Probiotics Rich Food without Dairy

Probiotics Rich Food – We’ve all heard about the importance of probiotics. They’re essential in maintaining a healthy and diverse gut microbiome, and can be sourced in multiple ways! Here at Clean Cuisine, we make it a point to regularly include probiotic rich foods in our diets on a daily basis. Of course we keep limit these foods to only dairy-free sources for an anti-inflammatory, healing approach!

Want to learn where we’re getting all of these probiotics rich food? Keep reading!

- Table of Contents -

1. What are Probiotics?
2. The Benefits of Probiotics
3. Probiotics Rich Food
4. Luvele Yogurt Maker
5. Easy Ways to Add in More Probiotics Rich Food

View more

What are Probiotics?

Before we jump into how to get more probiotics into your diet, we should probably explore exactly what probiotics are! Probiotics are made up of live bacteria and yeast (the good kind) that help to balance your gut, and maintain a healthy microbiome. There are many factors that may throw our gut bacteria out of balance (such as antibiotics, alcohol, poor dietary choices, lack of sleep, etc.), and probiotics help to combat this.

Probiotics are available in supplement form (consult your doctor on which probiotic supplement may be best for you), as well as through our diet. While you definitely should be intentional about getting extra probiotics into your diet, there’s a good chance you are already consuming at least a small amount in your diet! We’ll elaborate on how to intentionally add more probiotics into your diet later on.

The Benefits of Probiotics

Now since you know what probiotics are, let’s get a little further into the details of exactly why you should add more probiotics into your diet. While some of these may be obvious, you might not know just how much good gut health can benefit the rest of your body! Probiotics are…

• Incredibly Helpful for Digestion: Probiotics are essential for a healthy gut microbiome in general, but additionally, in nutrient absorption! In turn, probiotics are beneficial in processing the foods our body uses for fuel.
• Great for the Liver, and Detoxifying: Probiotics have been studied to aid in proper liver function, and detox toxins out of your body. This good bacteria filter toxins in the gut before they make it into the bloodstream. The presence of probiotics makes transferring the toxic waste in your colon much quicker. In turn, it prevents toxins from staying in your body, and helps to prevent reabsorption in your bloodstream.
• Beneficial for your Skin: Your skin is a mirror to the inside of your body. If you are prone to skin issues, an unhealthy gut will likely present in the form of acne, or other skin conditions. Better gut health equals better skin health!

Probiotics Rich Food

Probiotics rich food is often associated with dairy-based products. Here are Clean Cuisine, we strongly believe that dairy does not do the body any good. For us, the risks far outweigh any potential benefit we may receive from consuming it. Furthermore, dairy based foods such as yogurt and kefir are not the best choice of probiotics from a stability or bioavailability standpoint anyways. Besides, there are tons of great dairy alternatives and probiotics rich food out there totally dairy-free! There’s simply no need for it with such a variety of less risky, dairy-free options.

So no, you don’t need to down pounds of yogurt per day to get in your probiotics. Here are some of our favorite dairy-free probiotics rich food to enjoy on a regular basis. This will help increase your daily probiotics intake!

Coconut Yogurt

If you enjoy yogurt, but don’t love the effects of dairy, we have a solution! Coconut yogurt is a delicious dairy alternative, and can easily be homemade, or bought in stores! GT’s offers an excellent, clean, gum and refined sugar-free probiotic-rich yogurt. This can be found in health food stores, as does Coyo, and Lavva!

Want to take a few extra minutes to make it at home? Our Recipe for Homemade Yogurt with Coconut Cream is quick, easy, and can always be found in our fridge!

Kombucha

Kombucha is a probiotic-rich, tart drink made from fermented tea that has been all the craze the past few years! Bubbly, refreshing, and full of probiotics and health benefits, this drink is the perfect replacement for soda, or alcohol. It is also a great source of antioxidants and B vitamins.

While most commercial kombucha is “non-alcoholic” (unless otherwise stated on the bottle), it does still contain a small amount of alcohol from the fermentation, + a slight flavor of alcohol as well. This makes it the perfect alcohol replacement!

Our favorite brand of kombucha is GT’s brand for purity, ingredient transparency, and a large flavor selection!

Pickled Veggies

Pickled veggies are a great way to pack in your probiotics! They’re also great for satisfying that salty/savory craving when it hits. Pickled carrots, beets, and cucumbers are rich in pro­biotics and very tasty. However, it is important to find or make pickled veggies without vinegar, as those with vinegar do not contain live probiotics.

Want to learn how to pickle from home? It’s easy and requires few ingredients.

Water Kefir

Kefir is one of those probiotic-rich foods, traditionally made with dairy. However, water kefir is a great alternative to dairy-filled kefir, and is another refreshing, tangy drink! GT’s offers a great water kefir that can be found in many health food stores, and can also easily be made from scratch.

Kimchi

Kimchi is a slightly spicy and tangy dish of fermented veggies, including cabbage, radishes, carrots, and more! It’s a great side dish, and even delicious when spread on sandwiches, or used to top salads. There are many great brands of kimchi that you can find in health food stores in the refrigerator isle (I love the Wildbrine brand), or you can whip one up at home pretty easily as well!

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage, and a great source of probiotics! This is also delicious on sandwiches, in nourish bowls, or as a side dish! Sauerkraut is incredibly easy to make from home, and can require as few as 3 ingredients! A seriously easy, and delicious way to get in loads of probiotics through food!

Easy Ways to Add in More Probiotics Rich Food

Now since you’re know all of our favorite probiotics rich food to enjoy, I will leave you with some easy ways to add them into your diet on a daily basis!

Add Coconut Yogurt into your Smoothie: If you enjoy a daily smoothie like we do, it’s easy to add a tablespoon or two of coconut yogurt into your drink! Not only will this add extra health benefits to your smoothie, it will add a delicious, tart flavor as well. Health benefits or not, I always prefer the flavor of yogurt in my smoothies!

Water Kefir Popsicles: Want to get the kids in on more probiotics as well? These Water Kefir Popsicles are a treat everyone will love! They also only require two ingredients, so they’re easy peasy.

Add Pickled Veggies, Kimchi, or Sauerkraut to Meals: Enjoy any of these fermented treats as side dishes to your meal, or enjoy on top of a salad! We particularly love adding pickled veggies to our Burger Bowl Salad.

I hope this article helped to explain the importance of probiotics, and made the process of adding them into your diet a breeze! Remember, much of our health revolves around the state of our gut. Because of this, it is vital to give it extra love and attention on your clean eating journey!