Can someone help me like fermented foods?

[ATL_Jen]

I'm on Day 21 of my first Whole30, and loving it. Previously, my probitic intake has primarily come from daily Greek yogurt - which I love, but which I now wonder was doing me any other favors. I'm not going to rush the reintroduction of dairy, but I'm interested in building healthy gut bateria and putting some "natural" probiotics via fermented foods.

Here's the deal: none of the sources I've read about (saurkraut, kimchi, pickles) seem like anything I would enjoy. I plain HATE/am disgusted by regular cucumber pickles the kind everyone grows up with. I ahd kimchi years ago but don't remember loving it. And saurkraut just seems . . . strange.

I like sour things, though, so I feel like I can breakk through this with some good ways to introduce it. Can anyone recommend some good recipes or ideas for preparation, or accompaniments, that will help me get past this? I think at this point it might be psychological!

Thanks!

[MeadowLily]

Have you tried Kombucha?

[ShannonM816]

Have you actually tried sauerkraut, or does it just "sound strange" and therefore you avoid it? What is it you don't like about pickles? Flavor, texture?

 

I had never really had sauerkraut before, maybe I might have tried a bit once when I was little, but it wasn't something we really ate regularly growing up. I was walking through my grocery store during my first Whole30 and over in the produce section, spotted a jar of kimchi, found it was compliant, so I bought it to try. It sat in my fridge for weeks before I got up the nerve to taste it -- but then once I did, I discovered it wasn't so bad. It's not my favorite fermented food, but not so bad.  (Some varieties of kimchi are apparently spicy, this one was not. I think, but would not swear to it, that white versions are less spicy, red versions are more spicy. The one I bought was sort of pinkish looking.)

 

One of my favorite varieties is Wildbrine's Red Beet & Cabbage sauerkraut. To me, the flavor is milder than just plain sauerkraut. I add it into salads or soups, or just eat it as a side with my meal. You don't need huge amounts of it if you eat it regularly, maybe a quarter cup at a meal, a couple of meals a day. I like their Dill & Garlic variety too, but if what you don't like about pickles is that dill flavor, you may not care for it. (If you decide to buy some of their stuff, much of it is compliant, but I know they have a couple of varieties that are not, so always read the label.)

 

You might like kombucha. GT's Synergy is a national brand that's pretty easy to find, and as far as I know, all of their options are compliant. I especially like their Trilogy and Gingerade flavors. 

 

And if all else fails, there are probiotic pills. I'm not sure which ones are compliant, but I know they've been discussed before here on the forums, so you could try googling Whole30 probiotics for more information.

[Omeros]

I also used to eat a ton of Greek yogurt, and since I had to set that aside for my first Whole 30 (day 25!), I decided to give fermented foods a try. I'd only ever eaten sauerkraut in a reuben sandwich, and that was almost certainly the shelf-stable, non-probiotic, very pickly kind. I got a jar of Bubbie's at Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago, and I was surprised how mild it was. Still pleasantly tart, but not in an overly salty or chemical way. I'm still playing with ways to use it, but I have come to like a couple of spoonfuls with a meal when I want something cold and crunchy. 

 

I love Korean food but had somehow never tried kimchi that wasn't mixed into rice or otherwise part of a dish until I started this Whole 30. I really like Sunja's brand. It is definitely a little funky and spicy, but it is great chopped and mixed into scrambled eggs (or on boiled eggs), alongside rich proteins, or just cold as a side dish.

 

I would recommend trying a little at a time or using it like a condiment as you decide if it is something you might enjoy. 

[kirkor]

One of my favorite varieties is Wildbrine's Red Beet & Cabbage sauerkraut. To me, the flavor is milder than just plain sauerkraut. I add it into salads or soups, or just eat it as a side with my meal. You don't need huge amounts of it if you eat it regularly, maybe a quarter cup at a meal, a couple of meals a day. I like their Dill & Garlic variety too, but if what you don't like about pickles is that dill flavor, you may not care for it. (If you decide to buy some of their stuff, much of it is compliant, but I know they have a couple of varieties that are not, so always read the label.)

+1 for wildbrine! They have several flavors so there's sure to be something you like ---- I've got the Red Beet one in the fridge right now, and just polished off the Curry Cauliflower one a few weeks ago.

[ATL_Jen]

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

I don't like dill, true, but I also think there's something "sharp" about the flavor of pickles I don't like. I was a super picky eater as a child and am very proud of the way I've worked through most of that. Pickles are kind of the only things left on the NO list.

 

I haven't tried kombucha. Is it sweet? That's my fear - that it will feed the sugar dragon who is used to regular infusions of sweet, carbonated goodness.

 

I will look and see if I can find Wildbrine and/or Bubbie's. Maybe adding some to eggs is an idea.

 

Pill probiotics are sort of my last resort. They're expensive, and my understanding is that it's too difficult to get the "right" mix of active cultures, or even know what your gut needs. I'd rather have a natural food source.

 

Thanks!

[ShannonM816]

The "sharp" flavor you don't like in pickles -- is it the vinegar? There are two ways to make pickles -- You can either soak the cucumber in vinegar until they're pickled, or you can put the cucumber in a salt brine and let them ferment. Most of the pickles you buy at the store are the vinegar kind. Bubbies and Wildbrine both make the fermented kind. To me, the fermented ones seem less vinegary than the vinegar pickles -- although the fermentation process does produce acetic acid, which is vinegar, it seems less vinegary to me. Although, to be fair, I've always loved pickles and like that vinegary tang, so "less vinegary" to me may still be pretty vinegary to someone who doesn't like it.

 

Store bought kombucha can be pretty sweet. If you want to try it, go for GT's Synergy brand in Gingerade or Original or Trilogy flavors. I brew my own and actually usually make it even less sweet than these are, but of the commercial ones I've tried, these are the ones that are the least sweet tasting. I've tried sweeter flavored commercial ones too and don't feel like it made me crave sweets the way that eating sugary stuff does -- but as with anything, your mileage may vary.

[ladyshanny]

I haven't tried kombucha. Is it sweet? That's my fear - that it will feed the sugar dragon who is used to regular infusions of sweet, carbonated goodness.

 

 

I brew my own KT as well and as Shannon does, I brew it less sweet than the storebought also, I like it pretty tart.  However, because it's fizzy and still fruity and somewhat "sweet", I always check in with myself before pouring a glass just to make sure that I'm not trying to fill a sweet tooth.

[weezieduzzit]

They key to probiotics is diversity and consistency. A standardized product like a commercial brand Greek yogurt is going to be limited in it's diversity of different strains of beneficial bacteria because it has to be a standard, consistent product. Naturally fermented foods will give you far more strains in far higher amounts. It isn't really about eating mass quantities of them, you just want to be eating varied strains consistently. A serving size of kimchi and sauerkraut is something like 2 tablespoons- use them as a condiment. Kimchi is awesome on taco salad. Chop up a fermented pickle for your tuna or egg salad. Put some sauerkraut on a roast beef lettuce wrap. Fermented chilis on eggs. Fermented salsa, etc. Lots of possibilities.

 

And don't forget your prebiotics like dandelion greens, garlic, bananas, cooked onion, cooked and cooled potatoes, etc.

[cottagequeen]

+2 on the wildbrine, like the beet cabbage, but love the salsa! Bubbies pickles are awesome. Can't say I dislike the reg store bought pickles, they are ok. Bubbies are a hole different playing field. My first intro to fermented foods was thru a little company called Fab Ferments out of Cinncinati. Oh my, awesome flavor. I have never cared for store bought kraut, and have a strong German/Dutch ancestry. My grandmother, always made her own in mason jars. Anyhoo, here's a link to Fab Ferments, this page is a list of some. The first 3 I have had and loved all three! Ingredients are listed so an idea for your own...   http://fabulousferments.com/?page_id=258

[cottagequeen]

another option is beet kvass. easy to make your own...

[sgreen81]

I just bought Bubbie's sauerkraut as a change up as I love kombucha but it gets pricey. It is so good! So much better than I remember sauerkraut being!

[decker_bear]

I don't find kombucha to be overly sweet - except the guava and citrus, I have to stay away from those two. Have you tried making your own sauerkraut? Stupid Easy Paleo has a really great tutorial and you can flavor it all sorts of ways. I don't quite get the benefit from sauerkraut that I do from kombucha, but it also seems like I need more probiotics than most people - my magic number is 16oz per day and it's possible I just don't eat the amount of sauerkraut my body needs to get the benefit. (And yes, I know that's quite a bit more than the "recommended 4-8oz," but I've played around and I just don't get the happy tummy from less.)

 

I tried some coconut kefir once. It was absolutely disgusting, so there's no risk of feeding a Sugar Dragon. I just looked at it as "taking my medicine" for a happy tummy, so that could be an option if you find out the kombucha doesn't work for you.