How to Make Probiotic-Rich Blueberry Jelly
Tara Carpenter, NC.
Nutrition Consultant helping people heal yeast, bacteria, and viral overgrowth/infection.
Originally published September 10, 2016.
I stopped eating blueberry jelly, even jelly that is 100% fruit and sugar-free, while healing a systemic yeast infection Invasive Candidiasis that caused me chronic bloating, skin issues, and fatigue. To help my body find balance, I followed Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.), a foundational system of therapeutic eating that avoids sugar.When blueberry season came around I did not want my loved ritual of picking berries and making jam disrupted by a chronic health condition. I was committed to healing myself so the answer to my very minor problem was easy …. when one door closes, another opens …. I turned my focus on transforming blueberry jelly into something I could eat while keeping on hitting the bullseye in my overall healing.
A batch of homemade blueberry jam ready to be cultured.
As a Nutritionist and Therapeutic Chef I get excited to adjust recipes and discover ways to make food when one must avoid certain ingredients for one reason or another, perhaps like in my case to not trigger uncomfortable health symptoms.
I find that a problem in the kitchen is a challenge worth tackling! I rolled up my sleeves, picked blueberries, made jam, then sat to wonder how to turn my blueberry jelly into a food I could eat while healing without repercussion. The last thing I wanted was to irritate my health symptoms and be backtracked by giving in to a passing “seasonal” craving.
I can pick berries all day!
That was the start of this recipe for bubbly, probiotic-rich blueberry jelly. I had already mastered unsalted cultured vegetables and young green coconut kefir so when I had the idea to add probiotic culture starter to a jar of jelly, I jumped into action. My aim was to culture a jar of blueberry jelly to get the sugar content down to nil. Similar to making milk kefir where lactose is consumed during the fermentation “pre-digestive” process (lactose converts to lactic acid and other simple sugars), I wanted to make blueberry jelly easier to digest and tolerable for people with sugar intolerance. I did a trial and was so easy to make! See recipe below.
Click (coming soon) for tricks to make probiotic bubbly jelly.
Bubbly Blueberry Jelly: Probiotic-Rich Recipe
Ingredients
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 1-cup Mason jar with food grade hydrogen peroxide or scald in hot water to kill bacteria and other pathogens.
- Mix ingredients together.
- Screw on lid.
- Let sit in warm spot for 2-3 days at 72-74°F degrees F.
- You will know that 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 (coming soon) to making and maintaining bubbly jelly.
My family loves this bubbly jelly by the spoonful in a bowl of creme fraiche with chia seeds and green powder or swirled in a bowl of young coconut pudding with sour apple and soaked almonds. How about you?
For those who practice food-combining or The Body Ecology Diet.
This recipe is best reserved for when you are well on your way in your healing, especially those on Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) or other strict healing diet. This way you will know signs to look for when your gut flora is in good shape (i.e., little/no discomfort or other symptoms in digestion).
The longer you kefir jelly, the less fruit sugar. In light of food combining, this recipe for probiotic-rich jelly is a fruit and combines best with soaked nuts/seeds, raw cheese, milk kefir, avocado if tolerate or other fats, and fruit, except melon which is always best eaten alone or with other melon.
Food combining is a simple practice that can EASILY keep gas/flatulence, bloating, and other uncomfortable digestive issues at bay. See my laminated food combining chart here that fits the side of most refrigerators.
May all bellies be happy!
A simple breakfast of pancakes with creme fraiche, bubbly blueberry jelly, and soaked sunflower seeds. Here’s the recipe for a pancake batter on a healing diet.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links for products I believe in and use on a regular basis. See more here. All content is for general information only, primarily educational in nature, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your primary health-care practitioner that you, the reader, may require for any cause whatsoever, now or in future. Please consult your primary practitioner regarding any health problem(s) you have and keep them informed to the opinions, ideas, and advice on this site that you find useful. Please email me at tara@happybellies.net for any questions or concerns that you have.
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