Purple Potion: Unsalted Cultured Vegetable Recipe
Tara Carpenter, NC.
Holistic nutritional guidance and support (and meal plans!) for healing yeast, bacterial, and viral infections with The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.).
Unsalted cultured vegetables, lovingly known as cv’s, are made with raw vegetables and culture starter. What you get is a slightly sour product that is rich in probiotics, enzymes, and vitamins.
This sweet ‘n sour combo is for kids of all ages, especially those on The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D) healing a yeast, bacterial, and/or viral infection. I wanted something fizzy with bright color and this is what I came up with …. Purple Potion.
I only eat unsalted cultured vegetables if they are Purple Potion, because I like them and they are purple ~T.R. Cabot, VT. (age 10)
Most everyone loves this recipe. If you don’t like beets, try garden blend 🙂 Not convinced of the benefits of unsalted, probiotic food? Check out benefits here. Beets are not typically allowed on a candida cleansing diet like B.E.D., because they contain a lot of natural sugars, yet culturing them as this recipe does makes beets a fine food for most bodies because the live probiotics in the culture starter eat the beet sugar and transform this once sweet food into a sour, probiotic one with all the liver and blood cleansing properties that beets contain.
I just opened a jar and heard a beautiful symphony of bubbles.
~K.L. Carmel, CA
My youngest is in the photo above and started eating “cv’s” at every meal when he was 2 years old, even the cabbage logs! Stuffs the entire thing in his mouth 🙂 My oldest is more reserved, yet if it’s Purple Potion on the table, then he is all the more likely to eat them.
“Purple Potion” Recipe
Yields: 6 Quart-sized jars give or take
Ingredients
1 packet vegetable starter culture*
1/4 cup warm filtered water
½ tsp EcoBloom** (or Rapadura, sucanat etc.)
7 1/2 – 8 lb green cabbage (reserve 12 oz. large outer leaves!!)
2 lb beets
1/2 lb green apples
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
3-4 cups filtered water, depending on how dry the veggies are
Equipment
Food Processor
Blender (optional)
Large Stainless Steel or Glass Bowls
6 Quart-Sized Mason Jars
Wide Mouth Funnel
Good Knife
Method
- Dissolve starter and EcoBloom in ¼ c. warm water, 90 degrees F.
- Allow to sit on counter for 20 minutes.
- Clean and chop veggies and apples into pieces that fit into your food processor.
- Shred with a medium bladed grater (not fine shred!).
- Remove 1/3rd of mixture and blend in a food processor or blender (may need to do this in 2 batches, depending on size of blender).
- Blend with enough of the allotted 3-4 cups of filtered water until consistency of thick juice.
- Place into a big, clean bowl with culture starter mixture, rest of the grated vegetables, and lemon.
- Mix with two big spoons, or clean hands.
- Pack tight in jars with potato masher or fist to force out air pockets.
- Fill jars, allowing liquid to cover the vegetables with about 1 1/2-inches head space.
- Roll reserved cabbage leaves into tight logs, put on top of vegetables (push down so liquid just covers “logs”) – add more brine if needed) – leave 1-inch at top for expansion.
- Screw lid on tightly.
- Culture 3-10 days, at 70-72 degrees F in dark spot (Oven Incubator Kit keeps temperature constant).
- Enjoy up to ½ cup with meals.
- Store in fridge.
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Tips & Tricks
- Scald equipment or wash in hot, soapy water OR spray everything with food-grade hydrogen peroxide and dry off with paper towels.
- CV’s continue to ferment at slow pace in fridge and keeps for weeks, even months, becoming softer and delicious like fine wine.
- Ready for variety? Try beginner’s recipe Garden Blend.
- Go slow! CV’s are rich in enzymes and probiotics, so ease into this strong food. Once used to extra gut activity, slowly up dose. Donna Gates of B.E.D, suggests therapeutic dose (1/2 cup) with meal.
- Enjoy on own or toss in salad or roll in deli meat or eat with dollop of mayo.
I love how I feel when I eat them. ~P.T. Hartford, CT (age 13)
*Body Ecology’s culture starter makes potent cv’s. It contains Lb. Plantarum, a strong probiotic strain. Most probiotics get destroyed by antibiotics, fluoride, stomach acid, and chlorinated water before they reach your intestines. Which is where they live. Yet, these guys (Lb. Plantarum) get there safe and sound.
**Body Ecology’s Ecobloom is 100% natural powder chicory extract FrutaFit, Inulin (FOS – fructooligosaccharides). This prebiotic is a quick food for the probiotics. Like the ones in that culture starter packet you’re using. When you add Ecobloom you provide something for the little guys to munch on while they’re adjusting and growing in #’s in the jar.
Pumpkin Seed Butter
Young Green Coconut Kefir
Nutritional Consultations
References
Gates, D. (2010). The Body Ecology Diet. Bogart, GA: B.E.D. Publications
May all bellies be happy!
