One thing we have added to Parker’s blenderized diet that has been very beneficial is Kefir. Kefir is like a drinkable yogurt, except it packs a more powerful punch when made with live Kefir grains.
The first few batches of Kefir I made was with the little packets of freeze dried grains from the health food store.
Only incredibly uh…….slightly pricey.
I’ve been taking a wonderful online food storage class and was offered some live, fresh kefir grains to try out. These grains will last a life time.
Kefir grains look a bit like cauliflower pieces. Or a really large curd cottage cheese.
The whole process is very simple.
I take my grains and place them in a very clean quart jar.
Then I cover my grains with a locally produced, full fat goat milk. But you could us anything. Fat free cow milk. Milk made from powered milk. Coconut milk. Etc.
I leave the quart jar on my kitchen counter for 24 hours. Others leave it out longer. The longer you leave it out, the more tart of a taste you will get.
After you leave it on the counter for 24 hours, you can stick it in the fridge. It will still continue to culture, but at a slower rate.
Or, you can strain off the milk into another very clean quart jar and repeat the process again, which is what I do.
I can buy a not quite a quart of low fat goat milk kefir for close to $8.00. A quart of my homemade kefir is less than half of that.
The difference between the stuff you buy at the store and kefir made from fresh grains is like night and day. It’s thicker, richer and has super small kefir grains in it.
Got any questions? I’d be happy to answer any that I can!
Anybody else use kefir in their diets?
If you want to learn more about making your own kefir this is a site loaded with information: KEFIR!
Twitter: therextras
Apr 28, 10
Thank you, Tammy. I have not tried goat’s anything to know whether the same reaction to cow’s milk products will happen. Use the word ‘grains’ confused me – I wondered if it is a plant product.
Hoping kefir helps our Brave Hero a lot!
Just curious, how do the grains last a lifetime? When you strain the kefir, are you able to reuse those grains? We love kefir here, and would like to have it more often.
Rachel, yes, each time I strain the grains I can then reuse the same grains. As a matter of fact they grow and get bigger as they create kefir from milk. So every 2-4 weeks I will need to cull my grains…..kind of like how you thin out bulbs each year because they have grown and multiplied.
It’s this way that you can have your kefir grains last a life time. Good question!
Wow that is great. I have been wanting to make Kefir but have never got started. I don’t really drink milk so I would do it from coconut milk. You are so amazingly healthy. Do you find that the Kefir helps at all with constipation for Parker? I do have a question for you that is not related to Kefir. I know that you do a blenderized diet. I was wondering at what age you started with Parker and if you have any tips to get me started. I just ordered my Vitamix.
Anyways, you are doing a great job!!!
Sasha, I can’t say the kefir has helped with constipation. But I know it has helped Parker’s digestion because before each bolus feed I pull back on his stomach contents and see if he has digested the previous feed.
And Parker’s stools don’t smell anywhere near as terrifying as they do when he isn’t on kefir. =:O
oops. I am Wysdom’s mom and you can reach me at sacampbell2002@yahoo.ca
Twitter: kdlavoie
May 4, 10
I am curious about the food storage course. I definitely need to learn some of these methods for cutting our food costs.
Where do you buy Kefir made from fresh grains?
Thanks, my one year old has numerous digestion problems and is very sick all the time!
Allison Widener
Allison,
If you Google fresh Kefir grains you’ll find places to order them online. I’d send you some, but I just culled my grains and shared them with one of Parker’s nurses. If you can’t find any online, and don’t mind waiting, I could send you some in a bit.
My daughter will be weaning from breast soon, and i was considering using goats milk, with added coconut and olive oil and blackstrap molasses, but i cant find raw goats milk anywhere, so i was thinking using kefir grains before any other additives might work to add some more nutrients back in. What say you?
Also, i have looked only and seem to find mixed reviews on many of the kefir grains i ould afford, as we are on a very strict budget. Im really just interested in giving my daughter the best nutrition. Do you have any suggestioons?