Photo by Pixabay/moho01
A Healthy prebiotic- and probiotic-rich carbonated beverage great for helping to balance your gut ecosystem.
Makes 4 Cups
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons water kefir grains*
- 4 cups pasteurized coconut water
- 1 cup fresh strawberries or blueberries (optional)
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (optional)
*Water kefir grains can be found in natural-food stores or online at Amazon. With proper care, the culture can be used indefinitely to create probiotic-rich kefir. Your grains will not grow as quickly in coconut water as they will in a nice bath of nutrient-rich sugar. Refresh and reactivate the kefir grains in sugar water (1/4 cup of sugar in 4 cups of water) for 24 to 48 hours between batches of Coconut Water Kefir. The sugar water will keep the grains healthy for the long term.
Instructions:
- Place the water kefir Grains and the coconut water in a jar. Cover the jar loosely with a lid or cheesecloth and allow the kefir grains to culture the coconut water for ideally 24 to 36 (and no longer than 48) hours at room temperature.
- Once the culturing is complete (the mixture will have thickened), remove the kefir grains with a slotted spoon and store in a separate glass container filled with filtered water and a teaspoon of sugar to keep the kefir grains alive and active.
- You may drink the Coconut Kefir Water by itself, but for an added twist, puree the cultured coconut water with the berries and lemon juice in a blender to your desired consistency. The Coconut Water Kefir will last 1 to 3 weeks in the fridge; when blended with the berries and lemon juice, it will last for 2 to 3 days in the fridge. Serve cold.
From Happy Gut by Vincent Pedre. Copyright © 2015 by Dr. Pedre Wellness. Reprinted by permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.