This is my daughter Holli’s favorite breakfast. I make extra servings of the crunch topping and store it in a jar for her to use whenever she makes her morning smoothie. This was the recipe that really changed her more than any other recipe. My family is like everybody else. I can preach to…(Read More)

Your gut bacteria can be one of your strongest allies in being healthy or it can be one of your worst enemies. It can send you signals through your emotions, food cravings, and stomach distress. Find out if your bacteria are out of balance and what you can do about it today…(Read More)

This recipe is in my new book Cultured Food in a Jar. I only make recipes that are easily incorporated into my life because I’m crazy busy and I want recipes to care for my body and busy microbes. This recipe fits the bill. It has only two ingredients and it’s so easy…(Read More)

Researchers have discovered that dirt is the new Prozac. Billions of microbes in the dirt can keep us healthy and happy. The earth holds health-boosting energy and gives us what is called “electrical nutrition.” Learn more about our dirt on this week’s episode…(Read More)

When it comes to cultured/probiotic and fermented foods, I am officially obsessed. Not everyone is going to make as many of these foods as I do; but once you get started, it’s an exciting journey! Here are the top seven probiotic foods I ALWAYS have on hand, and why . . . While consuming a…(Read More)

Loaded with probiotics, these six foods are in different food groups and bring health and well-being to the body in a myriad of ways. Join me to find out what they are and easy ways to incorporate them into your daily life today…(Read More)

Find out how important it is to feed your microbes. If your trillions of microbes don’t get what they need, they can start to eat the mucosal lining of the gut, leading to leaky gut, IBS, and more. Find out how to keep them happy and fed…(Read More)

Your cultures (kefir, kombucha, sourdough, and water kefir) are all living organisms and need to be cared for just like a pet. I love them like family, and have found ways to take care of them when I go on vacation. The good microbes in the cultures eat the sugars out of the culture, and…(Read More)

The new buzz, probiotics in place of antidepressants. Leading edge psychiatrists are healing people’s minds via their digestive systems. Learn why the gut is called the second brain…(Read More)

One of the first things I noticed when we started drinking kefir was the help my husband received with eliminating his acid reflux. It was quite surprising to me since he popped antacids like they were candy. But fast forward sixteen years and I’ve had so many, many people tell me they’ve gotten…(Read More)

Seasonal allergies are caused by your immune system overreacting to something that it thinks is harmful but is actually not. There are many ways to support your immune system, and this one nutrient can change the way you feel in 30 minutes. Tune in to find out what it is and why you should have…(Read More)

Water kefir grains, or we call them kefir crystals, are unlike milk kefir grains as they thrive on sugars and not lactose.These special probiotic yeasts and beneficial bacteria in the water kefir crystals consume the sugar in the sugar water, and they produce probiotics, new enzymes, vitamins, and help repopulate your gut flora. They…(Read More)

Our bread is made so differently than in years gone by, and it’s wreaking havoc on our bodies. Understand the science of why this is, and how bacteria can change your bread into something healthy. Walk in the footsteps of those who made bread for thousands of years and called it the staff of…(Read More)

We make a lot of kefir. We drink it every day along with making kefir cheese and kefir sodas, so we make it daily. As usual, my husband and kids were helping me make kefir on April 1st, 2014. As I poured out the jugs into the strainer, no kefir grains appeared. I got a…(Read More)

If you love coffee, you’re not the only one. Microbes love the microscopic fibers in coffee too. Learn more about microbes and coffee and how they can reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s, diabetes, obesity, and more…(Read More)

I love kombucha and not just because it tastes fantastic but because it has a special probiotic called Saccharomyces boulardii (S. boulardii). It is an incredible probiotic and when you make kombucha you can get lots of this powerful probiotic yeast. S. boulardii is one of the most researched probiotics and has been used worldwide…(Read More)

Everybody I know leads busy lives, but did you know there is always help for you? My family had a lot of big changes this past year, but a constant through it all was the way each member of my family uses and eats cultured foods. Maybe this could be the answer for you too…(Read More)

I make a lot of kefir cheese. I use kefir cheese in place of any recipe that calls for cream cheese, sour cream, or  Greek yogurt. It’s very versatile, and the length of time you strain it will determine how thick it becomes. Making kefir cheese is one of my favorite things to do…(Read More)

If you’re having trouble sleeping, fixing your gut can be the answer. Join me to learn about new research on sleep and the world of the micro-biome and cultured foods. Sleeping is so important to feeling good each day, and cultured foods can help…(Read More)

 I think fermentation is essential to bread making. If you don’t use the help of microbes to make the bread, you won’t get the nutrients out of the bread and gluten will become a problem. I’ve made a lot of sourdough bread and I have a new method that is working spectacularly…(Read More)

  Spend your Saturday eating and learning to make cultured foods! We combine an inspiring afternoon of information with lessons on how to make kefir in multiple ways. You will get to take home your own jar of kefir. Then you’ll be making your own probiotics in a jar, saving you both money and…(Read More)

Cultured vegetables have special powers that go far beyond regular vegetables. They can be powerful food – like medicine – and here’s why you should have a jar in your fridge, and a fun recipe to try…(Read More)

Your body is designed to fight colds and flus and keep your immune system running strong. Learn how to strengthen your body’s inner reserves and find yourself sailing through cold and flu season. If you have any gastro trouble, cultured foods work for that too. Myself and many other have found nothing more effective…(Read More)

We all eat condiments. They are easy to make, but most people just buy them.  Why don’t you let me help you make them in as little as five minutes? They will have billions of probiotics and are perfectly preserved for months. You will love them, your family won’t know they’re eating…(Read More)

Our bodies can’t produce all of the nutrients that we need to function properly, so we have to eat them. One specific mineral saved my life…(Read More)

I’ve received several emails from people who have been greatly helped by cultured foods in regards to kidney health. More and more medical research is showing great benefits to using probiotics for kidney health. New probiotic supplements have been developed to specifically treat the kidneys, and there have been remarkable results. Certain strains of…(Read More)

If you have to take antibiotics we have good news! Let me show you how to keep your healthy bacteria alive and thriving, even when you must take antibiotics. It’s really important that you help your good gut flora thrive. This can prevent you from ever needing to take antibiotics again.Your body knows…(Read More)

I’ve been eating cultured foods for almost sixteen years. I eat them most every day with very few exceptions. When I first started eating cultured foods, I had diabetes, high blood pressure, joint pain, and felt discouraged and depressed. These foods were the answer to my cries for help, but never did I think…(Read More)

Three foods that provide different good bacteria and yeasts that enhance the trillions of bacteria in the body and allow them to thrive, grow, and multiply. This allows you, the host, the opportunity to heal disease, remove pathogens, enhance digestion, make serotonin, and experience a multitude of other opportunities for healing that otherwise would not…(Read More)

I love kefir that is thick like yogurt. However, it can sometimes be difficult to strain out the kefir grains. There is a super easy remedy for this. Enjoy the benefits of kefir and find an easy and quick way to strain it. Check out the video for tips. To strain kefir that is really…(Read More)

Find out how to avoid the flu/cold this year. This is what I use for my family, and myself and is an all-natural flu/cold remedies that works to keep you healthy for years on end! Listen in as I tell what happened to me when I stopped eating cultured foods for a…(Read More)

Goat milk was a godsend for my tiny daughter, Holli. She was born eight weeks premature and this little one rocked my world. I became a woman on a mission to help her be well. Nursing this tiny infant was a challenge. She was born so early that she didn’t have the strength to…(Read More)

Find out why the juice from pickles and fermented vegetables can change your gut for good! If you don’t like fermented vegetables then drink the juice, the benefits are huge! If you listen I will convince you, just you wait and see…(Read More)

I love winter kefir! It’s often creamier and thicker than summer kefir. Kefir acts differently in the winter than in the warmer months of the year, due to cooler temperatures that make it ferment more slowly. Kefir ferments in 24 hours at 69-73 degrees, but drop those temps and have a lot of…(Read More)

Open minded health providers are starting to prescribe probiotics for different health ailments. Learn which probiotics they’re prescribing and how you can heal yourself by eating probiotic cultured foods…(Read More)

Are autoimmune diseases the result of an imbalanced gut/immune system? Find out why Hippocrates said, “All disease begin in the gut.” I will discuss how healing your microbiome can also help heal autoimmune disorders…(Read More)

I’m always trying to find ways to help you eat more cultured foods. Taste is important as well as ease, and this recipe captures both. You will love this Buffalo Kraut created by my daughter Maci. It’s crazy good and just a spoonful is going to give you billions of probiotics. Your body…(Read More)

These five foods are a must for me. It’s how I stay healthy. Check out the five foods that I keep in my diet and the ones that have made the biggest changes in my life. Find out how you can add them to your diet too…(Read More)

I hope 2017 was a wonderful year for you. I hope you incorporated cultured foods into your life and saw the difference they can make. I’ve been making and eating these foods for over fifteen years and they never cease to amaze and teach me. I was talking with one of my good friends…(Read More)

Meet the new Super foods that can heal you when nothing else works. I am excited to be going back to New York to teach – The Trilogy, three foods that changed my life and can change yours too. This is the most extensive class I teach. This is a crucial time in history when…(Read More)

Twas The Night They Made Kefir…(Read More)

One of my good friends told me her cholesterol had gone up since drinking kefir, and then she said, “That’s my good cholesterol! It went through the roof and my doctor is very pleased.”  I got a few emails this week from people expressing to me that since they’ve been consuming kefir and…(Read More)

There are certain times of the year when you need to strengthen your inner micro-biome and the holidays is one of those times. Find out how in this upcoming show. ‘Tis the season to be happy! It’s easy, fun, and delicious…(Read More)

Almond Kefir is special. It has wonderful properties that have huge health benefits. Let me tell you how to make the best almond kefir and explore all the benefits it affords. You’ll get addicted to it and won’t want to stop making it. I’m crazy for almond kefir. https://www.culturedfoodlife.com…(Read More)

Kombucha is an amazing drink. It has done a lot for me and I love it, especially around the holidays. It’s also a wonderful replacement for soda pop! Here are a few reasons I drink it every day…(Read More)

Her name was Mary and she changed my life the day I met her. It was the very beginning of my journey with cultured foods, and I was in hiding with my newfound knowledge. People didn’t understand what I was doing, and the thought of letting food ferment on your counter for days at…(Read More)

There are powerful reasons to eat cultured foods if you have cancer. In fact, new research says it can make all the difference, especially if you’re going through chemo. I’ll explore the research and will have a special guest to talk more about the benefits of eating cultured foods while battling cancer. &nbsp…(Read More)

Kefir convinced me, it made me a believer, it changed my body and my life. The results were in and I never looked back. 15 years later no one can convince me otherwise. Food is powerful and so is knowledge, it can change everything. Listen — so it can change you too…(Read More)

Sugar is a tricky thing in the body, and it can drop your immune system by 75%. It’s mistaken for a vitamin that your body desperately needs to keep your immune system running strong. Before you eat all that Halloween candy, have a listen to my podcast…(Read More)

Lots of people write articles about kefir, but few of those people have drank and made kefir for 15 years. I am a believer that kefir is not just a food but a healer. Find out 7 ways it can help you too…(Read More)

I can teach you three different ways to make a delicious, bubbly, probiotic soda. Find out the good things, and the things you need to be careful about when deciding if this is the cultured drink for you…(Read More)

We love pancakes at our house. I mostly make sourdough pancakes, but I made a new pancake recipe this week, and switched out my sourdough starter (which I love) and replaced it with kefir. Oh my, they were wonderful, fluffy pancakes. The kefir acts in a manner similar to sourdough and helps the pancakes rise…(Read More)

Hormones can rule the day! Help your hormones out when things get out of whack by keep your gut in check. Learn how to keep things in balance with the help of your microbes…(Read More)

Here is how you make it: You really must eat kimchi. Kimchi has a special probiotic that can keep a virus at bay. It can also help with any kind of stomach distress. Just ask the thousands of people in Korea how kimchi protected them from the bird flu epidemic. The probiotic bacteria found in…(Read More)

Food is the most magical thing in the world. It makes the cells of our bodies and it holds powers that few understand. If you take food and ferment it, then those foods get super powers. Your body was designed to keep you well, and the magical alchemy of fermentation is something you will want…(Read More)

My new book is available today for purchase!  Cultured Food in a Jar is my third (and very favorite!) book and the one I use most often. My book is an easy step-by-step guide that will lead you through making basic kefir, kombucha, and cultured vegetables. It has more than 100 easy-to…(Read More)

Do you crave junk food and can’t stop eating it? You can manipulate your gut microbes and start craving foods that love you back…(Read More)

Do you want to change your life and feel better? Here’s the truth. I have tons of resources to help you. You can find everything you need on my site to get started, and that information is free. I have other resources that I sell to expand and help you grow, but everything you…(Read More)

Cultured vegetables are getting more and more recognition for all they can do. They’ve been busy saving thousands of lives and keeping whole countries free of deadly disease. Find out how these powerful vegetables can help you too…(Read More)

Forget everything you think you know about vegetables and let me tell you what happens when you culture them. Grow your own probiotics in a jar of vegetables, and you’ll be shocked and amazed at all they can do. I feel like I’ve been standing on the top of a mountain singing the…(Read More)

Addictions —many of us have them, especially when it comes to unhealthy food or beverages. However, I found something to help! Check out the show to discover how to set yourself free…(Read More)

Hi friends! I’m Donna and this is my Cultured Food Life podcast. I love to talk about health, wellness, and how to harness the power of your 100 trillion microbes. Talking about the food that makes the cells of your body is exciting, interesting, and life changing. Making cultured foods can help with a…(Read More)

Cookbooks — I have a lot of them, 229 to be exact, and as you can see from the picture of the bookcase in my living room, I have quite a collection. My daughter Maci said to me, “I have a lot of cookbooks too, but you know which one I use the most?” I…(Read More)

This one-day retreat takes you into the world of making and eating cultured foods. We combine an inspiring day of information with lessons on how to make our trio, The Trilogy: kefir, kombucha, and cultured vegetables. We’ll be serving a delicious cultured meal served with bubbly probiotic sodas and a view that can…(Read More)

It was ten years ago when I first read Jon Gabriel’s Book, “The Gabriel Method: The Revolutionary DIET-FREE Way to Totally Transform Your Body.” Jon is a biochemical researcher who lost 220 pounds and wrote an international best-selling book about how he did it. I was so mesmerized by his book I…(Read More)

So, do you want to know why you have certain persistent problems with things like ringworm, toenail fungus, and athlete’s foot? All of these are caused by a fungus that can spread and grow like crazy and last for years and years. “Onychomycosis” is the medical name for the infection that causes the fungi…(Read More)

It was a warm summer day and I needed a salad, and a fruit salad was just the ticket. When I said I needed a salad this is not just because I think that it’s good for me, but rather because I needed certain nutrients that only these special foods could provide. One of…(Read More)

My husband was the last one in my family to try cultured foods. I experimented on my children first. My kids were sick and I wanted them to be well, so we all ate cultured food; and much to my surprise, everybody got better. Then as the cultured foods began to take over my kitchen…(Read More)

If you’re making kefir, and especially kefir cheese, you’re going to wind up with a lot of whey. Whey has been called liquid gold, and it has been used throughout history to help with many diseases.  In fact, Hippocrates and Galen, two founding fathers of medicine, frequently recommended whey to their patients to…(Read More)

Cultured vegetables have special powers that go far beyond regular vegetables.  I love them and reach for them day after day and in times of special need. They can be powerful food – like medicine – and so I always have several jars in my refrigerator. I encourage you to do this as well; because…(Read More)

I have glass jars everywhere in my house, and I have lots of cultured foods in many of them. I have a new book coming out this year — Cultured Food Life in a Jar. Everything is made in a jar, and what fun it was creating this book (due out in September 2017). I’m…(Read More)

Cultured Foods and LACTO-Fermented Foods are the same thing. The “lacto” in “lacto-fermentation” comes from the bacteria “lactobacillus.” Many strains of lacto-bacteria and yeasts are involved in culturing or fermenting foods. These special microbes break down the foods into more digestible nutrients with increased vitamins and minerals while reducing harmful pesticides and…(Read More)

Having lots of fermented foods in your fridge is the same as having a medicine cabinet stocked with natural remedies. We reach for these foods not only to keep us healthy and disease free but also when we find ourselves struggling with a virus, stomach ache, or any other kind of ailment that requires extra…(Read More)

Do you wonder when your kefir, kombucha, and cultured vegetables are done fermenting? I have a few tips to help you understand how and when they’re at the perfect place with lots of probiotics and will taste the best. There’s a little science behind this, and since culturing your food is an artisanal…(Read More)

I love coffee, and I drink a cup every day. Some believe it’s not good for you, but I’ve gotten so many benefits from it that I just knew this couldn’t possibly be true. I have a philosophy about the foods I eat. If I eat or drink something that I know…(Read More)

Kombucha is a wonder drink. This fermented tea has been around for centuries and is legend in many countries such as China, Russia, and Korea. There are even stories that Genghis Khan drank it often and gave it to the men in his armies.  It can become a part of your life very quickly and…(Read More)

Pain touches everyone in some way; and when this happens, all of us reach for something that we believe will help us. The older I get, the more I find that every ounce of pain is here to teach me something. When I learn the lesson, the pain will vanish and I will have gained…(Read More)

Probiotic [Pro= for, Biotic= life] = Life-promoting or For-life as opposed to Antibiotic [Anti= against, Biotic= life]= Against-life. I routinely talk about each member of The Trilogy (Kefir, Kombucha, and Cultured Vegetables) and how each member has specific things your body needs to help you change your life. But here is even more…(Read More)

Flashing back to 2001 and my first few months of making kefir, my husband was really leery of it. “Milk sitting on a counter for 24 hours . . . are you sure about this?” he said. He always tries my crazy creations, but it takes him a little bit to wrap his head around…(Read More)

Soup can not only comfort your mind and your gut, but soup also has secret healing modalities that perhaps you’re not aware of.  I think combining soups with cultured foods can help cure what ails you in a myriad of ways, but soup can stand on its own as powerful kitchen medicine. We all…(Read More)

Cultured vegetables are super powerful, but so is the brine they are made in. The powerful bacteria in cultured vegetables called Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) is a powerful weapon against pathogens that can invade your body and try to make you their host.  L. plantarum is a transient  resident in your body, which means it…(Read More)

As we close out 2016, I hope you will look to this next year as a chance to find the you that you were always meant to be – healthy and happy. This is our top content of the year that you may have missed. Below you’ll find some of our most popular blogs of…(Read More)

We love traditions in our family. Every Christmas my mom always made a Christmas braid which was a giant concoction of cinnamon, nuts, and bread topped with a creamy frosting. I kind of changed the recipe with my family and made it from sprouted grains, and this year I decided to break with tradition and…(Read More)

One morning I woke up hearing voices in the hall. It was my husband and daughter Holli, and I could hear Holli crying. She was throwing up and having diarrhea and was very upset about it. In our family, we are so accustomed to wellness that when someone gets sick, it feels like the world…(Read More)

“An I had but one penny in the world, thou shouldst have it to buy gingerbread.” ~ William Shakespeare Ginger Better Than Ibuprofen Food as medicine is the way that I live my life. Cultured foods are front and center, but there are many other things I turn to when we need extra help and…(Read More)

I was taking my daughter to acting class this week, and I got a text from one of my team members. He told me to get a box of kleenex and to read the email. I stopped the car to read the email, and with tears streaming down my cheeks I was reminded once again…(Read More)

A lot of suffering in this world comes from the fear of discomfort. In my own personal life, pain has come to teach me things and get me to change. I resisted it, fought it, and finally changed when I could do nothing else. When it came in a health crisis in 2001 and I…(Read More)

When you’re brewing kombucha, you need to feed the microbes so they can make probiotics. Sugar is the fuel source for these hungry critters. Always remember that the sugar is for those little microbes and not for you. They consume the sugar and then make probiotics and naturally occurring carbonation through the process of…(Read More)

Apple cider vinegar has many health benefits. Kombucha vinegar is very similar and has many of the same properties.  This recipe uses the convenience of  kombucha to speed up the process of making vinegar and uses apple scraps to give it that tangy apple taste. Apple cider vinegars are made with crushed apples that are…(Read More)

I love  my microbes and all they do for me. Not a week goes by that I don’t discover something new that my 100 trillion microbes are doing just for me. I used to think that my liver was mostly responsible for filtering and removing compounds from within my body including hundreds of toxic…(Read More)

Several years ago I found myself with much to do. With my daughter getting married and a deadline for my new book looming, not to mention the fact that both my husband and I have our own businesses . . . it was intense at our house. I started feeling the pressure and found myself…(Read More)

So, you all keep asking . . . What do I do with all these SCOBYs?! If you are anything like me, you have a pile of SCOBYs in a massive SCOBY hotel just waiting . . . It feels somehow wrong to throw them away when you have taken care of them and watched…(Read More)

So, let’s talk about starter cultures! I would like to clear up some confusion involving starter cultures and ratios. In my first book, Cultured Food For Life,  the recipe for kefir called for 1 cup of milk to 1 tablespoon of kefir grains. In my latest Book, Cultured Food for Health (as well as…(Read More)

There are a lot of common misbeliefs when it comes to SCOBYs – the wonderful SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeasts) that makes our beloved kombucha! Here are some of the issues I get asked about the most…(Read More)

When? Saturday July 16th and August 20th We have two new classes coming up this summer. I hope you can make one of them and learn all about the Trilogy! Have you heard about the Trilogy? Kefir, kombucha, and cultured veggies are three foods that can change you life and your body. These are three…(Read More)

A recent study, published in the journal PNAS, suggested that bacteria in the gut may play a role in alcohol addiction and the risk of relapsing after rehab. The study was done on 60 alcohol-dependent individuals. They tested their intestinal bacteria composition and found that 26 out of the 60 alcohol-dependent subjects suffered…(Read More)

Yesterday my daughter Holli came running into the room and burst into tears. She cried and said, “Help me! My stomach hurts so bad.” And then she ran to the bathroom and started throwing up. She had spent the night with a friend who had just had the same thing, so I’m pretty sure…(Read More)

Prebiotics + Probiotics = Probiotic Powerhouse In the last few years I have been researching, and ingesting, a lot of prebiotics and what I have discovered is that prebiotics are just as important as probiotics. What is a prebiotic and why is this so important? Prebiotics are certain indigestible fibers that nourish the good bacteria…(Read More)

I make Kefir. What’s your superpower? Kefir can be made with many different kinds of milk, be it non-dairy or dairy milk. It differs in calories and nutritional differences depending on which type of milk you use.  Kefir is far superior to regular milk. Fermentation is the alchemy of milk. It chemically breaks…(Read More)