what is kefir

What is Kefir?

Written by Becky

I’ve been using quite a bit of kefir in my kitchen lately so you might be wondering, what is kefir?  About a year ago I spotted some flavored kefir near the yogurt in the grocery store cold case and I wondered the same thing.  After reading the back of the product I realized just how good for you this product is.

Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your “inner ecosystem.” More nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt, it supplies complete protein, essential minerals, and valuable B vitamins.  Kefir has a tart flavor similar to a plain yogurt but it contains beneficial yeast as well as friendly ‘probiotic’ bacteria found in yogurt. In addition to beneficial bacteria and yeast, kefir contains minerals and essential amino acids that help the body with healing and maintenance functions with anti aging and immune system boosting properties. Because Kefir also offers an abundance of calcium, magnesium and tryptophan (like in turkey) which are important minerals for a healthy nervous system, kefir can have a particularly profound calming effect on the nerves. And a little fun fact, Kefir actually means “feel good” in Turkish.

How I use kefir:

  • substitution for buttermilk in baking
  • liquid addition to fruit smoothies (fruit, ice, agave, kefir)
  • mayo substitute for chicken or tuna salad
  • replacement for milk in cereal or granola
  • cream in baked pasta
  • cream for salad dressing

Here are some recipes that I’ve used Kefir in recently:

Baked Donuts

Homemade Muesli with Kefir

Comments (9)

  1. this has been on my “everyone’s talking about it, so i should probably ask, but i’m embarrassed to at this point” list for a while now, so thanks! 🙂
    i’m excited to try it in my green smoothies!

    • All I knew for the longest time is that it was healthy but I wasn’t sure why until recently. I’ll have to try it in a Green Smoothie too.

  2. My favourite drink 🙂 I was struggling to find it when we just came to SLC. A homemade one is even better! (I believe 🙂 )

  3. Hmm…those are some interesting uses for kefir. I wonder though, if when you cook with it, it might kill all the living cultures and bacteria that is so good for you?

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