Water Kefir

I recently discovered a new healthy drink that I love making and I love drinking - Water Kefir! I seriously cannot clearly define what kefir is, but what I do understand is that water kefir is basically a probiotic drink made with filtered water, sugar and water kefir grains. It's super easy to make. I purchased a starter kit, and once the grains were hydrated, all I have to do now is switch the grains into fresh sugar water (I use organic sucanant) and then let them sit for 24-48 hours. I like to do a second fermentation with a tablespoon of sugar and about 2 inches of fresh ginger chopped into little sticks. This second fermentation sits for 48 hours and creates a ginger beer that is so fizzy, I literally have to open the bottles in a bowl, in a sink. We don't drink soda and so this is a really fun "treat" for us. I want to try making cream soda.

The girls don't like the ginger beer, but they'll drink regular water kefir mixed with juice (very small amount) and I put the water kefir in smoothies.

Like I said, I love making water kefir. It doesn't take all that much time, it feels like a treat and I feel like I'm taking better care of myself and my family and that's rewarding in and of itself. I love that I'm getting some great probiotics into my diet (I don't eat yogurt, and even then, yogurt from the store doesn't contain as many probiotics as we think it does), and ginger is a natural anti-inflammatory. One big thing I've noticed as I've begun consuming water kefir is that my sugar cravings have dropped significantly. I know that gut health affects sugar cravings and I think this is a big connection for me. Water kefir is also praised for increasing immunity and I want a healthy immune system.

I wanted to share this on my blog just because I love it and I find myself telling so many people about it. I decided to also share it here. I hope you try it!