KOMBUCHA! Oooh-ah-ha-ha, Oooh-ah-ha-ha

Following suit with the fermented drinks, I'm moving on to kombucha in this post.  Every time I say "kombucha," I picture the scene from Finding Nemo around the aquarium volcano...

From what I've discovered, it seems more people know about kombucha than kefir.  This was not the case for me.  I heard about milk kefir first, and upon buying my milk kefir grains, I discovered there was a kombucha drink somewhere out there in the world.  I think I had possibly heard of it by glancing at the drinks in the health food store, but I had definitely never tried it.  I honestly don't know how my friend, and I started talking about kombucha one day, but I remember her saying something along the lines of, "Man, I LOVE kombucha!  It has this addicting, sour flavor, but you get used to it...and, it's expensive!"  The first kombucha I came across after talking to Kelly, I bought...and loved.

Normally, I stay away from flavored drinks because 1) I simply don't crave them, and 2) they're usually high in calorie, and I can think of many other ways I'd love to spend those calories.  At any rate, my friend started my researcher's wheels to spinning, and I discovered, like kefir, all the benefits kombucha had to offer.  Click HERE for a general kombucha overview and HERE for an addressed F.A.Q. to learn more.  I am, by no means, an expert on the nutritional profile or value of kombucha, but there's a load of information on the net regarding kombucha, so help yourself to the Google man!

Addressing my issues:
1) I don't crave flavored drinks

Kombucha isn't really like a flavored drink.  It's not very sweet, it's sour, it's carbonated, and it taste nothing like a traditional sweetened tea, juice, or soda.  A while back, I started drinking a raw apple cider drink, and kombucha tastes a lot like that.  It's pretty vinegary...but, that's also the reason people looooove it.  

2) Flavored drinks are usually high in calorie 

Kombucha is not!  You see, just like in kefir, the bacterias and yeasts feed on the sugar in the original liquid used to make the product.  By the time fermentation is done, the sugar amount is greatly reduced.  For example, a 16oz bottle of GT's Original Kombucha has 60 calories and 4g of sugar.  16oz of CocaCola, on the other hand, has 191 calories and 53 grams of sugar.  That's a great difference...I was shocked.  Plus, kombucha is filled with healthy goodness; coke is not...duh.

I was ready to start making kombucha as I also discovered this stuff was expensive at $3/bottle!  First, I needed a scoby.  In attempt to avoid having to purchase a scoby, I hit the interwebs like a desperate black-market hippie.  I asked around on natural food forums and freaked everyone out on Facebook.  Fortunately, a FB friend who knew nothing about scobies or kombucha provided me a link with how to GROW a scoby from an existing bottle of commercial raw kombucha...SCORE!  HERE'S the article.  Later, I discovered there were many different sources on how to grow a scoby, all with the same basic technique.  So, to growing a scoby I went!  Refer to the above mentioned articles for details on the process.  Here are a couple pictures of my progress in growing a scoby...

My first vessel was too large, and I knew it was going to take forever for a full scoby to form over the large surface area, so....

...I took those forming scoby bits and moved them to a smaller jar (quart size), and voila!  A fully formed scoby formed in about a week! *EXCITEMENT*

Now, that I had grown my little (3in diameter?) scoby, I was ready to try a gallon batch of kombucha!  Simply google "make kombucha," and a myriad of sites will come up.  It's a very simple process and pretty standard across the board.  Here are a few good links:

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-173858
http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-brew-kombucha-double-fermentation-method/
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/kombucha

So, I brewed up a gallon of English Breakfast tea, added 1 cup of sugar, pour it into a gallon glass jar (seen as the "too large" vessel mentioned above), added the scoby and the kombucha liquid it was sitting in, covered it with a paper towel and rubber band, and...WAITED...very impatiently...peaking very often despite the suggestions to not...and, waited some more. 

After seven painful days of waiting, I finally reached kombucha!  Here are some pics of the growing scoby...

Scoby during batch 1

Scoby during batch 2

Scoby at end of batch 3

Yes, it is disgusting, but it's also super fun and cost-effective to make.  All three of my batches have been successful.  I start tasting it with a straw around day 5 or so, but you can also smell the distinctive vinegary kombucha essence when it's getting close to being ready.  I like to let mine ferment until it is much less sweet than when originally started, has that vinegary sour taste, AND when it has started carbonating on its own.  Once this has happened, I dispense the kombucha into bottles with juice (grape is my current fave) added in a 1:4 ration (juice being the lesser value) and cap off for a second fermentation to build carbonation (like kefir post) for 2-5 days.  FYI, I drank a bunch of clear bottled beer and bought a bottle capper!  I feel so cool...

Try it out!  It's fun!  PLEASE don't hesitate to e-mail me ("e-mail me" button on home blog page) with any questions you come across while brewing this awesome healthy drink!  I swear I don't bite ;-)

"I'm just doing my job, lady..." -Mr. Apple

Many people complain about fruit giving them gas, or causing diarrhea, upset stomach, and so on...but that's pretty much what fruit is supposed to do!  Any new-to-green-smoothies people out there experiencing "discomfort?"  There's a reason why...fruits are detox foods!

Excess toxins in the body have been linked to causing degenerative diseases, such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.  These toxins can also cause cellulite, GI problems, premature aging, insomnia, weight gain, fatigue, allergies, and acne.  Our body tries it's best to do it's own detoxing, but due to our switch to more processed, less natural, whole foods, we need to help our bodies out by providing the right "tolls" in aiding the body's natural detox process.

Raw fruits are the best way to aid detoxification, but raw vegetables are also detox foods, as well as other misc. foods.  One doesn't need to spend hundreds of dollars on detox programs, or supplements; all you need is go to the grocery store and load up on fruits and leafy greens!  Green smoothies, and fresh raw juices are the easiest way to incorporate aid to your body's natural detox system.  Yes, if you have not been an avid fruit eater before adding green smoothies into your diet, you will experience some GI discomfort.  Why?  Because those fruits and leafy greens are pulling years of stored wastes from your cells and body at a somewhat rapid rate through your GI track, and out your you know what!  Makes sense, eh?  So, don't stop drinking those juices and smoothies because they give you gas or diarrhea; that's exactly what they're supposed to do!  They're just doing their job, guys.

So now you're thinking I'm telling you your body's going to feel like crap for the rest of your life simply so you can "detox?"  No.  These uncomfortable symptoms will subside as your body gets cleaner.  Here are some common detox symptoms you will notice your body going through:

• Acne
• Hives
• Rashes
• Flatulence
  
• Diarrhea 
• Fever
  
• Headaches
• Night Sweats
  
• Body aches
• Fatigue
• Mood Swings
• Food Cravings
  
• Excessive phlegm, mucus, congestion
  
• Mouth Sores

As for my own personal detox period, I can definitely say I experienced some of these symptoms.  I think the first one was swollen sore gums, and swollen lymph nodes.  I haven't come across a lot of other people who have experienced swollen lymph nodes, but my lymph nodes are very sensitive, so I was not surprised.  At this time, I was not even aware my recent diet switch was detoxing my body, so I just thought I had some weird gum irritation.  It didn't occur to me until later that my gum irritation was most likely a detox symptom.  Also, my skin did break out a little, but not too bad.

I was extremely bloated for a good two weeks.  I'm not going to lie, I felt miserable.  I wasn't sure if this would subside, or not, simply because of the longevity...but it did.  Once I "deflated," I felt great!  I finally started feeling light, and like my body was processing normally throughout the day.

*Beware: TMI*  I also produced a LOT of "waste," if ya catch my drift.  My bowel movements were not necessarily more frequent, but definitely plentiful.  I thought they might stay this way, pinning the excessive waste to the high fiber in my new diet, but I now know it was due to toxin purging as my diet has not changed at all, but my present day waste amount has reduced.

I also experienced the fatigue, and tiredness, as well.  It was difficult to keep up my regular running regiment during that time.  I also slept a lot and deep!  For those of you who don't know, I have had trouble sleeping almost my whole life.  Since getting on raw foods, I am sleeping great!  It's amazing.  My sleeping has normalized to regular length now being on the downhill slope of my detox, but has continued to stay deep and sound.  I'm so jazzed about this!

Aside from all the unpleasant detox symptoms, I'm glad I pressed through them as I'm starting to feel great now.  Believe me, I've always been a skeptic about detoxing and internal body cleanses...but I'm not now.  There are suggestions on how to ease detox symptoms.  I think one of the best techniques is to keep up with your daily hygeine.  The skin is one of the biggest exits, like your GI system, for the release of the toxins.  While detoxing, make sure to shower daily, exfoliate, do not douse yourself in oils and creams, and dry brush your whole body before showering with a natural bristle body brush.

If I had to provide one piece of advice for detoxing, it would be to take detoxing slow.  If you're eating a S.A.D. diet, and you immediately go to an all raw juice detox, you're going hurt.  Try going from S.A.D. with the incorporation of raw fruits for breakfast, to Vegetarian, to Vegan, to incorporating more raw foods, and then to something more drastic such as a raw juice detox, or some other kind of full detox program.  Detoxing too much too fast can be quite a shock to the body.  Also, eat all, and only, fruits in the morning on an empty stomach up until 30 minutes before lunch.  Raw fruits are most affective at detoxing at this time, and will not ferment with other food sitting in the stomach which can cause more gas, and bloating.

A lot of Raw Food, and Green Smoothie websites have online forums where "detox" has either it's own page, or is discussed frequently.  You can find much information and support in those forums.  Here are some helpful links regarding detox, and symptoms:

• http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/312332/natural_detox_symptoms_during_a_home.html?cat=2

• http://www.radicalradiance.com/2009/06/common-detox-symptoms-commentary-from.html

• http://www.healthrecipes.com/body_detox.htm

• http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/tips-for-understanding-the-difference-between-detox-symptoms-and-sickness-584849.html

•  http://www.fruitarian.com/ao/Detoxification_with_fruit_nutrition.htm