Go With Your Gut: Sensational Sauerkraut Recipe

Nurture your gut health with this sensational, probiotic sauerkraut recipe

—

“Go with your gut”

You’re bound to give, or be given this sage advice at least once in your life and rightly so, because it truly is one of the best pieces of advice you could ever give or receive.

Why?

Because your glorious gut is home to approximately 100 trillion microorganisms, 39 trillion of those being bacterial cells! This, in comparison to the 30 trillion human cells we have in our bodies, indicates we’re more bacteria than human. Pretty cool (and a little sci-fi) don’t you agree?!

So how do you ‘go with your gut’ in the more literal sense to ensure your body and your gut is surviving and thriving? Simple!

Crowd out junky, highly processed fake foods with delicious, health supportive probiotic foods that are fermented for a period of time to allow for an abundance of beneficial bacteria to grow and feed your gut-garden like no other food on this earth.

Some of my favorite probiotic-rich fermented foods include:

• Yogurt
• Kefir
• Tempeh
• Miso
• Kimchi

But my absolute all-time-favorite gut-garden food would have to be sauerkraut, or ‘kraut’ for short. Just a little of this fermented deliciousness added to at least one of your meals every single day will fertilize your gut-garden sublimely!

At first — and especially if you have a compromised gut-garden like I did a few years ago – eating sauerkraut may cause a little gas or minor bloating, but fear not! Regular, graduated consumption (begin with a teaspoon!) will help support your gut to become stronger, healthier, and ultimately happier because it will have you pooping perfectly, which is bound to put a smile on your dial.

Now, before you tell me you can’t afford to factor in a little Sauerkraut each day, because this super stuff isn’t cheap, take a look below… because you’ll see I’ve shared an amazingly easy-to-make, super-affordable sauerkraut recipe with you — the same one I created years ago for myself to compliment the healing diet I embarked on when my health hit rock bottom.

So what are you waiting for? Grab your ingredients from your closest market and get krauting, my friend!

Until next time: stay healthy and you’re bound to stay happy!

Recipe: Sensational Sauerkraut

Ingredients:

• 1 head cabbage — I used wombok Asian cabbage, but you can use any type. Organic is best
• 1 tablespoon sea salt — not table salt which has been stripped of all its healthy minerals. Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt is best
• 2 tablespoons dried dill
• Optional: Caraway seeds, 1 tablespoon
• Drinking water — filtered water is best

Directions:

1. Remove the first 2 outer leaves from the cabbage and set aside. Finely shred the rest of the cabbage — you can do this with a large chef’s knife, or simply place segments of cabbage in a food processor and pulse to shred.
2. In a large mixing bowl, with clean hands, massage cabbage and salt together. This step is the most important, so spend a good amount of time on it (about 15 minutes — pop on your favorite podcast and get comfortable!). You want the cabbage to become nice n’ juicy, it should begin to wilt and release liquid which will pool at the bottom of your bowl — this is fantastic!
3. Add dill (and/or caraway seeds) and mix to combine, then pack kraut into a large, sterilized glass jar with an air-tight lid. Pack it into the jar very tightly. Liquid should begin to pool up over the cabbage as you pack and layer it into the jar
4. Pack and layer the cabbage into the jar until you reach an inch from the top. At this point, make sure the cabbage is submersed in the salty liquid — at least 1 inch of salt water. If it isn’t, add a tiny amount of filtered water with a small pinch of salt to help submerge the cabbage. Take the reserved cabbage leaves, fold them over and pack them into the jar to help weigh down the massaged cabbage mixture. Pack the dry cabbage leaves down as much as possible so they are also submerged in water and seal the jar with the lid.
5. Leave at room temperature for at least 1 week in a cool, dark place — your pantry or a cupboard is great. Because this is a living, fermenting food, it’s likely it will release some salty water during the week, so be sure place it on absorbent towel or in a bowl to save any mess. After 1 week, unscrew the lid a little and allow the air to escape — we call this ‘burping’ your kraut, you will see bubbles rise to the top and water may release as you undo this lid. Once you’ve done this, pack cabbage down again with a clean hand and seal with the lid to continue fermenting.
6. After 2 weeks, taste your kraut! You want to taste the cabbage underneath the very top layers. It should taste sour and slightly salty with a tangy flavor. It will also have a strong aroma; this is totally normal. At this point, you can transfer it to your fridge and start enjoying it daily, but I urge you to leave it for at least another 2-3 weeks before enjoying because the longer you leave it, the more beneficial bacteria you will cultivate. Once you’re ready to eat it, transfer and store it in your fridge. Always use a clean fork each time you serve it up which will help keep the bacteria intact and safe for you and your glorious gut-garden.

---

You may also enjoy the article and recipes Journey To Happy and 5 Vegetarian Picnic Recipes, by Danielle Shine