Posts by Donna Schwenk

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?” […]

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? […]

🌟 The Probiotic Power of Fermented Foods For years, I’ve witnessed the powerful ways fermented foods can transform our health—from digestion to immunity to mood. But did you know they can also support something as specific as gum health?  I really noticed when I came back from vacation and I hadn’t had my kefir and…

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? […]

Fermented Friends: Trim Healthy Mama’s Pearl and Serene In the world of health and wellness, there’s an ever-growing circle of friends who have found their way into my kitchen via the internet and cookbooks. I am always looking for inspiration and new recipes to make healthy, nourishing foods that feed my spirit and family. A…

Immune support From Fermented Foods Our bodies are amazing ecosystems, and the gut, often referred to as the “second brain,” is at the center of it all.Your gut is like a secret garden. It’s home to trillions of microorganisms working together to keep you healthy. When this garden flourishes, your body thrives, and your immune…

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…

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! […]

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. […]

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. […]

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? […]

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. […]

Probiotic Halloween 🎃 Halloween 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. We really need a probiotic Halloween. It’s such a fun time; but it is…

Let me tell you about Mary. She sat on the front row of one of my classes and cried throughout my class while I talked. Right after class, she came up to me and explained how much these probiotic foods I teach about had changed her life. Sick with digestion and depression and feeling hopeless, she found encouragement and hope from my books to give these foods a try. . .

Food cravings — why do you have them? We tend to think food cravings are normal and there is not much we can do about them, but there is much more to it than this. This is a time of change. A time to look at the way we function in this world and do it differently than ever before. . .

Your gut is your largest immune organ The Microbes That Control You Your 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…

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. […]

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. . .