Go to the link below for more information. I've always used milk grains in cow, goat and coconut milk. Occasionally when I have an abundance of the grains I'll ferment grape juice or apple juice for something different. But using them in fruit juice will eventually kill them, so consider them expendable. I have a packet of water grains, but they ended up being one more good intention. Once you start these little projects (including sourdough starter, kombuchu, fermented foods....), they are like a pet that needs tending on a regular basis. Just how many jars of "stuff" can one refrigerator hold (LOL)? I don't have any experience using freeze-dried or dried grains. I located mine through a kefir group on-line and paid a small amount for about 2 T. of grains, + shipping. They were packed into a zip-lock bag with a small amount of milk in it, stuffed into a large plastic pill container, sent via U.S. Mail. The person I got mine from happened to own a dairy here in the state. The small health food store will occasionally give my name to someone wanting real grains and I'm happy to share them. It really is a person-to-person thing, which is why the commercial kefir has very little in common with kefir made from real grains. Commercial kefir is made with only a few strains of bacteria, not the real grains. I've used my same grains for over a decade. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Dom's Kefir In-site

Ruth, unless you really want a ton of spam in your inbox and worse, it's not a good idea to post your email address on public forums. People can contact you through Houzz's messaging facility. You can edit your post to remove your email address if you wish.

Grainlady, I too make cream cheese, spread, dips, and salad dressing out of milk kefir. I haven't been doing a lot of them lately because I read someone's post (Yahoo group) that said cheese made from kefir has very little probiotics left. That really confused me... does that mean probiotic properties leave the curd and drain along with the whey? I definitely will try the whey lemonade recipe. My 7-year-old won't drink water kefir and milk kefir made of full or low fat milk. Skim milk kefir is all he will take and must be sweetened with my homemade jam. If he will drink the whey lemonade, it will make things a lot easier. I also use some extra milk grains to make kefir juice but I don't give it to our little guy. I find the alcohol content in kefir juice much higher than in milk kefir. My husband loves it though and calls it his "high test" or "moonshine". I once tasted a bit of it and in less than 2 minutes I felt a rush to my head and my forearms. Almost freaked me out. When my husband came home and I let him try and he said "oh yeah, high test". That's when I knew the alcohol content was too high for me and for our little guy to handle. By the way, how long will the milk grains work in juice before they expire? I have mine in juice on and off for almost two weeks. The grains now look very thin and yellowish. I wonder if this is time to put it to rest and replace it with some fresh milk grains. I checked the library for the "Beyond Probiotics" book but it was not available at the local library. Check Amazon.com, a couple of sellers were selling it for less than 50 cents plus shipping. When I checked shipping cost, it was $17 for me. Amazon.ca had the same book but they wanted $45 for it plus shipping. UGH. I will keep looking to see if it will surface on eBay. If the price and shipping cost are right I might as well pick one up. I have not tried coconut oil yet. Next time I got to the health food store I will have a look. Terri, the garlic tea sounds interesting. I have some extra garlic at home so I may just give it a try. I like garlic, only when it's cooked. Raw garlic is just a bit too strong for me. Will let you know how well I stomached that LOL Kim Harris is right about the cost of making coconut kefir. I went to the store and the cheapest young coconut I found was $2 a pop. Four of them will cost $8 plus tax to make just one batch of coconut kefir, a bit too pricey for me.

Oh, my, what a challenge you have ahead! It sounds like you may be headed in a positive direction - let's hope so..... --You may find potential problems with real kefir grains as well, which is what I use, since it's a "natural" food. Check with your physician/s - although it's unlikely they know anything about real kefir grains and will assume the worst without any real information on the subject. You can read more (and more, and more.....;-) at Dom's Kefir Insite at the link below. There is a Nutritional and Chemical Composition chart at Dom's web site: http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefir-composition.htm --I consider commercial kefir products/drinks little more than "junk food" which has little in common with the real thing - other than the name). Real kefir grains also have more strains of bacteria and work in a synergy that can't be duplicated in commercial food production where only certain strains are added. There are probably things in real kefir grains not yet identified scientifically for how it works. For generations, kefir grains were shared from one person to the next, instead of being commercialized like yogurt was, because it's more than just a few strains of bacteria. --Be sure to start slowly because the whey in homemade kefir can have a cleansing effect. --Yogourmet Kefir Starter (powder) has a few strains of bacteria and that may be another option for you and will certainly help keep the cost down over the commercial product. You can use 1/4-1/3 cup from the first batch (and consecutive batches) to use as a starter for another batch. You can usually get 3-4 quarts from one packet of the kefir starter using this method. These laboratory-developed bacteria die out and you need to renew it periodically, while real kefir grains continue to grow and make more grains. Yogurmet Kefir Starter was how I got started with kefir until I found a source for real grains. --Kefir is much easier to make than yogurt, and even more important, it's much better for you and easier to digest than yogurt. The curd is smaller and more delicate than yogurt curds, but there are many other reasons kefir is superior to yogurt. To make kefir: Place the gelatinous "grains" (which look a little like small cauliflowers and are the source for bacteria) into milk (or coconut milk for a nice treat occasionally) - you can also get water kefir grains (see: Cultures For Health - http://www.culturesforhealth.com/). I use 2-3 cups milk in a quart jar (you need to leave some head-space for the fermenting gases), 1/4-1/3 c. grains, put the plastic lid on tightly (which increases the effervescence) and ferment 12-24-hours. Less time when the ambient temperature is warm, and more time when the ambient temperature is cooler - or until it's the consistency you like/want. I personally prefer the long, cool fermentation in the cooler months, but I make it all year. I've used my grains for over 10-years and they continue to grow and make more because it's a living food. When they reach about the size of a quarter, I pull them apart into 2-3 pieces. I make 1-2 quarts per week: -consume some daily in our morning smoothie -use the liquid kefir as a substitute for buttermilk -use the whey from drained kefir curd in lemonade or limeade + water or coconut water, and maybe some chia seeds (better for you than sports drinks, quenching thirst and replacing electrolites) -use the drained curd as a substitute for plain yogurt, sour cream or cream cheese --You may want to switch to PLAIN Stonyfield Farm Yogurt because they use six live, active cultures in their yogurt, while others only use two strains. When I make yogurt, which isn't very often these days since using kefir grains, I use plain whole milk Stonyfield Farm Yogurt as the starter because of the additional strains of bacteria in it. I'll place 1-T. in each space of an ice cube tray and freeze it, pop the yogurt "cubes" out of the tray and store them in the freezer to use when I make yogurt (thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using as a starter for homemade yogurt). I usually use 3 T. yogurt for 1-quart liquid. So you can make your own yogurt using Stonyfield Farm Yogurt as the starter to save money. --Another source for good bacteria is in other live-cultured and lacto-fermented foods like sauerkraut (and other fermented fruits/vegetables). Make your own. Don't kill the bacteria in fermented by heat processing it by canning it. It's best eaten fresh and raw. Freeze it if you can't get it used in 2-3 weeks. --Don't forget to add PREbiotics to your diet. "While probiotic-foods contain live bacteria, prebiotic foods feed the good bacteria already living in your digestive system. You can find prebiotics in foods such as asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, bananas, oatmeal, red wine, honey, maple syrup, and legumes. Consider eating prebiotic foods on their own or with probiotic foods to perhaps give the probiotics a boost." I add 100% pure Inulin Powder (NOW brand) to beverages, foods and baked goods as a prebiotic that helps stimulate the growth of friendly intestinal bacteria. --I'd also suggest sprouting legumes to help make them easier to digest. Pre-digested foods make a lot of sense after a coarse of destructive antibiotics. Some sources for more information: Wild Fermentation - by Sandor Ellix Katz http://www.wildfermentation.com/ Jordan Rubin - Garden of Life (supplements & information) http://www.healthfoodemporium.com/garden-of-life/jordan-rubin.php -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Dom's Kefir Insite