Disclaimer: As you guys can probably guess, I'm super interested in foodie stuff and do quite a bit of reading about nourishing and caring for our bodies. I wish I blogged about health & nutrition more, and will probably start doing some posts on these topics soon, because I usually get a few emails a week with questions about gut health, digestion, food issues, etc. But I struggle with how I want this information to be perceived via a blog post. I don't like to play doctor. I'm not an expert. I just like to learn. I don't want it to seem like I'm presenting my experience as the standard or my views as the ideal. I'd rather just feel free to share things here that have been helpful for me, with the hope that they may be helpful to someone else. Like we're chatting across the kitchen table. 

With that being said, here are a few supplements that have been beneficial in my life, in my family, in my body. And I'm willing to share them with you because I know you'll accept them as just that! 







1. Organic 3 Gut Pro probiotic powder. I like to eat fermented foods/drinks because they tend to have a wider spectrum and larger volume of probiotic strains, but I do take this supplement as well. It's a convenient way to pack in an extra punch of beneficial bacteria. And, with another human being inside me, I can't get too much of those good guys right now. I like this probiotic in particular because it doesn't have any fillers, allergens, additives- no unnecessary ingredients. I've seen it's effectiveness in everyone in my family, and over time it ends up being one of the least expensive probiotics on the market. I take this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

2. New Chapter Perfect Prenatal Multivitamin. Last time I was pregnant, I just took the prenatal vitamin someone handed me at a clinic. I had no idea what was in it. This time, I was excited to pick out my own, because I knew what I wanted. I chose this one because it's made from whole, cultured foods, it's non-GMO, and it even has a blend of sprouted seeds in it- so it's extra digestible. Plus, it's available on Amazon Prime and it never bothers my stomach a bit. I take one tablet with each meal.

3. Ancient Minerals Magnesium Oil. After Hadley was born, I learned that I was very deficient in magnesium. For a great, great read on how crucial magnesium is, why it's so common to not get enough of it through our food and water, and what symptoms are related to magnesium deficiency, read this post by Cheeseslave. I love it. And I'm in love with magnesium!! I supplement with this magnesium oil, instead of a pill, because it's much more easily and efficiently absorbed via the skin (our largest organ) than the digestive system. Also, digestion changes a lot during pregnancy, which can make it even tougher to absorb magnesium from your food, multivitamins, etc. I use the oil almost daily, as I'm trying to correct my magnesium deficiency as much as I can before the baby comes, but I know that my pregnant body is currently using the bulk of nutrients I put in it and isn't able to store up much. I will still continue supplementing with magnesium oil after the baby is born. I chose this Ancient Minerals brand of magnesium oil because it's completely free of mercury, lead, arsenic, and fluoride. It works great and makes my skin so soft! There was a tingly-itchy feeling the first few times I used it, but that has gone away now. I spray it on my torso, arms, and thighs after I take a shower, leave it on for 20 minutes while I put in my contacts, dry my hair, etc, and then wipe it off with a warm cloth and put on some lotion. Make sure you moisturize the areas you put it on, because that will help with any dryness/itchiness.

On another- possibly hugely helpful- note, vitamin D and magnesium really helped tame my morning sickness! If you're interested in reading more about how morning sickness and magnesium are connected, check out this post by Wellness Mama or this post by Mommypotamus.

4. Green Pasture's Fermented Cod Liver Oil. Because I believe in healthy fats!! And I think cod liver oil is a healing superfood! I take this one because it's a fermented, raw, live food- it has not been heated. So, the life-giving nutrients (vitamins A and D, EFA/DHA, omegas) have not been destroyed by the manufacturing process. Along with magnesium, I was also deficient in vitamin D after Hadley's birth and throughout the first year of nursing, and cod liver oil is one of the best sources (after the sun- which I took full advantage of while pregnant this summer) for real, bioavailable vitamin D.

5. Naturally fermented sauerkraut -- not actually a supplement, but I think of it as something to "take" every day because it is such a nutrient-dense, probiotic and enzyme-rich, healing food. We make ours homemade, but I like this store-bought brand, too, because it's inexpensive and made using traditional methods, with only cabbage, water, and sea salt. We also like to make a sauerkraut salsa sometimes, which is a blend of cultured veggies and peppers that tastes really great with eggs for breakfast. Sauerkraut is high in B vitamins, also vitamins C and K, calcium, magnesium, fiber, folate, iron, potassium, copper, and manganese. (The fermentation process increases the bioavailability of nutrients making it more nutritious and digestible than plain cabbage.) Honestly, I care the most about the live probiotic strains that are present in sauerkraut. These will help me give the baby a good start in life- a healthy and balanced gut, strong digestion, and a tough immune system. I shoot for having a spoonful (if not more) of kraut with each meal.

Whew! There you have it: all the supplements I eat/take. And if you made it through all that- you are incredible and awesome. Thanks for reading! I hope some little tidbit somewhere in there will be helpful to someone. If you have questions, please feel free to ask or write me an email! Not that I know a lot, but I'd be happy to try to answer them from my experience.


Blogged 1 year ago: Pecan Crusted Pies-- for gluten-free holiday baking
Blogged 2 years ago: Homemade Mayonnaise

Hey guys! Just wanted to share something good with you today. We love to eat fermented food (full of probiotics, like sauerkraut) at our house, but we also (even Hadley) take a probiotic supplement for gut and immune health. If you're shopping around for a probiotic supplement sometime soon, we've been taking this Organic 3 Gut Pro probiotic for about 8 months now and we love it! I love that this formula doesn't have any extra "stuff" in it, and we've really seen it go to work in our systems. No flu for us yet (thank you, Lord).

It's an investment in the beginning ($99 for a bottle), but you get 240 servings, so over time it's actually one of the best prices you can find for a really good quality probiotic. We're still on our first bottle, so that means it has cost us about $12.50 per month so far, and we aren't finished with it yet. I actually got the powder, instead of the capsules, because it's such a great deal. And that way all 3 of us can just dip in and get a spoonful- as small or as big as we need that day.

I went to the farmer's market this morning, with a plan. I knew there would be cucumbers galore and ever since we got home from camp I've been itching to ferment something! So I picked up 20 baby cukes for $2.00. I asked my sister-in-law for some grape leaves from near her house. I washed out my big sauerkraut jar and ran to the store for some pickling spice. I had planned on making my own blend of spices, but this made it really fast and easy. And it smelled so yummy.

I washed the cucumbers really well (and used some homemade fruit & veggie wash), scrubbed them, and left them to crisp up in some icy water until I could finish the job (during nap time). When I came back, I peeled a few cloves of garlic and put them in the bottom of my jar with 2 T. of pickling spice, and a spoonful of dried dill.

Then I packed the cucumbers into the jar, poured salty water over everything and latched it shut. They're sitting on my counter where I can admire them. And there they'll stay for 3-5 days, until they taste tangy and perfect. I think this time I might make relish with some of mine.

Spiced Dill Pickles
To a gallon glass jar, add: 3 cloves of peeled garlic, 2 T. dill, and 2 T. pickling spice. Pack in washed, scrubbed cucumbers as tightly as you can. Stir 2 tablespoons of sea salt into 1 quart of water and pour over cucumbers. Depending on how full your jar is, you will probably need to repeat this step with another quart of salt water (using the same ratio; 2 tablespoons of salt per quart) to completely cover the cucumbers. I like to place one of the largest cucumbers at the top and kind of wedge it in underneath the brine to make sure everything stays under the water level. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for 3-5 days (less time in summer, more in winter), or until the brine is bubbly and cloudy and the pickles are to your taste. Store finished pickles in fridge and enjoy for months. 

How about you guys, do you like pickles? Do you get pickles on your burger? I usually don't, but I should try it again soon. 

• kombucha is a fizzy tea-based beverage. it's tangy and bright and sparkling. 
• if you like the taste of cider vinegar, you will love kombucha tea.
• you drink kombucha for fun, for your health, or both. read about all the awesome benefits! (it's detoxifying, cancer-preventing, probiotic rich, digestion improving, anxiety reducing..)
• you'll see it at Whole Foods by the cold bottled fruit drinks (please buy the strawberry kind of G.T.'s kombucha sometime. uhhmazing), but you'll have to shell out $4 a bottle.
• you can make it at home for super cheap! 
• kombucha is made by fermenting tea (just regular old tea) with a scoby. 
• a kombucha scoby looks like a wet pancake. don't be too scared of it. 
• SCOBY is an acronym for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. in other words, the good stuff we want in our gut.
• making kombucha is easy. drinking your homemade kombucha is fun. buy some swing-top bottles and it's like having a teeny tiny brewery in your kitchen. 

Hi guys. If you read my probiotic post the other day, I wanted to mention one more thing. You don't have to be somebody to try fermenting. I used to see the term "lacto-fermented" and immediately thought, okay, that's over my head, that's not me. I was scared. But now I know how easy it is..

1) put something in a jar.  2) let it sit. It's way easier than canning! Do you have some glass jars in your house? great. You're ready to go. I only started fermenting things in November, so I'm no expert, but you can see I already love it. It really is a cinch. Right off the bat, as soon as my first batch of 'kraut was finished, I started eating something probiotic at every meal, and filling my cupboards and countertops with more ferments. It's totally a normal thing now. It's totally my hobby.

If you want to try your hand at it, here's a very simple recipe to start with: pickled carrots. these are completely amazing. crunchy, garlicky, dilly, perfectly pickle-y.. but in a carrot stick. We always keep carrots on hand so it's easy to whip up a new batch, because they go fast.





If you're curious, "lacto-fermented" simply means it is fermented with lactic acid, or whey.

Without realizing it, I have a 2012 resolution. I'm going to eat some kind of probiotic food every day.

You've been hearing about probiotics lately, haven't you? New commercials are popping up every day advertising some kind of balance your digestion probiotic formula. Just watch for them! The world is realizing what our aching tummies and weak immune systems have been missing... probiotics to the rescue! right? Only probiotic supplements can be expensive, and some of them may not be very effective. Did you know that you can get those extremely good for you probiotics in your food? That's what I've been doing!

So what do I mean by "probiotic food"? I mean fermented food. When you ferment something, you saturate it with beneficial bacteria, creating your own blend of probiotic magic. It's easy, inexpensive, and a streamlined (easily digestible) way to send those friendly little bacteria straight to your gut. These foods usually have a tart, sour, or pickled taste... but have no fear. Once you catch on to the flavor, you won't want a meal without some on the side. Take it from someone who throws a little sauerkraut or a pickle on everything these days.

Fermented foods sound old-fashioned... (ahem, sauerkraut) because they are! The idea is old. Tried and true. We used to ferment foods to preserve them through the winter before we had deep freezers, and, well, preservatives. We lost a valuable medicinal food when we abandoned the idea of fermenting stuff we wanted to keep. But it's not so very lost, is it? You can ferment today! Why not have a homemade pickle instead of a vitamin? Or some homemade root beer?
Here's a great page to read on why fermented food is suuuuuper good for you and how to start.


Some of you have been asking what methods I use to make my yogurt, kombucha, and other fizzy fermented delights, so here's a guide to the probiotics in my kitchen, what it is, how I made it, and my favorite way to use it. (click on the name for a link to the recipe)

Sauerkraut
fermented, finely shredded cabbage. i love sauerkraut with grass-fed beef hotdogs, mustard, and caramelized onions. you should also try it on top of a burger, with sweet squash or potatoes, or with a picnic style meal like cold chicken, deviled eggs, and chunks of cheese. 

Yogurt
you know. creamy, tangy, it's made by culturing milk. i love to use yogurt to make thick yogurt cheese, which can then be used just like cream cheese. you'll also get whey when you make the cheese, which is so handy for other fermenting projects. (pictured at the top of this post, in the kerr jar)

Kefir
a fermented milk drink, basically drinkable yogurt. so easy to make! we use it in smoothies, in scrambled eggs to make them extra creamy, as a substitute for buttermilk, and we pour it into our chili instead of sour cream. 

Water Kefir/ Kefir Soda Pop
a fermented, fizzy drink made by placing water kefir grains in sugar water and flavoring with fruit. just like soda, but with probiotic benefits. we keep it in a pretty swing-top soda bottle and drink it at dinner.

Kombucha
naturally carbonated sweet and tangy tea. i like to have mine fruit-flavored. now that i bought a kombucha culture starter (called a "scoby" or "mushroom"), i don't have to buy those expensive bottles at whole foods. 

Dill Pickles
garlicky, fermented cucumbers. i love to eat them with a burger, egg salad, or straight out of the jar. and there's another kind of pickle i will be telling you about very soon- a new favorite of mine!

Probiotic Mayo
whey is added to homemade mayonnaise to make it even more zesty and healthy. use it on sandwiches, in dips, or on a burger. 

there are still more things that i've cultured on my countertops that i have yet to tell you about, so stay tuned! you can probably tell, but i'm pretty excited about bacteria. my body just loves it!

what about you guys? are there any sauerkraut lovers out there? or kombucha addicts? have you ever fermented anything in your kitchen? (on purpose or by accident?)