Vegan day 22: Rejuvelac fermented drink
Rejuv-a-what?
REJUVELAC
I’m into sprouting and super foods and I never even heard of it until a friend posted it on my Facebook page. Since it had to do with sprouting- I was all about it! I love sprouts and the process of sprouting. Sprouts are a “live” food loaded with nutrients which can energize and revitalize the body. I first learned about sprouting from my favorite guru of all times, Louise Hay, the writer of many books about positive thoughts and affirmations. This was a life altering book for me- and still is! I also have read about how to sprout many times and read through information from the Ann Wigmore Foundation. People can make all the jokes in the world about me and sprouting- I don’t care because I love it and it’s super healthy.
So what is rejuvelac? Even as I sit here drinking it, I am researching it!
It’s basically known as a “super drink”– it’s a fermented beverage made from sprouted grain, generally wheat or rye, with amazing benefits. Known benefits include:
- Aids digestion
- Builds “probiotic” intestinal flora
- Protects against foreign bacteria
- Produces and absorbs vitamins
- Improves skin health
- Assists elimination by moving and cleansing the bowels
- Provides vegetarians with a source of vitamin B12
- May reduce inflammation
RECIPE FOR REJUVELAC
You will need:
wheat berries– soft not the hards ones; other recipes use rye or kamut
sprouting glass jar like a mason jar
container for the actual rejuvelac– bigger than a mason jar
cheesecloth
purified water
blender
I think I did pretty well on my first shot! This is how I proceeded- mostly following the KARYN RAW VIDEO- (part 1 through 4).
I rinsed the wheat berries and then added them to a mason jar 1/2 full. Filled the jar with purified water to the top and put a mesh top on it. I left these to soak over night. [They say to soak for about 12 hours and then rinse and let sprout without water for 12 hours to a day.] I think I misunderstood this but none-the-less, I left my wheat berries to soak for 24 hours anyway– in this time, they soaked, used up all the water and began to sprout anyway. I suggest the 12 hour soak and then rinse out and leave to sit and sprout without the liquid for 12 hours to one day. I know, I made that confusing- watch the video! lol
Next, I rinsed the sprouted wheat berries, drained them and then added them to a blender. I added water into the blender past the wheat berry level by a couple of inches. I pulsed the blender for 5 to 10 seconds. This breaks up the sprouts a tiny bit to enhance fermentation. Next, I poured the wheat berries and liquid into a large container- covered the container with cheesecloth and a rubber band. I left this for 4 days – just stirring once or twice a day. Once finalized, I strained the liquid into a mason jar and kept in my refrigerator. With Karyn’s recipes, you can add ginger or mint leave.
RECAP
Soak the wheat berries 12 hours or overnight
Sprout the wheat berries 12 hours or over night (without the soak water)
Strain sprouting liquid into sink and add the sprouted wheat berries to blender with fresh water; pulse for 5-10 seconds
Put in a container to ferment for 4 days
Strain liquid into mason jar and refrigerate; (Apparently you can reuse the wheat berries to ferment more rejuvelac, feed the birds with it or add to your compost.)
This was interesting! Tastes fine to me but I’m sure it may take time to adjust for some people. They say the benefits are worth it!
