I drink a kefir smoothie nearly every day - homemade raw milk kefir, a little maple syrup, a few berries and whrrrrrrr.

I used to make yogurt but have found kefir so much easier to make and also more versatile. You can make it out of any kind of milk - skim, goat, soy - and use it in recipes in place of buttermilk or yogurt. Plus it has more pro-biotics in it than yogurt does, and there are other health claims made for it I'm less and less skeptical about.

I have an ancient (over 20 years old) cat who was on death's doorstep last spring when I started feeding her a half cup of kefir every day. Now her fur has grown back (she'd developed an allergy to her own saliva), her inoperable tumor is gone, and she acts many years younger.

Anyway, I was curious if there are other kefir converts out there?

I am a big fan of kefir. Before I moved to an organic dairy farm that makes kefir, I hadn't even heard of the stuff. Now I'm convinced that it's probably one of the healthiest foods in the world.

I usually have mine for breakfast with maple syrup. A kefir smoothie sounds good though and I may have to try that sometime.

What is your recipe for homemade kefir? is it hard to make?

do you make your own? I see it sold in the grocery stores now, not sure if that's as good as making it yourself.

vladadog, I see you mentioned giving it to your cat so I'm curious about it now. my cat is 17 years so maybe he'd like this. I'm going to check if the store sells plain kefir

Kefir is dead easy to make as long as you can get hold of some kefir "grains". Unlike yogurt you can't just take some plain yogurt to make new yogurt, you need some "grains" which look a bit like a cauliflower floret or some tapioca.

But, once you have a spoonful of grains you're set for life. Just put the grains in a jar of milk (8oz or so), put somewhere dark and room temperature for about 24 hours. Then fish out the grains, put them in a new jar of milk, and the first jar is ready to go. The grains will grow and multiply.
You can use any kind of milk including soy and almond milk although I'm a firm believer you'll get the most benefit from raw cow or goat's milk. Kefir converts all the sugar in the milk so 8oz of milk goes from 12 carbs to 4 carbs as kefir.

thanks for the info. I'll look into making my own then. maybe I can use lactose free milk for the cat.

Kefir converts the lactose so that most lactose intolerant people (and cats) can drink kefir without a problem.

oh ok, thanks for the info!

I like kefir. I have been putting it in my oatmeal in the mornings. I buy it form the store though. I might try making my own.

What are the health benefits of keifer?

Kefir has about twice the probiotics that yogurt does so it's good for your gut. There are a lot of health claims made for kefir - supposedly "kefir can help with cancer, herpes, IBS, immune disfunction, allergies, colitis and leaky gut among many other things." (http://www.helladelicious.com/our-fo...fits-of-kefir/) but I'm always doubtful about most claims of this sort. On the otherhand, I really do have an ancient cat who was very near death and after 8 months of daily kefir she's not only still alive but very healthy.

Thanks for the information. I just completed a batch today and working on more.

I just need to say how much I.love.thisstuff. I storebuy. It's better than yogurt in my opinion! I put it on.everything. <3<3<3

I absolutely LOVE kefir. I've been drinking it for years. Then I moved to Chicago and we have this local chain called Starfruit where they do kefir frozen treats (like frozen yogurt) and smoothies. Obviously, super healthy and SO good. I am an addict.

Found this thread with a search and am sad to see it's 5 yrs old. I have just discovered kefir and I love it. Still getting the hang of it really. And I wish I'd found it earlier. I had a darling cat that I had to get put down a year ago, because he was continually throwing up. No matter how much it cost or how many things I tried, there was nothing he could keep down. The vet did blood tests (expensive!) but couldn't diagnose :-( and so I did what I thought I should do. Now, I am thinking if I had fed him a little kefir each day he might still be with me. Feel like crying......