I've been trying to get to this post for a while but knew it needed to be done. I have spoken about kefir before but never gone into real detail about it. This is the one thing in my house that we are never without and one of the things I truly believe in.
What is Kefir?
Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your “inner ecosystem.” More nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt, supplies complete protein, essential minerals, and valuable B vitamins.
Even if you are lactose intolerant(like Bummy) you can still drink this because the bacteria in kefir consume most of the lactose in Milk.
This amazing little drink I feel is responsible for helping so many of my children's allergies as well as our overall well being.
You can purchase kefir at the store for about 3.50-4.50 a quart depending on type and store. Well we consume about 4-5 quarts a week due to the fact my kids LOVE this stuff and this can get incredibly pricy. So I decided to go ahead and begin making my own and a few months later I am saving big $$$ and still keeping my kids tummy's filled with this incredibly beneficial drink.
Before I decied to begin making my own I really dragged my feet because I was concerned at how hard this task would be and was incredibly surprised at how incredibly easy it all ended up being. I found the company Cultures for Health that sells all sorts of Starter kits from kefir to sourdough.
Once I received my grains they came packaged in a neat little box in a dehydration state.
Once you get them, Cultures for health provides instructions for the dehydration process. (which I'm not going over now...just the actual kefi making process )
This is what the Kefir grains look like. They almost have the consistency of cottage cheese.
You place them in a clean mason jar
Let it sit about 24 hours give or take.
After the time(or when it starts resembling a liquid yogurt consistency)you strain. Make sure you use a plastic mesh try to stay away from metal strainers and spoons because they could hurt the grains.
We blend ours with fruit and make yummy smoothies...
Another satisfied customer :)
It's an incredibly tasty and healthy treat!
3 comments:
explain to me how it helps with allergies. right now, i'm hunting down anything that will alleviate my daughter's allergies besides giving them Claritin.
I know that it helps with food allergies. Here is an article talking about it. http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Kefir-ingredients-could-help-food-allergies For actual allergies due to environmental issues I highly recommend childlife vitamins http://www.childlife.net/node/60/ Lo was getting monthly ear infections and strep at least 3-4 times a year and a constant snotty nose (supposed allergies)that wouldn't go away. I started him on these vitamins and included the immune defense and allergy care and he barely ever gets sick anymore. I truly saw the difference within a few months of use. These are the products I swear by! hope it helps there is nothing more frustrating.
If you have good natural milk (better not pasterized), you can go without any grains, just let the milk to slow soar at warm place. Then pour off the water and shake the remaining. It's called prostokvasha, many kids like more than kefir, and it's very healthy too. But you need a really good milk.
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