According to WebMD, probiotics are bacteria that help maintain the natural balance of organisms (microflora) in the intestines. I only heard of probiotics when Brek caught something nasty that made him really sick. He couldn't eat or drink. His tummy was hurting. Then a mom from a local parenting support group suggested I give him probiotics. Nope, not from the yogurt. But the actual probiotics that come in a powder form. After he took it, he was feeling better within 24 hours.When I found out that Camden had many issues with food sensitive, I knew he needed probiotics to heal his guts. But where could I find probiotics that had no dairy, soy, chicken egg, and corn? I was searching for years with no luck. Then a mom from a corn free support group told me that she made sauerkraut and gave her son sauerkraut juice every day. She was following a Paleo diet. She noticed that his speech and other issues had improved. At that time, Camden wasn't talking at all. I thought maybe he was just a slow talker. But why not give him the sauerkraut juice and see what would happen. Since I was still breastfeeding at the time, I needed probiotics for myself too.
I was really nervous about making sauerkraut at first. But now, I'm thinking, what was I scared of? It is super easy to make. And with only two ingredients. Hello!!! How easy can that be, right? And totally clean food. After Camden tried the sauerkraut juice for two weeks, he decided he wanted to eat sauerkraut. To this day, he has about half a tablespoon of sauerkraut every day with this meal.
Sauerkraut
make about 2 or 3 big jars
2 organic cabbages
2 Tablespoons sea salt
- Cut the cabbages into chunks.
- Thinly slice cabbages, using the food processor with shredding blade. (You can slice cabbages using a knife, but it is a longer process.)
- Sprinkle one tablespoon of the sea salt on the shredded cabbages.
- Turn the cabbages over and sprinkle another one tablespoon of the sea salt.
- Knead the cabbages until the cabbage juice is visible.
- Place cabbages into a glass jar, pressing down as filling it up.
- Close the lids tight and place the jar in a pantry for four days.
- After four days, check for molds. If any molds appear on top of sauerkraut, spoon off the top layer and throw out the molds. (I only find the molds when I make sauerkraut on a warm and humid week.)
- Place the jar in the refrigerator. Sauerkraut is good indefinitely in the refrigerator.
- Enjoy them with anything from scrambled eggs, sandwiches, soups, stir-fried, noodles or pasta dishes.