1. Tell us a little bit about yourself; Peace, Love & Vegetables and how it came to fruition.
At our core, PLV is all about health and providing life-giving and healing foods and drinks that taste amazing. When I met my wife Anya we did not muck around and by the next day we were already talking about starting a life together and part of that conversation was what are we going to do? At the time I was working on a natural supplement website and she was already making sauerkraut for a handful of dedicated customers. So we decided to go with the ferments because of the incredible importance that probiotics can offer to people’s wellbeing in this modern world. 9 years, 2 beautiful girls, and a lot of ups and downs later we are still here stronger, happier and better than ever. We live and breathe the organic/natural lifestyle and love the idea that we are contributing positively to the planet and people’s health.
2. What fuels your passion for fermented foods?
Originally my wife Anya had candida and was following the Body Ecology Diet which focussed on fermented foods but now Anya is a full-time mum and my drive is largely using the knowledge that I am constantly procuring about what is healthy for us and applying that knowledge to better our current line of products and developing new ones. We are constantly tweaking and working out ways to make our products healthier and that is our philosophy, a very strong foundation in health and that happiness comes from within.
3. This month we are focusing on gut health, what are the benefits of eating fermented foods for your gut health and overall wellbeing?
There are many benefits, from the lactic acid, enzymes, increased nutrient absorption and of course the probiotics. But not all ferments are created equal. We do something very unique where we use ancient fermentation practices; where we grow the friendly microbes that are already present on cabbage but I have also researched and sourced the most positively studied strains for gut health and wellbeing. This is our point of difference and why I believe at this point PLV makes the healthiest fermented products in the world, these strains are in everything we make now. If you look in the ingredient panel you can read and research the 10 strains that I carefully chose that have all been rigorously studied and can be anti-inflammatory, antihistamine, D lactate free and make a bio available form of Vitamin K2 that is essential for bone health and is hard to find in a plant-based diet.
4. Tell us a little bit about your different fermented products available.
We make Sauerkraut and Kim Chi, we call it superkraut because we focus on the super strain probiotics and also the superfoods that we love. We make a generous selection of incredibly yummy cashew cheese and the world’s strongest probiotic drink, our Coconut Kefir.
5. What is your favourite fermented product from Peace, Love & Vegetables?
Without a doubt the Coconut Kefir. A lot of scientists and probiotics companies said that they didn’t know that getting all these super strain microbes to grow on the single culture of the coconut water was possible. But 3 months of my life later with too many errors to mention I finally got it! I said after that I could never be a scientist because all the failures can be very disheartening, especially when you make a brew and then wait in anticipation for 2 weeks, then go to see how it turned out with the expectation that you finally got it but was another failure. But with every failure, I learnt and got closer to my goal and now I can say that at PLV we make the strongest probiotics drink in the world!
6. What is your favourite recipe including that product?
Wow, now this is so hard. I eat superkraut with every meal and I love spice so Kim Chi or our new to be released Smokey Chipotle kraut is so good, but all the krauts are amazing. But simple is often best so I love one of my cashew cheeses (French Onion is a total hang for me ATM) spread onto a piece of my home make sprouted and sourdough spelt bread with some avo and choice of kraut on top that I am in the mood for at the time and then washing it down with a few gulps of Kefir then wow I am a happy camper. But I will say keep an eye on our social as I will be showing people ways that they can creatively use all of PLV’s products in and on the foods that we love.
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