The Most Powerful Medicine #5 - Kefir

 
Kefir is simply the easiest, fastest, simplest way to incorporate probiotics into your diet. Why is that important? Because probiotics "pre-digest" your food - taking a huge load off your digestive system. They also perform very intricate transformations of food to super-charged nutrients that are impossible to duplicate with any man-made substitutes. Kefir has 56 more strains of beneficial bacteria than yogurt! Take my word for it - or research fermented foods on your own: you can't buy health like this at any price!

You can order dehydrated Kefir grains or get hydrated ones from a friend. I didn't know anyone who was making Kefir, so I ordered my dehydrated grains (culture) from Cultures for Health.  They send you a complete instruction sheet on how to hydrate the grains and get your Kefir going. It takes a couple of days longer than fresh grains, but is well worth the wait.

You can culture your Kefir for the taste you want - sweet and fresh or tangy and fizzy. I like both. Right now, with 100 degree heat everyday, my Kefir ferments within 12 hours - even with the A/C going. Probably in the winter, it will go 24 hours before I put it in the fridge.

All you do is add the Kefir grains (once they are hydrated, they look more like cottage cheese) into a quart jar and fill the jar to within 1" with either fresh whole milk, or instant dry milk mixed with water. I started with fresh milk, but have switched to the instant dry milk. It's less expensive, easier to unload from the car, and makes BIG Kefir grains! (See my No-Fail Milk Kefir recipe under the Recipes tab.)

Directions:
1 to 2 tablespoons of grains  - put into a clean Mason jar.
Fill jar to neck with milk
Cover with coffee filter secured by rubber band.
Set on counter and allow culture to work for 12-24 hours (preferably 70-85 degrees)

Using plastic strainer (get at Walmart - 4 for $1.97), stir the fermented Kefir and pour into strainer over bowl. Tap strainer on bowl until there in nothing in the strainer but 1 to 2 tablespoons of culture.

Using a plastic spatula, lift the culture grains out of the strainer and put into a clean Mason jar; fill the jar to the neck with milk. Pour the strained Kefir into a glass container with a lid and place in fridge.



That's it! Drink the Kefir and enjoy the benefits of great digestion, getting the full value of the food you eat, and boosting your immune system beyond belief!