Drinks and Smoothies
How to Make Water Kefir
We love water kefir! I can see why people call it a natural soda. But it is better than soda! Not only does it give you all sorts of probiotic goodness, it is not as sweet and doesn’t leave you with a sickly sweet upset stomach. And with active cultures that can probably last longer than you (with proper care), this is definitely a frugal – not to mention healthy – way to break a soda habit! In this post, I share basic instructions for a first and second fermentation, along with some flavor ideas. And I’m looking for YOUR flavor ideas, so please share!
Chai Tea Gift Mixes
Using small treasures from thrift stores as containers, ribbons, whole spices, and loose tea, my children and I created Chai Tea gift mixes for our Christmas gifts. Last week my friend Cheryl inspired me to start making Chai tea, and that’s when I figured out what we’d give as gifts this year. Praise the Lord for friends and their ideas! 
Chai Tea
Homemade chai tea… friends served it to us once and ever since, I’ve wanted to make it myself. I looked around the internet last week and collected recipes that I thought looked traditional in their use of whole spices and quality black tea. What I did to make this recipe was take what I thought was best about each recipe and put it together. That translates as: using almost every spice I saw mentioned, besides the “usual” cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. In this recipe, you’ll also learn how to decaffeinate your own black tea leaves, making this a kid-friendly drink!
Basic Eggnog
There are a million and one recipes on the internet for eggnog, so believe me when I say that I’m under no illusions that what I share here is going to revolutionize the eggnog industry. It has, however, revolutionized my family! After one little taste, they are hooked.
Chocolate Milk: Shake It, Kids!
My sweet Naomi is the author of this recipe for chocolate milk. She taught it to Mikah and they make it every day. It doesn’t require sweetening – our raw goat milk is plenty sweet. But adjust to your little ones’ preferences, perhaps by adding a bit of raw honey.
Kefir Popsicles
Smiles guaranteed. Use any kefir smoothie you like, but omit the ice. Fill ice cube trays. Insert toothpicks. Freeze. Enjoy! (That’s my sweet niece, Aila.)
Chocolate Kefir Smoothies
We enjoy these every night. It’s a ritual now! They make a great and tasty dessert, but they’re packed with all the benefits of kefir!
Vanilla Milk (Date or Raisin Sweetened)
This is just a little bit different than the Chocolate-Date Milk. My kids asked me if I could make Vanilla Milk from our raw goat milk. Since we are low on dates, I tried sweetening the milk with raisins instead. And it worked! So now we have a lower-cost option for fruit sweetening. I like that. Dates can be expensive, but raisins are less so. Please choose organic raisins – otherwise you know the grapes that made them were sprayed to death on the vine.
Kefir Smoothie: Frozen Summer Fruit Delish!
Last night I came clean with my family and admitted to them that they’d already consumed three kefir smoothies without even knowing it! (This after all the kids declared that they really didn’t like kefir that much — kindly asking me, would I stop serving it.) Just so you know – I do not usually trick my family. But in this case, I wanted there to be absolutely no prejudices hindering their reactions. I’m okay with my treachery, because since then, everyone has told me that they really like kefir served this way.
Why Kefir?
I am sort of kicking myself for not preparing cultured foods sooner, like 6+ years ago when we started eating “healthfully”! But thinking like this is counter-productive so I try not to indulge it. Now, kefir, we are really enjoying. In particular, I love it! It brings back many memories for me that reminisce on the Middle Eastern flavors that were part of my growing up. I can’t say I’ve had kefir before (have I, Mom?). Its fresh and a little sour taste reminds me of plain yogurt, which is a staple in ME cooking. A side benefit (that I didn’t expect) of having cultured foods around – foods that satisfy me and replace my cravings for sweeteners. Kefir fits the bill!
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