Kefir Pics!

Before too much happens, I wanted to share some pictures of what's been happening in the corner of the kitchen.

Here is the Kefir on Day Four (Monday, yesterday) in the morning. It hadn't done as much as I'd hoped but maybe it wasn't getting enough warmth. I decided to let it continue another day 'as is' without changing out the milk.




And here we are on Day Five (this morning) with the same milk as above. Now it's clearly been working! While that curd looks a little scary being a novice at this, the smell is surprisingly light!





It was time to switch out the milk so after stirring it and straining it through a big metal strainer into a bowl, the Kefir grains have become noticeably larger with one tablespoon having become almost three. Meanwhile, I figured I might as well try making a smoothies with the Kefir'd milk so I poured it into a blender with a few ice cubes, some almond milk, little fruit juice, ground flaxseed, and frozen peaches and blueberries.

Here is the result and the flavor was a wonderfully yummy good morning! :-)



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Kefir waking up

On day one, I put the tablespoon of Kefir grains into a quarter cup of milk and by morning, it had solidified into a big curd I guess you'd call it. :-). Not being sure what pure unsweetened kefir is supposed to smell or taste like, it did smell a little tangy and seemed okay. Lol
By the afternoon, I strained the kefir grains out and transferred them to a Ball jar to which I added a half a cup of milk. By this morning (day three), it hasn't solidified but seems to be doing okay.. I'll have to sniff it. ;-)
This afternoon, I'll strain it again and let the grains sit in 3/4 a cup of milk.
We're getting there! :-)

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Kefir Arrived!

After a week of anticipating a win on eBay and awaiting the little package to appear in our mailbox, it finally arrived. Yay! Seriously, yay! :-) And now, as the little grains sit in a quarter cup of organic homogenized (NON-Ultra) Clover brand milk, it dawned on me that it may be a good idea to document my experience. :-) Will this ultimately help me lose weight? Feel great? Will the aches and pains go away and will I regain the energy levels of my 20's? Time will tell. So just in case.. yes, I'm documenting it. *cheesy grin*--no pun intended. ;-)

Here's a list of the Kefir recipes I'm going to make after this 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, etc., revitalization process completes.

1) 2 cups 12 hour standard Kefir
2) 2 cups 24 hour standard Kefir
3) 2 cups 2nd fermentation Kefir with lemon peel

I'd really hope to like enjoy the 2nd fermentation Kefir as "the usual" since it has so many more nutrients.