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Making kefir once again! I'm back in business! Well, the smoothie-making business. ;) I had been drinking kefir smoothies every morning, but when I was expecting Ruth, "morning sickness" took over and suddenly even just the thought of another kefir smoothie made me sick!  So, I decided to try dehydrating my kefir grains, so that I could save them for later. I rinsed the grains, laid them on a clean paper towel, and laid another paper towel lightly on top (to keep dust off). I put them (covered as described) on top of the fridge (for extra warmth, but not too much warmth). In a few days, they were small and hard and yellow. I put the dried grains in a small container, covered them with powdered milk, and snapped the lid on tight. I put the container in a dark cupboard. A few weeks ago, I got out my dried grains. I first put them in a jar of room-temperature water for a couple of days. Then I drained them and started putting them in milk. I only used a small amount of milk (1/4 cup) at first, changing it once a day. After about 2 weeks, the grains were making kefir again. Now those same grains have been re-hydrated for about 3 weeks, and I am using 2 cups of milk for them each day, which makes a nice thick kefir.  The children love smoothies, and we have been having fun trying different varieties with our kefir. :) Our favorite one is really just a simple strawberry banana kefir smoothie. We like to drink our smoothies from these wine glasses, just for fun. We may as well enjoy our fancy glasses, right? ;) I do have to be careful to keep the glasses away from little fingers when we are washing dishes, though... :) My grains seem to be thriving! I'm making about 2 cups of kefir each day, which is plenty for smoothies, fluffy kefir pancakes, and any other recipe that calls for buttermilk. ;) I'd love to hear if any of my blog readers are making their own kefir! :) How much to you make each day, and what are your favorite uses for it? :) If you're still wondering what kefir is, go here. :) You can also read my instructions for making homemade kefir. I make kefir smoothies....I have made them with frozen fruit, canned fruit, fresh fruit, made an orange julius, frozen pineapple juice cubes. I have also used it in recipes for buttermilk or sour cream. Hi Tammy! :) Our favorite way to have smoothies lately is with mostly kefir- about two cups, about three really ripe frozen bananas, and about 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries. It is so pretty and oh, so yummy! :) Do you know about the cookbook Nourishing Traditions? It will teach you so much about nutrition, I highly suggest it. There is a recipe for pancakes where you soak the grains. There are enzyme inhibitors in grains consumed without soaking, traditional peoples always soaked their grains and it is only recently that people stopped doing it. Much like how most people still soak beans. The pancake recipe starts out putting two cups of whole wheat flour with two cups kefir, mix it till it's all wet and cover and let sit at room temp for 12-24 hours. Then add two eggs, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 t salt, 2 T melted butter and cook as you would any other pancake. We add slices of banana or raisins or blueberries. These pancakes are so good for you, much easier on your body to digest. Let me know if you have any questions- email me if I don't respond right away. Love your blog! :)  Jenn, thanks for the recipe and I hope to try it sometime! I have heard of NT but haven't read the book. I will check at the library for it when we go next! :) Sounds yummy, except I have no idea what kefir tastes like or even is...lol, I just happen to like smoothies! I love kefir! I've never had homemade though. I buy the Lifeway raspberry flavor when we want a special treat. A pint doesn't last long. I've been looking for some grains but the search so far has proved unsuccessful. I love that you are drinking out of 'wine' glasses. We do that sometimes too. I can't figure out what your son is touching in the picture. It looks sort of like a saw to me. :-Q LOL!! Yes, it is a toy saw, Yehoshua's current favorite toy, which goes everywhere with him. He ALWAYS has it in one hand (even in his sleep... or in the shower!). Before the saw, it was a hammer. Eliyahu just started this too... he has a small plastic bike that he carries around. He does put it in the toy box at bed time, though! Children are just too funny sometimes. :) But I've been considering it. We drink lots of smoothies so I think I'll be trying it soon. :) Ann'Re I've been making kefir since January and we love it. It has healed mine and my mom's guts (well that and combined with a Nourishing Traditions diet and God). I really like thick kefir, so for a long time I was just stirring in some flavored jello, strawberry, and we drank it that way. I've now moved up to the frozen sliced and sweetened strawberries and blending it up. Next I plan to do just fruit with the kefir and get away from so much sugar. Baby steps...let me also confirm that kefir makes the absolute BEST pancakes ever! I even substituted some of the oil called for in a carrot cake recipe with some kefir. Lovely stuff :) I LOVE making kefir! Sometimes we drink it plain...but we REALLY like it as a smoothie!! YUM! I have had someone ask me about using kefir while pregnant and I couldn't find anything online. But, because kefir ferments the milk sugars making alcohol, I told them I didn't think it was a good idea. My daughter has partial fetal alcohol syndrome. The official stance of most physician groups, the CDC and groups doing education about prevention is that no alcohol is safe during pregnancy. While a kefir smoothy will not result in fetal alcohol syndrome, research has shown that even low to moderate alcohol intake during pregnancy can negatively impact IQ. I had a banana smoothie made with kefir just this morning. I am not anonymous, but I couldn't figure out how to sign in. ~ Julie Here is a post about the alcohol content of kefir... any really ripe fruit has a small amount of alcohol, as well. :) I am not, however, endorsing alcohol intake during pregnancy! :)  I might have to try dehydrating them next time. I put them in the freezer in a little milk and just pulled them out the other day. They are on their 3rd. batch of milk right now, I am patiently waiting for them to start their magic again. =) I think it You said something over in the comments on your kefir making poll about lactose and all that. I have issues as well and kefir works fine for me. Also, hard cheeses are more easily tolerated then soft (parmesan, romano, I can even handle cheddar). Thanks for sharing, Kate! Joshua seems to be able to eat cheddar and mozzarella cheese just fine. Cottage cheese or regular milk are the worst!! Joshua has been drinking soy or rice milk for quite a while now, and recently tried some lactose-free cow's milk (which tastes better but is pricier!) although for many years now he has gotten out of the habit of consuming a lot of milk (he rarely eats cold cereal, for example). Hello, I feel really silly asking this but, Is kefir the same as yogurt? It sounds the same but no one has called it yogurt. thanks in advance. Kefir is similar to yogurt, but it is not the same thing. :) Kefir is cultured from "grains" and is runnier than yogurt, but the taste is similar to plain yogurt. :) Kefir is more nutritious, though! :) Hi Tammy I think this is my first time posting here. Love this site - inspirational! I was wondering, can you make kefir with pasteurised and homogenised milk? I can't get hold of any raw milk. Thanks. In Him Meredith in Aus Yes, Meredith -- I just use regular milk from the store (pasteurized and homogenized) since that is what is available to us here. :) Tammy, I have been making kefir for only a week now. We absolutely love your kefir pancakes. I have made strawberry smoothies with it, too. Last night I made buttermilk biscuits substituting kefir for the buttermilk, and they came out the best ever...very high and light. Thank you for the tutorial! Janet Post new comment |
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We love, love, love Kefir from the store. I tried to make it at home once and it always turned out--I don't know--slimy! That's the best word I can think of. None of the kiddos would drink it. I never figured out what I was doing wrong but finally stopped making it. We love it but it's pretty expensive at the store so we don't have it often. I'd love to figure out how to do it right at home.
Tracy in NC