How To Make Fresh Homemade Kefir

By Jai J Kai 

Photo: 3.bp.blogspot.com

Kefir is a fermented type of milk that is similar to the consistency of grocery store yogurt drinks. I often refer to it as a delicious drinkable yogurt beverage. They have lots of healthy flora and probiotics that have numerous health benefits.
Kefir is great in smoothies, poured over cereal or used in place of cream for deserts, coffee and tea.
The kefir "grains" are live active cultures consisting of yeast and bacteria and are called grains mainly because of their appearance. Kefir grains can be bought online or at some health food stores
So here is a delicious recipe that you can make at home.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp kefir grains
1 quart whole or 2% milk
Procedure:
1. Add the kefir grains and milk in a glass jar and fill it up to the top.
2. Cover with a clean cloth and elastic band and then set it aside in your cupboard or your kitchen counter.
3. Wait 1 to 2 days; stirring periodically with a plastic spoon (this is important because metal damages the cultures).
4. When thick, strain out the kefir grains with a plastic strainer (do your best to keep the grains intact), pour back into a clean jar and place in the fridge or repeat the process again. You can use these same grains because they will continue to remain active.
How to make coconut kefir
Coconut kefir is also a very tasty alternative. Unlike kefir made from cows' milk, coconut milk kefir doesn't have a strong fermented or sour flavor. It is nice and tangy with the naturally sweet taste of coconuts.
The texture is rich and smooth and is also slightly thinner in consistency than yogurt. Both the flavor and texture of fresh homemade kefir is in my opinion a lot better than any store-bought coconut milk kefir.
Use the same recipe as described above but change the ingredients so that instead of using one quart of milk, use two cans of coconut milk.
Also, make sure to re-hydrate your kefir grains in milk for 5 to 7 days at room temperature before making coconut kefir.
If the kefir grains are dehydrated, as they are from most online sources, you must make sure to first re-hydrate them in cows' milk.
Combine the grains with 1 cup of cows' milk and set out at room temperature in a loosely covered glass container for 5 to 7 days. Then strain the grains out each day and place them in a fresh cup of milk.
When the batches of milk take and smell slightly fermented and are thick, your grains are ready.

Jai Kai is an Ayurvedic Consultant, Wellness Coach,Blogger for Planetwell.com - an ayurvedic diet. He is also the author of the book Ayurvedic Diet Secrets promoting an ayurvedic lifestyle and ayurvedic recipes.

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Make Your Own Soda - How To Make Soda

By Rigo Gonzalez 

Photo: i2.cdn.turner.com

Can you Make Your Own Soda, and save money at the same time? Absolutely! Did you know that it's really simple to make your own beverages at home? Just like with anything new there will be a slight learning curve as you learn which flavor combinations work best or how much of a particular ingredient you will need. Have fun with it, make healthier drinks, make fun flavors, and cut back on plastic and aluminum usage a little in the process. Are you ready?
Why Make Your Own Soda?
As you may already know brand name sodas are packed with calories and tons of high fructose corn syrup which is kind of unhealthy for you. In addition here are some other great reasons to Make Your Own Soda:
- Less usage of plastic bottles and aluminum cans
- Complete control over ingredients
- Many different flavor combinations
- You can use "Real" fruit instead of artificial flavors
- Ability to control the taste
- And much more
Last but certainly not least it's just downright fun to make your own soda creations. Drinking the same old boring name brands gets old. Do you remember when the gourmet soda company Jones Soda came out with a flavor called "Turkey & Gravy'? Yes now you can create the next crazy flavor
It Can't Be That Easy...Right?
When it comes to soda there are undoubtedly many flavors on the market, If you have ever watched one of those shows about "how things are made" and caught the one about the soda factory you will probably believe that only major corporations can churn out great tasting soda. Even though there are literally hundreds of different flavors of soda the truth is that most sodas share the same core parts of carbonation, flavor and sweetness. That's it really. Of course how great your soda will taste will depend on what method you use, and a few other factors such as how fizzy (carbonated) you like your water and how flavorful you like your soda.
Gettin "Fizzy" with it!
In order to have a great tasting soda you will need carbonation. To keep it simple there are two ways to achieve carbonation that won't break the bank. The first option is to simply buy a bottle of seltzer water from your local grocery store and mix it with your chosen ingredients. It can't get any simpler than that. With that said this method can add up over time. If you plan on making soda more consistently you may be better off utilizing a machine that can carbonate your plain tap water instead. You can also carbonate with dry ice, but we don't recommend this method as it can be very dangerous if not done properly.
Here Comes The Brand New "Flavor" In Your Root Beer
Ok so now that you have your carbonation method it's time to start thinking about different ways to flavor your carbonated water. First start with a simple syrup mixture consisting of one part water and one part sugar. You can then add at least two parts of your flavoring or more depending on your desired taste. Heat this combo up until it starts to boil then turn the heat off. Let this sit for about 30 minutes then transfer to another container and stick it in your refrigerator. As far as the ratio of carbonated water to flavoring you will have to decide by taste but 2-3 ounces of syrup to 12 ounces of carbonated water is a good place to start. The key here is to experiment with different flavor combinations and see what you can come up with. Make it fun, and who knows maybe you will come up with the next great soda flavor.
If you would prefer to have someone else be the mixologist then you can try using a premade flavor instead. This will shorten the learning curve and you can certainly still experiment and come up with many different recipes.
Just to give you an idea of what you can do with premade flavors here are a couple of recipes that you can create using SodaStream SodaMix flavors to get you going in the right direction:
Shirley Temple
8 oz. SodaStream Ginger Ale
1 1/2 oz. Grenadine or maraschino cherry juice
Maraschino cherries
Pour Grenadine or cherry juice over ice. Add Ginger Ale and serve with a cherry on top!
Berry Dream
4 oz. SodaStream Cranberry-Raspberry
2 oz. Light cream
1/4 cup Strawberries, raspberries or blueberries in syrup
1 cup ice
In a blender, puree ice, cream and berries until smooth and creamy
Pour into a cup and stir in soda
Extra special treat: Serve in a martini glass, garnished with a sprig of mint and fresh berries.
This is just the tip of the iceberg! You can make many more tasty drink recipes and the possibilities are truly endless. Whether you make your own flavors or opt for premade flavors learning to Make Your Own Soda will be fun, good for the environment, and very yummy for your tummy. Cheers!

Don't risk an explosion with Dry Ice! Forget about the expensive recurring cost of Seltzer Water. Learn how to carbonate your water in less than 30 seconds the "Easy" way. Check out the SodaStream Jet Starter Kit so you can make make your own fresh, sparkling water with absolutely no hassle. You can also check out additional SodaStream reviews by going to http://www.homesodamachines.com

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Green Tips For Green Drinks

By Henry Crane 

Photo: transitioncowbridge.org

Green is healthy. Green has become a buzzword in wholesome living. Green beverages are in because of their nourishing effects. So everyone else is learning how to make green drinks. What is it that makes green brews good for your health?
Medical experts and health gurus say that when the body becomes too heavy with acid, this potion is one of the best solutions. It is like eating a load of vegetables which is more convenient for people because it comes in powder forma and just needs to be dissolved in water. Green juices are rich in alkaline and provide stability to the body as well as reduce stress. If you consume green juices which have high alkaline content, there is a greater chance of lessening acids in the body. These also help in producing vitamins, minerals and amino acids which serve as the building blocks of proteins and metabolism or life-sustaining chemical activity.
There are many of these beverages for sale in health shops, grocery stores, supermarkets and online retailers. However, it is still practical to know how to make green drinks. You can try concocting the more popular broccoli juice which is said to be effective in fortifying the immune system. It can be blended with dandelion or yellow weeds are used in making wine, salads and medicine or alfalfa sprouts which contain a lot of nutrients. Medical research also revealed that it would be advisable to take a green drinks instead of coffee since it supplies the body with energy needed for a hectic and tiring day.
Once you become familiar with how to make green drinks, it is a big boost to become healthy since greens have various beneficial effects such as discarding toxins that weaken body tissues, enhancing the absorption of vitamins and minerals, strengthening the digestive process, reducing high blood pressure, minimizing allergic reactions and helping in cancer prevention.
In the same manner, it is an advantage to find out how to make green smoothies since this is considered as a nutritional beverage that can also cause effective weight loss. In fact, many people have been coming up with testimonials that these drinks changed their lives for the better. These health-conscious individuals claim that taking green smoothies have resulted to remarkable changes in their body systems. These are relatively easy to make and taking at least two smoothies daily will produce health benefits and substantial loss weight.
The person, who knows how to make green smoothies and consume these religiously, can be assured of obtaining additional energy, normal digestion, weight loss, lesser cravings for foods that have excessive sugar and salt content. It can also result into a more glowing skin and the elimination of unwanted contaminants from the body. Green smoothies are quite easy to make. It is more uncomplicated than juicing because it uses up more time to make. The fruit flavor dominates the drink so you can relish the sweetness of the fruit ingredients. These sumptuous potions are ideal for kids to include toddlers. If you cannot force them to eat veggie salads, then it will be hassle-free to induce babies to consume these smoothies.

At IMJuicing learn how to make green smoothies, green drink recipes and juice easily, its benefits and the proper ways of doing it fast.

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