I picked up some starter..but not the grains..(which is on my to do list)..I liked it. I have one packet left, and need to make some more. I've got to pick up my milk order today, then I can start some.

I've started boosting my boys with coconut water and milk in their smoothies. When I get the kefir going that will go in there as well.

I know Grainlady uses Kefir for just about anything dairy related.

Is the starter you use in powder form? I have not tried that... but again I am happy with my milk grains so probably won't have to go that direction.

My milk grains are growing very well in goat milk. Unfortunately, we can't get raw milk legally in Canada so I use pasteurized goat milk. People say kefir from pasteurized milk is not anywhere near as good as the kefir from raw milk. But this is the best I can do now. At least my milk grains are very easy to please and they grow rather rapidly.

My water grains, on the other hand, are very fussy. I bought them in dehydrated form online (couldn't find anything locally) and rehydrated them into about 1/2 cup. They kept shrinking no matter what I do. I had bent over and backward, bought spring water and organic cane sugar and whatever people had suggested to me, but they just refused to do their things. After months of struggling, I have about 2 tablespoons of water grains left. I am resting them in sugar water in the fridge right now. I am afraid if I use them again they will shrink to nothing.

It's powdered..by Omega Nutrition.

And you can't even find raw goat milk? or buy a share? They don't let it happen at all? Some people that live in the states that don't allow "human" consumption, still sell it as "pet" food. And people buy that for their own person consumption.

I haven't tried the water one either. But I am interested in Kombucha..just haven't ventured to taste it yet. I should pick up a bottle at the Co-op this weekend when I go shopping.

Just got back from getting my milk..

I was reading up that kefir is great for dogs that get ear infections too...my pup gets a yeasty ear every now and then. I'm going to try feeding her some too now.

Unfortunately, Health Canada decides raw milk is not suitable for human consumption, therefore milk sold to public has to be pasteurized. If you have your own farm and you share your milk with your neighbors they wouldn't care. But if you sell them, that's a problem. There were some areas in Canada where you could get raw milk in the black market. But these people have been cracked down and fined many times. Now it's getting more and more difficult to find raw milk, even if you're willing to pay a high price. By the way, even pasteurized goat milk here is like gold, about $7 for 2 liters. Can you imagine the cost of getting a "share" of a cow or goat? Plus you have to pay other fees and drive once a week, at least an hour to get some milk from your share of the animal. It's costly, time consuming and sometimes, illegal.

I understand animals can use kefir to fight infections too. A few posters in the Yahoo group, where I visit from time to time, give their dogs and cats kefir. They maintain kefir does their animals good and keeps them healthy. It's probably worth a try.

Here is a link that might be useful: Old news about raw milk black market in Canada

I make kefir using kefir grains and use it for many things (substitutes for buttermilk, cream cheese, sour cream, plain yogurt). You can't get the same "good" strains of bacteria and yeast using the powdered version, as you do from real grains.

I didn't have much luck with water grains (purchased on-line), so what I do - I take my extra dairy kefir grains and add them to juice (coconut, grape, etc.,) and ferment it. They work well enough, but eventually have to be replaced. But since I grow more, the extras from dairy-use are expendable.

A few years ago I attended a seminar and heard a research scientist give the statistic that people in North America had lost up to 25% of their immunity over the past 20-years; and with new and stronger strains of "disease" and the effects of antibiotic abuse, it's no wonder we can't fight disease like we once did.

It's difficult to hang our resistance to disease to any ONE thing, like kefir. But I see it as a piece of the puzzle...

But saying that, the active yeast and bacteria in kefir are a virtual SWAT team that helps clean and strengthen the intestines. Consequently, the body becomes more efficient in resisting pathogens like E. coli, intestinal parasites and other things.

"The whey from cultured milk shows a wide spectrum of antibiotic properties. Studies show that this type of whey neutralizes most pathogenic bacteria within twenty-four hours." For this reason, we make "whey lemonade" from the whey drained from the kefir. Strain 1 quart of whey. Add 6 T. of sugar (I use agave nectar or honey) and the juice of 2 lemons. Or add it to other fruit or vegetable juices you already drink.

I'd also suggest looking at coconut oil, which "aids the body in fighting viruses that cause the flu" (source: The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil - by Bruce Fife, N.D. - you can search his web site for more information). Besides using coconut oil in our diet, I use coconut oil on my hands as a hand cream - especially before going out in public - for it's anti-viral effect....

Another thing to consider is homeostatic soil organisms. HSOs stimulate special immune chemicals, according to Ann Louise Gittleman, M.S., C.N.S., in the booklet, "Beyone Probioties" The revolutionary rediscovery of a missing link in our immune system.

-Grainlady

I will second that book. I bought it read it..and shook my head yes to alot of the things in it..then passed it to a friend, who bought her own copy and is doing a bit more to add it into her and her families diet...and then the two of us were telling another friend about it. I've got to take my copy of the book to her to read over.

I fry and cook with Expeller pressed coconut oil from Tropical Traditions.

I use virgin coconut on skin, hair and drink it in my tea.

A wonderful "tea" for when you start feeling 'it' or it's going about..

Steep several cloves of smashed garlic in just boiled water in a big mug. Add in half the juice of a lemon, enough raw honey to make it palatable for you and stir in a teaspoon of VCO.

I love garlic, so I don't add much honey. It smells kind of garlicky but doesn't really taste garlicky with the addition of the lemon and honey and coconut oil.

I drink several mugs a day when the buggies are going through the schools I work at.

Kim Harris at Nourishing Gourmet makes kefir with coconut. And I think she's where I got the tea idea from too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Coconut Kefir

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.

Terri, I was given a kombucha scoby years ago. We kept it going for a long time, then I neglected it when work took over my life and it died. Last week I bought a bottle of ginger flavored kombucha, mixed it with a cup of sugared tea, and it's growing nicely.

DH has been reading about elderberries as an antiviral so he took the atv up the mountain and gathered some, which we juiced. There were "old farmer ladies" out gathering them "for the health benefits".

This thread may motivate me. I've been meaning to find some kefir grains, but have been afraid I'd get busy and neglect them...when the kombucha got moldy and my sourdough went bad I felt like a murderer. I think I'm ready to be a responsible parent again.

LOL Katie, I can totally relate...Teresa shared some sourdough starter with me..I've yet to bravely put it to use!!! I didn't want to neglect it and kill it! LOL

But I've been toying with the idea of getting it up and running lately...

Elderberries..I just totally destroyed an elderberry "bush" because it was INVADING my space to much. LOL I better look into their uses. I'm waiting for a frost to harvest my rose hips. Don't exactly know what I'll do with them...but I know they are good for you.

I don't find keeping a sourdough starter and milk kefir grains a big commitment. I make sourdough breads once a week so I feed it once, use the sponge and put the rest back into the fridge for another week. The milk kefir I just pour the kefir into a different jar, put some new milk back into the kefir jar and leave it in the kitchen. I don't rinse the grains or do any fancy things; takes no more than 2 minutes every 24 - 48 hours.

Water kefir grains though, are a great pain to me. I treat them like kings and queens, not only they don't do their things but they also keep shrinking on me. I felt like a slave to them, bought very expensive pure organic stuff, special water and jars for them to grow... yet they look sicker and smaller every day. Now, I put them in some sugar water and let them sit in the fridge.

Terri, Elderberry invasion eh? Could you send them over? I would love to have any berries invaded my backyard. DH and I have been trying to grow raspberries. People kept telling us how easy it was to grow raspberries but our attempts failed year after year. A house just a few doors down from our street had raspberries growing over their fences. We can tell these people don't do anything but the berries keep coming back every summer! We have bought three different raspberry plants from a specialty store in six years and every other year we brought the dead plant back to the store for a refund!

Oh rose hips!I bought a tiny bottle of rose hips oil at a health food store and it cost an arm and a leg. I understand you can use fresh rose hips too. Here's a link where you will find useful information on how to make the best of them:

Here is a link that might be useful: what to do with rose hips

Elderberries: I purchase bottles of elderberry juice from our local health food store, which is harvested and made here in Kansas at a winery that sells Elderberry wine.

"Elderberries have been a folk remedy for centuries in North America, Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa, hence the medicinal benefits of elderberries are being investigated and rediscovered. Elderberry is used for its antioxidant activity, to lower cholesterol, to improve vision, to boost the immune system, to improve heart health and for coughs, colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections and tonsilitis."

Rose Hips: Rose hips (as well as currants) were a great NATURAL source of vitamin C complex in Britian during WWII when imports of citrus fruit were unavailable. When people consume Vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid (pills/powders), they are only getting a fraction of the "whole" complex. I gather rose hips after the first hard frost and use them in rose hip tea. I also use currant jam. BTW - dried "currants" (which look like little raisins) are NOT made from currants, rather from Zante grapes (how confusing is THAT?).

Whey: The probiotics carrier in kefir is the whey, from what I've read. We also use a powdered whey-based milk substitute (and have for 28-years).

"Beyond Probiotics" by Ann Louise Gittleman is a 56-page booklet I picked up in our health food store for $3.95. It's a "Keats Good Health Guide". You can research HSOs on-line, you don't need this specific book for more information.

-Grainlady

Thanks Girls!

Okay I guess I better look at those darn elderberries differently! They are almost as bad as Himalayan Blackberries...ALMOST... and FYI, I couldn't grow raspberries or blueberries..LOL But I'm doing well with my strawberries..My favorite ever bearing is called Tribute. They are so good right now, better than their first crop.

And rose hips..I specifically traded for this variety on Garden Web Pacific NW just for the hips about 8 years ago.. just haven't done anything with them yet.

Thanks for the link! I'll check it out later.
And I'm headed to the mainland to do my shopping, and Co-op Grocery is one of my bi monthly stops..so I'll see if can find that booklet too Grainlady.