Sauerkraut - Nature's Beneficial Bacteria!

Homemade Sauerkraut

~Sauerkraut: Fermented Cabbage or other Veggies~

Written by Dr. Andrew Iverson

Amazon.com

Recipe From Nature's Diet Cookbook

This is Nature’s source of beneficial bacteria! You don’t need to buy expensive probiotics at the health food store if you are eating fermented vegetables regularly. I remember growing up on the dairy farm and the smell of the silage pits that we used to store the grass for the cows to feed over winter. Wooo-weeee-peeee-eewww!—yuck, gag, blah!…(get the picture?) I assure you, these fermented veggies taste way better than that stuff smelled--and they are super healthy for you too!

Ingredients:
8 oz white cabbage
(or any other vegetable: purple
cabbage, carrots, beets,
turnips, radishes, daikon, onions,
ginger etc)

¼ tsp sea salt

1 tsp herbs/spices: dill, caraway,
fennel, anise, chili; or pickling
spice mix from 'Grandma's Pickles'
(see recipe, pg. 100, Nature's Diet Cookbook)

The addition of spice or peppers is optional.

Instructions:
Chop the cabbage or other veggie by hand or in a food processor and toss with the salt and optional seasonings. Pack the veggies in a pint sized wide mouth jar and pack and pound down very tightly with a meat hammer or your fingers to release the natural juices. Keep pushing down until the cabbage is completely submerged by its own juices.
Alternatively, you can do it like Grandma and Grandpa used to- in a crock. Place all veggies in a crock or pickle press and apply pressure to release juices. Cover with a plate so the cabbage stays submerged under the juices
Choose to leave at room temperature for 7-10 days being sure that the veggies stay below the fluid line. If they rise up push them back down. This won’t be necessary in a 'kraut crock' because the plate on top will keep it submerged. If a layer of scum forms on top just scrape it off and discard.
After fermenting to your desire, store in the fridge up to 8 weeks and serve cold on top of hamburgers, soups, grains, salads and anywhere else you want a healthy dose of Nature's probiotics!

Don't WORRY... Be DIRTY!

Can DIRT really make you HAPPY? It's not only the avid gardeners shouting YES! 

Mycobacterium vaccae is a bacterium found in soil shown to mirror the effect on neurons that drugs like Prozac provide. The soil microbes have shown to stimulate serotonin production, which makes you relaxed and happier. 

Lack of serotonin has been linked to depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and bipolar problems. The bacterium appears to be a natural antidepressant in soil and has no adverse health effects. Even better-- these antidepressant microbes in soil may be as easy to use as just playing in the dirt!

Most avid gardeners will tell you that their landscape is their “happy place” and the actual physical act of gardening is a stress reducer and mood lifter. The fact that there is some science behind it adds additional credibility to these garden addicts’ claims. The presence of a soil bacteria antidepressant is not a surprise to many of us who have experienced the phenomenon ourselves. Backing it up with science is fascinating, but not shocking, to the happy gardener.

How does dirt make you happy? Antidepressant microbes in soil cause cytokine levels to rise, which results in the production of higher levels of serotonin. The bacterium was tested both by injection and ingestion on rats and the results were increased cognitive ability, lower stress and better concentration to tasks than a control group.

Gardeners inhale the bacteria, have topical contact with it and get it into their bloodstreams when there is a cut or other pathway for infection. The natural effects of the soil bacteria antidepressant can be felt for up to 3 weeks if the experiments with rats are any indication. 

So GET OUT and PLAY in the DIRT and improve your mood and your life!

Article source: www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/antidepressant-microbes-soil.htm