Posts by Donna Schwenk
Sourdough FAQs
Helpful Tips for sourdough bread The secret to good sourdough bread is in the bubbly sourdough starter. (You can buy my live starter here.) To make a really bubbly sourdough starter, you must feed it a ratio of one to one to one. So what this means is 1/2 cup of sourdough starter and 1/2…
Read MoreMaking Winter Kombucha
Kombucha is a wonderful probiotic drink and something you should really consider drinking daily during cold and flu season. The special probiotic yeast in kombucha (Saccharomyces boulardii, which cannot be killed by antibiotics) can help you stay healthy when viruses are all around you. […]
Read More7 Ways To Heal Your Gut
Your gut is your largest immune organ The Microbes That Control You The gut is your largest immune organ, with a surface area of 100-130 square feet! Inside of you are trillions of microbes that make up the body known as you. Without them, you can’t digest your food and receive the nutrients that you…
Read MoreA Cold You Can Beat After A Holiday Treat
For many years, and way before I found cultured foods, we would travel to my mom’s house in Virginia for Christmas. It was a twenty-hour car ride from my home in Kansas City and we would often drive all night to get there so the kids would sleep. We would always be exhausted by the time we arrived at my mom’s home. . .
Read MoreBest of Cultured Food Life 2021: Our Top Articles!
Good Tidings of Comfort and Joy! Our Most Popular Articles of 2021 I’m chasing a feeling when I cook, write blogs, come up with recipes, and even when I eat food that makes me feel good. That feeling is joy and the things I give my attention to determine how often that occurs. When I…
Read MoreWarm Up With Prebiotic Marshmallow Hot Chocolate
New Hot Chocolate Traditions Cozy up with Healthy Hot chocolate I love the holidays and all its festive foods. It makes me so happy to make holiday foods, but as the years have gone by I learned that I needed to incorporate healthy holiday treats that not only satisfy my cravings around the holidays but…
Read MoreReasons to Have Fermented Foods During the Holidays
As the holiday season hits, we spend more time with friends and family. One thing I have noticed is that there is more and more talk about the health issues that so many are struggling with. Extended family whom I don’t talk with often mostly talk about how sick they are and all the medications they’re on. . .
Read MoreAn Apple Peel a Day Keeps The Doctor Away
The Bacteria that keeps your gut lining intact Do you know the old English-language proverb that appeared in the 19th century that said, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away “? There may be more truth to this than we know. Apples have been associated with a number of benefits that could help promote…
Read MoreGingerbread: The Healthy Holiday Treat
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 one of the most important is ginger. […]
Read More20 Ways To Use Fermented Garlic!
There are certainly many ways to enjoy garlic, but having a jar of fermented garlic in your fridge is easy and convenient to use. You can use this in so many ways, and it is even great to hand on hand for heated recipes. […]
Read MoreSourdough Stuffing Bread —With Fermented Cranberry Sauce
Bread that Tastes Like Stuffing Jump to the recipe “Nurture a sourdough starter and rise your bread to heights of grandeur and fall in love with sourdough bread.”Donna When I was a little girl, my mom always made her stuffing for the turkey the night before Thanksgiving. It would sit in this large glass bowl…
Read MoreHMOs and Bifidobacterium — Why They’re So Important For Your Gut
One of the most important Bacteria In Your Gut For years I’ve been looking for a way to increase Bifidobacterium. I’ve been wanting to discuss this all-important gut bacteria, but first I wanted to figure out how to significantly produce more of it since it diminishes with age. The more Bifidobacterium you have, the more…
Read More8 Tips For A Healthy Halloween
Probiotic Halloween 🎃Today is Halloween and it is always a fun time for kids and families. Let’s face it, the kids look adorable in their costumes and even I like to dress up; but it’s a sugar fest and that can present some challenges. I thought I’d give you a few tips and some fun…
Read MoreCandida and Cultured Foods
I get hundreds of emails about the subject of Candida, and a lot of them are asking me why so many health care practitioners don’t recommend the consumption of fermented foods if you have Candida. […]
Read MoreHow To Make Your Own Vinegar — 5 Different Recipes!
Homemade Vinegar In the fall, I like to make homemade vinegar for Christmas gifts. It’s the perfect time of year since temperatures cool down and vinegar likes cooler temperatures (68 to 70 degrees F) rather than warmer temps to do their fermentation. I’ve had so many people ask me if they could buy a bottle…
Read MoreHow to Make Kefir Cheese and Whey
Kefir Cheese and Whey Making kefir whey and cheese is something I do many times a week. It doesn’t take long, and the whey will culture a multitude of foods. The whey in kefir has many benefits, so don’t throw it out! One of the things I hope to accomplish with this blog is to…
Read MorePumpkin Seed Sourdough Bread
Fall Sourdough Bread “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables It’s cool, misty, and foggy this morning as I write this blog. It truly feels like fall even though the temperatures will climb higher later in the week. It makes me want to…
Read MoreWater Kefir or Kefir Soda? Two Different Ways to Make Probiotic Soda
Which Is Better? Kefir Soda Versus Water Kefir I love kefir soda, but this is a slightly different process from making water kefir that is made with water kefir crystals. When you make water kefir with crystals, you make your first ferment and then you ferment it again to flavor it. This is a two-step…
Read MoreWhy You Should Eat Berries Every Day — 50+ Recipes
Berries and I have a love affair. I eat them every morning for breakfast with kefir and for snacks too. I recently began adding a red berry phenol powder to my smoothies to get even more benefits, and what a difference it has made. I have over 50 recipes in this article and even more…
Read More7 Ways To Change Your Gut
Gut Health Gut health is more important than you can imagine. Having a healthy gut means your gut contains large amounts of healthy bacteria and immune cells that ward off infectious agents like bacteria, viruses, and fungi. But that’s not all! A healthy gut also communicates with the brain through nerves and hormones, which helps…
Read MoreResistant Starch — The Key To Extraordinary Health Benefits
Feed those Microbes and watch what Happens I’m constantly learning new things about the benefits of bacteria but especially what feeds these tiny microbes that keep us healthy and thriving. It’s been over two decades of eating fermented foods and the new discoveries have never stopped. Something I’ve learned throughout the years is that you’re…
Read MoreWhy People Fight Over Kefir
The Many Legends of Kefir One of my favorite things about kefir is the many stories, legends, and history behind it. It has been around for thousands of years and the stories are many, as are the mystics behind this food. It would make a great documentary! One of the first stories I heard dates…
Read MoreYour Microbes Love Coffee Just As Much As You Do
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 is bad for me, I can never get a positive result from it. […]
Read MoreKefir Mousse
Staying healthy can be a daunting challenge for most people. Life gets crazy at times, but most of the articles I write are meant to give you little things you can do that can make a big difference. […]
Read MoreFood For Thought — Fix Your Gut Fix Your Life
For many years, I’d read thousands of books that I had stacked by my bed – and thank goodness for Kindle! I read books on what foods are best for you and tried gazillions of diets and still couldn’t figure it all out. […]
Read MoreHow Many Calories in Kefir?
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. […]
Read More7 Ways to Use Your Extra Kefir Grains
I love my kefir grains and they love me. It’s true! We’ve been in a long relationship for over twenty years and they never cease to amaze me with everything they can do. […]
Read MoreFermented Sweet Pickle Relish
Every year I plant my garden, anxious for my fruits and veggies. But each year I don’t plant cucumbers because each year they come back anyway. They will sprout in different places in my garden, always in a place where they can have lots of room. […]
Read MoreFifteen Kefir Ice Creams
I’m always looking for ways to enjoy my kefir, and kefir ice cream can be enjoyed anytime – even for breakfast! If you don’t have an ice cream maker that sits on the counter, you may want to consider owning one as they are a great investment. […]
Read MoreCooling Down With Cultured Foods
I live in a desert climate – hot during the day and cool at night. When it gets hot, it’s really hot. Today it’s 100°F and I’m looking for foods that cool me down. […]
Read More10 Ways and Reasons to Use Your Cultured Veggie Brine!
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. […]
Read MoreThe Probiotic Superstar in Cultured Veggies
I have been getting a lot of letters asking if you can ferment vegetables with water kefir or kombucha. You can ferment vegetables with these two different cultures, but the vegetables tend to get mushy and don’t last very long. […]
Read MoreWhat Kind of Milk Do I Use To Make Kefir?
There are many ways to make kefir with many different types of milk, and believe me, I’ve tried them all. Mostly to try to help you. I have some of my favorites, but I will explain which ones you can use and let you know my favorites too. […]
Read MoreSummer Sourdough Bread — Grilled or Baked
When I walk into my kitchen each day, I see the bread knife and cutting board scattered with crumbs. It is a daily occurrence; and although I like a clean kitchen, this is one thing I tolerate with pleasure. . .
Read MoreKefir Made Easy
When your feet hit the ground in the morning are you pumped about the day? Do you feel appreciation and love for others? Do you have energy that will last all day? Did you know that you are supposed to feel this way? […]
Read MoreWhy You Should Be Growing and Eating Sprouts In a Jar
Fermenting, sprouting, and soaking are all ways I enhance my food. These are the heroes that help me stay healthy in spite of all that seems to tell me I need to fear aging and all the disease that could come my way. I believe so firmly in wellness that nobody can convince me otherwise. […]
Read MoreCultured Vegetables FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions About Cultured Vegetables It’s my favorite time of the year – when I have an abundance of fresh vegetables that I can ferment. Fermented vegetables can last nine months stored in the refrigerator. They can provide you with months of your own probiotics that are much stronger than supplements. When you eat…
Read MoreSeven Healthy Reasons I Love Dates
It’s Mother’s Day and I’m thinking about my mom who lives 2,637 miles away from me in Leesburg, Virginia. My mom loves, loves dates so this blog is for her. […]
Read MoreProbiotic Salads and Dressings and Why Your Microbes Need Them
There are many reasons you should eat salads. They are one of nature’s perfect foods – they work like medicine. The benefits are many and they’re delicious too! Having fermented dressings is a mainstay in my house and is one of the many ways I add cultured foods to my family’s diet. . .
Read MoreYour Immune System and Seasonal Allergies
I have had seasonal allergies since I was twelve or thirteen years old. For months in the springtime, I locked myself inside the house and turned to drugs and steroids that harmed my immune system. This seemed to be what everybody did and I did the same because I had nowhere else to look. . .
Read MoreThe Most Probiotic Kefir Dip
This recipe has only two cultured ingredients (cultured veggies and kefir cheese) and has more probiotics than any other dip recipe and it’s crazy delicious. […]
Read MoreKombucha FAQs
Kombucha — My Favorite Drink Kombucha has been a part of my life for over twenty years. It was the second cultured food I made, and down through the years I’ve learned so much about this probiotic drink it continues to amaze me. Kombucha has a special probiotic called Saccharomyces boulardii (S. boulardii). S. boulardii…
Read More19 Healing Cultured Carrot Recipes
I was young, nine years old, and sitting in a classroom staring at my teacher’s desk. She had a thermos; and from it she poured a bright orange liquid and I would stare in wonder. I found myself obsessing about what she was drinking. I should have been working in my workbook, but I would watch her every time she went to take a drink. […]
Read MoreMilk Kefir FAQs
Kefir is my favorite cultured food. It has the most probiotic strains of any cultured food (over 50 strains) and is also super easy to make. It was the first cultured food I tried and it made me well in so many ways that I started on a journey to learn all I could about this magical food. […]
Read MoreFermented Foods Can Help With Constipation and Diarrhea
Nobody really wants to talk about constipation and diarrhea, but it’s something everybody deals with at some time in their life. I’ve had so many people find help with these ailments that despite most people not wanting to talk about elimination, it’s something that can be your best teacher if you know what to look…
Read MoreMy Favorite Cultured Foods
Almost two decades ago I had a revelation. No longer could I rely on any individual to solve all my health problems even if it was a medical professional. […]
Read MoreWays To Use Your Extra Sourdough Starter
It’s Tuesday night and I usually make bread on Wednesdays. I take my sourdough starter out of the fridge to feed it. I check it. Does it still have bubbles? Is there hooch on top? If I see a layer of dark liquid (called “hooch”) and no bubbles, this means my starter is really hungry and needs to be fed. […]
Read More6 Ginger Sodas That Can Do Amazing Things
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. […]
Read MoreAre You Getting Enough of This Powerful Protein?
I have used bone broths and collagen as a form of natural healing in my life and in the lives of my family members. The older I get, the more I find how essential these foods are to my body. […]
Read MoreEating Cultured Foods For 20 Years
The Call Finding My Way To Cultured Foods You have to fight through some bad days to find the best days of your life I have always had a sense of urgency about my life. I never knew why this was, and when I was a young woman with small children my friend said to…
Read MoreKiss Me ~ I’m Cultured 💋
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 it and this one was no exception. […]
Read MoreDo Cultured Veggies Need a Starter?
You do not need a starter culture to make cultured veggies. However, by using a starter you will receive more probiotics and a lot of other benefits. Let me explain your options and you can better choose which is the best method for you. […]
Read MoreEight Days With Kombucha
Watching tea turn into kombucha is quite a thing to behold. You give it the ingredients and let it work its magic. Billions of microbes and yeasts transform the tea into a bubbly probiotic tea that you will love. […]
Read MoreReasons And Recipes To Have More Miso
When people think of miso, they mostly think of miso soup, but it is so much more. It has an incredible microbial makeup and is a nutritional powerhouse and is so simple to make and use in recipes that I’ve found myself making and consuming it almost every day. […]
Read MoreH. Pylori and Fermented Foods
Last October, someone asked a question on my forum.
“Hi! I am a new member, diagnosed with H. Pylori bacteria in July, currently on my second round of tough antibiotics. […]
Read MoreWhat is Sourdough Bread?
Slow Fermented Sourdough Bread The one who gives you their homemade sourdough bread gives you their heart too. I’ve been making sourdough bread for almost 18 years and it is one of my very favorite cultured foods to make. I was twelve years old when I got interested in making my own bread due to…
Read MoreGain Wisdom From Your Kraut
Many of you write to me and ask how you can encourage friends and family to eat these foods. Like you, I notice how sick our loved ones are and want to help them but they don’t always want to listen. […]
Read MoreHomemade Cultured Christmas Gifts
It’s the holidays and we’re all needing all the help we can get. One of the wonderful things about cultured probiotic foods is how fun it is to make them a part of your everyday life […]
Read MoreSourdough Cinnamon Swirl Bread
When I was growing up, my mom always made a Christmas braid on Christmas morning that was filled with cinnamon and nuts and covered in frosting. […]
Read MoreThe 12 Days of Kefir
I made a series of videos for my Biotic Pro Members called The 12 Days of Kefir. These 12 videos are all about making holiday Christmas recipes with kefir. It was super fun (and crazy) trying to film it all in a couple of days. It was so intense filming these videos that my video guys nicknamed it “The Beast”! It was an adventure for sure. . .
Read MoreProbiotic Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkin smoothies are eggnog for morning people. I love, love pumpkin. It has many wonderfully healthy qualities and a creamy consistency that makes it a wonderful treat, especially around the holiday season. I use pumpkin in multiple ways, but some of my favorites recipes are ones I make with kefir. Fermenting pumpkin is a way…
Read MoreWhy and How You Should Soak Your Beans, Nuts, Seeds, and Grains
More and more people are eating raw and unprocessed whole foods which is a good thing – unless they’re loaded with enzyme inhibitors and phytates. […]
Read MoreYou Are The One Thing In Life You Can Control
This is the week of the 2020 presidential election. Needless to say, whatever side you’re on, it’s been an intense week and a lot of people are struggling with strong emotions. I’m surprised to say that I’ve lived a long time (60 years) and now have some life experience that really serves me in times of uncertainty and fear. […]
Read MoreCan Cultured Foods Hurt Me?
I get a lot of people writing me letters indicating that they are afraid they are going to get sick from eating cultured foods. They don’t understand cultured foods and how they work; preconceived ideas and the media have created fear, a lot of fear. […]
Read MoreKefir Sourdough English Muffins
Get extra Minerals from your Food Making Cultured English Muffins There is a famous bakery in Kansas City called Wolferman’s that sells their gourmet baked goods to many distributors (like Harry & David’s) and has been around since 1888. Every fall I used to drive thirty minutes to get their legendary super-delicious English muffins that…
Read MoreThree Foods That Can Change Your Life ~ The Trilogy and More
Fermentation is an art form and each individual cultured food is, in and of itself, unique. The three foods of The Trilogy each provide different good bacteria and yeasts that enhance the trillions of bacteria in the body and allow them to thrive, grow, and multiply. […]
Read MoreWhy Sprouted Flour is Better Than Regular Flour
Sprouted flour is made by intentionally soaking and germinating grains and then drying them at specific temperatures and milling them into flour.
While I mostly make bread from my sourdough culture (this also unlocks the nutrients), I make almost all my cookies, muffins, and desserts from sprouted flour. I’ve done this for two decades. […]
Read MoreYour Gut Needs Some Cultured Veggie Juice
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 is coming to an end. Holli was pale and holding her stomach and saying it was cramping and begging me to fix it. […]
Read MoreI Was Lost, Until I Did This. . .
“How do I apply all this cultured food stuff to my life? Where and how do I get started?” This is something that I hear quite often. People want to change their life and feel better but don’t know where to start. […]
Read MoreIBD: Crohn’s, Ulcers, & Fermented Foods
I’ve seen cultured vegetables, kombucha, and kefir help with so many gastrointestinal disorders, and I’ve even witnessed firsthand my son healing from an ulcer that was causing him severe pain every time he ate. […]
Read MoreProbiotic Foods for Different Ailments
Probiotics have become an exciting frontier in health and wellness. Most people only think about probiotic supplements in a bottle, but today we’re talking about foods that have probiotics in them. These probiotic foods have billions more probiotics than supplements. . .
Read MorePreserving Gut Health As You Age
This last year I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to live the rest of my life. My husband’s father and stepmom died and so did my dog. It is times like these that help me to reevaluate things in my life and how I want to live and be remembered.[…]
Read MoreGrow Your Own Probiotics
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. […]
Read MoreHow to Make Your Kefir Creamy Again
“Kefir is worth the trouble of making. Like all things virtuous, you have to struggle to gain the reward. Trust me, the rewards are many.” Donna In these summer months, has your kefir been fermenting faster and turning into curds and whey before you know it? In the summertime, kefir can change and many people…
Read MoreSix Reasons (and Recipes) to Eat Fermented Pickles
My 23-year-old son, DJ, called me from his home. He was very sick with a stomach flu and was in a considerable amount of pain with stomach cramps throughout the night. With a half cup of pickle juice in hand, I went over to his home. I went into his room which was dark with no lights. […]
Read More8 Ways To 2nd Ferment Kombucha and Water Kefir
There are a million reasons why you shouldn’t drink regular sodas that are laden with high fructose corn syrup, dyes, and chemicals that are hard on the body. Both kombucha and water kefir provide minerals and probiotics, and they are easy and fun to make. Replace your drinks with kefir soda or kombucha and you…
Read MoreFood Care is Health Care
It’s pretty crazy these days listening to all the talk about health care and what to do about it. It’s causing a lot of fear and one I am well acquainted with. Do you ever wonder why your life takes certain paths and contains certain challenges? I do, and I was contemplating that this week as I listened to people debating on TV about health care. […]
Read MoreCan Fermented Vegetables Help with COVID-19?
In my own personal experience and those whom I help through my website, we have all seen tremendous help and healing from eating fermented foods and especially when dealing with any kind of virus. […]
Read MoreYour Body Was Designed to Heal You
How did I get here? I was a new mother at 41 years old, falling apart, and paralyzed with fear. I was sick with diabetes and suffered from high blood pressure. I also had a brand new premature baby girl in my lap. I knew that I was in trouble and I desperately needed help. I begged for help. […]
Read MoreSuper Healing Summer
It’s summertime!! And all kinds of things can happen in the summertime that otherwise might seem impossible. Let me explain a few things that happen in the summertime that can help you be healthier, heal from all manner of diseases, and support good health! […]
Read MoreThe Must-Have Food Medicine – in Your Fridge
One day 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 she picked it up from her. […]
Read MoreWill Eating Probiotic Foods Make Any Difference?
Most of you don’t know what processes are actually happening inside of you every day. There are microorganisms everywhere and you can’t see them, but they are inhabiting you and everything else. […]
Read MoreWhy You Should Know About Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Fermented Foods
I’m constantly learning new things about the benefits of bacteria. It’s been almost two decades of eating fermented foods and the new discoveries have never stopped. […]
Read MoreMy Favorite Cultured Vegetable Recipe
A few years back, a woman named Shelley came to my cultured food class. I couldn’t stop staring at her while I spoke, and I told my daughter that I thought I saw a light over her and was trying to figure out where it was coming from. […]
Read MoreTwo Ways to Make Fermented Red Onions
I love red onions and we eat a ton of onions on everything. Making a jar of fermented red onions allows us to eat them often because they taste so good and are stored in my fridge – already chopped and ready to eat. […]
Read More20 Smart Ways To Use Your Kombucha SCOBYs!
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 them grow! […]
Read MoreBreakfast Sourdough Bread
This is the bread I make at least two or three times a week. As my business has been growing and I found myself with less time, this bread recipe has become the bread I make most often. It only has four ingredients and takes about 5 minutes to throw together. […]
Read MoreKefir Ranch Dressing
When I was growing up, my mom had a big garden. We would help her pick the green beans, broccoli, and tomatoes; and without fail, I wouldn’t want to eat the veggies. […]
Read MoreDoes Your Body Need a Miracle?
Do you believe that healing requires a miracle, or do you believe that our trillions of cells govern themselves and create the bodies that we have? So how does the eye know how to focus or the muscle know how much energy it will need during your walk today? […]
Read MorePrebiotics – As Important as Probiotics
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 in the large bowel or colon. […]
Read MoreNow is the Time to Start Making Kefir Cheese
If you love cheese then you really need to learn to make kefir cheese. It’s crazy easy, filled with probiotics, and you can use it in a million different ways. I make kefir cheese in big and small batches and I want to show you how you can do it too. […]
Read MoreYou and Your Housemates Share the Same Bacteria
It was the summer of 2003. A friend came into my kitchen and asked what was on my counters. I excitedly told her about my beloved cultures and I watched her face change expressions. “These jars have been brewing for days on your counters?” […]
Read MoreKombucha Bread and Muffins
Five-Ingredient Bread If you want a fast and easy probiotic bread, then you’re in for a treat with Kombucha Bread. The naturally-occurring carbonation in kombucha will also raise your bread without baker’s yeast. And since this probiotic yeast is resistant to heat, you will actually receive some probiotics too. S boulardii feeds on the sugars…
Read MoreDairy-Free Kefir – Every Kind You Can Imagine
I have seen many people benefit from kefir, and this includes non-dairy kefir. So many people need a dairy-free version, so we created just about every kind of non-dairy kefir we could think of. […]
Read MoreHow to Care For Your Sourdough Starter
I usually make sourdough bread once or twice a week. I make sourdough more than sprouted bread as my family likes it better and I enjoy making it so much. There is nothing as special as having a sourdough starter that has your own unique yeasts from your kitchen and hometown – that makes it uniquely your own. […]
Read MoreHelp Is On The Way
It’s March 18th, 2020, and the novel coronavirus has everybody staying home and worried about the future. This day also happens to be my 60th birthday so I’m making my own healthy birthday cake and baking a loaf of sourdough bread. […]
Read MoreThe Most Powerful Cultured Veggies
I had no idea just exactly what I was making when I created this recipe several years ago. I just thought the combination tasted good and seemed to give me spectacular results during cold and flu season, so I kept making them and giving them to my family. […]
Read MoreAnti-Viral Cultured Foods
There is a lot of fear flying around about the flu and especially the coronavirus. If I can help you understand what happens in your body and how it works when you get the flu, or what it can do to protect yourself, then perhaps it will […]
Read MoreTips That Nobody Else Talks About
Years ago when I was young and raising my kids, I was often influenced by well-meaning friends and family. They scared me to death with the latest news they had heard and would say, “Don’t eat this and don’t let your kids do this and did you read that story about how bad this is for you?” […]
Read MoreWhy I Drink Kombucha Every Day
Kombucha is an amazing drink. Sales have grown to be over 600 million dollars, and this was all done strictly by word of mouth. […]
Read MoreFermented Foods and IBS
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is usually identified by a group of symptoms: abdominal pain, bloating, and a change in bowels that can alternate between diarrhea and constipation. […]
Read MorePumpernickel Sourdough Bread
I have always loved dark pumpernickel bread. Its rich, sweet flavors have been one of my favorite breads to eat plain, or with soups, or with sandwiches. […]
Read MoreEverybody’s Favorite Kefir Dip
I’ve been eating cultured foods for two almost two decades and this recipe has been on the blog almost from the very beginning. I’m always scrambling to make recipes that my family would enjoy and eat that have probiotics and prebiotics. […]
Read MoreWhey – The Liquid Gold in Kefir
Don’t throw out your kefir if it separates into whey and curds. Your whey, although less appealing to many individuals, is a superfood which contains a lot of healing properties. There is something known as “The Whey Cure” which was used throughout history. In fact, Hippocrates and Galen, two founding fathers of medicine, frequently recommended whey to their patients to heal them. This whey was often referred to as “liquid gold.” […]
Read MoreThe Real Reasons Your Immune System Needs Cultured Foods
Viruses, yuck . . . my family used to get them a lot. Colds, flus, you name it, we got it. But so did everybody else I knew. It’s normal, right? Well, it’s actually not. Every year at Christmas we would go to my mom’s in Virginia and somebody would inevitably get sick, and then it would spread down through the family. […]
Read More7 Reasons I Have Kefir Every Day
Lots of articles are popping up about reasons you should have kefir, but few of the people writing the articles have actually drunk kefir every day for 14 years. This post is specifically talking about milk kefir and not water kefir. My reasons for drinking kefir are very personal and specific to me. […]
Read MoreMy Kefir Is Too Sour!
Perhaps you’ve seen this happen, and it even happens to me from time to time: My kefir will get really sour. This can happen for several reasons. During your first ferment, you let your kefir ferment too long on your counter, or your house might be warmer than usual. […]
Read MoreBest of Cultured Food Life 2019: Our Top Articles!
I hope 2019 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 almost two decades and they never cease to amaze and teach me. […]
Read MoreWhy You Need Christmas Pickles
The Christmas pickle is not really a pickle at all. It is a pickle-shaped ornament that is the last one hung on the tree on Christmas Eve. The story goes something like this. […]
Read MoreDoes Your Bacteria Whisper?
I had just started my blog in April of 2010 and was afraid that nobody would be interested in cultured foods. I decided to do it anyway. I believe we are all guided to do things but it comes in whispers, not loud sounding trumpets. One such whisper came from my daughter Maci. She told me I needed a Facebook page to help people find my blog and then quickly made me one before I could protest. […]
Read MoreHow To Second Ferment Your Water Kefir
Water kefir tastes pretty plain unless you second ferment it. You can choose your favorite juice and make a delicious bubbly drink that is loaded with probiotics. Here is an easy recipe to give you an easy guideline to follow. […]
Read MoreCranberries Have Many Healing Powers
Cranberries are usually eaten only around the holidays. It’s really a shame we don’t eat them all year long as they are powerful foods that can work like preventative medicine. I got all emotional when I discovered all the things cranberries can do for us. […]
Read MoreHow To Make The Probiotic That Inhibits Candida
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. […]
Read MoreEczema and Probiotic Foods
Eczema is a skin condition that causes itchy, red patches on different locations of the body and affects over 30 million people and especially children between the ages of 1-5. […]
Read MoreEinkorn Sourdough Bread
A few years ago, I started hearing about the ancient species of wheat called einkorn. People who were gluten intolerant were writing me letters about it and saying it was allowing them to eat bread again without the problems regular wheat had caused them, and I wanted to know more. . .
Read MoreReasons To Love Almond Kefir
I love almonds and they make wonderful kefir. Some people call almonds the healthiest food in all the world and they have tons of health benefits. But I know a thing or two about almonds that perhaps you do not know. […]
Read MoreHistamines and Fermented Foods
How to deal with Histamine flare-ups is a common question I get, and especially since fermented foods can either help or worsen symptoms. It occurs when there is a buildup of histamine in the body. […]
Read MoreThe Thick and Thin of Kefir
Are you ready to master kefir and eat it every day? Most diseases begin in your digestive system, including physical and mental disease. Once you heal your gut, your digestive system will begin to work properly again and disease symptoms will begin to resolve. Kefir is a great place to start. […]
Read MoreAsthma and Fermented Foods
One of the first friends I ever told about cultured foods had a little boy with asthma. Making and drinking a kefir smoothie every day allowed him to get off his asthma inhaler and live a normal life. I was quite surprised and thrilled that it worked so rapidly. He had been taking kefir quite regularly and stopped needing his inhaler. […]
Read MoreThe X Factor Vitamin In Cheese
The rewards of making your own cheese are by far worth the effort, and it’s easier than you may think. It is thought that cheese was first discovered around 8,000 BC. Milk curds were strained and salt was added to help with preservation. This gave birth to what we now know as “cheese.” […]
Read MoreThe Healing Crisis and Cultured Foods
A “healing crisis” is something that happens when the body starts a detoxification process which is really a program of natural healing. This is a common occurrence among some individuals who start consuming cultured foods. When you start consuming cultured foods, your body is flooded with good bacteria. […]
Read MoreFibromyalgia and Fermented Foods
Fibromyalgia is one of the fastest-growing disabling conditions. It affects 2-4 percent of the population and has no known cure. It seems to affect mostly women, and I see it cropping up everywhere. […]
Read MoreProbiotic Foods For Colds and Flus
It astonishes me that everybody doesn’t know about Cultured Veggies – they are such powerful little scrub brushes for the colon and deliver such powerful anti-virus abilities. Over and over again I have seen these veggies knock out colds and flu and even work magic on food poisoning. […]
Read MoreWill Bacteria Keep You Young?
I remember the day I learned that the human gut held as much as six pounds of bacteria. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t known this and wanted to know more about my trillions of microbes. Could I help them grow and thrive, and in the process live a healthier, longer life? […]
Read MoreWhich Are The Best Sweeteners?
It’s been quite a journey for me trying to find the right sweeteners for me and my family. It was always really important to me to find ones that wouldn’t spike my blood sugar but also wouldn’t harm my gut flora. […]
Read MoreEnzymes and Your Gut — You Aren’t Just What You Eat, You’re What You Digest and Absorb
Eating cultured foods have not only supplied my body with billions of probiotics but also tons of digestive enzymes. This is one of the many reasons I eat them so often. Having plenty of digestion enzymes is one of the keys to optional health. Digestion when you put something in your mouth. […]
Read MoreThe Many Ways Cultured Foods Detoxify Your Body
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. […]
Read MoreMy Favorite Vitamin — and Why You Should Have It Every Day
This life is a journey and a fun one but understanding the workings of the body is really important. What if there was a nutrient that your body cries for all day long and you didn’t know it? […]
Read MoreThe FODMAP Diet for SIBO, IBS, and Probiotic Foods
We all know that food choices can drastically impact health symptoms. So, it’s no surprise that diets are continuously developed for different health conditions or symptoms. IBS and SIBO sufferers have a difficult time finding things to eat that don’t flare symptoms. […]
Read MoreHelp! My Kombucha Is Too Sour
In the early days of making kombucha, I would often let my kombucha go too long and it would lose its bubbliness. There were a few times it turned so sour that it made me squint and gasp. I honestly thought I had killed my uvula. You know that little thing that hangs down the back of your throat. […]
Read MoreYogurt Versus Kefir – Which Is Better?
So, what is the difference between kefir and yogurt? Which is better? Kefir is far superior, but yogurt has its benefits too. I read once that yogurt is like wine and kefir is more like champagne. It has more pizazz! […]
Read MoreChai Spice Kombucha with Blackberries Video
Kombucha is a wonder drink and for good reason. I drink it every day and let me explain to you how it all works. Just as yeast makes bread rise, the good yeasts in kombucha make your tea bubbly. One certain probiotic yeast found in kombucha is called Saccharomyces boulardii. […]
Read MoreLow-Carb Cultured Foods
Low carb and keto diets are very popular right now. I think we’re all different and what works for one doesn’t always work for another which is why I love cultured foods. They fit into any diet be it keto, vegan, low carb, vegetarian, paleo, or raw food diet. These foods can be mostly condiments; or some of these foods, such as a kefir smoothie, can be a whole meal. You can always find a way to add cultured foods to your diet and sometimes you only need a spoonful to flood your body with billions of probiotics that change your microbiome in a powerful way.
Read MoreDid Kombucha Heal My Husband’s Eyes?
My husband is used to my crazy new ideas and has become accustomed to my enthusiasm for whatever happens to be my latest discovery. He goes along for the ride but never jumps in with both feet until coaxed. Kombucha was the first food he really grasped on to, and here is why. […]
Read MoreFermented Jalapenos and Sourdough Bread
It’s summertime and this is my sourdough starters favorite time of year. I love making bread in the summertime as my bread and sourdough starter will always rise higher due to the warmer temperatures. Even though many don’t like heating up their homes with the oven in the summertime, I have ways to do this that has minimal effects. […]
Read MoreGinger Kombucha – The Anti-Inflammatory Drink
Ginger is powerful medicine! I have been consuming ginger every day and found it to be very effective in helping with any kind of inflammation – especially hay fever in the springtime. Ginger is anti-viral and anti-inflammatory as well as being a powerful antiseptic and antihistamine.
Read MoreGet Cultured at The Green Dragon 🐉
Spend a day and immerse yourself into the world of making and eating cultured foods. Donna combines an inspiring day of information with lessons on how to make our trio, The Trilogy: kefir, kombucha, cultured vegetables, and extra info on sourdough bread, and water kefir. You’ll receive a delicious lunch and you’ll be taking home your own jar of cultured vegetables that will give you a starter for many more vegetables to come. . .
Read MoreNeed Crunchy Pickles?
Pickles are a huge part of my life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used them to help someone in need. If someone feels a bug coming on, I give them a pickle or a spoonful of pickle juice. […]
Read MoreThe Mineral That Saved My Life
My family has a history of high blood pressure. I struggled with high blood pressure on and off for years and was told to just expect to take medication for it. This made me fighting mad, and I didn’t want to accept it as predetermined destiny that I had no choice over. I wanted to know why I had a tendency for this and what was happening inside of me that was causing all of this. […]
Read MoreProbiotic Tomatoes
I have a diverse group of people who subscribe and are members of my site. They have very different diets but all are adding cultured foods to enhance what they’re doing. I’ve discovered that consuming cultured foods is one of the keys to living an incredibly healthy life. Not only have I experienced this, but others are recognizing this as well. […]
Read MoreFermented Vegetables Are Safer Than Raw Vegetables
Cultured foods have become an exciting frontier in health and wellness. We take so much for granted and just as this earth spins on its axis and hurls us through space, so does our body contain billions upon trillions of microbes that compose our bodies and were put there to help us live a fulfilling and healthy life. […]
Read MoreAre Fermented Vegetables Safer Than Raw Vegetables?
Cultured foods have become an exciting frontier in health and wellness. We take so much for granted, and just as this earth spins on its axis and hurls us through space so does our body contain billions upon trillions of microbes that compose our bodies and were designed to help us live a fulfilling and healthy life. […]
Read MoreHow Microbes and Your Brain Work Together
A healthy body isn’t the only result of consuming good bacteria – having a healthy gut also leads to a healthier emotional state. Before I found cultured foods, I was a different person – physically and emotionally. As a young woman, and all the way into my late thirties, I would get upset easily. . .
Read MoreThoughts and Habits That Changed Everything
In March 2010 I was turning fifty years old and facing down demons in my life. Our home was going on the auction block on my birthday. I was fighting fear and had two voices in my head. One was filled with hope, the other with panic and fear. Looking back on this time, I remember it so vividly. Months of fear slowly began to turn to hope and for no other reason than I stopped listening to the voice of fear and started to believe that no matter what, I was guided and loved and it would be ok. . .
Read More12 Reasons to Eat Cucumber Kimchi
I love cultured veggies, but mostly I love the bacteria that make these cultured veggies Super Veggies. Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) has been found in experiments to help you feel less anxiety and depression. It does this by working on the hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor. . .
Read MoreYou Are What Your Bacteria Eat
You are what your bacteria eat. It sounds like a science fiction movie, that deep within our gut is an entire ecosystem which is affecting both our cravings and moods to get us to eat what they want. . .
Read MoreHow To Make Kefir Donut Holes
I’m always looking for recipes that give us healthy foods that are fun to eat and also help feed our good bacteria. It’s also important that the recipe be easy to make and not time-consuming. These donut holes are gluten-free and have lots of healthy fiber-rich ingredients. Not only do these treats have probiotics from the kefir, but they have lots of prebiotics too. You’ll be changing your microbiome with every bite. . .
Read MoreSugar Drops Your Immune System By 75%
Boosting your immune system is one of my favorite things that cultured foods do. Your gut is responsible for 80 percent of your immune system. The more good bacteria you have, the better your immune system will function. Viruses run around looking for a human host to inhabit. When it finds one, your body has special helpers designed to seek and destroy this invader.
Read MoreUTIs, Yeast Infections, and Cultured Foods
We know that more than half of all women will experience the burning urgency of a urinary tract infection in their lifetime. Although men also suffer from these infections, the occurrence is much less frequent due to anatomical differences. If you experience discomfort when you urinate, you may have an infection. There are two types of infections that commonly affect these areas. . .
Read MoreTwo Women Who Convinced Me to Make My Own Bread
I was twelve years old and taking a school field trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where the largest battle of the American Civil War as well as the largest battle ever fought in North America, took place. Little did I know that this particular trip would have a tremendous impact on my young life and set things into motion that my future self would be doing on a regular basis. . .
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