water kefir (my weekend project)

I've been really busy drinking up all the Kefir that my little miniture Lava lamps, as I call them, have been producing.  Considering how much I have as my bounty I've actually been saving my not buying any other probiotic type drinks.  Trust me, those commerical Kombucha and other drinks that sit on the shelves next to it at  your WholeFoods Market just won't taste the same after you've made  your own.  I also love my home brewed Kombucha and Rejuvelac (sipping on a glass right now.)  They don't have such high yields, which is good becauce I need a third refrigerator to store everything, and they really do offer a different taste.  I also think it is good to switch up drinks, just like switching up your greens.  They benefits of which, you get your fuller range of the good little bacteria and you don't feel you're drinking the same thing.  I would really suggest trying these types of beverages as an alternative to powders and or other means of getting your good digetive track blooming. 

Health Benefits of Water Kefir
The health benefits of consuming water kefir are endless. They are a natural supplier of probiotics to our digestive track. Probiotics refers to the healthy bacteria that usually feeds on the “bad” unhealthy bacteria in our stomach and intestines. Bacterial overgrowth can lead to many illnesses some of which include fungi, yeast infections, indigestion, obesity, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, skin disorders, etc. By drinking water kefir you will bring balance to your internal microflora. Many people take a probiotic supplement daily for this particular reason but I prefer to drink the water kefir. It’s much tastier and more affordable in the long run.
Dr. Gabriel Cousens, a leading expert in the raw food community, writes in his book “Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine“:
“Kefir grains produce right-rotating L(+) lactic acid, which is an important constituent of the human body. It is particularly important in the prevention of cancer and has been used experimentally with success in the treatment of cancer. In addition, right-rotating lactic acid may help maintaining healthy functioning of the heart. According to some researchers, the cells of the heart muscle obtain their energy primarily from right-rotating lactic acid.”
Another health advantage of water kefir is that people who do not wish to consume dairy or have a vegan type diet may find that water kefir provides the living probiotics without the need for dairy or tea cultured products, like kombucha.Vegans also may like to know that through the fermentation process kefir becomes an excellent source of vitamin B12, and is high in vitamins B1 and B6.
Diabetics, in particular, could greatly benefit from drinking kefir. Since the finished product, if bottled, will produce a carbonated beverage, it provides an alternative to sweet soda drinks. In that sense, anyone from children to adults can enjoy water kefir guilt-free.
How to Make Water Kefir
Making water kefir is super easy and fun.

Tools Required:

• Plastic strainer
• Plastic measuring spoons
• Wooden spoon
• Measuring cup, quart size best
• 8-cup (1/2 gallon) Ball Mason jar or 4-cup (32oz quart size)

Notes: it’s very important that you NEVER use any metal utensils or tools when handling living cultures such as kefir grains. They don’t like metal and may be adversely affected if exposed to it.
Ingredients needed:

• Filtered or spring water
• Water kefir grains
• Organic cane sugar or
• Sucanat, raw sugar or coconut palm sugar
• Unsweetened, unsulfured dried fruit (apricots, figs or raisins)
• Organic lemon (optional)
• Ginger, fresh (optional)

Notes: never use tap water because it contains chemicals such as chlorine and fluoride. (If this is the only water available to you, boil it with the cover off to help evaporate the chlorine and fluoride and let it cool.) They will kill the grains. Make sure the dried fruit doesn’t have any sulfur dioxide added to it. Many conventional brands add this chemical to keep the dried fruit looking bright and fresh.
Basic water kefir formula:

Recipe is for quart size jar if using 1/2 gallong just double

• Quart of water
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 3 Tbsp. of kefir grains
• Few pieces of dried fruit
• Optional lemon, 1" slice
• Optional ginger, 1" coin size, peeled

I usually boil up one cup of water and pour it into a quart size mason jar.  Add the sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until dissolved.  Then add the remain 3 cups of water (which should be room temperature so as not to kill the grains.)  I then place the dried fruit into the jar (hint: larger fruit like the fig or apricot is easier to fish out after brewing) and the optional lemon and ginger.  The lemon and ginger make it more sparkley so if you want something to be more mild leave this out.  The lemon and ginger add that fizz that you get from those commerical type of kombucha.  Cover it, I use a coffe filter and rubber band, and set it out of direct sunlight.  I like to cover mine with a towel so it gets a little extra darkness and warmth (good for those little grains to go napping!)  Then wait 24-48 hours (or if you get busy - up to 5 days is okay as well).

Drain the liquid through the sieve, which should not be metal) and pull out the dried fruit, ginger and lemon is used.  Pour the new brew of water kefit into a bottle and refrigerate.  If you leave it outside the refrigerator it will keep fermenting and you might find it over flowing and leaking. 

Start the process all over again.  I don't traditionally wash my kefir grains in between batches, but if you want to, don't use tap water.  Use your spring water.  I have also use a little of the old brew to help with the starting of the new batch.  This is similar to what I do with my rejuvelac and kombucha.


Remember that each type of dried fruit you add will change the taste and color slightly but these are good variations to keep in mind.  My favorite is the apricot and figs.  I've used black mulberries and that was tasty too.  I wasn't too excited about the goji berries...they made it taste a little sour to me but you should experiment and see for yourself.  Enjoy.

                           
Health Benefits of Water Kefir
The health benefits of consuming water kefir are endless. They are a natural supplier of probiotics to our digestive track. Probiotics refers to the healthy bacteria that usually feeds on the “bad” unhealthy bacteria in our stomach and intestines. Bacterial overgrowth can lead to many illnesses some of which include fungi, yeast infections, indigestion, obesity, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, skin disorders, etc. By drinking water kefir you will bring balance to your internal microflora. Many people take a probiotic supplement daily for this particular reason but I prefer to drink the water kefir. It’s much tastier and more affordable in the long run.
Dr. Gabriel Cousens, a leading expert in the raw food community, writes in his book “Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine“:
“Kefir grains produce right-rotating L(+) lactic acid, which is an important constituent of the human body. It is particularly important in the prevention of cancer and has been used experimentally with success in the treatment of cancer. In addition, right-rotating lactic acid may help maintaining healthy functioning of the heart. According to some researchers, the cells of the heart muscle obtain their energy primarily from right-rotating lactic acid.”
Another health advantage of water kefir is that people who do not wish to consume dairy or have a vegan type diet may find that water kefir provides the living probiotics without the need for dairy or tea cultured products, like kombucha.Vegans also may like to know that through the fermentation process kefir becomes an excellent source of vitamin B12, and is high in vitamins B1 and B6.
Diabetics, in particular, could greatly benefit from drinking kefir. Since the finished product, if bottled, will produce a carbonated beverage, it provides an alternative to sweet soda drinks. In that sense, anyone from children to adults can enjoy water kefir guilt-free.

Additional background information on Kefir (Tibicos):

Tibicos, also known as tibi, water kefir grains, sugar kefir grains, Japanese water crystals and California Bees, and in older literature also known as Bébées, African bees, Ale nuts, Australian bees, Balm of Gilead, Beer seeds, Beer plant, Bees, Ginger Beer plant, Ginger bees, Japanese Beer seeds and Vinegar bees^[1] are a culture of bacteria and yeast held in a polysaccharide matrix created by the bacteria. As with kefir grains, the microbes present in tibicos act in symbiosis to maintain a stable culture. Tibicos can do this in many different sugary liquids, feeding off the sugar to produce lactic acid, alcohol (ethanol), and carbon dioxide gas which carbonates the drink.
Tibicos are found around the world, with no two cultures being exactly the same. Typical tibicos have a mix of Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Pediococcus and Leuconostoc bacteria with yeasts from Saccharomyces, Candida, Kloeckera and possibly others. Lactobacillus brevis has been identified as the species responsible for the production of the polysaccharide (dextran) that forms the grains.^[2][3] Pidoux (1989)^[3] also identifies the sugary kefir grain with the ginger beer plant. There are certainly opportunistic bacteria taking advantage of this stable symbiotic relation which might be the reason for the many different names/distinction in the scientific literature. Different ingredients/hygienic conditions might also change the fungal and bacteriological composition leading to the different names. This has to be established by further research, however.
People who do not wish to consume dairy products may find that water kefir provides probiotics without the need for dairy or tea cultured products, like kombucha. Since the finished product, if bottled, will produce a carbonated beverage, it provides an alternative to sweet soda drinks for children and adults.
 

So I hope you drink to your health with some delicious water kefir.

April 4th fourth day.

Going a little slow this morning.  We had storms pass through last night and though I'm not usually one to be bothered by thunder, for some reason, I was restless.  Could have been the new moon as well.  Emily, from Raw Food Rehab, posted last  night that the new moon is a good time to write down your intentions and then when the full moon comes you can burn the little card that you wrote on and send those intentions out into the universe.  I had planned on journaling my plans for the new Go Fresh Initiative last night so this made me doubly excited.  May be why I had too many thoughts rambling in my head. 


Woke up this morning with new resolve and a slight headache.  Not sleeping will do that for you.  Walked my mother's dog, Noszek, Polish for nosey, which she is.  She's a beagle and does she ever enjoy nose to earth interaction.  The birds were singing and the air felt renewed by the rain and hopeful will do the earth good to start sprouting green-ness.

For the morning starter I had a quart of lemon water, sprouted buckwheat cereal with home made rice mylk and a banana followed by 1/2 green juice and tea.

To make the cereal: I used 3/4 cup sprouted buckwheats that were dehydrated,
                                          1/2 mix of super fruits (dry) goji, mulberries and golden berries
                                          1 small banana sliced up
                                           3/4 home made rice mylk
                                            sprinkle of cinnamon

Place first three ingredients in a bowl, sprinkle on the cinnamon and pour on the mylk.

                               
That's a lttle bit of carrot juice that I had left over from yesterday so drank that first before I did the green juice. 

Sprouting buckwheats is easy.

I take about 1.5 of buckwheat groats from Sproutpeople, they are the best, most reliable and viable sprouts.  Soak them 6-8 hours, drain and rinse twice a day for about two days until little tails have formed.  Then I place them on the dehydrator trays, I have an Excaliber, and dry then for about half a day at 110 degrees.

You can use them for most anything: cereal substitute, snacks, salad topping, add them to the recipe when making granola...you imagination is your limit.

Instructions for sprouting buckwheat:

Sprouting Instructions
Yields approximately 1 Cup (1/2 lb.) of Sprouts
Put 2/3 Cup of seed* into a bowl or into your Sprouter.
Add 2-3 times as much cool (60-70 degree) water.
Mix seeds up to assure even water contact for all.
Allow seeds to Soak for 20 - 60 minutes.
Note: Groats take up all the water they need quickly, that is why their Soak time is so short. They get waterlogged if soaked too long, and will never sprout - so -
Don't over-soak!
Empty the seeds into your sprouter if necessary.
Drain off the soak water.

Rinse thoroughly with cool (60-70°) water
Note: Groats create the starchiest water on Earth - it is amazingly thick! They won't sprout too well unless you get rid of it - so Rinse and Rinse and Rinse until the water runs clear. It can take a little while - but don't skimp.
Every Rinse is the same with Groats: Rinse and Rinse and Rinse until the water runs clear.
Drain thoroughly.

Set anywhere out of direct sunlight and at room temperature (70° is optimal) between Rinses.
Rinse and Drain again in 4-8 hours.
And, perhaps one more...
Rinse and Drain in 4-8 hours.
And, possibly one more...
Rinse and Drain in 4-8 hours.
We like our sprouts small so we stop whenever they have the tiny tails we seek.

Your sprouts

You can visit the sprout people at the following to get more information:
.new site is at sproutpeople.org
Benefits of Cinnamon:

Studies have shown that just 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon per day can lower LDL cholesterol.
Several studies suggest that cinnamon may have a regulatory effect on blood sugar, making it especially beneficial for people with Type 2 diabetes.
In some studies, cinnamon has shown an amazing ability to stop medication-resistant yeast infections.
In a study published by researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Maryland, cinnamon reduced the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells.
It has an anti-clotting effect on the blood.
In a study at Copenhagen University, patients given half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder combined with one tablespoon of honey every morning before breakfast had significant relief in arthritis pain after one week and could walk without pain within one month.
When added to food, it inhibits bacterial growth and food spoilage, making it a natural food preservative.
One study found that smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function and memory.
Researchers at Kansas State University found that cinnamon fights the E. coli bacteria in unpasteurized juices.
It is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium.

Sprouting instructions for rice and rice mylk

Sprouting InstructionsYields approximately 1 Cup (1/2 lb.) of Sprouts

Put 2/3 Cup of seed* into a bowl or into your Sprouter.
Add 2-3 times as much cool (60-70 degree) water.
Mix seeds up to assure even water contact for all.
Allow seeds to Soak for 4-24 hours. (read Note directly below)
Note: ANYtime we soak ANY seed for longer than 12 hours, we change the water. when your first 12 hours is done: Drain off the soak water, Rinse the seeds and refill with fresh water. Continue soaking. It is extremely rare to soak longer than 12 hours, but Brown Rice is a seed that can take it. We suggest that you try your first batch with a 12 hour soak and see how you like the results. You can try the longer soak on future crops. That way you'll know the differences and which you prefer.
Wehani and Red Thai will sprout well after an 8-12 hour soak.
Wild Rice will split after a short soak and frankly, we've never seen a sprout on it, but it is SO GOOD we don't care. We soak it for about 4 hours. It is the one rice we actually eat un-cooked. It is still plenty chewy, but it's excellent!
Empty the seeds into your sprouter if necessary.
Drain off the soak water.
Rinse thoroughly with cool (60-70°) water.
Drain thoroughly.

Set anywhere out of direct sunlight and at room temperature (70° is optimal) between Rinses.
Rinse and Drain again in 8-12 hours.
And, perhaps one more...
Rinse and Drain in 8-12 hours.
And, if you like one more...
Rinse and Drain in 8-12 hours.
We usually stop here. We like our sprouts small (actually we don't even care if rice sprouts. A bulging germ is good enough for us. Once a seed takes in its fill of water it is alive and therefore nutritionally superior.

Harvest
Your sprouts are done 8-12 hours after your final rinse. Be sure to Drain them as thoroughly as possible after that final rinse.
The goal during the final 8-12 hours is to minimize the surface moisture of your sprouts - they will store best in your refrigerator if they are dry to the touch.

RefrigerateTransfer your sprout crop to a plastic bag or the sealed container of your choice - glass is good too - and put them in your refrigerator.

I sprouted my rice for several days.  Took the sprouted rice, about 1.25 cups and placed in my Blentec with 1.75 cups of water.  Blended is first for about 30 seconds.  Then I added three dates and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and blended again.  You want to make sure everything gets combined but not overheated.  Other flavorings can be added but this is a base recipe.

That's how the morning started.

For lunch I will have a kale salad and some marinaded mushrooms with green juice.

Dinner will probably be some fruit and juice.  Don't usually do a huge dinner.  I like to get the major of the heavier food intake in my mid day.  

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starting go green

Today starts the Raw Food Rehab's 8th initiative.  Penni Shelton is the director of the program and we are calling this one Go Green.  For more information go to:http://rawfoodrehab.ning.com/

Today is the first day of the initiative and my first blog...so we'll see what develops.  

For now I will post what my day is like...diet, exercise and eventually thoughts.

Breakfast:

1 quart of green juice (to be sipped on through the morning.) 
banana with buckwheat (buckie) cereal with goji, golden berries and mulberries (dried)
buckwheat was sprouted and then dehydrated.  If you never had them - you should try it.  They taste just like to snap, crackle and pop cereals from the past. 
Topped that with cup of hemp mylk.  

Lunch:
A raw broccoli salad with re-hydrated shiitake mushrooms topped with a dressing of 1/3 EVOO - extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons each tamari and ACV - apple cider vinegar.  Mixed together and sprinkled with hemp seeds and an addition of mixed sea vegetable sprinkles.  


More juice in the afternoon...


Water kefir helps sustain me also through the day. 


Dinner and after:
In the evening I usually take it lighter by eating a fermented vegetable salad...when I have the time I like to make my own.  


During the course of the evening I like to get that last alkaline shot - with one last cup of green juice, usually left over from the middle day jar.