Inside my free and private community over the last few months, we have been discussing sauerkraut quite a bit as well as one of my favorite subjects “poop”…I can hear you and see your face right now lol! Well, I’m going to give a probiotic sauerkraut recipe so you can make your very own probiotic food. But first, let’s talk about poop, shall we?
Why is poop one of my favorite subjects? Simply because I believe that the condition of your poop is a direct reflection of your health.
A problem in the poop department means a health issue now or later. We have to learn how to identify a healthy poop (Check this post) and learn what to do to increase or maintain the health of our poop (Check this post ).
Tip #5 in the article “How to score a home run with your Poop” reads as follows:
“Boost your intestinal flora by adding naturally fermented foods into your diet, such as sauerkraut, pickles, and Kombucha; add a probiotic supplement if you suspect you’re not getting enough beneficial bacteria from your diet alone”.
If you want to make sure that you’re getting enough probiotics, my probiotic sauerkraut recipe will prove to be useful to you.
What are Fermented Foods Such as Sauerkraut?
Fermented foods are foods that have been through a process of lacto-fermentation in which natural bacteria feed on the sugar and starch in the food creating lactic acid. This process preserves the food and creates beneficial enzymes, B-vitamins, Omega-3 fatty acids, and various strains of probiotics. Natural fermentation of foods has also been shown to preserve nutrients in food and breaks it down to a more digestible form.
Cultures around the world have been eating fermented foods for years – from Sauerkraut in Germany to Kimchi in Korea and Kombucha in China. Studies have shown the link between probiotic-rich foods and overall health. Unfortunately, with the advances in technology and food preparation, these time-honored traditional foods have been largely lost in our society.
Why You Must Try This Probiotic Sauerkraut Recipe: The Benefits of Fermented Foods
We already know about the benefits of probiotics for our poop health thus overall health but fermented food has many other benefits.
Important nutrients
Some fermented foods are outstanding sources of essential nutrients such as vitamin K2 which helps prevent arterial plaque build-up and heart disease.
Optimizing your immune system
An estimated 80 percent of your immune system is actually located in your gut. Probiotics play a crucial role in the development and operation of the mucosal immune system in your digestive tract and aid in the production of antibodies to pathogens
Detoxification
Fermented foods are some of the best chelators available. The beneficial bacteria in these foods are highly potent detoxifiers which are capable of drawing out a wide range of toxins and heavy metals.
Cost-effectiveness
Adding a small amount of fermented food to each meal will give you the biggest bang for your buck. Why? Because they can contain 100 times more probiotics than a supplement!
Natural variety of microflora
As long as you vary the fermented and cultured foods you eat, you’ll get a much wider variety of beneficial bacteria than you could ever get from a supplement.
How much-fermented food should I consume?
My recommendation to all my clients is 1/4 to 1/2 cup a day of fermented vegetables and 1 cup of Kombucha eaten with one to three meals per day. This can have a dramatically beneficial impact on your health.
If you’ve never eaten fermented foods, too large a portion may provoke a healing crisis which occurs when the probiotics kill off pathogens in your gut. When these pathogens die, they release potent toxins.
You may get excited about having this probiotic sauerkraut recipe and may want to make a big batch, but if you are new to fermented foods, you must be careful. You should introduce them gradually beginning with as little as one teaspoon of sauerkraut with a meal. Observe your reactions for a couple of days before proceeding with another small portion, and increase your dose gradually, as tolerated.
How can I make sauerkraut?
I have made this new video tutorial to demonstrate the ease with which I make my own fermented vegetables in my own kitchen. Here, I follow my own probiotic sauerkraut recipe. Check it out!
Basic Priobiotic Sauerkraut Recipe
PrintSauerkraut
- Prep Time: 30
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 medium head green cabbage (about 3 pounds)
- 2 tbsp. Himalayan sea salt
Instructions
- Slice the cabbage. Discard the wilted, limp outer leaves of the cabbage and then keep the next 2 leaves for later use.
- Cut the cabbage into quarters and trim out the core. Slice each quarter down its length making 8 wedges.
- You now need to shred the cabbage which can be done using a food processor, manual grater or simply use a sharp knife cutting the cabbage wedges into very thin ribbons.
- Transfer the cabbage to a big mixing bowl and sprinkle the salt over top.
- Begin working the salt into the cabbage by massaging and squeezing the cabbage with your hands. At first, it may not seem like enough salt, but gradually, the cabbage will become watery and limp — more like coleslaw than raw cabbage. Massage for about 3-4 minutes and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes waiting period, you will have a mixture with a lots of water which means that the salt has done it job of drawing the water out from the cabbage.
- If you’d like to flavor your sauerkraut with caraway seeds or other spices, mix them in now.
- Grab handfuls of the cabbage and pack it into the canning jar. Every so often, push down the cabbage into the jar with your fist. Pour out any liquid released by the cabbage while you massage it into the jar.
- Place one of the larger outer leaves of the cabbage over the surface of the sliced cabbage. This will help keep the cabbage submerged in its liquid.
- Cover the jar with a lid. Close tightly.
- Over the next 24 hours, press down on the cabbage every so often with the jelly jar. As the cabbage releases its liquid, it will become more limp and compact and the liquid will rise over the top of the cabbage.
- Add extra liquid, if needed. If after 24 hours, the liquid has not risen above the cabbage, dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of water and add enough to submerge the cabbage.
- Ferment the cabbage for 10 days to 4 weeks: As it’s fermenting, keep the sauerkraut away from direct sunlight and in a cool room — ideally 65°F to 75°F. Check it daily and press it down if the cabbage is floating above the liquid.
- Because this is a small batch of sauerkraut, it will ferment more quickly than larger batches. Start tasting it after 10 days. When the sauerkraut tastes good,refrigerate. You can also allow the sauerkraut to continue fermenting for longer. There’s no hard and fast rule for when the sauerkraut is “done” — go by how it tastes.
- While it’s fermenting, you may see bubbles coming through the cabbage, foam on the top, or white scum. These are all signs of a healthy, happy fermentation process. The scum can be skimmed off the top either during fermentation or before refrigerating. If you see any mold, skim it off immediately and make sure your cabbage is fully submerged; don’t eat moldy parts close to the surface, but the rest of the sauerkraut is fine.
- Store sauerkraut for several months: This sauerkraut is a fermented product so it will keep for at least 6 months and often longer if kept refrigerated. As long as it still smells and tastes good, it is good to eat.