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You guys. YOU GUYS. I am SO excited to share this with you today! This is THE awesomest food creation ever in existence. Totally not overreacting here, btw.
You’ve all heard of Kefir, right? No? Well, I first saw Kefir at a health food store in the dairy isle. I was told it was like yogurt, only better. I bought some and sure enough, it tasted like yogurt.
Fast-forward 3 years.
I knew that if I wanted to make yogurt I needed to buy a culture, or starter. I needed that bacteria to turn my raw goat’s milk into yogurt. I bought some, but then realized I could also buy Kefir. I decided I needed to figure out the difference between the two.
-Yogurt & Kefir both ferment milk.
-Yogurt is made from bacteria
-Kefir is made from yeast & bacteria.
-Yogurt provides the food for the friendly bacteria in your intestinal tract & keeps it clean.
-Kefir actually colonizes your intestinal tract with the friendly bacteria your body needs.
You can read more here about why it’s so important to include probiotics, especially homemade probiotics in your diet.
I had been making yogurt for a couple years, and then when I went to order more starter culture at Cultures for Health, I decided to order some Kefir. Then I noticed they had 2 different kinds.
Milk Kefir & Water Kefir.
Water Kefir? What?
Turns out water kefir is the most awesomest creation ever! They have the same health benefits as Milk Kefir. Basically you put these little yeast/bacteria grains in sugar water(it has to be a healthy or unrefined sugar btw), they eat the sugar and produce carbonation! Oh my gosh forget world peace I want to make my own carbonation!
I bought some right away,and made my very own soda!
In the words of Dora the Explorer it was, “DELICIOSO!” *blink*blink*
And get this… wait, are you sitting down?
Those little water kefir grains? They grow and reproduce and willLAST. YOUR. ENTIRE. LIFE.
Did you freaking hear me people?! Go ahead, I’ll wait while you run around your house screaming.
Okay, whew. Now here’s my recipe for homemade soda pop that’s actually healthy! There are 2 methods of making homemade soda pop you can choose from.
Homemade Soda Pop
Method #1: The Juice Method
Ingredients:
2-4 TBS. of Water Kefir Grains – click here to buy
3-5 mineral drops — click here to buy
1 gallon of fruit juice either fresh or store bought (no added sugar, 100% juice, organic is best)
Glass bottles or jars — click here to buy
Step 1 – Add all the Water Kefir grains to juice.
Step 2 – Close lid LOOSELY and leave on counter for 12-24 hours.
Step 3 – Strain out Kefir grains, pour juice into bottles (or one big jar) cover tightly with a lid. — click here to buy bottles.
Step 4 – Leave on counter another 12 hours.
Step 5 – Store in fridge for up to a week.
the end.
See how simple it is? Now here’s another method to choose from…
Method #2: The Water Method
Ingredients:
2-4 TBS. of Water Kefir Grains — click here to buy
3-5 mineral drops — click here to buy
1/2 gallon of filtered water
1/2 c. organic cane sugar
1 c. low acidic juice (apple, grape, cherry) or 1 peel from an ORGANIC acidic fruit (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit)
Glass bottles or jars — click here to buy
Step 1 – Mix water with mineral drops & sugar, then add all the Water Kefir grains to.
Step 2 – Close lid LOOSELY and leave on counter for 12-24 hours.
Step 3 – Strain out Kefir grains, pour juice into bottles (or one big jar), add juice or peel, then cover tightly with a lid.
Step 4 – Leave on counter another 12 hours.
Step 5 – Store in fridge for up to a week.
Oh, and carbonated Kefir Soda works totally opposite than commercial carbonation. Kefir Soda gets MORE carbonated as it sits in the fridge. MORE. Like endless. And MORE.
NOTE: This DOES NOT produce alcohol, although if you let it sit on your counter for longer than 72 hours, it has the potential to produce alcohol, so I guess it’s up to you 😉
You can also make sparkling lemonade, root beer, & coconut water soda. If you buy the Kefir grains from Cultures for Healththese recipes are included. I love Cultures for Health, they always have cheap shipping!
When you don’t want to make soda, you can store your Kefir grains in the fridge in a little jar of sugar water or juice. Remember to change every 2 weeks to keep them alive.
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| Take that Coca Cola! |
We have been enjoying homemade soda for the past 2 months or so and just loving it! It’s so nice to get that fizzy carbonation and giving our bodies good healthy bacteria for our guts. I love your guts too, that’s why I’m sharing. Are you as excited as me??
Sources:
https://www.kefir.net/kefir-vs-yogurt/
