With my Eastern-European roots I’m supposed to know all about sauerkraut.

Erm, not the case… It’s always just been there. Homemade or shop-bought, they used to sell sell sauerkraut and gherkins from the massive wooden barrels 🙂  Mainly used wintertime in the absence of fresh veg for “VINEGRET” (Russian/Ukrainian vinaigrette salad) a beetroot / sauerkraut / potato / gherkin mix with sunflower oil, or eaten with oil and a sprinkling of sugar on top.

I didn’t know about it’s health benefits and never thought it to be one of the superfoods.

After studying nutrition and stomach issues that demand consideration in my food choices, I now have a much better understanding and appreciation of all things fermented 🙂

Most importantly sauerkraut helped sort my stomach acidity, respect!

Main benefits are below

• Gut health. As cabbage ferments to produce sauerkraut, it produces a diverse population of live bacteria. These probiotics replenish the good bacteria in your gut and help inhibit the growth of bad bacteria, they also help boost your immune system.
• Vitamins. Sauerkraut is high in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, and various B vitamins. One cup of sauerkraut contains 35 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C and 23 percent of vitamin K.
• Energy. Sauerkraut supplies 12% of your recommended daily iron allowance. The form of iron in plants is not efficiently absorbed, but vitamin C significantly improves the amount taken into your system. Sauerkraut has vitamin C and it also contains lactic acid, which further enhances iron absorption, overall boosting your energy levels.
• Fiber. The soluble fiber in cabbage binds with fats and cholesterol and carries them out of your body. This means less cholesterol is absorbed into your bloodstream. A 1-cup serving of sauerkraut contains 4 grams of fiber, or 16 percent of women’s and 11 percent of men’s daily intake.
  

Couple of things to remember:

Heat kills live bacteria, if you cook sauerkraut or buy it pasteurized, you won’t benefit from probiotics. Look for fresh sauerkraut or brands that add live bacteria back to the product after pasteurization.

Since it’s fermented with salt, sauerkraut is high in sodium, but like anything in food – keep it balance, don’t go extreme 🙂

Sauerkraut is for life, not just for hot dogs!

PS. “vinegret” recipe has beans, I’m pretty sure we used petit pois in our version.

PPS. And here are useful articles from ORGANICFACTS and LIVESTRONG.