Are you looking to avoid extra pounds and digest with ease over the Holidays?
Fermented Veggies to the rescue!  Fermented Veggies (Sauerkraut) may not be in your traditional Holiday meal, but after you read this blog you may have a new Holiday Tradition.

Fermented foods (also called cultured foods) help you digest with grace and ease. They are full of enzymes, probiotics, and nutrients.  Most traditional holiday meals include foods that are more dense and complex than you customarily eat in one sitting. Imagine your normal lunch on-the-go. Now imagine your traditional holiday meal. Notice any difference? Most people will notice a huge difference: more variety of food, more options, and not-so-stellar food combining, not to mention the smorgasboard of desserts that often follow traditional holiday meals.  It's enough to put you in a sugar-induced sleep just thinking about it.

Healthier Holidays
Of course you do not have to experience discomfort at every holiday meal. Here are some simple tips to help you have enough energy after your Thanksgiving Dinner to jump in to your Black Friday gift shopping spree with gusto and enthusiasm.  Or you can simply relax and giggle while you watch the rest of your family 'sleep off' their meals.

  -  Eat simply: choose entrees and sides that are close to their natural state.  Choose steamed green beans instead of green bean casserole, baked sweet potatoes instead of sweet potato casserole...in general, avoid most dishes with 'casserole' in their title.
  -  Eat your colors: Load your plate with vibrant green salad and lots of fresh, raw veggies. Eat your salad first to give your body a head start with enzymes, making way for smooth digestion.
  -  Chew!  With all the commotion, excitement, and extra people at holiday meals, it is tempting to eat too quickly. This creates favorable conditions for unfavorable conditions such as indigestion, heartburn, and bloating - ouch! Here is a very simple tool to help your holiday meal digest with grace and ease: chew your food!  Be present with your meal. Look at each spoon or forkfull of food before it enters your mouth. Taste and experience your food, and chew well. Do your socializing between bites or after your meal.
  -  Bring your own: bring something you enjoy eating that is live, raw, and full of nutrients that supports digestion. Cultured veggies, or a fresh salad with carrots, tomatoes, sprouted steamed lentils, and lots of fresh sprouts. Sprouts are also high in enzymes and help you digest your meal with grace and ease.
  -  Bring digestive enzymes! Have 3 or 4 enzymes with your meal, and another 3 or 4 with dessert.
  -  Give dessert its deserved spotlight. Instead of having dessert immediately following your meal, give your meal time to digest. Have your dessert an hour after you eat. In the meantime, visit with your family: what is Aunt Martha up to these days? Where has Uncle Jack been on his travels? Take time to enjoy your Grandmother and tell her how much you love her. Dessert can wait!

Benefits of adding Fermented Veggies to your Holiday Spread:
    - Rich in nutrients, fiber and digestion-enhancing enzymes. Fermented Veggies help you digest with grace and ease!
    - Fermented veggies help your intestinal tract maintain a healthy balance of probiotics by increasing beneficial bacteria.
    - Eating fermented foods is an incredibly healthy practice, directly supplying your digestive tract with living cultures essential to breaking down food and assimilating nutrients.
    - Holiday meals often require all the digestive help they can get - eat your veggies!

Veggie Video
Now is the time to make your fermented veggies - before your holiday schedule kicks in. Invest one afternoon with your family or friends and make a huge batch of veggies. Make enough to last until next year - veggies only get better with age, and they have a great shelf-life in the refrigerator. You can do it - we can help!  In this video, I show Deb how to make her own fermented veggies at home. She has made two batches on her own since our filming. You can do it, too - have fun!
Click here for my basic cultured veggie recipe