I went to a local fermentation meetup group about a year ago, eager to learn more about how to make kombucha tea at home, and in the process I stumbled across a “new” (at least to me) type of fermented drink called water kefir. Water kefir has actually been around for thousands of years and goes by many different names including Japanese water crystals. The girl who had brewed this tasty lightly carbonated concoction had flavored it with fresh blueberries after it had been fermented. I was immediately impressed by the versatility of this probiotic wonder drink-which is purported to contain trillions of healthy bacteria to aid digestion and the immune system.

Unlike milk kefir, water kefir is perfect for those who are lactose intolerant. This summer I decided to try brewing my own water kefir and found that it’s actually quite easy to prepare-and easier and more fool-proof than kombucha.

Here is a basic water kefir recipe that helped me get started:
1) Fill a quart sized jar with room temperature mineral water* leaving about 2 inches of space at the top
*(or spring or tap water with most of the chlorine filtered out. Reverse osmosis water isn’t recommended, although I have tried it without ill effect. The main thing to remember is that minerals are beneficial to the functioning of water kefir grains, so if they’re not getting minerals from the water, some mineral rich fruit should be added)
2) Add approximately1/4 cup sugar and stir
3) Add1/4 cup Water Kefir Grains
4) If available add 1/4 cup starter water kefir, otherwise you can add half a peeled lemon to the brew for your first 2 or 3 batches.
5) Then wrap a small handful of dried un-sulfured fruit into an unbleached coffee filter or a reusable fabric pouch (So far I have tried: dates, dried mango slices, raisins, figs, and apricots or a combination thereof)

I’ve also tried dried candied ginger in my primary ferment. Maybe it was just me, but that batch seemed a little flat. I might eventually give ginger another try in a secondary ferment though, after it has established some zing.

I then cover the jar with a coffee filter or other breathable material, secured with a rubber band (if you using metal try to make sure the rim is completely dry before securing so the metal won’t rub off and contaminate your grains). I leave the brew alone at room temperature for 2, sometimes 3 days. The longer it brews the stronger the flavor starts to get and the more carbonation it will acquire. If you like a sweeter more soda pop taste, one day might be sufficient. You can sample the brew or give it a stir now and then with a plastic spoon or straw.

After the primary ferment, sometimes I’ll do a secondary ferment. This involves straining out the water kefir grains for the next batch, discarding the fruit, and then bottling the water kefir (minus 1/4th cup for your starter) in a sealed container and then letting it sit on the counter for a day to add even more carbonation. You should leave about an inch of head space and crack the lid open every few hours for just a quick burp to let some of the gases escape (this helps prevent the bottle from bursting).

Before putting the finished water kefir into the fridge I also like to tape on a label with all pertinent info that I’ll soon forget-like what ingredients I used, when the primary ferment began and ended, if and how long the secondary ferment lasted, and my impression-like “wow, super fizzy.” One word of caution, I’ve heard that the more carbonated it is, the higher the alcohol content. I believe the alcohol % in water kefir is a fairly trivial amount like less than 0.8% but it bears mentioning. Part of what sparked my renewed interest in water kefir is that the kombucha I usually buy at the store was recalled because they were having trouble keeping the alcohol content below 0.5% and it ran into regulatory issues.

I actually made a batch last week that reminded me of the Kombucha Botanica Elderflower I used to buy and love. I used one dried fig and some raisins in a full 3 day primary ferment. I noted that it was really potent-maybe too potent and decided to skip the secondary ferment and put it in the fridge for 5 days—and when I took a cautious sample, it was irresistibly delicious. I’m still new at this little hobby and am eager to learn more about fermented foods and water kefir health benefits. I’ve purchased a book that came highly recommended called Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods and look forward to continuing this experiment!

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I love a good cup of chai tea on a cold winter morning. Black tea has antioxidants that help the body to eliminate free radicals from the body, thus fighting colds and flu, heart disease, and possibly even cancer, but when you have some delicious organic chai to sample when the weather heats up it’s a bit of a dilemma. Thank goodness for the noggin’ using person who thought of iced tea!

As with any gourmet drink or dish there is an art to making the best iced tea, and it starts of course with the chai tea itself. I had the opportunity to try out a new to me organic decaf chai tea from LeafSpa makers of premium organic loose leaf teas.

The LeafSpa decaf chai is a spiced Darjeeling black tea infused with organic cinnamon, organic ginger, organic cardamon, organic pink peppercorn, and additional organic cinnamon, vanilla, and ginger flavor. That’s a lot of organic goodness that combines to make a delicious nicely spiced warm and soothing chai tea. But again, unless you are in the middle of a thunderstorm and need the warm reassurance of a good cup of chai you’ll want another use for your tea during the hot summer months.

Along comes iced chai the summer savior for tea drinkers. But here is a healthy indulgent iced tea recipe with a twist: a chai tea shake a-la-natural health goodies…

Our Chai Tea Shake Recipe

(or if you like fancy names it could be the Natural Health Goodies Secret Ingredient Goody Goody Gum Drop Chai Tea Shake without the Gum Drops – but that takes longer to say than it takes to make so maybe not)

First make up a batch of chai tea:

• Use 1 tsp loose leaf chai tea per 6oz cup of water
• Heat cold water to a rolling boil and let sit until the temperature is between 180-200 Degrees F
• Steep tea for 2-3 minutes or to desired strength

Allow your chai tea mixture to cool (it can be left in the fridge over night if you like) and then pour into a blender along with enough vanilla frozen yogurt so its nice and creamy…..

Last but not least is the super secret natural health ingredient.. drum roll please… bda bda buda bda (how do you type a drum roll anyway?)

Vanilla Kefir!

Kefir, if you haven’t heard is a probiotic yogurt-like cultured milk that has tons of good for you digestion and immune boosting benefits and makes a nice addition to smoothies or in this case chai shakes.

Blend all ingredients until frothy and rich pour and enjoy. And then try to say “Natural Health Goodies Secret Ingredient Goody Goody Gum Drop Chai Tea Shake without the Gum Drops” five times real fast.

I have several more LeafSpa teas to try so please subscribe and stop by again for more LeafSpa Organic Tea reviews and recipes.

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My girls absolutely love kefir, a delightfully delicious cultured milk similar to yogurt. (and I admit I’m a little addicted as well) Someday we’d even like to make our own if we can find a good source of kefir grains, but until we do we like to try various store bought kefir when we find it.

We recently found a good one at a local co-op made by Nancy’s – Organic Blackberry Kefir – I’m salivating just thinking about it. Nancy’s makes four varieties of Organic kefir in 8oz and 32 oz sizes – plain, raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry.

Not only is their kefir loaded with tons (well, billions actually) of live probiotic cultures including L. Acidophilus, B Bifidum, L. Rhamnosus, and L. Casei (which besides being fun tongue twisters are actually great for digestive health and the immune system) Nancy’s organic kefir uses all organic milk, fruit and inulin (a prebiotic – probiotics best friend that enhances nutrient absorption).

In fact the organic milk comes from grass fed cows which provides a massively huge amount of good nutrients not found in “regular” milk.

The natural health geek in me has to mention a couple of points: one Nancy’s Organic Kefir uses Agave Nectar which while it is a low glycemic sweetener, has very high levels of Fructose which many even geekier natural health guru’s believe should be avoided like the plague.

Also in order for it to count as a low-fat drink it contains organic nonfat dry milk (in addition to actual organic milk) – which kinda defeats the point of all those good for you fats found in grass fed milk. There is a widespread misconception that low-fat or non-fat milk is good for you – but that is a whole post in and of itself.

That being said Nancy’s Organic Kefir is still one of the best for you kefirs I have found in stores and I’ll certainly buy it again – now if they made a full fat grass fed naturally sweetened variety I’d have to say it would be the perfect kefir.

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Ok so you’ve got your Valentine e-cards all ready to send, your Valentine flowers are on order, you’ve even got your Valentine theme ipod case all wrapped up for your sweetie or teeny bopper but what about a little love for yourself. (what do you mean you bought the valentine theme ipod case for you – naughty naughty)

Well if you are looking for a little something to relax and enjoy now that you have all these things checked off your to-do list try Yoplait YoPlus yogurt. We’ve tried a couple flavors so far and they are mighty tasty. Plus as you might infer from the “Plus” they have a little extra that other yogurts don’t always have. Yoplait YoPlus is loaded with antioxidant vitamins A and E, fiber and probiotics for digestive health, and calcium and vitamin D for bone health. Let me touch on a couple of those ingredients if I may.

First off the vitamin D is very important not only for bone health but it is great for cold and flu season because higher vitamin D levels are known to be naturally immune boosting. Vitamin C and zinc get the celebrity treatment when it comes to cold and flu season but vitamin D may actually be more effective in fighting off the sniffles and sneezes.

Second the probiotics in Yoplait YoPlus are basically the good bacteria the body needs to regulate digestion and keep the bad bacteria from causing any number of health problems. It is also good to note that YoPlus has the prebiotic fiber inulin from chicory root extract which is necessary to help keep good-for-you types of bacteria strong and effective.

If you are looking for creative and healthy Valentine ideas or just a fun Valentine’s day activity for kids try this fun and easy yogurt shaped frozen treat recipe. This homemade Valentine treat idea comes from the February issue of “Your Big Backyard” magazine.

What you’ll need:
1. Your favorite yogurt – like Yoplait Yo-Plus for example
2. Several heart shaped cookie cutters

Here’s the fun part:
1. Place the cookie cutters on a plate or baking pan
2. Fill each heart shaped cookie cutter with yogurt
2b. make sure you sample some yogurt (what’s kitchen fun without some free taste testing – plus you’ll need the extra nutrients in the yogurt to help fend off the barrage of “is it ready yet” every 2 minutes)
3. Place your heart shaped creations in the ‘ol freezer for a couple hours
4. Lift off the cookie cutters and have some tasty healthy Valentine treats – yum yum

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