Change from the Inside Out with Sauerkraut

It’s a fairly accepted belief that change influences lives on all levels of existence. What we sometimes struggle with is whether –or even how -introducing something new on one of those levels can cause an effect on another. However, evidence of this is found by simply noting positive changes that occur after  introducing something new, such as: practicing yoga, sleeping in total darkness or incorporating live foods like homemade sauerkraut into the diet. These practices bring the changes wanted by influencing the unseen core of an existing problem. 

Sauerkraut is a live food. That means it gives more energy to your body than is needed for its digestion and assimilation.  Live foods pass their life force vitality to those who consume them. Eating live foods is an effective and natural way to change or improve a current level of wellness.  Introducing this higher vitality gives a boost of energy that causes cells to awaken from a sluggish or dormant state. Raw and live foods offer the highest levels of energy and sauerkraut can be both.

I’ve known people to heal joint pain, lower blood pressure or blood sugar and lose belly fat by increasing their water consumption, eating more raw veggies and including fermented foods into their daily diet. That’s what sauerkraut is, a fermented food. It’s cheap to make and easy to do. You just need a standard kitchen food processor, large plastic or glass bowel, cutting board, some quart jars or crocks (I’m using my slow cooker crock) cabbage, sugar, vinegar, and noniodized  or pickling salt, along with about 30-45 minutes.

To make 1 quart

Ingredients:

8-10 cups of shredded cabbage, loosely packed (1 2lb. head)

2-3 teaspoons of the salt

1 cup of filtered water

2 teaspoons of sugar

2 teaspoons of white vinegar
optional seasonings (mustard seeds, juniper berries. caraway seeds)

A sterilized wide mouth quart jar with lid

Preparation:

Shred the cabbage, place in a large plastic bowel and mix with any seasonings and salt. Stirring the cabbage releases its juices. Let rest for 10-15 minutes and stir again. This can now sit for 20-30 minutes if you choose.

Pack the shredded mixed cabbage into the jar tapping it in with the tip of a wooden spatula. Add the salt to the filtered water and pour over the cabbage filling the jar to the rim. Cap loosely and place jar on a tray to catch any overflowing juices during the fermentation period. It’s best to place the jar and tray in a shaded or dark area and keep the temperature of the jar between 65-72 degrees for  2 -3 weeks. In our Caribbean temperatures one week is enough.

Check the containers occasionally. Make sure the cabbage stays below the liquid. Top off jar with salty (1 teasp per cup) water if the water level falls below the rim. Skim off any white spots or film from the top and close the lid again. Once the bubbling has stopped, make sure that all white film is gone from the surface, capping tightly and wipe off the jar. Keep it stored in the refrigerator until it is completely gone.

If you want to make more than a quart just double or triple the ingredients. Sauerkraut can be placed in quart ziplock bags and frozen. There is lots that you can do with fresh kraut such as: salad toppings, main meal or even a cheese and veggie sandwich.  Just remember when you heat process the finished jars to store them your kraut will not be live or raw anymore. 

There are other live or raw recipes through my blog; scroll through. Sometimes changing the most obvious problems in our lives takes a change at the cellular level. That’s what drinking lots of water and eating live food can do. Let me know how it works for you or if you have questions.

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DREAM CATCHERS

For years I have been fascinated with dream catchers but never bought or even thought of making one. Then I heard that a man named  Christopher Peter VanderEssen  will be a building a giant one near Woodstock for the 45th anniversary of the famous event.  His huge dream catcher will be dedicated to peace. 

The webbing of a dream catcher intrigues me and the idea of them being dedicated to a purpose fits right into my beliefs on energy and connection.  I decided to check into them. Mine would be gifts; expressions of love.
As a subtle energy practitioner I know that the thoughts and feelings held while making or holding something leaves an energy imprint. In the past, I have built medicine wheels in my yard and dedicated them to peace by laying each stone with a prayer for peace. Every stone holds a blessing and its clockwise progression creates a vortex of energy that almost anyone visiting the wheel can feel  Most people who come to visit will say that my yard makes them feel calm; that it is a healing place. The dream catchers I was going to make would be the same. 

Working or moving in a clockwise direction creates a vortex of energy that holds whatever intent is placed on them. The first dream catcher I made was for a grand daughter's 9th birthday. It held  the intent of love and happiness. The second was for a friend's toddler and it held a blessing for love and protection. The one shown in this photo below is my 3^rd . Its for the family of a single mother I know. It carries the blessing of love and unity.  My current project is for a young woman's high school graduation. Her dream catcher will hold the intent of love and expansion.

Dream catchers are one of the traditions of Native Americans that seem to speak to everyone. The traditional dream catcher idea, given to the Lakota people, was to protect  sleeping children from negative dreams. Positive dreams pass through the open center of the dream catcher and glide down  feathers to the sleeping person. Negative dreams become caught-up in the web and then vaporize in the first morning light.

The impression to build dream catchers had many levels of information attached. Not only did they allow me to express love to others but, they calmed my spirit and gave me a positive focus while working through changes in my husband's health. Art is creative; creating is making something new. When my focus is on love and creating, the energy I surround myself with holds that vibration. It becomes a ripple that will spread to all that are near me in body or thought.

If you want to see more of the dream catchers I have made they are on my Face Book pages:
 https://www.facebook.com/MalanaAshlie.author
 https://www.facebook.com/Gringos.n.Paradise?ref=hl