Blueberry Dream

Mmm... Milk kefir has to be one of my favorite things on planet earth. It's kind of like a yoghurty drink, basically milk that has been cultured. It is pure creamy loveliness and you can make it at home. Best of all, it's blow-the-roof-off healthy, packing a more powerful nutritional punch than yoghurt and easier to digest than milk.

Sometimes I look at my jar of kefir and literally want to drink every last drop! It may look humble, something along the lines of lumpy milk, but it is actually a force to be reckoned with and when taken regularly can make a real difference to health and energy levels. It's got Vitamin Bs to the max, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and protein.

I have it every morning and sometimes in the evening as well. It doesn't seem to be native to the UK and can be quite hard to find. For anyone who lives in Edinburgh, they do sell it at Real Foods on Broughton Street. I met a Russian guy recently who, after seeing me drink it, said: "Ah kefir, yes, we drink. Very good!" I also met a lady who lives in Los Angeles who said it is "everywhere" out there.
I find it best to make at home and I use a "starter" from Body Ecology. A starter is basically a powder type stuff that is full of good bacteria and yeast that work on the milk in various ways to create the kefir. These bacteria and yeasts form a little friendly army and work their magic within about 24 hours. I always use organic milk. I've never tried it with raw milk (straight out the cow, or goat, or whatever - not treated in any way). Raw milk is illegal in Scotland - boo! But I hear it can be found in other parts of the UK.

I warm the milk up to skin temperature and put in the starter, mix it up and put it in an airtight jar. I leave it for about 24 hours and pop it in the fridge, ready to be enjoyed. I use part of this batch to inoculate the next batch and so it goes on. A happy merry go round of kefir creation! From one pack of starter you get about six batches of kefir.

I'm experimenting at the moment with ways to spice up my kefir. I love it all on its own, but what's life without a bit of variety? A while ago I created a "Blueberry Dream" smoothie and I want to share it with you. It's a cracker.

Ingredients:

pack of blueberries
spoonful of xylitol (sugar substitute)
glass of milk kefir

It goes as follows: throw the blueberries into the food mixer, add some water and xylitol and whizz it up until a gooey blueberry liquid is formed - rich and dark, full of goodness. Then take the kefir and put one layer in a glass, followed by a layer of the blueberry mixture, then the kefir, then the blueberry and so on until its all layered up.

Viola! A bea-uuuu-tiful breakfast, right there, in a glass, ready to drink!

Kefir Information
Real Foods