25 Easy Ways to Get More Fermented Foods in Your Diet

Most people know that fermented foods build great gut health, but a growing body of research shows they also build strong immunity, brain health, heart health and more. As a result, there are more reasons than ever to eat more fermented foods. Check out my blogs 9 Reasons to Love Sauerkraut and The Surprising Foods that Alleviate Anxiety to discover several reasons.

But, if you’re like many people you may not know how to get more fermented foods into your diet, outside of yogurt with fruit or sauerkraut on your favorite hot dog.

Here are 25 of my favorite ways to get more fermented foods into your diet:

Using Yogurt or Kefir

1. Smoothies: Blend some yogurt or kefir (a fermented dairy or fruit juice beverage) with a handful or two of fruit for a delicious smoothie.

2. Frozen Yogurt: After making a fruit smoothie, pour it into popsicle molds for a frozen yogurt treat.

3. Yogurt Cheese: Pour yogurt into a cheesecloth-lined sieve and let it sit for at least a few hours for a soft yogurt cheese—simply add your favorite herbs for an unbeatable fresh cheese. Like all of the yogurt-based suggestions, these approaches work for vegan yogurt as well.

4. Yogurt Salad Dressing: Blend some yogurt with lemon juice or vinegar and some herbs and sea salt for a creamy salad dressing.

5. Save Yogurt to Make More: Save a few tablespoons of yogurt or the whey from yogurt-making as the starter culture to make even more.

6. Breakfast Cereal: Add a dollop or two of yogurt or kefir to your favorite breakfast cereal or oatmeal in place of milk.

Using Sauerkraut, Pickled Vegetables or Kimchi

7. Over Brown Rice or Quinoa for a Quick Meal: Simply adding sauerkraut or other fermented vegetable dish to cooked grains (after the grains have cooked) makes a quick, nutritious and delicious meal. Check out my blog “Make Your Own Probiotic-Rich Sauerkraut.”

8. Over Salad: I threw some sauerkraut on top of a homemade Caesar salad and it was delicious. You can add fermented veggies to almost any salad for a quick probiotic boost.

9. On Noodles: Tossing brown rice or other whole grain noodles with kimchi or pickled veggies makes mealtime a cinch.

10. Sandwiches: Adding pickled turnip, fermented onions, kimchi or sauerkraut to your favorite sandwich gives it a flavor and nutritional boost.