Probiotic-Rich Bubbly Blueberry Jelly

Tara Carpenter, NC.

Nutrition Consultant for people regaining microbiome after yeast, bacterial, viral infections and healing with The Body Ecology Diet.

Originally published on September 10, 2016.

Early to mid-August is blueberry season here in Vermont and we generally pick an average of four gallons per summer before our teeth hurt from the mere thought of eating one more blueberry; I am left to freeze the rest carefully in single layer fashion on cookie trays lined with parchment paper. Then I double-bag these loose, frozen berries in quart-sized Ziploc freezer bags and place them as far back in our freezer to stay until when snow hits the ground and the kids begin asking for Vitamin C-rich food 🙂

I blend a spoonful of this jelly with milk kefir to make popsicles for the kids!

The mushiest of berries are used to make fruit leather in the dehydrator and of course in this bubbly jelly recipe below. I like to puree some of with chia/flax seeds that get poured into ice cube trays to freeze before placing them in the freezer for an easy to grab start for smoothies. I also make a probiotic sauce with the cubes by bringing them to room temperature and culturing them a few hours with a probiotic starter – wonderful over young green coconut pudding with sprouted pumpkin seeds. The best of our berries go whole as they are into jello and almond crust tarts.

I stopped eating regular, store-bought jelly in 2010 while healing a systemic yeast infection with Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.); a gut healing protocol that avoids sugar, including all fruit sugar, so I had to get creative! Most jelly contains fruit sugar (a.k.a. fructose), which is a perfect food that can feed excessive pathogenic organisms in our body – left to their own devices, these little critters can quickly get out of hand and grow in populations that can contribute, if not cause chronic health issues or repeated flare-ups. Removing jelly (unless you culture first with friendly flora as we do here) and other sugar forms can starve out these pathogenic bacteria, yeast, and viruses — essentially called die-off — to support the body to be the self-healing organism it is designed to be.

Three types of sweeteners that do not influence blood sugar and are safe for people with gut issues or diabetes are lakanto, ecobloom, and stevia. A few months into my time healing on stage 1 of Body Ecology Diet I attempted to kefir a jar of homemade blueberry jelly in order to get the sugar content down to nil. I had a lot of experience using probiotic starters in other foods and felt ready for this venture! I did a trial and YES super easy, probiotic-rich recipe below. Click here for tips on making bubbly jelly.

The main thing to keep in mind is you will want/need to have a juice kefir or young coconut kefir going actively to make this ….

Probiotic-Rich Bubbly Jelly

Makes: As much as you want!

Ingredients

1 (8oz) jar of organic, sugar-free blueberry jelly (strawberry is lovely too)

1 1/2 Tbsp young coconut kefir (homemade or store-bought)

Method

Clean a one cup Mason jar until squeaky clean. I use food grade hydrogen peroxide to do this or scald in very hot water to kill any bacteria lingering.
Mix the ingredients together.
Screw on lid.
Let sit in a warm spot for 2-3 days at 72-74°F degrees F (we sell oven kits to maintain consistent temperatures).
The probiotics have done their magic when bubbles rise up the sides of the jar and lid becomes pressurized.
Store in fridge and eat within a week.
Check out tips & tricks to maintain a bubbly jelly.

For those on Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) or food combining…

This recipe is best reserved for the later stage of healing on B.E.D. stage 2 or another kind of healing diet until you know that your gut flora is in good shape (i.e., little to no discomfort or other symptoms in that area of your body). The longer you kefir jelly, the less fruit sugar will be in there. In light of food combining, probiotic jelly is a fruit and best combines with soaked nuts, seeds, cheese, avocado or other fats, and fruit.

Food combining is a simple practice that can EASILY keep gas/flatulence, bloating, and other uncomfortable digestive issues at bay. My husband and I have a laminated food combining chart here to purchase that fits the side of most fridges or we have one that can be downloaded on a phone/tablet for ease of convenience.

A simple breakfast of flax crackers with cultured butter and bubbly apricot jelly.

I love this bubbly jelly by the spoonful in a bowl of milk kefir with chia seeds and green powder or swirled into bowl of young coconut pudding with grated sour apple and soaked almonds. How about you?