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How Many Cultured Foods Do I Eat In a Day?
What a Typical Day Looks Like For Me
People have the mistaken idea that I eat only cultured foods all day long. Although there are some days that I do eat only cultured foods, this is not the norm. These cultured foods are what I call healthy fast food with huge health benefits. You don't need to add tons of cultured foods to your diet to see benefits, and I am going to show you how easy it is. It might surprise you that small amounts can make a big difference. But here's the caveat - if you really want to see huge changes, you need to add lots of fruits and veggies. So many fruits and veggies are prebiotics (food for bacteria) and you will see your microbes change you from the inside out. You will crave these foods more and more. As your bacteria change inside of you, so does your desire for certain foods.
Make A Smoothie
My usual morning is a kefir - L.reuteri yogurt smoothie with a cup of coffee. I love chicory coffee blend since chicory is a huge prebiotic and makes my microbes grow. I've been doing this for over two decades - it's my go-to breakfast. One half cup of kefir and one half cup of L. reuteri is what I usually mix with frozen fruit and collagen powder. I like to add red phenol powder a few times a week too. This smoothie gives you tons of probiotics. I do this almost every morning. Sometimes I make it up the night before and make a kefir breakfast pudding using both kefir and L. reuteri in a quart mason jar in the fridge. I also add spinach with frozen fruit to many of my smoothies. The more greens you have in your diet the better. Blending several cups into a smoothie makes it taste delicious and is the fastest and easiest way to get them into my family's diet. First thing in the morning is a plus and starts the day off right. I'm constantly changing how I enjoy my morning kefir and yogurt. I will often add Yogurt Plus or L. gasseri. I love L. reuteri and Yogurt Plus because L. reuteri helps me increase muscle mass and helps with my workouts, and Yogurt Plus gives me Bifidobacteria which is one of the most powerful microbes in your gut. This is why I have so many recipes. I like finding new ways to enjoy my morning smoothies and have been doing it for decades!
Check out my kefir smoothie recipes.
Kombucha
First thing in the morning, I usually like to exercise. After I'm finished, I come home and drink 8-16 ounces of kombucha while I start answering emails and then I enjoy a pot of tea. I can drink kombucha in the afternoon or evening too. I don't always drink kombucha, sometimes I'll drink kefir soda (see below). It just depends on what time of year it is. I tend to want kombucha in the mornings in the warmer months. In the fall and winter, I switch to drinking kombucha in the afternoons. Sometimes I like to watch the sunset in the evenings with a bubbly glass of kombucha. Kombucha is something I reach for when I feel tired or sluggish and it always gives me the lift I need. Overall, I drink about 8-16 ounces a day. Kombucha is a powerful detoxifier so if I need extra help, then kombucha is my go-to drink. Kombucha is full of glucuronic acid which helps to purge toxins through the kidneys and skin. The liver produces this substance naturally, but sometimes the body can’t keep up with the number of pollutants that it comes into contact with. The extra glucuronic acid in kombucha basically helps make up the difference
Kefir Soda
I ❤️ love our new kefir soda starter! Kefir soda is something I look forward to consuming, and we worked hard to get the formula just right so it has some of my favorite bacteria and yeasts. I'm actually having some grape kefir soda now as I write. I usually make a few bottles and keep them in my fridge for my family, and they drink them so fast! Kefir soda has S. boulardii and Bifidobacteria as well as other good bacteria.
Bifidobacteria have long been regarded as one of the most beneficial members of the human gut microbiome and feed all the other strains in the gut. S. boulardii is a transient probiotic yeast that creates bubbliness in kefir soda. S. boulardii passes through the intestines after ingestion. If taken every day, within three days it provides a steady stream in the colon and is cleared from the stools two to five days later. It does not attach to the mucosal cell lining but works its magic on you as it moves through the gastrointestinal tract. When S. boulardii is present, it inhibits toxins from binding to intestinal receptors and steals the metabolites they need to survive. Thus many pathogens pass out of the body unable to survive in the presence of this powerful probiotic. They even found that other pathogen strains like E. coli and Salmonella typhimurium adhere to the surface of S. boulardii, thus preventing them from attaching to the mucosal lining and passing through the body rendering them harmless.
Hopefully, one day we will get back to drinking these probiotic sodas instead of the soda pops that have been so hard on our health.
Cultured Veggies With Lunch And Dinner
For lunch, I have cultured veggies at least three times a week as a condiment. I have them in a variety of ways. It can be as simple as a couple of spoonfuls of cultured veggies, or a pickle, with my lunch. I will also mix a spoonful of cultured veggies into kefir cheese or yogurt, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and I eat it with veggies or with blue corn chips. I can make a meal of this and often do, but it can also just be a couple of pickles with whatever I am having for lunch. I have so many different ways to do this, be it tomato bruschetta on top of toast, or a seaweed dip, or a salad with cultured veggie juice in the dressing, or veggies served on top of the salad. The combinations are endless. But just a spoonful with lunch or dinner can bring about lots of benefits to you and your health
Sourdough Bread
I have sourdough bread or einkorn bread almost every day. I love it with nut butter and sliced bananas or raspberries sprinkled with cinnamon. Sourdough makes incredible paninis and sandwiches. My family and I enjoy them often, especially my kraut grilled cheese. I have found that most people’s bodies struggle to digest grains. Yet these same bodies flourish with grains that have been sprouted or are made with a sourdough culture. They are both considered low glycemic, which is a wonderful benefit. The sourdough process produces changes to the composition of the grain in numerous ways that make it a more beneficial food. This process produces vitamin C and increases the content of vitamins B, B2, B5, and B6. Carotene, which is converted to vitamin A, increases dramatically – sometimes as much as an eightfold increase. Using a sourdough culture also inactivates aflatoxins which are toxins produced by fungi and are potent carcinogens found in grains. It’s so delicious and a joy to make! Of all the cultured foods, making sourdough bread gives me the greatest pleasure. When I take that loaf of bread from the oven it’s a thrill!
Recipes I'm Eating Now
So, that’s not so hard, right? We’re not talking huge amounts. As you start adding these cultured foods, along with other fruits and veggies that are prebiotics, you will start crowding out the other foods. Before you know it, you will have changed the microbes in your gut. This will make you start craving the foods that help you stay healthy. Your microbes, depending upon what you feed them, make you crave different foods. Feed them lots of junk and those microbes will grow and make you crave junk food. Feed your microbes lots of cultured foods and add prebiotic foods like fruits and veggies and I kid you not, you will start craving healthy foods like never before. Check out some of the foods and recipes I have eaten this last week.
Listen To My Podcast
This podcast is about what a typical day looks like for me when I consume cultured foods. I eat cultured food mostly every day but often in little bits. I have recipes and suggestions to encourage you that it isn't as hard as you think. It can be quite delicious too! Tune in to learn more.
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