An amazing way to increase the amount of fermented foods in your diet. Also sauerkraut gives a good texture and a bit of a crush to the dish. Very colorful, nutritious and satisfying, this salad is a great quick lunch.
Sauerkraut literally means “sour cabbage”, the cabbage is shredded, salted and pressed to stay submerged in the brine to start the fermenting. Sauerkraut is probiotic and has more lactobacillus than yogurt. Probiotic is the good bacteria and yeasts that are beneficial for your digestive system. It is also one of the few plant sources of vitamin K2, which has been linked to heart health by preventing the accumulation of calcium deposits in the arteries.
Keep in mind when buying sauerkraut, that pasteurization kills the good bacteria that was developed during fermentation. Refrigerated varieties are less likely to be pasteurized. Also avoid products with preservatives or added sugar. Usually it is easier to find unpasteurized sauerkraut at health food stores.
The good news is that the pasteurization doesn’t eliminate (might reduce a bit) the vitamins and minerals. Analyzing the nutritional data of Sauerkraut from the USDA FoodData Central, it shows it is fairly nutritious.
Because of the acidic taste of the sauerkraut, I like to eat this salad just with olive oil, salt and pepper. But if you prefer something creamier, I added a super fast yogurt dressing (recipe below).
Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 0 mins | Total: 10 mins
Ingredients
Salad
2 generous cups of baby spinach
3 tbsp of sauerkraut
2 mini red peppers cut into small sticks
1 mandarin chopped
⅓ cup of cucumber chopped
2 tbsp of sunflower seeds
3 tsp of olive oil
Salt & black pepper to taste
Dressing
2 tbsp of yogurt
1 tbsp of mayonnaise
¼ tsp of oregano
Prep
In the serving plate, place the spinach forming one layer.
Spread the sauerkraut over the spinach, then sprinkle over the red bell pepper, the mandarin, chopped cucumber and the sunflower seeds.
Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper to taste.
If using the dressing instead, skip the olive oil and salt and pepper, whisk all the ingredients until a smooth dressing is formed. Topped over the salad and enjoy!