I Can't Stop Raving About Fermented Foods!

I love change. I’m a believer that if you don’t create change, change will create you. Change can be a little difficult for some, but if you’re like me I have found (and my daughter will attest to this), that if it doesn’t come for a while, I end up moving the furniture around in my home in order to feel something changing!

What has the subject of change got to do with fermented foods, I can hear you asking? In my case … everything…

Before I began working on my own gut health, I wasn’t able to tolerate many fermented foods, nor could I cope with legumes, pulses, or dairy. The legumes et all scenario is for another blog as it’s significantly enlightening in itself. I’ve always liked the taste of miso, so I would add it to a salad dressing that my taste buds loved but repeatedly my gut screamed in opposition. Pronounced distension, bloating, extreme feelings of fullness, a palpitating, racing heartbeat, and feelings of extreme weakness were always the footprint following ingestion of miso, tempeh, coconut yoghurt, and/or kefir products.

As you can imagine I didn’t contribute a strong voice to the social ‘fermented food’ propaganda. Inevitably, as change creates us, I now cannot beat the drum loud enough in support of fermented foods!!

It’s taken many years of health inquiry, experimentation, and self-exploration in lifestyle and dietary changes, coupled with a slow complementing accompaniment of fermented foods to reach the heights I have now achieved. Embrace the world ‘slow’ with the full respect it deserves. For when I moved, as I often do, with rush and impatience I would once again suffer the consequences. I also had to understand the terrain that allowed the roots of my inability to tolerate these foods to grow into the branches that epitomised my downstream symptoms.

By virtue of reshaping my gut health, my immune functioning balanced out and I was free to enjoy so many things including fermented foods without my body mounting an army of defensive syndromes. The inclusion of fermented foods has given me the following benefits;

• Much less bloating before a period

• I feel satiated between meals

• My deep sleep has improved out of sight

• There has been a definitive calming of my anxiety

• I can eat even more without putting on fat

• I can eat sourdough bread and dairy without pain and distension

• I have more energy - probably due to more nutrients onboard

• My bowel habits are beautiful

• My previously high estrogen levels have balanced out!

• My thinking is clearer - no brain fog!!

Undoubtedly the gut work, mindfulness practice, and exercise taming have affected these changes also, but it’s been so much fun to add in the tastes, textures, and colour to my meals with fermented inclusions.

If you’re keen to add fermented foods to your diet to reap the rewards but have experience reactions in the past, try out the following;

1. Head my warning on going slowly. Add less than a tablespoon of fermented foods to meals and if wanting to start with fermented drinks such as kefir or kombucha, try just a third of a cup per day. Titrate up slowly.

2. Eat your high fibre fermented foods including kimchi, saurkraut, miso dips, etc before your protein. I love using fermented condiments to stimulate digestion, using them as the starter to meals. If your protein digestion is compromised and you eat gut-friendly food after eating your protein, the protein digestion may slow down the fibre breakdown and this can lead to gas and bloating. Once I fixed my protein digestion, this was no longer an issue

3. Fermented food brings fibre to your diet and with more fibre, you will need to ensure you have adequate hydration. This was a game-changer for me. Once I added electrolytes to my water, I tended to consume more and this stopped the bloating.

If these suggestions don’t bring relief book a free “discovery call” where we can untangle the roots of your issues and get you set on a path of feeling amazing ⭐️

If you’re ready, here is my delicious;

Pumpkin Miso Dip/Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup organic steamed pumpkin

• 1 tbsp Miso paste

• 1 tbsp organic cold-pressed olive oil

• 1 clove garlic

• 1/2 cup soaked walnuts, cashews, or brazil nuts

• A sprinkling of organic cumin

• Fresh coriander (+ extra for topping)

Method

1. Add all ingredients to a blender and mix until you get a creamy consistency (add filtered water as needed)

2. Serve with a sprinkling of cumin and chopped extra coriander

If you make the recipe please share a picture of your Miso sauce and how you included it in your meal so that others may benefit from your ideas 😋