Sauerkraut? Ew

My transition to whole and natural foods has not been a fast one. As I have transitioned, I have carried my family with me, sometimes at gun point (figuratively speaking of course). I didn't start our journey by adding new and strange food, but by cutting out processed and refined food. Six years later, I have lost 60lbs., never had those surgeries the doctors said I needed, nor did I take the statin drugs prescribed to me. So, it's been worth it.

Recently, I successfully started slipping liver into meals. I think the first time it was meatloaf. I could taste it and I anguished as I served it up. There was a stack of empty plates before I even had time to make the announcement of the hidden super-food. Score Mom!

So, I started thinking a few weeks ago about sauerkraut. I have tried it a couple times because I hear all the time, it too, along with liver is a super-food. I need to confess how much I really hate it. Every time I have tried it, I can only come up with one profound word: Ew. Really, really, EW. I am not a lightweight when it comes to undesirable tasting food. I can stomach many things like Barley Green drinks, apple cider vinegar, powdered fiber supplements and liver. But when that sauerkraut hits my mouth, I freeze. I can't chew it. I can't swallow it. I am helpless. Maybe I could do it if I didn't have to chew it.

So why in the world while shopping at Whole Foods yesterday I put that jar, a big jar, of Bubbie's sauerkraut in my grocery cart? "Well, because it's a super-food. I know its time to get passed the Ew-Factor and add this to my family's diet. It's perfect timing because we are on a sugar fast and weird things taste sweet during these times. They'll think it's sweet, right?"At that moment, I was supermom with a super-food. I was optimistic and full of faith. We can do this!

Sauerkraut is a traditional sacred food used throughout many cultures. Fermented foods are packed with easily digested nutrients. When traditionally fermented (not just by adding vinegar), sauerkraut has beneficial bacteria (aka probiotics) that boost your immune system, reduce those nasty sugar cravings, contribute to the healing of your intestinal lining and benefits your digestion. How can I continue to say no to such a thing? I can't. I won't. We can do this!

Dinner time arrives and I am happily chopping up some spinach and cucumbers for our salad. My mind wandered to the jar of Bubbie's carefully tucked behind a few items in the refrigerator. That's when I lost my super-mom powers for a brief moment. "Should I? Shouldn't I? I know they are going to hate it. They will taste it right away and then all this chopping for nothing. But, it is a super-food. It's time. We can do this!"

Once sufficiently back in Mommy-confidence mode, I grabbed the jar and chopped about 2 tablespoons of the sauerkraut into bits."The smaller they are the less likely they will taste it right? Am I going to have a revolt on my hands? I have got remain calm or they will be suspicious."

Adding the olive oil to the mystery ingredient salad.

I tossed the bits into the salad I had made and mixed it in. "I can only see it because I know it's there, right?" I gave myself another "Remain Calm" pep talk. But then it happened...

I panicked. As I poured the olive oil over the salad, I gave the salad a nibble. "EW. It's there. It's obviously there" and in went about 8 drops of liquid stevia. I couldn't help myself, it was just so "EW". It's too late to change it now. I tossed some fresh cherry tomatoes on top of each salad hoping to hide it further. And the plates went out.

Oh the stress a mom endures. "I'm not doing this to make them miserable. I am not purposely trying to torture them. I'm doing this because I love them. What are they going to do to me? Should I get in Too-Bad-For-You-Eat-It-Anyway mode, or should I have mercy due to the EW-Factor?"

My thirteen year old is the only one that commented on the salad, "What's in the salad Mom?"

"Oh darn, I'm busted. There it goes, the revolt is starting. What do I say? Do I confess my sins? I should have listened to myself and not attempted this! Its over." "Good healthy stuff," I confidently replied. Cringe and wait.

"Oh, I just think it tastes really sweet, I thought you put sugar in it."

Long...deep...breath. "No, I did add a little stevia to it."

And that was it. No revolt. No stoning. No drama (except in my head). There were happy faces and everyone moving on as if nothing had happened. I decided not to tell them, and even now as I type this, they don't know and neither does my husband. I don't want them to be on to me for the next time. Score again Mom! I've still got my Mommy-powers!

I hope (and desperately pray) that sauerkraut can be something we add to our diets on a regular basis. Who knows, maybe one day I will spoon it out of a jar of my own homemade sauerkraut directly onto each plate for all to see and enjoy....too much to ask, perhaps? We shall see.