Photo by Shannon Stonger.
A Practical Guide to Eating Fermented Foods at Every Meal
by Shannon Stonger
Health Impact News
Fermented foods have taken off in popularity in recent years with some recommending the consumption of at least one fermented food at every meal. They aid digestion by providing enzymes and probiotics and have been shown to have a host of benefits for everything from gut health to cancer to brain functioning.
So there is no question that eating fermented foods daily – and even at every meal – is a great idea. While the practicality of such an endeavor can seem overwhelming, a bit of strategy and awareness will make these foods fall effortlessly into the meal.
Start With Variety
Eating sauerkraut at every meal would be great, but it’s not practical or appetizing to many people. That is why it is important to keep a variety of fermented foods on hand. This can be done by making or purchasing a variety of vegetable ferments, to start. Taking it a step further and choosing fermented foods from various categories will ensure enough choices to practically work them into any meal.
Three categories of ferments that will provide variety in taste, texture, and nutrition include:
- Cultured Dairy
- Fermented Vegetables
- Fermented Beverages
Of course fermented grains and sourdough breads can also be included, but because these dishes are generally cooked they do not provide the enzymes and probiotics as the other foods do.
Photo by Shannon Stonger.
Replace Your Usual Ingredients
There are many everyday foods that we already consume which can be replaced with living fermented versions.
Vinegar – A fermented food with a slightly different profile than those mentioned above, vinegar can still add benefits to a meal when it is unpasteurized. Furthermore, kombucha can be allowed to ferment longer than its usual time in order to take on more acetic acid and give it a tang not unlike vinegar.
Sour Cream – Traditionally a cultured food, commercial sour creams are now devoid of what makes them good. Making a homemade sour cream or crème fraiche with grass-fed raw cream is ideal, but grass-fed live sour cream can also be purchased. Yogurt and kefir can also be made with cream or, if made with milk, can be strained of a small portion of their whey in order to create a thick, sour cream texture.
Sodas and Sweetened Drinks – The original carbonated beverage was a result of good old fashioned fermentation. When a culture feasts on carbohydrates one of the by-products is carbon dioxide. It is this gas – when trapped in an airtight environment – that creates the carbonated beverages so popular now. A fermented drink such as kombucha, water kefir, or another naturally cultured soda can easily replace commercial products.
Salad Dressings – These can be made into a probiotic and enzyme-rich addition using cultured dairy and other fermented foods. A full tutorial on creating cultured salad dressings can be found here.
Cream Cheese – Like sour cream, this cultured cheese toast topping and dip base can be made live and cultured at home. Alternatively, when high-fat yogurt is stripped of much of its whey, the result is very much like cream cheese.
Pickles – Loved by all ages and found in everything from sandwich plates to picnic salads, making the swap for truly fermented pickles can open up a lot of options for adding in cultured foods. Potato, macaroni, tuna, and chicken salads suddenly contain probiotics. Burgers, sandwiches, and salads now get a cultured addition. And snacks are made tangy and full of enzymes with fermented pickles of all varieties.
Photo by Shannon Stonger.
A Meal-by-Meal Breakdown
Breakfast is one meal where a fermented food is commonplace – yogurt. Homemade raw milk yogurt is a great option but there are also live, active cultures made exclusively from grass-fed milk and culture. Top the yogurt with a fermented berry sauce or spread this sauce on your morning toast or pancakes. For a slightly different flavor and a different bacterial profile, milk kefir can be mixed into smoothies and used in place of yogurt. If a savory breakfast is desired try adding some kraut to the side of your eggs and bacon. Or, serve lacto-fermented ketchup with potatoes or eggs.
The three lunch staples of soup, salad, and sandwiches all lend themselves well to fermented foods. Soup can be topped with a truly cultured or soured cream or yogurt. Salads can be served with fermented dressings or the addition of kraut. Fermented pickles and ketchup work well as sandwich-toppers and little ones love snacking on zingy, crunchy fermented carrot sticks.
Supper offers the same opportunities as lunch for working these fermented foods into the meal. The addition of a fermented vegetable – ideally with a variety of options – puts one more vegetable on the plate. A formal dish such as stir-fry is made all the better from a scoop of kimchi. Sauerkraut and fermented pickles work superbly alongside grass-fed meats, pastured chickens, and a variety of grain dishes.
Photo by Shannon Stonger.
Both supper and lunch provide an excellent opening for a fermented, bubbly beverage such as kombucha, water kefir, or real homemade sodas. Just a small glass provides the most simple and tasty way in which to work a fermented food into the meal.
The biggest step to take is to simply start making or acquiring live, active fermented vegetables, beverages, and dairy products. From there, it is only a matter of adding their delicious qualities to your everyday meals.
About the Author
Shannon Stonger grew up in a small town in northern Minnesota. She studied chemistry in college, graduated, and married her husband one month later. They were then blessed with two baby boys within the first four years of marriage. Having babies gave their family a desire to return to the old paths – to nourish their family with traditional, homegrown foods; rid their home of toxic chemicals and petroleum products; and give their boys a chance to know a simple, sustainable way of life. They are currently building a homestead from scratch on two little acres in central Texas. There’s a lot to be done to become somewhat self-sufficient, but they are debt-free and get to spend their days living this simple, good life together with their four young children.