You may wonder how to eat more probiotics. In other words, you want to know how to get fermented foods into your daily diet. You may think it is difficult to add more fermented foods in your diet, but it really isn’t that difficult. You just have to get into the habit of including them and find some creative ways to do so. It is important enough to make the effort because of fermented foods’ health benefits. Here are some ways to get you started.

Milk Kefir

1. Make a point to drink at least a small glass of milk kefir each day.  This could be with breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as a snack.  I usually make sure I drink some right after I strain my kefir each day.  I like it room temperature.  You may prefer it chilled.  The important thing is to get into the habit of drinking it every day.
   

   Kombucha

2. Have a set time during the day to drink a small glass of kombucha, if you have not already had some.  According to Donna Schwenk, author of Cultured Food for Life, she has seen great health improvements in people who consume what she calls “The Triology” each day.  “The Trilogy” is milk kefir, kombucha, and fermented vegetables. She recommends that you consume each of these daily.
3. Add fermented vegetables to your plate or salad with one or more meals each day.  This can be sauerkraut, pickles, fermented mixed vegetables, or whatever you prefer.  You cannot eat too much, unless you are just beginning.  (If you are just beginning to add fermented foods to your diet, start with a small amount and increase this each day.  This gives your body a chance to adjust to the increased amount of good bacteria.  You may experience more detox reactions if you add large amounts quickly.  These detox reactions are a sign your body is getting rid of bad bacteria and yeasts, which is a good thing, but when it happens too fast, it can be uncomfortable.)
   

   Fermented Carrots & Cauliflower, Pickles, and Okra

    

4. 

   Water Kefir

    

   Replace beverages throughout the day with kombucha and water kefir.  You can flavor these to your liking or drink them plain. You may also add them to other drink recipes, such as punches and fruit drinks. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water also, as this is necessary for good health.

5. Eat cultured dairy products whenever you can. Some examples are kefir cheese, cultured butter, cultured buttermilk, cottage cheese, sour cream, and yogurt.
   

   Kefir Cheese Balls in Extra Virgin Olive Oil

    

   

   Viili Yogurt

   Make sure that these contain live probiotic cultures and that they do not contain excess sugar, chemicals, and other additives. (Organic and grass-fed dairy products are best.  If you have access to organic, grass-fed, raw milk, then using that make these even better. Cultured dairy products made from organic, grass-fed milk is also very healthy. Try to avoid ultra-pasteurized dairy products, if at all possible, because these do not culture as well, and the proteins in the milk are changed by this high heat, which may be more difficult for your body to digest.)

6. Add some fermented food to your (raw) green or other smoothies. You can easily add milk kefir, kombucha, water kefir, or a small amount of fermented vegetables.
7. Use fermented or cultured foods as an ingredient in other recipes that are not cooked. You can use milk kefir, yogurt, sour cream, and/or cultured butter milk in salad dressings and dips. You can use kombucha, especially some that is very sour, as a replacement for vinegar in vinaigrette.
8. Serve kefir cheese as a spread on crackers or with vegetables or serve it on salad. Kefir cheese balls look very pretty on a salad, and taste great, too. You can use some of the olive oil the kefir cheese balls were stored in to make your salad dressing, too.
   

   Kefir Cheese Balls on Salad

   

   Kefir Cheese Balls with Garlic Salt Served on Crackers with Alfalfa Sprouts

9. Keep in mind that you can and should add fermented foods to other dishes and meals.  You will think of new ways.  Do not be afraid to experiment! Just remember that cooking kills the good probiotic organisms, so try to use them in raw recipes or add them to foods after they are cooked, as when serving. Be creative and enjoy them for your improved health!

Please share below ways you include fermented foods in your diet on a regular basis.

Are you looking for other ways to eat kefir?  Do you need recipes using milk kefir? Try kefir cheese and cheese balls.

If you make milk kefir every day, and you do not drink all that you make daily, you will soon accumulate a surplus of kefir in your refrigerator.  If you keep your kefir grains producing without storing them, you will almost certainly have more than you can drink.  So, what can you do with all of that kefir that is being stored in your refrigerator.

Use Extra Kefir

I hate to waste anything, especially something as good for you as kefir. This is especially true when I make it with my organic, grass-fed, raw milk, which is even more costly and dear.  Room in my refrigerator is at a premium, too. Finding a way to use the kefir so that it either reduces or eliminates the space needed in the fridge is important to me.

(Learn how to make your own milk kefir here.)

Kefir Cheese, Anyone?

Kefir Cheese

Enter kefir cheese and kefir cheese balls stored in olive oil at room temperature.  The kefir cheese is greatly reduced in volume from the original kefir.  It has to be refrigerated, but if you make it into kefir balls, you can store them immersed in extra virgin olive oil at room temperature for months.

Kefir Cheese Balls in Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I do this whenever I can.  What is even more wonderful, is the fact that they taste so good!  I learned how to make kefir cheese and cheese balls from Wardeh Harmon’s GNOWFGLINS Cultured Dairy eCourse.  (This is just one of many traditional food preparation eCourses that are included in one membership.)

There Are Many Uses for Leftover Whey

You do have the whey left over, but you can use it to lacto-ferment fruits and vegetables, in baking, to soak your grains or flour before baking (which makes them more easily digested), drink it, feed it to your animals, or use excess to make ricotta cheese.  (The GNOWFGLINS  eCourses teach how to to do all of these things and much more in traditional food preparation.  I have learned so much from Wardeh Harmon, who operates this site and teaches most of the lessons.  You will love the eCourses, too.  I find them well worth the small investment, and I think you may too.  You will be offered five free lessons if you start to leave the site or if you go to www.GNOWFGLINS.com, which is her blog. I recommend these because I think Wardeh, her blog, podcasts, books, and eCourses are excellent!)

On to Kefir Cheese…

How to Make Kefir Cheese

Ingredients:

Plain milk kefir, as much extra as you have (See how to make kefir here.)

Sea salt, to taste

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) to cover, if making the kefir balls

Equipment:

Large pan or bowl (glass, ceramic, or stainless steel)

Large colander (stainless steel)

Two layers of 90 count cheesecloth (sometimes called butter muslin)  You need pieces large enough so that you can tie all four ends together and around a stick, wooden spoon handle, or heavy string to hang the cheese to drain.

A spoon and possibly a rubber spatula

A small cookie scoop or two spoons

A glass jar with a lid, large enough to hold all of the cheese balls and be covered with EVOO

A glass storage container to hold any leftover kefir cheese, if there is any

Directions:

1.  Set the colander into the large bowl or pan.  The container needs to keep the colander suspended over it but be able to catch all liquid that drips out of the it.
2.  Lay a double layer of 90 count cheesecloth over the colander, and press the center of it into the colander.

Kefir

3.  Pour all of your kefir into the cheesecloth-lined colander.

4.  Tie two opposite corner both layers of the cheesecloth.  Pull it down to just above the level of the kefir.  Turn the two tied ends so that they line up with the other two corners. Keeping the tied and untied ends together on either side, tie the two remaining corners with the already tied corners together.  Pull down as tightly as you can to the first two.  Be sure to tuck the ends into the colander, so whey does not drip onto your counter.

Tie Two Opposite Corners Together

Turn First Two Tied Corners to Overlap Last Two Corners

Tuck Ends Inside Colarder

5.  Let this drip for about 24 hours.  You may let it drip while in the colander, but it will drip faster if you can hang the cheesecloth bundle.  I hang it from a wooden spoon suspended over a tall stockpot.  I like to cover all of it with plastic wrap to keep out the occasional fruit fly.

6.  Untie the cheesecloth.  The cheese should be kind of dry, especially if you are making cheeseballs. Mine was a little wetter than I wanted, so I chose to drop it from the cookie scoop straight into the jar of olive oil.

7. Empty the kefir cheese out of the cheesecloth into a bowl.  It should kind of roll off of the cheesecloth as you pull the cheesecloth up while it is over the bowl.

8. Add salt to taste.  You won’t need a lot and maybe as little as 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon.  Taste and add more if needed.

Mix in salt.

9. At this point, you may either put the cheese into a bowl, cover and refrigerate or make it into kefir cheese balls.

Kefir Cheese

10.  If you are making cheese balls, add about a cup and a half of extra virgin olive oil to a glass jar.

11.  To make cheese balls, either spoon out about a tablespoon and roll into a ball between your fingers or dip it out with a cookie scoop.  When using a cookie scoop, you may either drop it straight into the jar or roll it into a ball before putting it into the jar.  Drop the balls into the olive oil in the jar.  Cover with more olive oil.  Make sure they are all covered. 

11.  The kefir cheese balls may be stored at room temperature indefinitely.  This is safe because the probiotic organisms protect it from bacteria that cause spoiling, and the olive oil prevents any air from getting to them.

Kefir Cheese Balls Stored in EVOO

Room Temperature Yogurt Is Easy To Make

Villi Yogurt

Can you make yogurt at room temperature?   That would be much easier than the usual method.*  Yes, you can make room temperature yogurt! Making room temperature yogurt is easy and is also a great way to keep your raw milk raw when you make it into yogurt.  This method works just as well with pasteurized milk, however, so you can make yogurt at room temperature, which is very easy, no matter what milk you use.  This works with any kind of milk you have (i.e. cow, goat, other…).

*The usual method involves heating the milk first, letting it cool before adding the culture, and maintaining it at that temperature until cultured. 

How to Make Room Temperature Yogurt:

First, you need to obtain a yogurt culture that does its culturing at room temperature. These are sometimes called mesophilic cultures.  This method can be used with villi culture and with Danesco’s feta culture**.  There may be others.  The one I have used is the Viili culture. Viili is a fermented milk yogurt from Finland. It is thick and viscous, almost jelly-like, in texture. It is mildly sweet and pleasant tasting. You can order either a fresh or dried Viili yogurt culture from WellsofHealth on Etsy.  Cultures for Health also sells a dry culture.

My friend, Aaron, gave me some of his Viili culture, in the form of Viili yogurt, but you can also purchase a Viili culture.  Use the fresh starter as I describe here. You would reactivate the purchased dry Viili culture, which comes as a dry powder or granules, and culture it in sterile milk to make the starter. Sterile milk is milk that has been heated to 160 degrees.  Be sure to cool your sterile milk to room temperature before adding your starter.

Cover with a coffee filter while it cultures.

I made my starter by adding 1 tablespoon of the Viili yogurt from my friend to 1 cup of sterile milk, which was cooled to room temperature. (You can also use sterile milk or purchased pasteurized milk, straight from the refrigerator, to make your starter or to use in making your yogurt.) I stirred the yogurt into the sterile milk, covered it with a breathable cover (such as a coffee filter secured with a rubber band), and let it sit on the counter until it thickened.  This took about 22 hours for mine.

**With the Danesco Feta Culture, you add the culture each time you make the yogurt and do not keep a starter batch going. Add 1/16 tsp. powdered starter per quart of milk and leave to culture at room temperature until thick (12-24 hours). I did not have great luck in making yogurt with this culture.  It was thin and tasted like buttermilk.  This tasted great, but was not what I was going for.

Use the Starter to Make Yogurt

The next morning, I added 2 tablespoons of the Viili yogurt starter to 2 cups of raw milk. (Use 1 tbsp. of starter to each cup of milk.) I used raw goat milk, but you could also use raw or pasteurized cow milk.  Cover it with a breathable cover, and leave it on the counter until it thickens. (Note:  Room temperature yogurt often will not be as thick as the yogurt you are used to.  It will usually be of a pourable consistency, but usually thicker than milk kefir. The Viili yogurt will have a thick, viscous texture.)

After the yogurt is thickened, put a regular lid on it and place in into the refrigerator.  This stops the culturing process.

Viili Yogurt

After it is chilled, enjoy it as you would any yogurt.  Add fruit to it, eat it plain, add it to a smoothie, or any recipe calling for yogurt.  Just remember that if you heat it above about 100 degrees, you will kill the beneficial probiotic organisms.  If you made this with raw milk, your yogurt also contains the beneficial organisms naturally present in the raw milk.

Difference from Other Yogurts

In addition to being thinner than traditional yogurts, my Viili yogurt seems to have a very gelatinous type of texture.  It slides off of the spoon in globs.  Just be warned that the texture is quite different from what you are used to. It still tastes great, is healthy, and, best of all, is far easier and quicker to make than traditional yogurt.

How Long Will It Keep?

This yogurt will keep for one to two weeks in the refrigerator. You should probably make new starter with sterile milk about every week to keep the organisms healthy.

Great Site to Learn to Make This and Other Cultured Dairy Foods:

To learn how to make room temperature yogurt, complete with videos, please checkout the GNOWFGLINS.com Cultured Dairy & Basic Cheese eCourse . See my Reviews page under Favorite Websites for a link. I was first introduced to making room temperature yogurt in one of these eCourses.  The courses are fantastic!  You may also enjoy  GNOWFGLINS Cultured Dairy & Basic Cheese eBook. (You get 40% off all of the eBooks if you sign up for the eCourses.)

Milk Kefir

Super Source of Probiotics and Easy to Make

Do you like milk kefir?  Have you ever tried it?  It is a pourable dairy food that is somewhat similar in taste to yogurt, although it can be a little more tart.  It contains far more strains of beneficial probiotic bacteria than yogurt, and you can very easily make your own kefir at home.  After you purchase your kefir grains, or get them free from a friend, the only cost of making kefir is for the milk.

This is a probiotic food that you may want to consider including in your diet on a regular basis because of this high probiotic content.  It is also one of the easiest cultured foods to make.  You place the kefir grains* into milk, leave it covered with a breathable cover at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours, and then strain the grains out of the kefir.  You then use these grains to start a new batch of kefir (or store them in milk in your refrigerator until you are ready to make your next batch).

Contains Far Less Lactose Than Milk

In the culturing process, the bacteria and yeast consume the lactose, which is milk sugar, in the milk. Because of this, the milk is predigested, and some people who are lactose intolerant find that they can drink milk kefir, and sometimes yogurt, because there is very little, if any, lactose remaining in the cultured kefir. The beneficial organisms, a symbiotic colony of yeast and bacteria, in milk kefir aid in digestion and help to clean the colon.

Kefir Grains

*The grains are not really grains at all.  They are a symbiotic colony of beneficial bacteria and yeast, which resembles grains in appearance only. They also look like pieces of cauliflower.

Here are the steps to making milk kefir:

What You Need:

Milk Kefir Grains

Milk (cow, goat, sheep, etc.)

A glass jar

A breathable cover, such as a cloth napkin, paper towel, or coffee filter

A rubber band

A plastic strainer or colander

The Process:

Place the kefir grains into a glass jar.

1. Place the kefir grains into a glass jar, such as a canning jar. You will use one to two tablespoons of kefir grains per quart of milk. I have found that the kefir cultures more quickly when I use a larger quantity of kefir grains.

2. Pour in milk.  The milk can be cold out of the refrigerator or warm, fresh from milking.

3. Cover with a breathable cover, such as a cloth napkin, tea towel, paper towel, or coffee filter. I use a coffee filter. Secure it with a rubber band.  Do not use regular cheese cloth, as the weave is loose enough for fruit flies to get through.

   

   Cover milk and kefir grains with a coffee filter while it cultures.

4. Set the jar on the counter, out of sunlight and at least five feet away from other ferments.  Leave for 24 to 48 hours.  I like to gently stir it one or two times during that time.  Taste it after about 24 hours, or sooner if the temperature is warm.  If you like the taste and thickness, then strain out the grains.  (You will find that the thickness of your kefir is not always the same.  You may go through a period of time when it does not get thick at all. It will always be very pourable.)

   

   Kefir: Curd Separated from Whey

   If the kefir cultures a little too long, the curds will separate from the whey.  You can stir them back together, and it is usually fine.  It is fine to drink, but the culture may not be as smooth as you would like.

    

5. 

   Dairy Kefir that is Nice and Smooth

   When the kefir is cultured to your liking, pour it through a plastic strainer.  You will need to gently stir it in the strainer to help the thick part of the kefir pass through.

   

   Strain the Kefir Grains Out

6. Add the grains into a new jar of milk to make another batch of kefir.

7. Drink the cultured kefir or store it in the refrigerator with a tight fitting lid.

8. Optional:  Leave the kefir in a jar with a tight fitting lid out on the counter for a second fermentation, for 12-24 hours, or until it is to your liking.  It will continue to ferment and will develop some carbonation.  Then drink or refrigerate the kefir.

Some Tips for Making Milk Kefir

1. Do not use metal with kefir, as this can harm the culture. Brief contact with stainless steel may be alright.  Never use a metal other than stainless steel.

2. Always culture it in a glass or ceramic container.  It will react to metal and can leach chemicals out of plastic when it is left in there for an extended period.  Plastic for the strainer is the best choice, as it will not be in there for very long and it is not reactive like metal is.

3. To take a break from making kefir, place the kefir grains into a jar with a lid with enough fresh milk to cover them.  This will keep for about two weeks in the refrigerator.  It is best to change the milk about once a week.

4. You can also make milk kefir with nondairy milks like coconut milk or soy milk, but you will need to put the grains back into dairy milk every few batches.  This is because the kefir grains need this milk to remain healthy.  I have not had very good luck making kefir with homemade raw almond milk, but feel free to experiment. Please let me know, in the Comments below, how it turns out.

I have a source for purchasing milk kefir grains in the Resources section of my website. You can also see if someone you know makes kefir and would give you some.  They grow, so people usually have extra.

Another great source of information regarding making kefir and other cultured dairy is the GNOWFGLINS Cultured Dairy and Basic Cheese eCourse or the GNOWFGLINS Cultured Dairy and Basic Cheese eBook.  You get 40% off on all of their eBooks if you subscribe to the eCourses.

Please let me know in the Comments section below how your kefir turns out and how you like to make yours.  I will be glad to answer your questions.

By Tia Lee

How to Use Extra Kefir

Do you need to use extra milk kefir you have in your refrigerator? If you have been making milk kefir for very long, it is very likely that you have more than you know what to do with. This recipe is an excellent and delicious way to use up some of that excess and another way to add beneficial probiotics to your family’s diet.  Milk kefir has both beneficial yeast and bacteria in it, and has many more strains of probiotic bacteria than yogurt. Learn how to make milk kefir here. 

Your children will probably eat these even if they may not eat plain kefir.  (Even though I do like the taste of plain kefir, my husband does not and, therefore, will not eat it.  He really likes these!)

This is a great treat for when you feel like eating something sweet or you want ice cream.  It is a very healthy alternative, as it contains no or little sugar (depending on the sweetener you use), and it contains a healthy dose of some of the most nutritious probiotics.  It is also a wonderful way to use up ripe bananas or other fruit that you do not want to go to waste.

This recipe makes seven frozen pops or about 1 – 3/4 cup of liquid before freezing.

Preparation Time:  10 minutes                   Freezing Time:  3-6 hours

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana

Kefir, Frozen Strawberries, and Banana

2-3 large strawberries, fresh or frozen

3/4 cup of plain kefir   (Learn how to make it here.)

1-2 drops of liquid stevia

2-3 tbsp. xylitol or sweetener of your choice

2 or 4 tbsp. or so of heavy cream to make the pops creamier (optional)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients into a personal blender, like the Magic Bullet, or a regular blender.

2. Blend until the mixture is smooth.  It will be thin.

   

   Filling Freezer Pop Molds

3. Pour the mixture into frozen pop molds.  Alternatively, you may pour them into small paper cups and add sticks after the mixture has frozen about half way so that they will stand up.

   

   Molds Filled and Putting On Caps/Sticks

4. Freeze several hours until solid.  The freezing time will vary depending on the temperature of your ingredients and, of course, the temperature of your freezer.

5. A few minutes before you are ready to serve the pops, set the molds out of the freezer for a few minutes or run water over the outside of the them.  When the mold is loose, slip the pops out.  If using paper cups, just peel them off.

   

   Frozen Banana-Strawberry Pop Ready to Eat

Enjoy these just as you would regular fruit or other freezer pops.

Variations:  Substitute any other fruit of your choice.  You may also use yogurt instead of kefir.

Notes:  The amount of sweetener needed will depend on the sweetness of the fruit, the tartness of the kefir, and your personal preference.  Be careful not to use too much stevia, as it can have an off taste if you use too much.

If you want to make your own kefir, I have a source for milk kefir grains on my Resources page.

Please share what you like to do with your extra kefir in the Comments section below.  Thank you!

By Tia Lee