By now, it is common knowledge that the Western diet significantly neglects fermented foods and foods considered probiotics. Fermented drinks, such as kombucha and kefir, can offer a probiotic boost and might help with overall health. Yogurt, also a fermented product, might also have some probiotic benefits relating to microbiota.

I do not think it is too controversial of a claim to make that drinking and consuming these drinks and foods might be a probiotic boost.

Therefore, I share with you today what I call a Probiotic Boost Smoothie, which contains three fermented products, namely, fermented pineapple (similar to tepache), fermented ginger (similar to ginger beer or bug), and yoghurt.

At first, the combination might sound strange. But I assure you it is really something special. When my girlfriend and I took the first sips, we were blown away. Since making it the first time, I have been making it almost every day now.

Word of caution: Wild-fermented products are of course inherently dangerous because you never really know what bacteria and yeast will grow. But with enough practical experience, the help of others and your own taste and smell, you can easily identify when a batch has gone bad. So use your own discretion and trust your senses. That said, proceed with caution when fermenting food, with all of the health claims, you can get sick if you do not know what you are doing.

With that said, please follow along with me as I show you how I make this fermented smoothie!

Ingredients/Recipe

This recipe will yield about 500ml, depending on the size of your fruits. It is thus perfect for two medium size helpings. I used the following ingredients:

• 1/2 a cup of pineapple,
• one whole apple,
• 50ml fermented ginger drink,
• 50ml fermented pineapple drink,
• 1 teaspoon of fermented ginger pieces,
• 1/2 a cup of coconut yoghurt, and
• a few ice cubes.

Fermented Pineapple and Ginger

I have been experimenting with various fermented drinks over the years. For this recipe and in the last couple of months, I have been making something similar to tepache (fermented pineapple) and a ginger bug or beer.

Making wild-fermented drinks is really simple. Tepache and ginger beer are two of the most famous wild-fermented drinks you can make. It is as easy as throwing some sugar in with either pineapple skins or pieces of ginger. Some people and recipe calls for a lot of sugar, but I tend to add a lot less. Experimentation is key here to see what end product you like.

For the pineapple drink, I usually add a couple of teaspoons of sugar with one or two pineapples' skins. I leave it for a couple of days until I see it fizz up and smell distinctively sweet and pineapple-ly. This is a one time drink and I restart every time.

For the ginger drink, I usually use a 1 to 1 ratio of sugar and ginger to establish it. From then on, I feed it as I use it with a couple of teaspoons of sugar and fresh ginger. I do not restart the ginger bug, I merely feed it every now and again, using it like a sourdough starter.

Making the smoothie: Method and Process

Making smoothies is really simple. You just need a blender of any sort. Throw everything into it and press the button essentially.

Included in the smoothie, are a couple of pieces of fermented ginger. It is crazy how well pineapple, coconut and ginger go. At first, it might sound odd, but the subtle flavour of the fermented ginger is just enough to not be overpowering.

It would have been ideal if I could use my own homemade yoghurt. But I need to begin anew with that project; I just have not found the time yet. And with the high price of milk and yoghurt in my country, it is sometimes better to just buy it from the store.

So I use a couple of tablespoons or 1/2 a cup of coconut yoghurt in this recipe.

The blender tends to heat up the mixture quite a bit with the friction it creates. It is thus essential to add some ice cubes into the mix to chill the drink again. Plus, it helps to add some moisture to the smoothie without making it too watery when you add just water to it.

I then just add the remainder of the fruits I am using. In this case, I added just pineapple and a Granny Smith apple. In the past, I also added some berries which adds another depth of flavour. You can obviously experiment with different flavours! And then just blend everything together until the consistency you prefer.

A Probiotic Boost

And there you have it. Your probiotic fermented smoothie. It is really that simple to make it. It is really delicious and you should totally give it a try. It will add to your gut health for sure. Even if only the added fibre, which acts as a prebiotic for your existing microbiota.

When you scan the literature on gut health and what foods to eat, there is a clear split between those who state that probiotics/fermented foods are key to a healthy microbiota. Others say rather it is prebiotics/fibre which is key to a healthy microbiota. Most of these studies end with the following humble albeit extremely frustrating sentence:

"The high dose of yogurt appeared to slightly increase microbial diversity in some individuals. However, more research is needed to determine if dietary yogurt intake could have an effect on GI microbial community structure and diversity."

Most of these studies end on that note, there is some correlation but we cannot yet conclusively say so, more studies are needed. I understand why they do it, and it is better than making false claims. But intuitively we know that most "healthy" indeed promote health in general, even if only psychological health.

So this drink helps with fibre and probiotics. I tried some calculators online, and in the 500ml of this smoothie, there are about 8 grams of fibre. I do not think that is too bad.

In any case, I hope you will make this smoothie for you, even if only to try out some fermented products! It is really that simple even though it takes some time to prepare everything. The process is really fun!

For now, happy cooking and stay safe!

The recipe is my own creation. The musings and writings in this post are also my own, unless stated otherwise or hyperlinked. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D3200.