Salt will make your vegetables crunchy, without it they are soft and limp).
Remove outer leaves of cabbage. Shred cabbage into desired length. You can use a food processor or by hand. Pack cabbage into a gallon jug with a clamp down lid.  Cover with water. Add salt if you want it crunchy. If you want it softer leave salt out. Leave 2 to 3 inches for kraut to expand. Set in a cool place, out of sunlight for 6 days.  It will expanded and bubble. That is the fermentation and lactic acid developing. You can really add any kind of vegetables you want. Check it and push down the vegetables if they come up above the water. When exposed to air the cabbage will mold if left like that for a while. It won’t hurt anything if it happens, just scoop out the vegetables above the water and push the other ones down below the water. After 6 days place in the refrigerator. They will last at least 9 months or longer in your fridge.

 

To culture vegetables with a culture package: 

Caldwells are my favorite veggie starter cultures.

This recipe yields 2 quarts of cultured vegetables.

Cabbage and other vegetables you would like to ferment.  Such as cabbage, beets, or you can add ginger,daikon, carrots, and a cloves of garlic..etc.

Add 2 to 3 tbsp Celtic sea salt (Salt will make your vegetables crunchy, without it is soft and limp).

• Place 2 cups of shredded cabbage into a blender with enough water to make a puree.
• Add cultured vegetable starter to the puree and let sit for 15 minutes. (Starter will become active)
• Place cabbage culture into jar or canister along with the rest of the green or red cabbage head cut into sections and 1/2 cup or shredded hard root vegetables such as beets, carrot, daikon, sweet potatoes etc (optional). Pack down well with your fist. Leave about 2 inches of room on top for expansion. Seal jar with airtight lid and place in a room temperature darkened corner until fermented. This will be from 3 to 7 days or perhaps longer. (Some have left it for as long as 14 days.) A layer of harmless mold will often form on the top. Simply scrape this off or it will spoil the flavor of your cultured vegetables. Place your vegetables into an airtight container and refrigerate. The fermentation process will continue, but very slowly. Over time they will “age” like wine does becoming softer and even more delicious. Refrigerated, cultured vegetables keep for up to eight months.

 For videos on how to make cultured vegetables click here

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