Lunch: Crispy Nuts, Raw Cheese, Kefir, Beet Kvass, Honeycrisp Apple

This is my kind of lunch for a hot day: no cooking!

Coconut Oil: taken 20 minutes before lunch in tangerine ginger tea
Lunch:

• Crispy nuts, I used hazelnuts
• Raw Cheese, I had raw cheddar
• One piece fresh fruit, I had a honeycrisp apple
• One cup spritzer or purchased kombucha, I used kefir and a little beet kvass (I don't know if that's allowed!)

The health benefits of kefir and kvass are numerous.  They are both lacto-fermented beverages rich in probiotic bacteria.  The more probiotic foods you eat, the better your body can balance itself against the toxins and germs out in the world.  This is why so many people in the real food community trouble themselves with homemade yogurt, pickles, kefir and the like.

The good bacteria that grow when you make homemade lacto-fermented foods and drinks are good for your gut.  Most of the probiotics you may have heard of are in the form of capsules at the store or pharmacy.  Ever wonder where they originally came from?  Traditionally fermented foods!  These days the only fermented foods we are familiar with are beer, wine, and yogurt.  There are so many more than that.  And they can be truly delicious.  This is what we need to be truly well.  It is how we evolved.

Water Kefir

1 package hydrated kefir grains

1/2 cup organic sugar

1-2 tablespoons molasses

1 pastured egg shell, rinsed clean

1 cup diced fruit

Note: do not use tap water, it will kill your kefir grains; do not use Brita water, it doesn't remove flouride and other toxins that can kill your kefir grains

1. Fill a half gallon glass jar with filtered water.  Now pour a little of the water out into a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Turn off heat and add sugar to boiling water, stirring until sugar dissolves, and then pour sugar-water back into the jar to fill it up again.  

2. Add molasses to the jar of water and stir with a wooden spoon to mix in.  Gently add water kefir grains and egg shell.

3. Cover with a dish towel or cheesecloth to keep out dust and bugs and so the kefir can breathe.

4.  Let sit on the counter for 1-2 days.  Then, pour contents through a strainer into a new jar.  Discard egg shell.  Reuse kefir grains for your next batch.

5.  With the strained kefir in the new jar, you can now choose a fruit to flavor the kefir.  I like using strawberries.  Add diced fruit to kefir jar, cover again, and let sit at room temperature for 1 more day.

6.  Remove cover and replace with a screw top lid.  Leave at room temperature for a couple of hours to build up fizziness.  Place in refrigerator to stop the fermentation process.

Beet Kvass

2-4 beets, peeled, and cut in a large dice

1/4 cup whey

1 tablespoon sea salt

1. Place beets into a half gallon glass jar.  They should fill the jar about 1/3 of the way up.  Add whey and salt.  Add water to fill the jar.  

2.  Cover with a cloth to keep bugs and dust out, leave at room temperature for 2 days.  

3.  Using a strainer, remove diced beets from kvass.  Then using a screw top lid, transfer to the refrigerator to stop the fermentation process.

(Cross-posted.)