Superfood Evolution Ezine -- Issue #007- The Commercial Kombucha Drink Controversy!

July 17, 2010

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Table of Contents:

1. The Commercial Kombucha Drink Controversy!
2. Top 5 Ways To Eat More Raw Vegetables
3. Kitchen Gadgets For Your Food Prepping Fun!
4. BOOK REVIEW: Kombucha Phenomenon
5. Recipe of the Month
6. Announcements
7. DVD of the Month

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Hello friends,

Welcome again to Superfood Evolution! A big thank you to all my Superfoods-for-Superhealth site visitors for your attention and support! Here we go with my monthly newsletter #7. Many of you expressed great interest in learning more about superfoods, superhealth and achieving optimal states of aliveness! So, here it is by popular demand! It is my intent to uplift and empower your true health potential to create the best life ever for you and your family. "You are what you eat" is the first rule of thumb here, the rest just falls into place!

The Truth Behind The Commercial Kombucha Drink Controversy!

It all started when, the famous star, Lindsay Lohan's "alcohol bracelet" alarmed shortly after consuming a kombucha beverage. Whole Foods Market, being one of the biggest sellers of these products, immediately pulled all kombucha brands from their shelves. A study was then carried out by Whole Foods, testing the levels of "alcohol content" contained in each brand of kombucha they sell.

Because kombucha is a fermented beverage, using sweeteners and sometimes fruit juices, it can have a slight alcohol content of up to 1%. To many top distributors and “homemade kombucha makers” this gives the beverage its effervescence and qualities that offer a delivery vehicle for the drinks tonic effects. Testing revealed that some brands were slightly over the minimum of .05% alcohol content, while others were up to a whopping 4%.

The trace amounts of up to 1% alcohol level is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just a natural side effect of the fermentation process and probiotics that create it. Because this can produce issues for those who can't drink any alcohol, or are recovering alcoholics, it definitely needs to be brought to light and advertised accordingly.

To legally sell an alcoholic beverage it must be under the amount of .05%. Now, some kombucha drink manufacturers are working on formulations to reduce intoxication levels to a minimum.

Others, like Steve Dickman (the co-founder of High Country Kombucha), feel like it will affect the potency and vibrancy of the cultured drink. Alcohol percentage can be lowered by reducing the fermentation time, but in the end you get a weaker solution that affects taste and medicinal value.

A few companies are considering an alcohol license for the reason that changing the product formula will result in a lower quality kombucha tea. Others will make necessary adjustments and perfect their ingredients to fall within the standards of a non-alcoholic beverage.

It is so hard to monitor and control the alcohol content because kombucha continues to ferment after it has been bottled.

The best way to control the alcohol levels in your kombucha is of course, to make it yourself! We still feel it is a healthy, delightful beverage that is a great substitute for other "less than healthy" drink selections. Besides its numerous health benefits, it also contains cultures that help support the immune system and digestive functions.

Top 6 Ways TO Eat More Raw Vegetables

Today, it is pretty much common knowledge that eating more raw, living vegetables in your daily diet has been proven to increase health, adding high quality fiber that helps aid digestion of other foods and nutrients.

Sometimes, however, eating additional raw veggies with your meals can be a challenge. This is especially true if you are just getting reacquainted with the wonderful world of vegetables.

We recommend you try some different approaches to enjoying the many colorful varieties available. When you change the cut, shape and presentation of your vegetable you can achieve a new appreciation for the subtle textures and flavors.

1) Grate 5 different hard vegetables and make a unique raw salad. I love to work with the different tastes, like salty, sweet or spicy.

2) Cut up veggies into strips and enjoy with a nice raw dipping sauce. Many veggies can be enjoyed this way as a replacement for chips. They have a great crunch and are wonderful with a nice savory tahini dip or coconut Thai sauce.

3) Make nori wraps using sprouts, chopped cauliflower for rice, cucumber and avocado to hold it all together. Add a sweet/sour miso sauce to give an additional flavor kick.

4) Use a cabbage or collard leaf for your bread instead of grain or nut breads. Some of the best “breads” are Napa cabbage, green cabbage or collard. They have a soft, yet firm texture that can “cup” your sandwich ingredients nicely.

5) Juicing your veggies is a great way to get more of their benefits. You can use the pulp to make crackers with other added ingredients and spices.

6) Throw an assortment of vegetables into a blender and make a raw soup. See our site recipes for ideas. As you experiment you can learn to work with flavor balance. I prefer a sweet, salty soup, so I use naturally sweet veggies and a bit of miso or seaweed to round it out.

Raw Kitchen Gadgets For Your Food Prepping Fun!

Spiral slicer - or also called the Saladacco (by Joyce Chen) is a nice food prepping accessory to have in your raw kitchen. It is simple and easy to use. Just pop in your favorite veggies and spin the handle to create long vegetable pastas. The blade selection allows you to adjust the thickness for thin "angel hair pasta" or wide "fettuccine" styles. It turns any firm vegetable or fruit into an endless stream of curly or straight ribbons.

Mandoline slicer - this slicer cuts any firm vegetable or fruit into strips or circular shapes. It takes a bit to get use to the slicing technique, but once you do it comes in handy for making dehydrating vegetable chips or fruit slices. It is VERY sharp, so you have to be careful. The blades are adjustable to create the thickness you desire.

Coconut scrapper - if you use coconut meat as much as we do, you'll love this handy, little tool that scraps out the meat in seconds flat. No more spooning it out, trying to get every piece. This tool gets every bit of meat with ease.

Bamboo rolling mat - we like this basic sushi making device to roll and make our nori or collard leaf wraps. It allows you to squeeze everything tight and compact, perfect for slicing your roll or eating it whole.

Fruit scoops - these are hollow scooping blades, by the name brand Progressive. They come in a set of three different sizes and are used to scoop out all kinds of fruit as well as vegetables. These stainless steel/re-enforced nylon scoops are great for melons or for seeding bell peppers or tomatoes. Use one to core a squash to stuff it.

Ceramic grinder - this is wonderful for grinding fresh seeds, like milk thistle or sesame. We also use it to grind our Celtic and Himalayan sea salt, seaweeds, spices, and peppercorns, of course. Create a mix from different blends of dried herbs, seaweeds and seeds to grind over your raw salads. Keep it ready and accessible on your kitchen table.

BOOK REVIEW:

Kombucha Phenomenon, The Miracle Health Tea

How to Safely Make and Use Kombucha

by Betsy Pryor and Sanford Holst

Betsy Pryor is one of the first people who popularized kombucha mushroom in the U.S. This book is a result of her passion and expertise. She discusses the many health benefits of this fermented tea, everything from skin to HIV. She shares her own safety and contamination guidelines when making your own kombucha.

This book was written over 12 years ago, but the material presented still remains as potent as ever with details on how to make kombucha tea and start brewing your own jar at home. A great one to have in your fermented food book collection to inspire and motivate your own kombucha drink creations.

Kombucha Phenomenon: The Miracle Health Tea: How to Safely Make and Use Kombucha

Recipe of the Month:

Super Kombucha Drink Recipe

We show you how to make a basic kombucha recipe on our site, but you can also add in your own unique blend of herbs and flavors to create a personalized kombucha drink!

Like we mentioned, there is nothing like making your own kombucha. As with any homemade recipe, it allows you to control what goes in it. Kombucha is easy to make, once you get down the basics. After your first successful kombucha brew, you can expand with different ingredients. Here’s a little recipe to give you an idea of possibilities.

• 3T green tea
• 3/4C raw honey
• 2 quarts spring water
• 1 quart of Energy Spirit Tea
• 1 1/2C active kombucha
• 1 kombucha mushroom

Make our Energy Spirit Tea:

Decoct the following (low simmer for 20-40 min in a glass/ceramic pot w/lid on)in 1and 1/8 quarts of spring water

• 2T dandelion
• 3T fo-ti
• 1/2T goji berries
• 2T reishi mushroom (ground)
• 2T pao de' arco
• 1T orange peel

Follow the instructions provided on our basic kombucha recipe.

1. I did not get to attend the Longevity Now Conference this year, but have enjoyed watching the Longevity Now Conference Course. Check out this David Wolfe Video Clip.
2. Visit our Superfoods Blog with weekly posts and links to new pages. Bookmark them using the orange RSS feed button on any page to get instant updates.

DVD of the Month:

Supercharge Me!

A sweet, inspiring, personal journey with Jenna Norwood as she documents 30 days of eating a 100% diet of raw fruits and vegetables. Originally inspired by the Super Size Me! Documentary, Jenna decides to do the opposite, instead of eating 30 days of “McDonald’s fast food” she commits to adhering to a strict raw food diet.

Her genuine spirit comes shining through in this true to life experience that begins to change her health overnight. This dynamic DVD is very captivating and educational as Jenna exposes all, up close and personal. A great story that includes all the up's and downs of cleansing and reviving the body to new heights. A raw "reality show" of epic proportions!

Supercharge Me! 30 Days Raw

Until next month...

Here's to your Superhealth!

Much love,

Shira