delicious life with christy goldfeder
we all want healthcare reform, but when it comes right down to it, we do nothing about it. sure, we all like to complain about not having a health care system that works (over cheesecake & hot chocolate). but most of us don’t take steps to ensure healthy lives for ourselves & our families.
this year enter a new & delicious life with christy goldfeder. her advice for quick & true healthcare reform? simply taking better care of yourself! let her show you how with her one-on-one & group coaching programs–just the thing to shake the winter blahs (and possibly that winter bloat). check out her blog for recipes & encouragement on your path towards mindful eating. her posts support you, like words of wisdom from a good friend, keeping you going on days when no sugar/caffeine seem to drag on for eternity. you walk away feeling “yes i can” and what’s more, yes–you do.
below christy has offered up her enzyme packed sauerkraut recipe to help jump start sluggish belly digestion. winter tends to slow everything down, so this is just the ticket for getting back on track!
this would make great green party favors at a 100 mile diet potluck!
Raw sauerkraut – get healthy with home pickling
Home pickling has become somewhat of a lost art since modern farming took over.
Supermarkets give us everything we need and more, including ready-to-eat meals, making it easier than ever to spend as little time as possible making our own foods. Many of us are losing our cooking skills, or not cultivating them at all. And forget about food preservation – why bother when you can buy it in a hermetically sealed jar?
But pickling your own vegetables can be highly rewarding and extremely healthy, too.
Vegetables preserved in a salty brine without being cooked go through a lacto-fermentation process. Eating them can help promote the growth of friendly bacteria like Lactobacillus Acidophilus (the stuff we look for in yogurt) that we need in our guts for good digestive health.
Besides the fermentation process, cabbage provides many nutritional benefits. Cabbage helps improve digestion, keeps your intestines moist and stomach healthy. According to Paul Pitchford, author of Healing with Whole Foods, It has been used in natural healing for treating constipation, the common cold, whooping cough (by eating it in a soup form), ulcers, and can also alleviate mental depression and irritability. Cabbage contains higher amounts of vitamin C than oranges, and its sulfur content helps destroy parasites and purify the blood.
This sauerkraut recipe is a live, raw food – I don’t recommend using it in a dish you’re going to cook because you’ll destroy the enzymes and healthy bacteria.
Raw Sauerkraut
You will need:
• Cabbages (red and/or green) heavy for their size
• Mason jars – I recommend at least quart-sized jars
• Sea salt
• Other spices if you desire – e.g., caraway seeds, turmeric, juniper berries, etc.
The amount of cabbage and jars will depend on how much sauerkraut you want to make. A one-quart jar needs about a head of cabbage to fill it. I recommend making more than one jar at a time – it is usually amazingly flavorful once it’s cured, and you’ll definitely want to have more on hand.
Method:
• Finely chop or grate the cabbage – the finer the grating, the faster the fermentation process. A food processor is handy for this step.
• Mix 3 T salt into cabbage – it should be about 3 T per jar. Add spices if desired.
• Add cabbage to clean Mason jar, packing it tightly as you add it.
• Fill jar up to the bottom of the neck of the jar. The cabbage should be juicy enough to make enough liquid to keep it submerged. If not, add enough filtered water to cover. Water will help it ferment correctly, so it’s important that it is covered with water and not exposed to air.
• Cover the jar with a lid. Place in a bowl or tray to capture any brine that may escape.
• Let sit out for 4 – 7 days at room temperature.
• You may have to tend to it as it ferments – gasses will push the cap up, creating pressure and releasing brine. You can loosen the top and allow the pressure to release. You don’t want it to seal too tightly or you may risk having the jar explode – and no one wants an exploding jar!
• After about a week, once the fermentation has completed the first stage (where it is no longer releasing liquid) your sauerkraut will be ready to refrigerate. It is ready to eat, but waiting longer will make it taste better. It will last for months in the refrigerator – but definitely not once you try it.
Christy Goldfeder is a nutrition and wellness coach and founder of Delicious Life Coaching. She empowers people to take control of their health by teaching them to eat better and live happier. She provides in-person coaching to individuals and groups in the New York City area and remote coaching via phone, teleclasses and online events. To learn more about her programs, sign up for her free newsletter and read her delicious blog, visit her at http://www.liveadeliciouslife.com
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAccording to Paul Pitchford, author of Healing with Whole Foods, It has been used in natural healing for treating constipation, the common cold, whooping cough (by eating it in a soup form), ulcers, and can also alleviate mental … [...]
Hi. Great job.
Hi delicious life with christy goldfeder was very well written. Good job.
Nice; I am forced to eat this stuff all the time dye to a Polish wife. It’s delicious actually!
[...] Delicious Life with Christy - Raw Sauerkraut [...]
i love it on tempeh and a good bread!