I'm Making Kefir...

Or at least I think I am!  I know that I have shared with you all in the past about how we battled thrush and other illnesses with Davis from basically day one.  On top of that he is a little guy and doesn't even show up on the chart for weight at the doctor's office.  So, at Davis's 12 month visit the doctor told me to cut out everything but whole milk for him to drink to try to pack on some more pounds.  The problem was that he wasn't all that fond of milk after I stopped nursing him.  So, I quickly used a trick that another one of my friends used for her son and started buying kefir that was berry flavored to add to the milk.  It worked like a charm.  After using the kefir for about a month I realized that we were really jumping two hurdles!  The probiotics in the kefir were helping the thrush and also keeping him regular (another issue we were dealing with).

One day while my husband was on the phone with my mother-in-law he was telling her about our trick for getting Davis to drink his milk.  To our surprise she told us that she was making her own kefir.  The best part was that this kefir was "real" and had even more of the good stuff {it was stronger}.  So, when she came over for Christmas these past few weeks she brought some of her kefir grains and got me started.  I just created my first batch and wanted to share with you all how easy it is in case you decide it is something that might work for your family.  I can already tell you that this is going to save us about $32 per month!

Here's what you do.

First of all, if you don't already have any kefir grains, then you are going to need to purchase some from a reputable source.  You want to make sure you are buying milk kefir grains and not water kefir grains.  The grains I am using came from KefirLady.com and my mother-in-law as well as her sister have both purchased from her after much research and have had great success.


Once you have your grains you simply put them in the bottom of a mason jar {we are using mason jars because they are readily available and can be closed air tight}.  You want to make sure to use a jar that is room temperature and not fresh from the hot dishwasher.  Pour organic whole milk that is NOT ultra pasteurized over the kefir grains up to about the bend of the jar.  You want to save room for your kefir to thicken and grow {otherwise you will have milk overflowing}.



Place a coffee filter over the jar with the ring of the lid to secure it in place.  Leave the jar out on the counter for about 24 hours or until the kefir has thickened.  You may even see separation at the bottom of the jar which is just fine.  Once you feel like the kefir is complete you can gentle stir it in order to mix the whey in and help you strain the grains.





Grab another mason jar {we use a wide mouth for making the kefir and a small mouth for the finished kefir just to keep ourselves straight} and start straining the kefir in.  You are going to want to hold the strainer over the jar and not place it on top or you will end up with kefir all over the place like I did the first time!  I have to hold it over the jar and watch where it is going.  I guess if you are a perfectionist you could strain it into a larger bowl and then transfer it to the jar.  Depending upon how thick your kefir is you may need to use a spoon to roll it around in the strainer in order to get all of the good out!


Once you are finished place an air tight lid on your finished {drinking} kefir and either drink right away or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.  Take your kefir grains and place them into the wide mouthed mason jar and repeat the process.  If you aren't quite ready to grow the kefir grains, just pour the milk like normal and place the jar with an air tight lid into the refrigerator and store it until you are ready to let them grow.

I mix about 2 ounces of kefir and 3 ounces of whole milk with a squirt of Nestle chocolate syrup for Davis and he loves it!

If you are interested in more information on kefir you would be surprised the details you can find on the internet!  Just google it.

Here it is broken down in quick steps:

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