How to make and boost your Immune system with Kraut Juice or "Rasol"

Winter is the time when uncle Kasim makes his best Rasol. He proudly brings it on a table and with it's sparkling taste feels like  you are drinking the best champagne. This ancient drink is the remedy for many aliments and is full of vitamins C, E, K, B complex and enzymes. It contains many minerals like Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorous, Iron, Zinc and Magnesium. No many people knows that sauerkraut has 200 times more bioavailable vitamin C because the fermenting process makes the nutrients from the cabbage more digestible and available!
Our grandmas used to make it as a remedy for arthritis, loosing weight, cough, hangover, constipation and to cure stomach ulcers, intestinal inflammation and cancers.
Three cups of this drink a day for four weeks, can cure any aliment inside of your intestines and alkalize your body!!!
Today, I want to inspire you to make your own. It takes only about 15 days until the kraut is ready. It need to be made in Winter. When you are choosing the cabbage, look for a round one like a ball, my aunt Ferida suggest.
It is good to know that red cabbage has seven times more phitonutrients and Vitamin C, then white cabbage. To make it even more potent you can mix in your rasol or kraut  few grape leaves, few pieces of  apple and fennel, carrot, beetroots.
My auntie Ferida makes her kraut with a few whole cabbages. She takes their middle out, and put two table spoons of salt in it. On the end before she close the jar lid, she add water and cover it with the table cloth.
 Here is the simple but great way, you can try to do your own sauerkraut:


INGREDIENTS

1 large organic cabbage
6 tablespoons of salt
Filtered water

METHOD
Chop cabbage as finely as possible and add salt.
Use a food processor on fine grate or a mandolin if you don’t want to hand chop. The finer the cabbage the easier and quicker the cell walls will open and release their nutrients.
Pound if you feel the need or give the kraut a quick massage. I use 3 or 4 large glass jars and add about a third of the cabbage mix to the jars.
Fill the rest of the jar with filtered water, put the lid on and leave sit in a dark area for up to 8-15 days
Make sure you lids are on tight to avoid mould sneaking in.
You can strain if you want to but there is no rule saying you must do so.
Note
If you have severe histamine reactions allow to ferment for up to 16 weeks.
If you are following the GAPs protocol make sure you do exactly what is stated at each stage.
If you are not following a health protocol and simply want to introduce this to your diet, start out with half a teaspoon a day for children and up to a full teaspoon a day for adults. Build up to 30mil a day by the second week and continue to gauge how your body responds. I also encourage you to keep a health journal to record your reactions/responses.


There is also a great soup dish with kraut, in Dalmatian coast they call it 'Jota'. Winter is the best time to try it out:

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp oil 
• 1 large onion diced
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 carrots grated
• 4 chopped tomatoes
• 6 cups of veggie broth
• 4 russet potatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 4 tbsp soy milk
• 4 vegetarian sausages
• salt to taste
• sauerkraut a jar (690g)
• toffuti sour cream

Instructions

1. Saute onion, garlic, carrots and sauerkraut for 10 minutes.
2. add sausages, saute for another 5 to 10 min.
3. Pour in broth, chopped tomatoes and spices.
4. Add in the potatoes (whole) and bring to a boil.
5. Boil until the potatoes are soft. Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon and mash with the soy milk.
6. Add the potatoes back to the soup and salt to taste.
7. Top with a dollop of toffuti sour cream.

Im wishing you a happy and healthy Winter!

Julija

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