Pineapple Chutney

Makes 1 Quart

1 small pineapple
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup whey
1/2 cup filtered water

Mix pineapple, cilantro and ginger and place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar. Press down lightly with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer. Mix lime juice, sea salt and whey with water and pour over pineapple, adding more water if necessary to cover the pineapple. The chutney should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for 2 days before transferring to refrigerator. This should be eaten withing 2 months.

Variation: Hot Pineapple Chutney

Add 1 small red onion, 1 jalapeno pepper and 1/2 red pepper, all finely chopped.

Salsa

Makes 1 quart

4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
2 small onions, finely chopped
3/4 cup chopped Chile pepper, hot or mild
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped (optional)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey (if not available use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)
1/4 cup filtered water

Mix all ingredients and place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar. Press down lightly with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer, adding more water if necessary to cover the vegetables. The top of the vegetables should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 2 days before transferring to cold storage.

**Ketchup provides us with an excellent example of a condiment that was formerly fermented and therefore health promoting, but whose benefits were lost with large scale canning methods and a reliance on sugar rather than lactic acid as a preservative. The word "ketchup" derives form the Chinese Amoy dialect ke-tsiap or pickled fish-brine or sauce, the universal condiment of the antcient world.

Ginger Carrots

4 cups grated carrots, tightly packed
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey (if not available, use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)

These are the best introduction to lacto-fermented vegetables we know; the taste is delicious; and the sweetness of the carrots neutralizes the acidity that some people find disagreeable when they are first introduced to lacto-fermented vegetables. Ginger carrots go well with rich foods and spicy meats.

In a bowl, mix all ingredients and pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer to release juices. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounder or a meat hammer until juices cover the carrots. The top of the carrots should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.

Sauerkraut

Makes 1 Quart

1 medium cabbage, cored and shredded
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey (if not available use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)

In a bowl, mix cabbage with caraway seeds, sea salt and whey. Pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer for about 10 minutes to release juices. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounder or a meat hammer until juices come to the top of the cabbage. The top of the cabbage should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage. The sauerkraut may be eaten immediately, but it improves with age.

Probiotics and Fermented Vegetables

Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms that live inside our intestinal tracts. They help us to digest our food, produce vitamins like B-12 and hormones like serotonin.

Traditionally humans consumed probiotics in the form of cultured and fermented foods and drinks; such as yogurt, kefir, cheese, sauerkraut and pickles. They also gained the beneficial bacterium from freshly picked vegetables and fruit from their gardens.

Without an ample supply of these little helpers your digestive system and body will not be able to function properly. Conditions such as depression, anemia, bloating, gas, headaches, and what is called a "Leaky Gut," can develop.

Our ancestors regularly ate a steady supply of these helpers and thus avoided many of these conditions as discovered by the Russian physiologist Elie Metchinkoff.

Human babies are born with their own supply of these beneficial bacterium. However the consumption of modern overprocessed foods and beverages, along with the pressures and stress of modern life, and the use of antibiotics and other pharmaceutical drugs has created a deficiency of these beneficial bacteria in the majority of the population.

The preceding paragraphs are a summary of this article.

Here are a few recipes to help you in reestablishing a healthy balance of probiotics in your body.

Piima Milk
Whey and Cream Cheese
Ginger Carrots
Sauerkraut
Pineapple Chutney
Salsa
Ketchup
Apricot Butter

Restorative Cleansing Soup

Cleansing Mineral Restorative Soup

Skin of 1 potato
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup of Nori crinkles

Boil together

add

2 tsp Celtic sea salt

Boil together for about 5 min.

Let cool slightly

Add 1 tbsp Chickpea Miso (or White Miso or other)
1 whole clove garlic, crushed

Serve

Restores the balance of potassium and minerals in your body.