tips on getting fermented foods into my 2 yo

[lindsayjean]

She hate HATES pickles or anything remotely "pickley" Doesn't like sauerkraut. She won't even eat the AMAZING and EXPENSIVE pickled beets I bought at the co-op. We are relatively new to ferments and I haven't really gotten into making them myself yet since my first attempt SUCKED (gingered carrots from NT- just tasted salty and ick.... I need to pick up a copy of wild fermentation.) but I know she could use some.

What is beet kvass? Is it something someone who doesn't like pickley things would like?

Any advice- how to 'hide' it or some milder ferments would rock.

She hates kombucha- but she won't drink juice even.

LOL- she really isn't THAT picky. She will down any sort of fat (as long as it came from an animal that is) and she devours meat like it is going out of style and loves most veggies and fruit.

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by lindsayjean

What is beet kvass? Is it something someone who doesn't like pickley things would like?

I think it's pretty strong stuff. I held my breath while downing it and couldn't see my ds drinking it...

Any advice- how to 'hide' it or some milder ferments would rock.

I think Pat/WuWei had some great ideas for how to sneak in ferments. Off the top of my head, I think she mentioned adding kefir to milk (if you put it in [homeade, tf ] cereal, chocolate milk, etc.)

When my ds wouldn't drink the juice kefir I made, I put it into popsicle form, and he LOVED it. Some of the good buggies die during freezing, but not all--I believe this is only w/ kefir (maybe kombucha too?) You can do this w/ regular kefir as well. (Ds now drinks the juice kefir happily so I don't do this as often--we are dairy free, but use milk kefir grains in grape and pomegranate juice to make a delicious sparkling beverage-- )

I also make salad dressing using brine from my fermented veggies (usually a non-spicy kimchi-ish mix of veggies.) I use the liquid from the cultured veggies in place of the vinegar--ds eats it up on salad.

Yogurt--obvious. (If she'll eat it.) You can use plain (unsweetened) yogurt on potatoes or anywhere in place of sour cream.

Mix some sauerkraut juice into soup once it has cooled off a bit...or even a small amount into *whatever* she is choosing to drink...

That's all I can think of at the moment. I'll be watching this thread for more ideas though!!

ETA: You mentioned she likes veggies--what about a veggie dip using yogurt and pureed cultured veggies (even if it's a small amount), plus maybe some spices?? I like beau monde and dill mixed in w/ yogurt and mayo (and now I'm using coconut milk yogurt and homemade mayo, thanks to Kathy and her awesome allergen free recipe ideas!!) Ds likes dipping raw veggies into this kind of dip...I bet a little bit of pureed fermented veggies would go right along w/ the tangy taste...gonna need to try this myself!

Oh, my favorite new thing is blending frozen banana, frozen strawberries, a little vanilla extract and coconut milk together to make a quick, refined sugar free ice cream (sooooo tasty!)--maybe you could use yogurt or possibly kefir in place of the coconut milk in this kind of 'ice cream' as a way to get more fermented food into her? (It wouldn't require any freezing, leaving all the good buggies intact...)

[Chouette]

I second FairyRae's opinion about beet kvass. I love beets, in any way shape or form, but it took some doing to get down my own homemade kvass.

Fortunately, my toddler likes sour things (olives, pickles and the like) but she only likes sauerkraut and fermented pickles on some days. Other days, she says she doesn't. Ah, 2yo's.

Mine will also drink kombucha, even though my homemade stuff is pretty vinegary tasting, but not like she does with the storebought stuff. I'm still experimenting with using juice for double fermenting, and I know that will make it infinitely more drinkable. She loves the storebought kombucha with all the pretty colors.

There's a fermented lemonade recipe somewhere...was it in Nourishing Traditions?

Another easily cultured dairy product is creme fraiche. Just add a bit of good buttermilk to a cup of cream, and let it sit out overnight. A great replacement for sour cream, and if you let it get really thick, you can use it like cream cheese (so long as it stays cold).

I used to hide a lot of things in smoothies, like the whey left over from draining yogurt, or homemade buttermilk.

But by far, the easiest to get into mine is yogurt. Plain, with a little honey or maple syrup. Although she was anti-yogurt for nearly 3 months last year.

If you eat a variety of fermented and cultured things yourself regularly, keep offering them. Tastes change (daily, apparently! lol).

I wish mine would eat fatty meats more often! I almost did a somersault yesterday when she had some salami.

ETA: Also, using the fermented brine for salad dressing is brilliant! Not that my toddler would eat salad, but for me!

ETA: Also, miso! My toddler doesn't really like other soups, but she'll eat miso soup, usually with buckwheat soba noodles. So that's where I also get in a bit of bone broth, and seaweed and every once in a while, greens like chard or collards, if they are chopped super skinny, like the noodles. It's also good practice for fine motor skills (getting slippery noodles onto a fork, and holding the bowl to drink the broth), but extremely messy.

[Holiztic]

Cultured Cottage Cheese?

[lindsayjean]

We actually do kefir smoothies, but my DD is SUPER constipated and my chiro (who is trad foods) said that kefir is constipating and she suggests it when kids have the opposite problem, so we're avoid that for now. She actually suggested I try and get more ferments into her for her constipation issue. I wonder if I would kill my tibetan kefir mushroom if I made juice kefir??? Hmmm... that sounds interesting!!!

She LOVES yogurt, but we were trying to avoid dairy for a while, but maybe I'll start making yogurt again. We've done the popscicle trick with kefir and to hide some supplements, maybe I'll do it with the yogurt too. She thought it was pretty cool that she got a popsicle for breakfast one day LOL.

I guess I shouldn't just expect her to eat kraut by the spoonful. Although the girl BEGS for cod liver oil and has had fall on the floor floppy tantrums if she already had her dose of CLO for the day and wants more.

Good idea putting the brine in things. I added some of the juice from my pickled beets in her smoothie and it made it nice and purply (and then she had a tantrum because it wasn't GREEN- haha, no matter how much spirulia I put in that sucker it stayed nice and purple from the beets HAHA).

Anyone else?

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by lindsayjean

We actually do kefir smoothies, but my DD is SUPER constipated and my chiro (who is trad foods) said that kefir is constipating and she suggests it when kids have the opposite problem, so we're avoid that for now.

I've read kefir can help you go more if fermented 12 hours or less...and that it has the opposite effect after 24 hours? Not certain on that though.

Originally Posted by lindsayjean

She LOVES yogurt, but we were trying to avoid dairy for a while, but maybe I'll start making yogurt again.

You can make non-dairy yogurt as well--I'll forward a link to a recipe for coconut milk yogurt if you want. (We are dairy free and still do some dairy-like ferments...)

ETA: Here is a recipe for coconut milk yogurt from Kathy's recipe box.

[KristaDJ]

I do wild fermentations with all kinds of fruit. Peaches and/or nectarines are the best and my kids eat them up like crazy.

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by KristaDJ

I do wild fermentations with all kinds of fruit. Peaches and/or nectarines are the best and my kids eat them up like crazy.

Would you mind sharing some of your recipes/methods? I've heard fruit is more difficult/tempermental. I'd love to try some of your ideas!

[Koalamom]

Miso is an easy one to get into kis. If you make an egg salad sanwich, chicken alad sandwich, tuna salad, potato salad, etc, you can mince up fermented pickles into it and make it so yummy.

I really wish I could feed my kids lacto fermented veggies. They are both very allergic to them and I think that has been the cause of my dd's leaky gut. She ate loads of then when she was younger. DD begs for them still, and ds breaks out head to toe if I eat any while nursing him. Just be certian that your child is just being picky and not having an inner aversion from an allergy to lacto fermented foods.