Summer Food

Need Crunchy Pickles?

By Donna Schwenk / August 5, 2023

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. […]

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Probiotic Foods For The 4th of July

By Donna Schwenk / July 1, 2023

✨Keeping your gut healthy 🇺🇸 If you’re new to cultured foods, then let me help you understand how epic these foods are, and especially during parties. Cultured foods are loaded…

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Probiotic Drinks For Summer

By Donna Schwenk / June 24, 2023

Soda for summer Probiotic drinks are a must in the summertime. As you try to cool off and have something that is fizzy and delicious, there are two drinks I…

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10 Tips for Summer Kefir ☀

By Donna Schwenk / July 16, 2022

Kefir is a living food that tends to have a mind of its own. It ferments differently in the winter than the summer, so understanding the process can make a huge difference. I’m sharing seven tips to help you make great summer kefir. . .

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Coconut Oil Is Incredible!

By Donna Schwenk / August 7, 2016

I love, love, coconut oil for a myriad of reasons that relate to many different aspects of my health and wellness. First of all, coconut oil is a medium-chain fatty acid. This is a saturated fat that’s found in coconut and in mother’s milk. […]

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Probiotic Salads and Dressings

By Donna Schwenk / May 15, 2016

Everybody knows we should eat more salads, but if you make probiotic salads you quadruple the benefits. The most powerful food combo you can have is prebiotics (food for bacteria)…

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The Secret According to Kefir Ice Cream

By Donna Schwenk / February 7, 2016

Somebody asked me the other day how I come up with recipes for cultured foods. Many times they come suddenly into my brain. This will often make me miss my exits while driving on the highway because I am thinking about the specifics of how to make it. […]

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Red, White, and Blue Smoothies

By Donna Schwenk / July 4, 2015

Many years ago, I was desperate to feel better. I had no one to help me get started with cultured foods. In fact, everybody I talked with told me I was crazy and not to consume them. But I had an overwhelming desire to figure it out. Little did I know they were calling me to wellness. […]

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Summer Cultured Squash

By Donna Schwenk / July 12, 2014

One of my favorite things about summertime is the farmer’s markets and fresh veggies. Turing fresh produce into perfectly preserved cultured veggies makes me so happy, but it wasn’t always that way. […]

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Make Cultured Veggies – But in What Kind of Jar?

By Donna Schwenk / June 1, 2014

I often make fermented vegetables using a canning jar with a lid, but there are many methods and vessels you can use to make cultured vegetables. Some say you should only use an airlock jar to culture vegetables. They claim that the canning jar method doesn’t seal well enough to remove the oxygen […]

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How to Travel With Kefir and Be a Pioneer

By Donna Schwenk / May 7, 2014

This last month my husband and I had our 30th wedding anniversary. Ron and I and our three kids are a tribe and we’ve always done everything together. This was the first vacation we have had alone since our honeymoon which we spent on a houseboat in Lake Powell, Utah. […]

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Coconut Almond Kefir Ice Cream

By Donna Schwenk / June 23, 2013

Probiotic Ice Cream If I had to choose only one cultured food, which would it be? If I were banished to a desert island, which one would I take to…

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Salad in a jar

Salad in a Fermenting Jar

By Donna Schwenk / April 27, 2013

Travel Food with Culture I spend almost all of my weekends in the spring and summer out of town at the lake. Because of this, I have to pack coolers…

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Pumpkin Kefir Cheese Ice Cream

By Donna Schwenk / September 9, 2012

Pumpkin Kefir Treat My dad’s (Don) birthday is coming up in a few days. Several years ago he died suddenly. Three months before he passed, my mind was filled with…

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