Fermented Food vs Pills + Potato Salad Recipe
life is hard; food doesn't have to be #54 [vol2, 5.4]
Memorial Day Weekend brings about picnics and gatherings. Wow friends and family with the yummiest potato salad ever (recipe below). Or take this Tabbouleh Salad. Here are my fav homemade dressing recipes to jumpstart creative juices. Grilling? Be sure to read this about dry aging meat.
Probiotics: Why Eat Fermented Foods Instead of Pills?
The pills can be quite costly. Food is inexpensive.
The efficacy of pills is difficult to prove in your kitchen. If pills have been warmed (delivery truck in hot sun) some beneficial bacteria will die. When we eat fermented foods, we can be quite sure it is alive.
Fermented foods have L. Plantarum, an organism that has an above average track record of making through digestive system intact, esp. when attached to a food substrate.
Foods have enzymes attached to them that aid the digestive process, making nutrients more bioavailable. As we age, the body’s supply of enzyme’s decreases.
Fermented foods provide a diversity of species of bacteria. And you can eat pre-biotics with pro-biotics. Examples of prebiotics are onion, garlic, banana, and jicama. Prebiotics feed the beneficial bacteria.
Easy Button: Bubbies pickled relish is an easy one to add to summer salads like tuna salad, chicken salad, pasta or egg salad, on a hot dog or burger or just a spoonful with lunch. Last week’s letter highlighted other store bought probiotic foods.
Potato Salad
They’ll ask for the recipe. Key ingredients are horseradish, fresh parsley and green onions.
6 medium red potatoes, boiled* and cooled
Mix:
1.5 c mayonnaise, preferably made with avocado oil (most mayo is made with harmful GMO oils - I wrote why to keep them off your plate here.)
½ c sour cream, or more
4t horseradish, preferably just grated horseradish, not the creamy kind. This is found in the seafood section of my Kroger. Also Bubbies brand sells horseradish. I don’t think it is fermented.
2t celery seed or ¼-½ c chopped celery
1t sea salt (or more to taste)
15 squirts of hot sauce, like Tabasco or Red Hot
1 c chopped parsley
1 small onion, minced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
*I boil potatoes in salt water as salty as I remember the ocean tasting. This helps the minerals stay IN the potatoes and not leach into the water. The Kitchn says, “Starting the potatoes in cold water helps them cook more evenly. ... Cubed potatoes will cook more quickly than whole potatoes; smaller potatoes will cook more quickly than larger potatoes. Begin checking the potatoes after around 5 minutes of simmering; most potatoes will be done in 10 to 20 minutes.”
Life is hard. Food doesn’t have to be…but it can be medicine.
Julie