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. With proper care, the water kefir grains can probably last longer than you, making this a frugal – not to mention healthy – way to break a soda habit!

See also: What’s So Great About Water Kefir?

I have done a little experimenting with flavors, but I could use some more ideas. My family likes the plain water kefir best, with just a bit of vanilla added. I enjoy the lemon/ginger best.

Rehydrating the Grains

Unless someone shares grains with you, you’ll have to purchase water kefir grains. They arrive dehydrated (see Resources for sources). Rehydrate according to the package directions. It takes 3 to 5 days in sweet water to rehydrate them and get them going again. The package from my source gives enough grains to make around 3/4 gallon of water kefir at a time.

First Fermentation

After the grains are rehydrated, mix 3/4 gallon of water with 3/4 cups of sweetener in a gallon jar. The less refined the sweetener, the better – the water kefir grains love minerals!

For more information on water, sweeteners, and minerals, see also: What’s So Great About Water Kefir?

If using a dry sweetener (such as Rapadura – raw, unrefined sugar), it must be dissolved in hot water first. Bring the 3/4 cup Rapadura and 2 cups of water to a boil to dissolve the Rapadura. Let it cool a bit, then add 10 more cups of cold water to lower its temp. It should be comfortable to the touch, not hot at all, when using it with the water kefir grains. Add it to the jar.

Add a half (rinsed) pastured egg shell to the jar. Thank you Cheeseslave for this tip; my grains love those egg shells! Put the grains in the jar – either loose or in a little muslin fabric bag (see Resources for sources). Swirl it all around gently. Cover the jar with a paper towel or cloth napkin and secure it to the jar lip with a rubber band. Let it sit for 3 to 5 days until desired sweetness is left – the longer you go, the less sweet. It may or may not be bubbly.

Pour off the water kefir liquid into another gallon size jar or two half gallon jars. If not following the forthcoming directions for adding flavor during a second fermentation, add 1-1/2 tablespoons of vanilla per 3/4 gallon of water kefir to make a simple cream soda. Refrigerate and drink as is. Use the grains to start a new batch of water kefir.

Second Fermentation

(The grains should be removed by this time.) Add fresh or dried fruit, or fruit juices to the jar. (See next for flavor ideas.) This second ferment should be done without air. Add a new half of a rinsed (pastured) egg shell. Cover the jar opening with plastic wrap and then the jar lid. Leave out at room temperature for 1 to 3 days. When you’re happy with the flavor, strain the liquid free from any bits of fruit and the egg shell. Refrigerate the soda or bottle it. I’ve never bottled it. I just put it in the fridge in a lidded pitcher and we drink it up quickly! The water kefir tends to get more bubbly during this stage. But, as I said before, it may or may not get bubbly.

Flavor Ideas

• 1/2 cup raisins plus 1-1/2 tablespoons of vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped, pitted dates plus 1-1/2 tablespoons of vanilla
• 1/2 cup dried fig pieces plus 1-1/2 tablespoons of vanilla
• 1 cup organic grape juice
• 2 to 4 tablespoons grated fresh ginger, plus 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus a splash of vanilla
• dried peach slices (a friend’s idea and I can’t remember how many she used – maybe 6?), plus splash of vanilla

So that’s my simple process for making water kefir, and some ideas for flavors. Now it is your turn. How do you flavor your water kefir? Do you make it differently? Is there some flavor combination you’d like to see?

See also: What’s So Great About Water Kefir?

This post is part of the Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet.

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!

Besides gathering the loose tea and spices (which I ordered from Mountain Rose Herbs), I needed containers. My kids and I hit a few thrift stores looking for them. It was really fun to shop with them and see what containers caught their eye. They quickly learned that I was not looking for any typical Christmas cutesy containers. In fact, I think we picked only one “Christmas” container – it was a square glass votive holder with an embossed Christmas tree on each side.  Other than that we picked eclectic tins, boxes, small tea cups, and votive holders. I paid $1.75 for one of them – because it was an antique tea cup from England, but most of them were around 50 cents each. Anyway, that was fun. There are many options for containers for these gift mixes; don’t be afraid to think out of the box!

I’ll list the ingredients and their amounts – enough to make one batch of Chai Tea. You’ll have to double it, triple it, quadruple it, etc. depending on the size of your container. Most of my containers required triple or quadruple batches to fill them up. A triple batch makes a little over 1/2 cup of mix; a quadruple batch makes about 3/4 cup of mix. I advise that you create the gift mixes one at a time to ensure that each gift gets its true share of all the whole spices. Also note that the liquids (water, milk and honey), vanilla, fresh ginger, and nutmeg have been omitted from this gift mix; the recipient will add those when s/he is making the tea.

Please choose organic spices and tea. This is a great task to share with children – they love to count and measure out all the ingredients. Over. And over. And over. What’s tedious to us is fun for them!

• 2 tablespoons loose black tea (Assam Breakfast, Ceylon, or English Breakfast)
• 6 cardamom pods
• 6 peppercorns (white or black or combination)
• 12 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon anise seeds (can substitute fennel)
• 1 rounded teaspoon cinnamon bark (or 1 cinnamon stick)

Crush the cardamom pods and peppercorns. Then mix all the spices and tea leaves together and place in a plastic bag. Place that in the gift container and twist-tie it closed. Roll the twist-tie up on itself. Cover the twist-tie with a ribbon. Tie it with a bow or square knot (right over left, left over right…).

Print or hand-write a label (see below). Hole punch the corner. Use thread or a tiny ribbon to attach it to the bag of Chai Tea mix. Deliver!

Another gift mix to create is to make this Homemade Herb Seasoning Salt and put it in a salt shaker with a ribbon around it. Do you have any handmade gift plans this year? What have you made in the past? Please share!

I’m sharing this in the special Handmade Gift Carnival @ The Nourishing Gourmet – visit to see more handmade gift ideas!

Today, I’m hosting the Gallery of Thanksgiving Sides, where I and gnowfglins readers share real food Thanksgiving side dishes. If you want to add a real food Thanksgiving side dish, let me know in the comments of the Gallery post. But no matter what, be sure to hop over there to see what else has been submitted!

Homemade chai tea… friends served it to us once and ever since, I’ve wanted to make it myself. Then my friend Cheryl mentioned last week that she’d been making it in the evenings. That was enough inspiration to get me going. 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. I asked on Facebook and twitter for ideas and friends (like Shila) shared their favorite recipes.

I don’t claim to be an expert on chai – well, only on enjoying it! 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. I ordered all my whole spices and black tea from Mountain Rose Herbs. The order arrived in record time and every item is wonderful – high quality, organic, and fragrant.

My friend Cheryl uses Assam Breakfast tea as the black tea base. I made some Chai with that, but I also tried a few batches with Ceylon. They’re both wonderfully tasty!

Makes 6 1-cup servings

Please choose organic ingredients. Also, see how I created Chai Tea Gift Mixes for Christmas!

• 2 rounded tablespoons black tea (such as Assam Breakfast, Ceylon, or English Breakfast)*
• 2 cups clean water
• 4 cups raw whole milk
• 6 cardamom pods
• 6 peppercorns (I used 3 white and 3 black)
• 12 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon anise seeds (can substitute fennel)
• 1 rounded teaspoon cinnamon bark (or 1 cinnamon stick)
• 1″ piece of vanilla bean, sliced open
• 1/2″ to 3/4″ chunk of ginger, peeled and cut into smaller pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup raw honey (I use 1/3 cup)
• dash of nutmeg (optional)

If you desire it, decaffeinate the black tea leaves.* Set aside.

Put water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.

Meanwhile, combine cardamom, peppercorns, cloves, anise seeds, and cinnamon bark in mortar and pestle and crush until peppercorns are cracked and cardamom pods are opened to reveal the seeds.

Add tea leaves, crushed spices, ginger, and vanilla bean to the pot. (It doesn’t have to be simmering when you add these.)

Maintain a simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or longer, to your desired strength. Strain. Add the milk and honey to the tea water and stir well. Bring to desired drinking temperature, then take off the heat.

Pour tea into each tea cup, then sprinkle with nutmeg (if desired).

*You may be concerned, as I am, about children drinking this tea due to the caffeine. Well, I have the answer! It is really easy to decaffeinate your own tea leaves. I found this information in the Fall 2009 issue of the Weston A Price Foundation’s quarterly journal, Wise Traditions. John Moody shared how to accomplish this in an article about continuous brew Kombucha. You simply steep your tea leaves in water just off the boil for three minutes. Then discard the water and use the tea leaves in your tea. At this point, they’ll be 40% to 70% less caffeinated but still flavorful.

See how I created Chai Tea Gift Mixes for Christmas! Also, tomorrow I’m hosting the Gallery of Thanksgiving Sides, where I and gnowfglins readers share real food Thanksgiving side dishes. Please consider sharing in it – otherwise, look forward to being inspired!

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.

I let the kids taste the leftovers in the Vita-Mix while I was taking pictures, but they had to wait for the rest. I know they’re going to ask for this every day. I suppose that will be possible when we have our own chickens and therefore, more eggs to go round.

(Speaking of pictures, Haniya helped me taking them – and the one that made it to this post is hers. I’m so thankful for her eye!)

I first got the idea to make eggnog from Annette at Sustainable Eats, who said to follow the Nourishing Traditions recipe for vanilla ice cream, but omit the arrowroot. Then I looked on the internet for raw eggnog recipes. Except for the recipes that call for beating egg whites and incorporating their fluff (too much trouble and raw egg whites are not good for you), or the recipes that call for liquor, I think most recipes are variations on a theme. Meaning: flexible to your tastes! Here’s what I put in our first eggnog, which I chilled until it was time to drink it alongside pumpkin pie.

See all Basic Recipes.

• 4 cups raw, whole milk (or combination of raw milk and raw cream to yield a thicker, creamier eggnog)
• 8 egg pastured egg yolks (must be pastured from someone whose growing methods are known to you and trustworthy, otherwise don’t make this recipe)
• 1/4 cup raw honey (mild-flavored, such as Spring Nectar) – or other desired sweetener such as maple syrup or Rapadura
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• dash of nutmeg for each glass

Blend milk, eggs, honey and vanilla in blender until smooth. Let the foam settle or not, depending on your preference. Chill or not, depending on your preference. Sprinkle nutmeg atop each glass. Enjoy!

The Gallery of Thanksgiving Sides is coming up this Thursday, the 19th of November. The contributions are coming in – do you have a real food Thanksgiving Side Dish to contribute? Please do!

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, this week hosted by Cheeseslave.

In a pint size jar (2 cups), fill three-quarters full with raw cow or goat milk. Add one tablespoon cocoa powder (or carob powder, which happens to be Naomi’s and Mikah’s preference). Secure with tight-fitting lid.

Shake it up! Perhaps for 30 seconds to a minute.

Drink up!

(Kids: Be sure to rinse your own jar and load it in the dishwasher yourself.)

Smiles guaranteed. Use any kefir smoothie you like (here’s my chocolate recipe or my fruity recipe), but omit the ice. Fill ice cube trays. Insert toothpicks. Freeze. Enjoy!

(That’s my sweet niece, Aila.)

This post is part of Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet, and Real Food Wednesday, this week hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

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!

The total amount of liquid (4 cups) is a combination of kefir and raw milk, and it is flexible – the more kefir, the more tart the smoothie. You’re aiming to include as much kefir as your family will stand.

Currently, I do 2-1/2 cups of (goat milk) kefir and 1-1/2 cups of raw goat milk. Ours taste a little like frozen yogurt – sweet but with a tang. I’d suggest starting with 2 cups kefir and 2 cups milk if everyone in your family prefers smoothies on the sweet side. The awesome benefits of kefir will still be there for all!

If you don’t have access to kefir, you can use plain yogurt as a substitute. Yogurt with active cultures is very good for you, too!

As far as sweetening, my recipe calls for using raisins or chopped dates. Another fruit to try would be dried figs, as Larisa (from Localvore in Sutherlin, Oregon) suggested here. You can use raw honey, too! If you’re going to use honey, use a mild flavored variety – I tried a dark and richly flavored wildflower honey once in this recipe and the flavor of the honey and the kefir didn’t go well together (for me).

Adding in a handful of local fruit – such as sweet cherries or raspberries – is very nice!

When blended, this mixture fills the entire Vita-Mix wet container (more than 8 cups). Alot of air is incorporated and it really fluffs up. If your blender container cannot hold this quantity, halve the recipe’s ingredients.

• 4 cups combination of plain kefir and raw milk – I suggest cups kefir and 2 cups milk at first
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons virgin, unrefined coconut oil
• 3 handfuls (okay, about 1/2 cup packed lightly) of raisins or date pieces
• 1/2 to 1 cup seasonal fruit, such as sweet cherries or raspberries (optional)
• 12 ice cubes

Put all ingredients in the Vita-Mix wet container. Secure the 2-part lid. Turn ON, then increase variable speed to 10, and then flip to HIGH. Blend until you no longer hear ice or raisins being chopped up. This will be about 30 seconds, but perhaps longer. Don’t let it go too long or the mixture will begin to heat up – you don’t want that!

Pour into glasses. Optional: dust with cocoa powder and swirl. Enjoy!

If you let the smoothies sit in the glasses for a bit, each will separate out into three layers, which my kids and even my husband think is cool. You’ll want to stir it back up before drinking, though.

This post is part of the Real Food Wednesday blog carnival, this week hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

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.

• 1/2 cup Thompson organic seedless raisins (or about 10 pitted dates)
• 3 cups of raw milk
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 2 to 4 tablespoons raw virgin coconut oil (optional)
• about 10 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in Vitamix wet container. Blend on high until smooth. The little brown bits of raisins look like vanilla flecks and that works! Serve and enjoy!

Share your favorite real food recipes or tips in Real Food Wednesdays!

Last night I came clean with my family and admitted to them that they’d already consumed three kefir smoothies without even knowing 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 if it is part of a smoothie.

This recipe is going to be more like a formula, because not everyone has the same summer fruit in our freezers. So, see what you can make of it and be sure to come back and post what delicious smoothies you create with kefir!

My ingredients:

• 10 pitted, whole dates
• about 4 cups of frozen summer fruit: Santa Rosa plums, wild blackberries, and strawberries
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil
• 3 to 4 cups of kefir
• 1 tablespoon vanilla (optional)

In bottom of blender container or Vita-Mix wet container, place the 10 pitted dates, the frozen fruit and the coconut oil. Pour in the kefir and the vanilla. Blend until smooth!

Pour and serve. Just see if they can tell…

A friend emailed me recently and shared that my kefir post had reminded her of her growing up when she used to help some friend raise goats. She loved their kefir, enjoying it in the mornings with oats and in kefir popsicles. I plan to make some popsicles today out of this very same recipe. I lamented that I didn’t have any popsicle molds, but my friend mentioned that I could use ice cube trays with toothpicks inserted. We have some of the kids’ friends over today, and I will make mini-pops for their afternoon treat.

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!

I got milk kefir grains (see my Resources page for sources). They came in a little baggie with some organic milk. By the time I used them, the milk had cultured and separated into curds and whey. That is fine. There is an expiration date on the package. So be aware, if you order the grains, you must be prepared to use them almost right away, but perhaps up to a week or two.

Those grains (drained with wood, bamboo or plastic, not metal) I stirred in with 1 cup of my raw goat milk. After 24 hours, the kefir had gone beyond thickened and created curds. That’s okay. It tasted a little more sour and was not smooth for drinking, but nothing was ruined. The point of this initial culturing was to get the kefir grains acclimated to our milk.

Kefir Grains v. Kefir Curds

I strained out the kefir grains, and right away, got the education I needed to tell what was the kefir grains and what was the curds.

In the above picture, on the left you can see the kefir grains clump. It is rubbery, somewhat translucent whitish/yellowish, and shaped like a cauliflower. It is only about 1 or 2 centimeters, at this point. According to Donna Gates of The Body Ecology Diet (quoted in Nourishing Traditions on page 86), the kefir grain clumps range in size from a grain of wheat to a hazelnut.

Donna Gates also writes, “Kefir is made from gelatinous white or yellow particles called “grains.” The grains contain the bacteria/yeast mixture clumped together with casein (milk proteins) and polysaccharides (complex sugars). ”

On the right are the kefir curds, which as you can see, don’t hang together like the rubbery kefir grains. Kefir is considered “done” when the grains spread their friendly organisms through milk, culturing it and thickening it. Ideally, it should be a thickened milk with the consistency of a thin, drinkable yogurt. If it cultures longer, it will separate into curds and whey, and also will develop a more sour flavor. This is okay, but perhaps not as fun to drink.

I repeated the process of acclimating the grains to our raw goat milk about 2 more times. The kefir thickened nicely and tasted great, so I think it is all good!

My Kefir Routine

I’ve developed a nice routine for having fresh kefir available every day. Kefir takes about 24 hours to develop the tart flavor and thick, smooth consistency – at current summer/warm temperatures. I start a new batch each morning with one quart of fresh, warm, raw goat’s milk from that AM’s milking. I put the warm milk it in a quart size jar and mix in the kefir grains. I cover the jar with a thin towel and secure it to the jar with a rubber band. I leave that on the counter in the kitchen, several feet away from Kombucha or yogurt or any other culturing food.

By the next morning, a taste test and a gentle rocking of the jar will tell me if the kefir is done. I am looking for thick milk (thicker than buttermilk but thinner than yogurt) and a fresh, slightly sour flavor. I strain out the kefir grains, and put the finished kefir in the fridge to chill until dinnertime. Then I use another quart of fresh milk (from the AM milking) and repeat the process with the kefir grains just strained out of the finished batch.

So far, Jeff and I have a larger serving than the kids. They are adjusting to the taste. For anything like this that takes an adjustment, I will serve the kids just a bit of it for many days. In most cases, they end up liking the food. When they start drinking more of the kefir (we are almost there), I think I will make one and a half quarts of kefir each day. But, maybe more – then we can use it for other things.

Keeping reading to the benefits below… and you will see why I think it is important for each of us to consume kefir of this every day. If only I could figure out how to get my goats to drink it every day – they would be the healthiest around! (Any suggestions?)

What’s So Great About Kefir?

Quoting again from Donna Gates,

Kefir is a cultured an microbial-rich food that helps restore the inner ecology. It contains strains of beneficial yeast and beneficial bacteria (in a symbiotic relationship) that give kefir antibiotic properties. A natural antibiotic – and it is made from milk! The finished product is not unlike that of a drink-style yogurt, but kefir has a more tart, refreshing taste and contains completely different micro-organisms… kefir does not feed yeast, and it usually doesn’t even bother people who are lactose intolerant. That’s because the friendly bacteria and the beneficial yeast growing in the kefir consume most of the lactose and provide very efficient enzymes (lactase) for consuming whatever lactose is still left after the culturing process… kefir is mucous-forming, but… the slightly mucous-forming quality is exactly what makes kefir work for us. The mucous has “clean” quality to is that coats the lining of the digestive tract, creating a sort of nest where beneficial bacteria can settle and colonize…

Awesome! So, to sum up those benefits, kefir:

• is a natural antibiotic
• does not feed yeast
• doesn’t bother those who are lactose intolerant, because the beneficial microorganisms consume most of the lactose
• provides enzyme lactase, to digest remaining lactose
• coats the lining of the digestive tract, creating a nest for beneficial bacteria to colonize

Kefir’s Other Uses?

I think I need some help here. I know that I can use kefir in smoothies (but I have not done it yet). I also think it could be part of salad dressings or dips, such as those that call for yogurt or buttermilk. To maintain its benefits, I think it should only be part of raw recipes.

Do you have any ideas? Any recipes? What other uses are there?