Our family enjoys lots of outdoor activities during the warmer months, but heat, humidity, sweat, and thirst just seem to go hand in hand, don’t they? Â To stay hydrated and comfortable while you are enjoying all that summertime recreation, skip the sports drinks full of GMO high fructose corn syrup or hidden artificial sweeteners and opt for the delicious, healthy, fermented drink from Russia – kombucha tea.
I have a number of videos with recipes on how to make kombucha various ways but have never done one on how to pack it safely in a lunch or cooler.
Kombucha must be packed in glass containers as it has an acidic, vinegar quality to it (don’t let that fool you – it tastes yummy) that will leech chemicals from plastic and metal from stainless steel. Ideally, the glass should be clear, not colored.
Kleen Kanteens and other stainless steel bottles are NOT appropriate for kombucha tea and neither is food grade plastic – ever!
But packing glass in a lunchbox with a young child is a bit of a dangerous venture, wouldn’t you agree?
In this short video below, I show you how I pack kombucha tea in a picnic basket or lunchbox to ensure that everyone stays safe!
Packing Kombucha Safely in a Lunchbox (Video)
In essence, all you need to do is empty the small glass seltzer bottles available at the supermarket. Small sparkling water bottles work well too. Syfo seltzer is a good brand in my area. Then fill them a little more than halfway with kombucha and safely tuck it into a foam sleeve before placing it in the lunchbox. That’s all there is to it!
Don’t Pack Commercial Kombucha in School Lunches
One word of caution. It is recommended that you do not pack bottles of commercial kombucha in a child’s lunchbox that are labeled as containing tiny amounts of alcohol. GT’s Kombucha with the black lid is one brand labeled in this manner. Only pack small bottles of home brewed kombucha or transfer commercial kombucha into small, unlabeled bottles. Misguided school lunch police have been known to suspend students from school for having store kombucha bottles in their lunchbox.
Source
Mad As a Hatter, Dr. Kaayla Daniel
More Information
Want to know more about kombucha? Â These articles provide more detail for your research.
Fluoride in Kombucha: Should You Be Concerned?
Can Candida Sufferers Drink Kombucha?
Does Kombucha Prevent Grey Hair?
Batch vs Continuous Brew Kombucha
Have You Tried Kombucha?
Kombucha: Drink It and Wear It?
Jun Tea: Â Kombucha Champagne
Sarah,
Maybe you could show us what a typical day would be for you where you would consume 50 – 60 % fat- and less grains- it’s so hard to do a menu with % instead of tha actual food. Of course, everyone is dying to see what you eat because you look so good and healthy. You inspire us Sarah!
Teresa, there are many different ways to implement traditional diet. I don’t post what I eat as folks will misunderstand and think that I am somehow promoting my diet as THE way to eat when it’s not. Also, keeping a food log is an incredibly boring exercise to me. I don’t do things that bore me unless i have to 🙂 I rarely weigh myself or track the calories I burn when I exercise etc, but I know generally what I eat and its A LOT of saturated fat. I tracked it once many years ago and it was 50-60% fat (more in the winter, less is summer as I eat more fruit in summer and hardly any in winter).
Your best bet is to read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, examine your genetic heritage and focus on those traditional foods first and implement generous amounts of the sacred foods for those cultures closest to your heritage. That’s how I figured out what worked best for me. It’s a process, not a simple – eat this for breakfast, this for lunch type of exercise.
I am glad that you are inspired though 🙂 Be inspired to find the balance of traditional foods that works fantastically well for your physiology, genetics, previous health history, environment, family challenges, and budget.
Genetic Heritage? Can you explain a little more about what that means to an “American”? We are the melting pot! I am German, Scottish, Irish, and Native American….. I have NO idea what my genetic heritage is and what I should be eating! I do have the book Nutrition and Physican Degeneration… but have found it very difficult to get into. Any thoughts?
Thanks for the tip sarah! I ordered a starter kit from Laurel Farms almost a month ago and have not heard a word from them. Tried calling and emailing but no response. So ready to start making kombucha. Do you happen to know her or if somethings going on since she’s in your area?
Please do NOT order from Laurel Farms. That company is having delivery issues. Please only order kombucha cultures from the sources on my Resources page as they are reliable.
I LOVE love love this tip! Thanks!!! I will actually use it for anytime I pack lunch! 🙂
@Olivia I like what you’re doing though. I like glass the absolute best but it isn’t always practical. I absolutely will not use stainless for acidic foods though. Using stainless for kombucha is just asking for a heavy metal problem.
@Olivia 1/4 cup vinegar in a gallon or two of water does not make the overall water acidic only very very slightly so. This is very different than all the liquid being vinegar. Taste the stock water … does it taste acidic? No.
sarah, don’t you make stock in stainless steel pots? that has vinegar.. i am using a glass visions corning ware 5L pot for stock, it is the biggest i have found, but i would like to find something bigger.
Thank you for the response and the link. 🙂
Let me be clear and not misunderstood: stainless steel is FINE except for acidic foods.
@Sarah YIKES! I wouldn’t be buying that kombucha. Anything acidic leeches alloys from stainless steel (nickel, cobalt, chromium) http://www.westonaprice.org/environmental-toxins/mad-as-a-hatter
What about water kefir in plastic bottles? Should I avoid that as well?
Glass would be best, but water kefir is not as acidic as kombucha so plastic would be ok unless it is really strong .. fermenting in the fridge for a long time for example.