You’ve probably heard that fermented foods are great for you, and they are, if they are made with good quality ingredients, and include a healthy, healing mix of probiotic cultures, and they don’t have sugar in them. But products that meet all those criteria are not easy to find in grocery stores! So I’ve put together this set of instructions to guide you in making your own yogurt, kefir, and sour cream – it’s super easy, and the end results are so delicious and good for you, you might never want to go back to store-bought!
While these instructions will work using dairy products, for optimal health, I recommend using coconut milk or coconut cream instead of dairy. Be sure to choose coconut milk and coconut cream that do not have any additives or thickeners such as guar gum (which is a gut irritant for many).
DIY Kefir
Instructions
- Easier to make than than yogurt, kefir is a fermented milk beverage that, when homemade with the right ingredients, is full of wonderful, gut-healing probiotic power!
- Pour 2 cans of well mixed, full-fat coconut milk into a glass jar, loosely covered, and leave sitting out on counter until it is at room temperature (65-75 degrees).
- Add ½ packet of powdered kefir starter, mix well, cover the jar opening with cheesecloth or a paper towel rubber-banded to the opening, and leave it sitting on the countertop at room temp for 1-5 days.
- It will thicken some (though not as thick as yogurt) and get slightly sour and effervescent.
- It will get more sour as the days go by – taste it each day along the way.
- Put it in the fridge when it gets to the level of sourness that you like, and enjoy some every day!