Probiotic Paradise: A Creamy Kefir Ranch Dressing
A Deliciously Healing Twist on a Your Favorite Classic Condiment
Hello Beautiful Humans!!
I’m super pumped to share this recipe with you all… it’s the perfect mix of health & satisfaction heheh
Let’s jump right in!!
GUT HEALING RANCH DRESSING 🥛🧄🌿
Ingredients:
1 cup raw/grass-fed kefir
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
1 tbsp fresh or dried dill
1 tbsp fresh parsley
½ tbsp chives
1 tsp minced garlic… or more if you like garlic
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper
Spice it up with…
Avocado 🥑
Jalapeño 🌶️
Lemon juice 🍋
Olive oil
Hot sauce or cayenne pepper 🔥
BENEFITS OF KEFIR: (there’s a lot, so get ready)
Kefir is an AMAZING gut healing food… loaded with probiotics which are beneficial strains of bacteria and yeast that help maintain a healthy balance in the gut microbiome. Why is a balanced microbiome key for overall health??
🦠Digestion: Beneficial gut bacteria help break down food, aiding in the digestion and absorption of nutrients.
🤧Immune function: The gut microbiome interacts closely with the immune system, helping to train and regulate our immune responses. A balanced microbiome can support a robust immune system, while dysbiosis (imbalance of gut bacteria) may lead to immune dysfunction and increased susceptibility to infections and autoimmune conditions.
🧠Mental health: The gut-brain axis connects the gut and the brain (if you couldn’t tell from the name lol) and the microbiome plays a significant role in this communication… gut bacteria produce neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and GABA, which are involved in regulating mood, cognition, and behavior. Imbalances (from a loss in diversity due to inflammation, age, chronic stress, overuse of antibiotics, etc.) have been linked to conditions like depression, anxiety, and stress. There are many parts to how an imbalanced microbiome can affect mental health (through neurotransmitter production, immune modulation, vagus nerve signaling, short-chain fatty acid production, & neuroendocrine signaling)… but understanding our gut has a massive influence on how we mentally feel, may influence how you start feeding your body.
🙅♀️Protection against pathogens: Beneficial bacteria in the gut can help prevent the overgrowth of harmful pathogens by competing for resources and producing antimicrobial substances.
Kefir helps restore these bacterial imbalances and create a more resilient microbiome to fight off any disturbances and better perform its functions.
👉🏻 Kefir also contains many vitamins & minerals like vitamin B12 & folate, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus (these play a vital role in energy metabolism, bone health, and immune function. Kefir also contains enzymes which are needed to help breakdown fats, carbs, and proteins into smaller molecules that can be easily absorbed into the body. This can help alleviate digestive discomfort such as bloating & gas.
👉🏻 Kefir is also known to have anti-inflammatory properties (from components like peptides and polysaccharides). By helping reduce inflammation in the gut, kefir can help with symptoms focused around inflammation like IBS and IBD.
👉🏻 And last, but certainly not least… kefir can help strengthen the intestinal barriers (which play a crucial role in stopping pathogens and macromolecules from entering the bloodstream). Kefir can help promote the production of mucins (protective proteins) & enhance the tight junctions between intestinal epithelial cells. A stronger intestinal barrier reduces the risk of leaky gut syndrome.
SO… now that you know all the benefits, think you’ll give this a try?? I used mine to dip in our homemade cast iron pizza (a weekly tradition 😉)
What sauce should I try next??
