Quirky Thursday/Probiotics

I am really proud of my new pets.

No, they aren’t sea monkeys.  They are other little critters that I only need to feed and change their water every 48 hours.  In return for the care I give them they provide nutrients for me.  And I don’t have to clean up after them. It’s great! I am talking about my little kefir grains.  I adopted two tablespoons full of them from a friend so I could start making my very own water kefir.  For those of you who have never heard of water kefir it is a fermented beverage full of healthy probiotics.  What are probiotics you may ask?  They are good bacteria that your intestines should be full of.  They are good for not only intestinal health, but also essential for overall good health.  More on this in a later blog.

I do have a confession to make though.  See that menu bar up at the top that says “Recipes”.  It has been a sham.  It should say “Recipe”, because there is only one recipe-bone broth.  But tomorrow I will made an honest title out it, because then…there will be two recipes.  So check it out if you want to start fermenting your own water kefir. Tomorrow.

So anyway, kefir grains are sort of like a pet because if you don’t take good care of them they get sick and may even die.  I already killed mine off once, and had to get more from my friend; then those got sick and I had to research on the internet how to nurse them back to health.  Thankfully, it worked and now mine are thriving again. I am fairly new at this kefir stuff, but I have learned a lot, like, because they are living creatures they cannot be ignored or else…

Kefir grains are really fascinating.  However, they are not grains, like grass seeds.  They are clumps of good bacteria that you put in a jar of water, feed sugar, and then 48 hours later you have, voila!, nutritious water kefir; at which time you start the process all over and make more.  At first, I thought the taste was unusual, but doable.  Now I crave it. And it saves me a lot of money that I had been spending on high quality probiotics.  I highly recommend making some.

However, the only way to start making water kefir is to find someone who has some that will share, or to order some from online. Once you cross this hurdle it is all downhill to fermenting galore. Let me know when you make your first batch.

“We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”