Water Kefir - a healthy replacement for sodas and sugary drinks

How many of you have heard in the news...dyes making kids hyperactive or corn syrup makes you gain 48% more weight or artificial sweeteners are causing disease. What does that leave?? Water? Heck even the crap they put in our water to disinfect it is bad for us....

High Fructose Corn Syrup Study: http://www.foodpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/HFCS_Rats_10.pdf
FDA Memo on Food Dyes: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/FoodAdvisoryCommittee/UCM248105.pdf
Info on Artificial sweeteners: http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-sweeteners.html

That was one of our hardest struggles in this new real food lifestyle...replacing the sodas!

Its taken a while but I think I have found the answer...Water Kefir! I had never heard of it until I started searching for solutions. But it's now been guy approved! BTW my guys are Aaron, my amazing fiance and Lance my soon to be stepson.

They are such good sports and will try anything...once! So I was keeping my fingers crossed lol.

Water kefir is made from kefir grains, the best comparison I can come up with is yogurt. You know all those wonderful live cultures that are so good for your tummy. Well kefir is the same but rather than milk (there is milk kefir too) I found some that work in water.

You put the grains in sugar water and let them sit for 24-48 hours, they feed on the sugar and produce a yummy, bubbly sweet drink. I flavor mine with lemon juice for lemonade and tried my first strawberry lemonade this morning...we'll see see how that turns out.

The boys enjoy the lemonade and I enjoy the fact that I know they getting something healthy.

For info on purchasing kefir grains check out: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/water-kefir-grains.html
The grains also multiply and if you follow directions and keep them healthy it should only be a 1 time investment to last indefinitely.

Making Kefir:

To make a quart of water kefir, dissolve ¼ c. sugar in a small

amount of hot water. If making two quarts of water kefir, use ½

cup of sugar. Add enough cool water to almost fill the jar leaving

1-2 inches of headspace.

2. When the water has cooled to room temperature, add the kefir

grains. Cover the jar tightly with a towel and rubber band to keep

out fruit flies and ants.

3. Allow the kefir to culture for 24 to 48 hours. 24 hours will yield a

sweeter water kefir. However, if you are sensitive to sugar,

culture the kefir for 48 hours to give the grains a chance to

consume a larger portion of the sugar. Do not let the kefir grains

culture longer than 72 hours. As the kefir grains culture, you may

notice tiny bubbles forming and traveling to the water surface (do

not be concerned if no bubbles appear, see below).

4. Once the kefir has cultured for the desired period of time, strain

off the finished liquid into a separate container (use a fine mesh

plastic strainer if possible; stainless steel is acceptable if

necessary) and cover with a tight lid. Finished water kefir does

not require refrigeration, but can be refrigerated if you desire a

cold beverage.

5. Add the grains to a new batch of sugar water and proceed with

your next batch.

That's it for today,