Gut-Boosting Kefir

You may have tried kefir before and it’s a little like slightly runny yogurt with a little tangy taste.

Kefir, made from any milk/ coconut water is full of great pre-and pro-biotics that nourish your gut microbiome and will balance your gut ecosystem.

A lot of the shop-bought kefir can unfortunately contain some unwanted ingredients – one of which being dairy.

Although the dairy element is pre digested by the bacteria in the kefir, making it easier to digest, some (like myself) still don’t want to ingest dairy, for health and ethical reasons.

So here’s my favourite and simplest recipe for almond milk kefir. I find coconut water and almond milk work best with kefir but do try other milks!

The ingredients are easy to find, it’s a great economical way to make your own at home and the health benefits are huge.

You can get water kefir grains on Amazon or local health shops to get you started, but once you’ve done this once, you have the ‘culture’ for life (if you want it to last that long!)

Ingredients

Makes 1L:

3 tbsps organic kefir grains

1 litre unsweetened almond milk (choose the milk with the least number of ingredients. ie: almonds, water, sea salt)

1 teaspoon unrefined sugar

A 1 lt glass jar with a screw on lid

A sieve with tiny holes

Method

Place the kefir grains and milk in the jar

Add one teaspoon of sugar (for the first batch only)

Close the lid loosely.

Leave in a dark place at room temperature for 24-48 hours

Sieve through the milk and retain the grains (like thicker yogurt ‘bits’).

Put the sieved milk in the fridge and drink within 1-3 weeks.

Repeat the process with another litre of milk if you want, or leave the culture in the fridge until next needed.

Leaving the culture in the fridge will stop the fermentation process.

You can blend kefir with berries and 1/2 lemon juice for added taste or consume plain.

Enjoy cold!

Image by chandlervid85 on Freepik