4 Fermented Foods for Beginners

When you start off with any diet routine, or adding foods to your diet routine, you may be cautious about what you add. You don't want to have allergic reactions, but you also don't want to have an issue of spending a lot of money on a food item that you actually don't like. Before you waste money on kits, fermented foods you have never tried, or trying to jump into fermentation of your own foods consider these fermented foods instead. These four foods are easy to find, easy to add to your diet, and have familiar flavors and textures that make them easier to add into your daily routine.

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is probably the easiest food to find and to add to your diet as a beginner to fermented foods. You can add it to sandwiches like Reubens. You can also add it to hot dogs and sausage dishes. It is easy to add a little at a time and then add more later. You can find sauerkraut in jars, canned, and in bags in most produce sections. You can also find the canned version in the canned vegetable sections of most stores. Keep in mind, the jar style would be the most ideal and the canned would be a last resort. This is due to the fact that canned foods tend to contain other preservatives that may cause the benefits of the sauerkraut to suffer. 

Yogurt

Yogurt is super easy for beginners to find, add to, and enjoy in their daily diet routines. There are a few things to keep in mind when you are choosing a yogurt rather than making your own. Try to stick to a plain yogurt that you add your own fresh fruits to. You do not want one that already contains fruit as there may be preservatives used for the fruits that could diminish the probiotic benefits of the yogurt. You also want to stick to regular yogurt and not greek yogurt as the traditional yogurt does use a traditional fermentation process. 

Kombucha

Kombucha is ideal if you are more into a drink form of fermented food or if you just need something that is easy to digest on the go. If you are a cold tea fan, then this may be ideal as well. Kombucha is made with tea, sugar, water, and the yeast culture to add the probiotic. You can find kombucha at most stores that have health food or juice and smoothie sections. You can also find kombucha in a variety of flavors as well. 

Miso

Miso can be found in powdered form in the Asian food section of most stores. You can also find block versions of miso or miso paste. This can be made into an easy to digest soup along with tofu and nori. If you are out and about and need to get some fermented foods into your diet during the day, consider eating a sushi restaurant or hibachi as they will offer miso soup as well as other fermented foods. 

There are many more fermented foods that you can add to the mix overtime. These are just the more common foods you can find at most any store and add to your daily routine. Make sure when you are buying fermented foods or adding them to your diet that you are using a non-GMO labeled food product. This will cut down on chemicals and other preservatives that may detract from the natural benefits of fermentation. 
