26 Feb Christine Waltermyer’s Gut-Boosting Homemade Pickles – 3 Ways!

Gut-Boosting Homemade Pickles

with Christine Waltermyer

Christine Waltermyer is a local and renowned Wellness Chef, private chef to celebrities, published cookbook author and founder of the Natural Kitchen Cooking School, which offers an online Plant-Based Cooking Program. She also loves shopping at Basil Bandwagon! Visit naturalkitchenschool.com to subscribe to her email newsletter for new recipes, tips, and FREE access to the Power of Veggies mini-course!

Did you know that gut health is essential for a strong immune system? Some of the best gut health boosting foods are those that are fermented and pickled! There are many health benefits of pickling, but the most talked about benefit is the fact that they are probiotic – and you can pickle so many different vegetables to change up your flavor profiles. Check out (& print!) these three simple homemade pickle recipes thanks to Christine Waltermyer!

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24-Hour Mixed Vegetable Tamari Pickles

Course Snack

Keyword gut health, pickles

Servings 1 cup of pickles

Equipment

• Wide-mouth 16 oz glass canning jar with a lid (Make sure it’s really clean. You can even boil it for a minute to sterilize it.)
• 8 oz glass canning jar that fits inside the 16-ounce glass jar
• Cheesecloth
• Small pot

Ingredients

• ½ cup water
• 2 ½ tablespoons tamari
• 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
• ½ cup broccoli stems (peeled) sliced into thin rounds
• ½ cup carrot slices (thin)
• ½ cup thinly sliced celery
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Instructions

• Place the water in a small pot. Bring to a boil briefly, then shut off the heat and remove from the stove. Set aside to cool.
• Once the water is cool, place it in the glass canning har. To make the pickling brine, add the tamari and brown rice vinegar. Place the lid on the har and shake well. Pour the pickling brine into a bowl.
• Layer the vegetables in the glass jar. Pour the pickling brine over them. Place the smaller jar on top of the vegetables, inside the jar. The weight of the har will press the vegetables under the surface of the brine.
• Cover the jar with a square of cheesecloth and secure it in place with a piece of kitchen twine or a rubber band.
• Let the jar sit at room temperature for 24 hours. The room should be between 65 to 80 degrees F.
• After 24 hours have passed, add the maple syrup. Place a lid on the jar and gently shake to mix the maple syrup into the brine. Refrigerate the pickles at this point. Enjoy a teaspoon or so at a time with a meal. Pickles will keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

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24-Hour Pink Fennel Pickles

Course Snack

Keyword gut health, pickles

Servings 3 /4 cup of pickles

Equipment

• 16 oz glass canning jar with a lid (Make sure it’s really clean. You can even boil it for a minute to sterilize it.)
• 8 oz glass canning jar
• Cheesecloth
• Small pot

Ingredients

• ¾ cup water
• ¾ cup fennel thinly sliced
• ¼ beet thinly sliced
• ¼ cup ume ("umeboshi") vinegar

Instructions

• Place the water in a small pot. Bring to a boil briefly, then shut off the heat and remove from the stove. Set aside to cool.
• Once the water is cool, place it in the glass canning jar. To make the pickling brine, add the ume vinegar. Place the lid on the jar and shake well. Pour the pickling brine into a bowl.
• Layer the vegetables in the glass jar. Pour the pickling brine over them. Place the smaller jar on top of the vegetables, inside the har. The weight of the har will press the vegetables under the surface of the brine. If the liquid is too high in the har, you can remove it as long as all of the vegetables are submerged under the brine liquid.
• Cover the har with a square of cheesecloth and secure it in place with a piece of kitchen twine or a rubber band.
• Let the jar sit at room temperature for 24 hours. The room should be between 65 to 80 degrees F.
• After 24 hours have passed, place a lid on the jar. Refrigerate the pickles at this point. Enjoy a teaspoon or so at a time with a meal. If you find the pickles too strong tasting, rinse a small amount before serving them. Pickles will keep up to 10 days in the refrigerator.

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3-Day Radish Pickles

Course Snack

Keyword gut health, pickles

Servings 1 1/2 cups of pickles

Equipment

• 32-ounce glass canning jar with a lid (Make sure it’s really clean. You can even boil it for a minute to sterilize it.)
• Small pot

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups thinly sliced radishes (I used purple daikon radish and watermelon radish but red radish works too)
• 1 ½ tablespoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon pickling spice OPTIONAL – In the video I used 1 tablespoon but it’s a little strong tasting so I recommend using less for most people’s taste.

Instructions

• Place the water in a small pot. Bring to a boil briefly, then shut off the heat and remove from the stove. Set aside to cool.
• Once the water is cool, place it in the glass canning jar. To make the pickling brine, add the sea salt and pickling spice. Place the lid on the jar and shake well. Pour the pickling brine into a bowl.
• Layer the vegetables in the glass jar. Pour the pickling brine over them. Make sure that all of the vegetables are submerged under the brine liquid.
• Cover the jar with the lid.
• Let the jar sit at room temperature for 3 days. The room should be between 65 to 80 degrees F.

  IMPORTANT: Unscrew the lid of the jar once a day to release some of the air that naturally builds up inside. At that time make sure the veggies are all submerged and if not, gently push them down under the liquid.
• Taste after 3 days and if you want to let it ferment longer it should become more sour in another day or two. These pickles are salty so I recommend rinsing the pickles before serving. If you want to balance the flavor with some sweetness just add a tablespoon or two of your favorite sweetener and it will make them a little more mild tasting. Pickles will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Thank you to Christine Waltermyer and the Natural Kitchen Cooking School for working with us to help promote healthy, nutritious meals and products that are affordable, full of nutrients, and simple to make at home!