Pain, Pain, Go Away!

If you don't like fermented foods because they're too tart or sour, you might like these pickles. There's no vinegar or sharp taste. Even the onions are mild. They're not sweet, either, even though the recipe calls for brown sugar: the bacteria consume most or all of the sugar. They're just mild, savory pickles. There's no need to add culture because cucumbers naturally have  L. plantarum  bacteria on their surface.  Equipment needed 1 quart canning jar* with ring and lid (or fermenting lid) 1 fermentation weight or small, clean stones in a Ziploc baggie Ingredients 1 pound pickling cucumbers** (not salad cucumbers), preferably unwashed 1/4 sweet onion (like Vidalia) 1 teaspoon juniper berries 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns 1/2 teaspoon anise seed 1 tablespoon brown sugar 3 tablespoons pickling salt or other salt without iodine 1/4 teaspoon pickle crisp Filtered water free of chlorine Instructions Rinse the cucumbers in the filtered water...

My best fermentation recipe yet! Perfect for fall. Ingredients 4 small apples, peeled and shredded 1 cup chopped raw cranberries (a food processor with an S blade works well) 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced 4 T brown sugar 1/4 cup maple syrup* Filtered water Your choice of sugar-loving probiotics (I used Biotiquest Ideal Immunity) Special equipment Canning funnel Quart jar and lid  Fermentation weight (optional) Fermentation device (I use a heating pad in an insulated grocery bag) Combine the apples, cranberries, celery, maple syrup and brown sugar in a bowl and mix. Put the canning funnel on the jar and spoon in the mixture. Add enough water to cover the ingredients. Put in the probiotics, opening the capsules if applicable. With a clean spoon or knife, push the probiotics into the jar and move the ingredients around to bring air bubbles to the surface. Put the fermentation weight in the jar if using. Put the lid on loosely (or use a fermentation lid).  Ferment until the mixtur...

 It should be 1 pound of pickling cucumbers, not two, per quart jar. The corrected recipe is here:  https://relievemypain.blogspot.com/2023/08/fermented-bread-and-butter-pickles-ft-l.html

These sweet-and-sour pickles are the tastiest I've ever made. There's just a little added sugar (some of which the bacteria will consume) and turmeric that gives the pickles their bright color.  Special equipment Quart jar (or two pint jars) with lid(s) (or a fermentation jar) Weight for holding down the pickles (I ordered these ; glass fermenting weights or a small, clean stone that's been boiled and cooled are other options) Ingredients 1 pound pickling cucumbers (not salad cucumbers) 1 t turmeric 2 T brown sugar 1/2 c apple cider vinegar 1.5 T pickling salt (or other salt with no iodine) 1 T pickling spice Filtered water 1/4 t pickle crisp (optional) Directions In a medium bowl, combine turmeric, brown sugar, vinegar and salt. Stir well to dissolve the salt.  Wash the cucumbers. Remove and discard the ends. Cut crosswise into 1/4" slices.  Put the pickling spice in the jar. Add the cucumber slices and pack them down. Pour the vinegar mixture in the jar and top off w...

Super-bacteria L. plantarum might be as close as your garden. Zucchini is a good source of the bacteria, and by fermenting it, you can up the benefits like slightly lower blood sugar, improved insulin, improved exercise capacity, improved sleep and mood, and many others. Don't give away that zucchini--ferment it! This recipe has a milder flavor than most fermented foods--it's only slightly tart. And of course it's an alternative to yogurt.  Equipment needed 1 quart jar (or 2 pint jars) with lid(s) Canning funnel (optional) Fermentation device (I use an insulated grocery bag, plastic grocery bag and a heating pad)  Ingredients 2 apples, peeled and cored 1 medium zucchini, unpeeled 4 dates, chopped 1 T cinnamon 1/2 T ground ginger 1 t salt 1/4 t ground cloves 1/4 t nutmeg Filtered water 2 capsules or equivalent of your favorite probiotic that ferments at ~95F (I used Biotiquest Antibiotic Antidote) Shred the apples and zucchini and put them in a large bowl. Add the spices, s...

 Tonight I set out to create the perfect summertime dessert: Low-carb: check. Full of prebiotic fibers: check. Full of beneficial bacteria: check. Cold but light and delicious on a hot day: check, check and check. If you serve this to someone who isn't used to lots of prebiotic fiber or high doses of bacteria, it could upset their stomach. For those guests, make some  XXX chocolate  or  lemon ice cream . * * * * * 1 green banana 1 can coconut milk (full fat, unsweetened) 2/3 cup yogurt (either Greek style or Dr. Davis style) (amount is 1 glass container that comes with some yogurt makers) 3 large strawberries, chopped Slice and puree the banana. Put the coconut milk in a large mixing bowl; puree if separated. Add the banana and yogurt, stir well. Stir in the strawberries. Process in an ice cream maker for 10 minutes. To serve leftovers, bring them out of the freezer 30 minutes ahead of time. 

By popular demand, I'm finally posting this recipe. People want cultured food besides yogurt--and here it is. It's tasty, it's non-dairy, and you can get apple and date goodness without the sugar.  After starting Ideal Immunity probiotics, my heart palpitations, which I've had since 2014, started improving. I can't remember the last time it happened. Another member at Dr. Davis's site said her atrial fibrillation improved on Sugar Shift (also made by Biotiquest), and now that she's taking Heart Centered (yet another formula they sell), she's better. I haven't tried fermenting those products, but they contain some of the same microbes as Ideal Immunity. It should go without saying that you need to make sure everything is very clean. No need to boil anything (I never do--everything around here is hand-washed); just remember that all microbes in the jar are going to multiply exponentially. Ingredients 2 apples, peeled and cored 2 carrots 4 dates, pitted...

 If you've had a bad reaction to L. reuteri or SIBO yogurt, it's not just you. Here's my video on what to do.

Over at Dr. Davis's Inner Circle, members make a lot of yogurt...and report a lot of problems in the effort. Mine turns out perfectly almost every time, so I've created a video. We make special yogurt out of L. reuteri bacteria and ferment it for a long time because the bacteria helps with SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), smoother skin, reduced bone loss, increased strength, and other benefits. I had to stop taking thyroid medicine after I started eating the yogurt, but that seems to be uncommon.  You don't need a fancy yogurt maker--in fact, reported problems are in proportion to the cost of the contraptions. Nobody has yet reported a problem making a batch of yogurt in a camper cooler, as far as I'm aware. 

 If you have a Suteck or similar yogurt maker, here's how to program it for time and temperature. I've selected 106 degrees because I ferment L. reuteri and B. coagulans together; if you're doing just L. reuteri, set it for 97 degrees.  Thirty-six hours' fermentation is necessary to get high bacterial counts--not just creamy texture.  Enjoy!

L. Gasseri BNR17 Lactobacillus gasseri BNR17 is one of the bacteria we use over at Dr. Davis's Inner Circle. It's part of the SIBO yogurt because it creates seven bacteriocins (bacteria killers); it's also been shown to reduce waist size. So instead of making more yogurt with it, I fermented it with apples, carrots and spices (recipe here ). It's delicious, and it got rid of a lot of gas and bloating. My belly feels a little smaller too--always a good thing. I fermented it in my redneck yogurt maker with the heating pad set on high for three days. The bacteria digest the carbohydrate (greatly reducing the carb count) and it gives the apples and carrots a tart taste.  You can get L. gasseri BNR17 from Dr. Mercola's web site--it's in a product called BioThin . Once you ferment something with it, you can use the fermented food as a starter for the next batch; you don't have to keep buying supplements.  * * * * * Supplies Food choices are getting worse. I had t...

I just had the fastest recovery from a muscle injury EVER. Two days ago, I twisted the wrong way while playing with my dog and hurt my back. It felt like an oblique muscle was pulled. It hurt every time I moved, even in bed. The next day after I took a shower, it was gone. Not better, but gone.  Yogurt: stronger than it looks! Photo from Pixabay . A few months ago, working for a few hours on my garage left me feeling like I'd been run over .  The only thing I'm doing differently is eating yogurt made with Bacillus Coagulans Unique IS-2. I ate my normal amount of it, maybe even less, over the past few days. I started making and eating it around mid-November. I've had a number of muscle injuries over the years (including turf toe, which was nearly as painful as an infected tooth, and a couple of bad sprains that took a year to completely heal). I'm blown away at how fast I mended this time. Dr. Davis says his daughter, who plays competitive tennis, uses B. coagulans GBI...

I've been sick for almost a month. Not seriously sick--I've had a lingering cough and fatigue from a cold. I've tried Umcka Cold Care, antibiotics, and sunlight (enough to give me a sunburn). They've all helped (maybe), but I'm still sick. Then a week ago, I saw a video by Dr. Davis describing strategies for boosting your immune system. One strategy was making "yogurt" with L. casei shirota bacteria, found in a probiotic drink called Yakult. (I'm not affiliated with Dr. Davis or any products.) The bacteria has been shown in studies to prevent upper respiratory infections and reduce the length of those illnesses. (Disclosure: the studies are funded by the manufacturer.) He cautioned against drinking it  since it's full of sugar, but gave instructions for making yogurt with it. At the time, the grocery store where I shop was out of Yakult, but was back in stock Friday and I whipped up a batch of yogurt during lunch. Last night, it was finally fin...

Equipment (pick one): Pot-style yogurt maker Cup-style yogurt maker + heating pad and insulated container if you don't have enough cups for the recipe (see #4 below) Sous vide stick and pot Heating pad and insulated container (e.g., camping cooler, insulated grocery bag) Note that your yogurt maker must let you set the temperature at 97 degrees F (36C) for 36 hours.   I use this one  (a cup-style yogurt maker). Since the yogurt takes a long time to ferment, and I don't like to go without while I'm making a new batch, I make a few extra cups in an insulated container.  My heating pad does the job at the medium setting in an insulated grocery bag at room temperature. (My insulated grocery bag is just a paper grocery bag with a bubble wrap liner.) I use  8 oz plastic freezing cups , available where canning and freezing supplies are sold. Ingredients 3 T powdered plain gelatin 1/2 c water (cold or room temperature) 4 cans regular coconut milk (13.5 oz each)...

Move over, Instant Pot--you're overly hot! My Suteck yogurt maker makes special yogurt for L. reuteri bacteria that need a long, warm fermentation. And it was only $32.99. Here's my Amazon review, with a few tips: I bought this product to make L. reuteri yogurt, which requires special preparation. I didn't have any trouble--the yogurt maker was easy to program, and both batches I've made so far turned out well. I did have to shake the final product in the jars because it separated, but the yogurt stayed homogenized after refrigeration. If you wish to add water in the yogurt maker, you don't need to keep adding it during the processing. A tip: use a canning funnel if you have one to fill the jars. Another tip: don't snap on the lids before processing--they pop off during fermentation. Just place the lids on the jars.

A few months ago, I joined Dr. Davis's Inner Circle to resolve some health problems. He recommends making "yogurt" with L. reuteri bacteria for its unique health benefits. Users reported vivid dreams after eating the yogurt. Having suffered from sleep paralysis long ago, I worried that it would return if I ate this yogurt. Sleep paralysis feels like a weight on you while you're somewhere between being asleep and being awake. You're paralyzed while it happens, and since humans tend to assume that things have agency when in doubt, it seems like it's a creature that's sitting on top of you. It's terrifying. It happened to me during the Satanic Panic , which added to my own panic. Decades later, I slept like the dead on a low-carb diet. No dreams, no sleep paralysis, just a very deep, black sleep. Wonderful. I took L. reuteri tablets as supplements for a few months. I dreamed, but nothing remarkable happened. I whipped up a batch of yogurt and ate s...