Fermented food plays an important role in our health. We get so busy with our lives, sometimes it is hard to make sure we are getting enough of them. But by eating more fermented foods, we eat more probiotics. So, this is a guide to help you include more fermented foods in your diet at least once a day. Don’t eat too much though. It can cause you to have an upset tummy.
Adding probiotic foods to your diet is easy. In addition to meal times, lacto-fermented beverages can be drunk all day long. Water kefir and milk kefir are both easy ways to add probiotics to your diet. They are super easy to make at home and keep on hand
How to Include More Fermented Foods in Your Diet
Fermented Foods for Breakfast
Think about the things you like to eat for breakfast. Cereal, eggs, bacon, grits, pancakes and so on. What fermented foods go well with these breakfast foods?
Yogurt is a great thing to add to breakfast. You can add it to your cereal with fresh fruit. Make a fermented ketchup, and use it on your eggs or anything else that you like. You could also make a fermented salsa or kimchi to add to your eggs. Make a breakfast burrito with fermented salsa or kimchi, eggs, sausage, and potatoes! Yum!
Another great idea is to add kefir to a smoothie. I love smoothies and so do my kids. It is an easy and fun way to eat probiotics.
Lacto-Fermented Snacks
Cheese and chutneys go great together. You can add a little piece of lox and a cracker and you have the best snack ever!
Kimchi can be eaten so many ways. I find myself craving the stuff and I will eat it right out of the jar. It goes great with crackers and cheese too.
Foods that you see traditionally on an appetizer tray such as carrots, pickles, celery, giardiniera, and cheese could be substituted with their fermented counterparts. Dip fermented carrots into some fermented ranch dip. It sounds divine, right?
Fermented Foods for Lunch
Lunch is a great place to introduce the fermented condiments. Using fermented mayo, ketchup, and/or mustard are great ways to get a few fermented foods into lunchtime. Use these condiments on sandwiches or in salads like macaroni salad.
We love hot dogs, right? They may not be the healthiest thing to eat but you can add some sauerkraut, fermented mustard, fermented pickles, fermented ketchup, and even fermented hot sauce if you like. Maybe not in that combination! You get the drift.
Make a salad using some of your fermented vegetables. Giardiniera is a wonderful complement to any salad. It has great flavor and crunch!
Another idea is to simply add a fermented pickle on the side to your sandwich. Just like the deli would do. Make that a fermented pickle!
Fermented Foods for Dinner
If you didn’t already have a salad at lunchtime have one at dinner! It is a great way to add fermented food to dinner. Or you could just have a side of kimchi.
My friend used to heat up some smoked fish with some butter in a skillet and then she would add chutney on top. If you made a fermented chutney it would be a delectable fermented meal!
Miso soup is also so yummy and a great idea for dinner. If you have not tried it, I suggest that you do! It is a must.
You could always have a side of fermented carrots or any other fermented vegetable on the side for dinner. Just don’t heat them excessively to keep the wonderful benefits of fermentation alive!
Another great idea is to serve a fermented beverage with dinner. I mentioned water kefir and milk kefir but I did not talk about kombucha. Kombucha is easily brewed at home and can serve as a great beverage to drink at dinner.
If you have not started yet, add fermented foods into your diet slowly. Don’t eat too much as it may give you tummy troubles. Every person is different in the amount that they should eat. Start with a few tablespoons and go from there. Remember that it is important to have balance. I hope this guide will help you eat fermented foods at least once a day.
What is your favorite fermented food to eat?