Kefir

Dear Faerywings,

I love your name, by the way!

On the internet, there are many kefir blogs and Yahoo groups
of people who are really “into” kefir.You
can check out http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Good_Kefir_Grains/

Two reliable sources of kefir grains are: www.culturedfoodlife.com   and   www.kefirlady.com    Cost is generally around $30, and
your grains will reproduce and last forever.

I’ve
purchased grains from both of these ladies to give as gifts to friends when I
didn’t have enough of my own grains to
share at that particular time, so I can personally vouch for the integrity of
these two sources.

Kefir can be consumed plain, blended with fruit or veggies as a
smoothie, poured on cereal, used as the base of a salad dressing (yummy mixed
with blue cheese), in scrambled eggs, or in baked goods (the heat of cooking
will kill the probiotics, though).

I usually drink my kefir with a bit of stevia or erythritol
sweetener, a dash of vanilla and/or almond extract, and I frequently add some unsweetened
cocoa, ground flax, cinnamon, ginger, ground almonds or walnuts, blueberries, raisins,
bananas, dried plums (aka prunes), whey protein, or good local honey. Sometimes,
I add ALL those ingredients at once (!!), and sometimes I add just a few...

Excess kefir grains can be consumed in a shake or blended
right back into the kefir, itself.

Some people wait until the kefir has "separated" into
curds and whey during the process, and they then strain the kefir from the whey
(and then remove the grains for the next kefir-making), and they use the thickened
kefir to make cheese. Some people use the whey to ferment veggies (think
cucumbers, cabbage, beets, and so forth).

Quite a few people
give kefir to their dogs; it's been recommended by many vets. My two elderly
Border Collies each drink about 1/3 cup a day and love it.

Hope this information helps you!

I'm glad you found the info useful. I wish you the very best!