Dairy Free Recipes To Heal Your Gut

An unhealthy gut is the number one reason why most people feel so crappy all the time.

I would recommend to absolutely all of my clients that they start with the gut.

Not only because it's where all your nutrients are digested and assimilated into energy and life force, but because your body is made up of more bacteria than cells.

I'll say it one more time... You are MORE bacteria than your are human. Your body is made up of a hundred trillion bacteria so you can imagine when dysbiosis (unfavourable bacteria taking over) starts to happen... it's going to make you feel sick all over.

There is no one particular symptom for bad gut flora as can show up differently for everyone. Although we now know that too much bad bacteria or candida (yeast overgrowth) can affect your mood, sleep, energy, fertility, and much more. It's also been linked to autoimmunity, breast cancer, irritable bowel syndrome plus other common conditions.

So today I'm going to share 3 easy-peasy recipes so you can make your own fermented products. This will not only mean you will increase your fermented food intake and heal your gut, but you will save lots of money because some of these products cost an arm and a leg at the health food store. 

Coconut kefir is my number one favourite and has played a huge role in healing my gut! The reason why kefir is so powerful is it is full of the right type of bacteria. This good bacteria will eat the toxins in your kidneys and other organs which reduces inflammation.

In other words it is a disease preventative magic drink!

For those who ask, what about yogurt? Don't I get all the good guys in there?

Kefir is much stronger than yogurt as it has 50+ strains of good bacteria and yeast that help to keep your body nice and health.

Yogurt has around 7 strains of bacteria.

COCONUT KEFIR

• Find a large jar (I used a quart jar which is just under a litre).
• Pour in coconut water (fresh coconuts are hard to come by in NYC so I was using Vita Coco but you use whatever you can get your hands on).
• Add a kefir starter kit (I was using Cutting Edge Cultures brand but any brand online or at your local health food store works). You don't need to use an entire sachet, I was using around 1/3 of a sachet and you get the exact same results and your culture kit lasts much longer.
• Put a lid on the jar and shake it up so the culture powder disperses and dissolves.
• You need to leave the kefir to ferment in a room in the 70’s F / 20's C or above (so wrap in a towel or kitchen cloth with a heating pad if you’re in a cold climate).
• Leave for 36-48 hours and wait for it to start going a pale colour. When you open the jar it should be fizzing. Taste a little bit and if it's lost it's sweet coconut water flavour and tastes sort of like metal then it's fermented well. I would leave mine for 3 days. Once you are happy with it, pop it in the fridge.
• You can use this same batch of bacteria to ferment more coconut water up to 7 times. Just make sure there is around 1/4 of the kefir left in the jar and top it up with coconut water and put it back into the pantry or wherever you were storing it. The fermentation process will be much faster this time. Leave it for around 24 hours and move it back into the fridge.

How to consume?

• Coconut kefir combines well with all types of food so you can drink before and during any meal as a digestive aid.
• I would usually drink this first thing in the morning before breakfast as it will culminate your gut so you are ready to digest and assimilate you food properly. 

MILK KEFIR

• Choose whatever type of dairy-free milk you like (coconut, cashew, almond). Coconut works best in my opinion as it isn't as watery.
  • Some nut milks can be quite watery, so it's important you had a tbs of sugar as the bacteria will eat the sugar out of the milk which is where you get the tart, sour taste from. Use honey, palm sugar, coconut sugar, agave or date paste. Alternatively buy milk that is flavoured and has at least 10 grams of carbs per serving. Don't worry, the bacteria will be eating the sugar, not you!

• Leave the milk until it's room temperature or heat on the stove for a minute. Pour the milk in the jar, add the package of kefir starter and distribute it well.

• Leave on the counter in 70 degrees or above for 24-48 hours. It’s going to become tart and sour which is what you want. If your kitchen is a little colder it will take longer to ferment. When it starts to become thick you know it’s done.

• Once it’s made, take ¼ of the jar and place it into a new jar with fresh milk milk. Stir it up a bit and let it sit to make another batch. You can repeat this again and again as long as it's remade within a week.

How to consume?

• Milk kefir only combines well with acid foods. Good to eat with fruit, veggies, avocado, nuts, seeds and with salad and salad dressings. 

• Doesn’t combine well with meat.

SAUERKRAUT & OTHER FERMENTED VEGGIES

• You will need 2 cabbages (red or green or a mixture of both). Alternatively, another vegetable of your choice. There is lots of inspiration online. 
• Remove the cores of the cabbage and thinly slice.
• Add 3 tbs of Himalayan salt and 2 tbs of caraway seeds (optional)
• Add a veggie starter culture kit  or a tbs of raw honey or some other sweetner for the bacteria to eat during the fermentation process
• Massage all the ingredients in a large bowl with you hands until the cabbage starts to sweat and shrink down with the water being left in the bottom. This may take 5 minutes or sometimes longer. You want to feel the liquid coming out of it. 
• Get a large jar and put the cabbage mixture inside and push down the mixture with a wooden spoon or another utensil until it sits below the liquid. Keep pushing down until the cabbage is fully submerged.
• Put the lid back on and store in a dark cupboard out of direct sunlight for 7 days (for a warmer climate) or up to 3 weeks (for a cooler climate).
• A little bit of froth on top is good. Mould is not good so pick that out and make sure the cabbage is submerged which will help to avoid mould. 

How to consume?

• Fermented vegetables can be consumed with everything! They are such a great gut healing food so if you know you are having problems with your gut I would recommend incorporating a spoonful of fermented veggies with every meal. A little bit goes a long way so don't feel like you need to be eating a huge amount.
• I like to eat fermented veggies on my salad with some ground flax seed, apple cider vinegar and olive oil. It's really yummy and is a gut-healing-superfood-salad. 

So the bottom line is... work on your gut and you will literally see your whole life transform before your eyes.

Research has shown that kids with asthma, inflammatory disease, autoimmune disorder or autism all have problems in the gut which is possible where these conditions are stemming from.

When changing their gut bacteria it changes their cellular chemistry and improves their symptoms astronomically. This just shows how powerful gut healing foods are for the body. 

Dig in and enjoy!

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