About Fermented Delights
Established in 2017, owner Tammy Brill engaged on a quest to bring healthy eating habits and being mind-conscientious of the foods we consume.
" Listen to your heart! "
Who is Tammy Brill? What is her dream? What is Fermented Delights about?
I live in a small town called Drums, PA. I live near the Wilkes Barre and Bloomsburg/Danville radius where small business and Health Food establishments are slowly popping up!
After 29 years as a University/College Lab Supervisor for Biology and Chemistry Labs and as a Microbiology Instructor, I decided that it was time to make a change!
Three years ago, I made a commitment to pursue my passion of a personal philosophy I call “my health evolution for life”. I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a certified health coach. Health coaches are becoming a part of the health and wellness revolution! I want to be on that forefront!
My goal as a Health Coach would be to teach people to be more proactive in their physical and mental health! As a microbiologist, I loved teaching students about the power of probiotics through fermentation of healthy foods! After making these foods, and then analyzing them under the microscope was one of the most meaningful experiences for my students and myself! Nothing is more gratifying than to be approached by a former student to thank me and tell me that I was a positive influence in his/her life! I wanted to start a new chapter and again hope to make a difference in people’s lives, one step at a time.
So many people are subjected to adverse health issues. My passion in life is to teach everyone to take a proactive approach to achieving a healthy lifestyle. I understand the real food diets. Every person and their “microbiome” is genetically unique but the common theme is to avoid sugar and processed foods. Physical exercise is also extremely important for mental and physical wellbeing. Once people feel better through a minor modification, the rest falls into place especially with the exercise! I am a huge believer in the “mind gut connection!”
I believe that anyone who knows me can honestly say that I practice what I preach. Like many health advocates, we all have our stories. I feel that to help someone make a healthy lifestyle change, you must be able to relate your own personal experiences as well. Only then can you establish a rapport that just might be a difference maker in their life.
Here was my Goal/Dream from three years ago and how it evolved with a twist:
My Overall Goal: To help people feel their best through sustainable food and lifestyle changes. As a health coach, I want to make a person feel whole again by being a supportive mentor and wellness authority.
My dream was twofold: for this to come true, I would need an office /kitchen space to work with my clients. I am still in the learning phase of marketing and business aspect. I reached out to people in the health and wellness community about my future plans as a health coach.
Once I had the proper business cards and marketing idea, my business would be something like the following: Teaching clients to read labels, crowd out unhealthy, processed and bad foods, take them shopping to read labels, how to make delicious whole healthy real food. The most common excuse people have is that eating healthy is expensive and time consuming. I would show them that this is not true! Healthy eating and work-life balance can be fun and inexpensive!
The second part of my business is where I needed a kitchen area! I would like to make and sell my fermented foods at local farmer’s markets. This began with my new friend, an organic farmer, Don Hess from Dancing Hen Farm! He sold my beet kvass and living sauerkraut! Small business owners were willing to buy my products and serve it in their establishments! I just needed a legitimate place to make my products. This kitchen would also serve as a teaching area for healthy food preparation classes.
What actually unfolded two years ago: A unique twist! I started a trend with fermented food! Eat your probiotics! Eat real food!
So, my humble beet kvass and simple dill and caraway living sauerkraut became popular and in demand! Hence Fermented Delights evolved last year! I went with it and used my health coaching skills and science skills to educate people while selling my ferments! People didn’t really know much about fermented foods but one thing they did know that after drinking and eating them….. they felt wonderful!
I started selling my ferments at Forks Farm Markets, Mountain Top Farmers Market, Dallas Back Mountain, GreenWood Market! I took my little red tent a used table and coolers and my ferments everywhere there was a market of interest!
From two humble ferments…. The scientist in me began to dabble with more varieties of ferments! Please see attached expanded list of varieties of ferments to date!
Then, last October, House of Nutrition in Luzerne was the first retail place to take an interest in my ferments! My ferments sell at 9 retail places currently and now has really become popular at the Famous Barn Nutrition and Fitness Center at their FarmHouse store thanks to Mary Dragon and Brad Honz! Mary has her clients incorporate probiotic ferments in their health journeys and the results are amazing!
Enough about me: Questions with answers!
What the heck are fermented foods?
So many people ask me that question! “ Will they make me sick? Yuck! Fermented foods scare me!
The truth is properly fermented foods are actually safer than raw vegetables! We see on TV so many health scares with raw vegetables exposed to pathogens like E. coli on the farm. With fermented foods, there is no safety concern!
To date there are no documented cases of food borne illnesses with fermented vegetables!
This is true especially with my ferments!
My Product Facts: I source the majority of my vegetables from local farmers with sustainable practices. The vegetables are picked fresh for peak nutrient density and fermented immediately. All other ingredients are certified organic and non-GMO.
Each fermented product is prepared in small batches and fermented in glass for quality control. Fermentation starter cultures are used to ensure for a perfect fermentation and safe ph.
My fermented products are” living”…. The bacteria need refrigeration to stay alive.
What is so special about fermented foods?
It all has to do with the probiotics! These are the good bacteria that help you gut healthy! One of the most important bacteria is called Lactobacillus plantarum:
Just take a gander at what it can do for your health: attack bad bacteria, lowers cholesterol, knock out food poisoning, removes pesticides from vegetables, protects you from stress, helps with yeast infections, and all types of intestinal issues such as Crohn’s, IBS .
To get the most health benefit, you need to eat fermented foods on a daily basis because they are transient…. They do their job and exit.
When you ferment your cabbage into sauerkraut, the vitamin C and antioxidant levels increase 10 fold!