Feel the Probiotic Love (yogurt, kefir, etc) April/May - Page 3

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by deb215

how do you make cheese?
do you need any special materials?
I am hoping to make a cream cheese type spread and maybe a romano (? - the creamy kind used in lasagna)

For cream cheese style, you let the kefir continue to sit at room temperature for more than 24 hrs. until it separates (white colored curds and yellow colored whey). Then strain it in a yogurt strainer or cheesecloth to further drain the whey and create a creamy spread.

Kefir cottage cheese:
http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kef...cottage-cheese

I think you mean 'ricotta' instead of 'romano'. Just use whole milk for a richer cottage cheese and that should substitute just fine.

[memory maker]

does anyone have any that they can send me if I pay them for shipping?

[artisticat]

Anyone want water kefir grains?? I am way way too many and it is getting rather tiring taking care of all of them!! Pm me if you are interested.

Stacy

[Ilovelife]

Well, I fasted my converted grains for a couple days & switched juice brands, and so far so good. No more yucky waxy stuff. So I think the grains are fine, but eww! about all that nasty wax, even in organic juice. How bad is the non-organic, then?!! YUCK.

Thanks for the info, xenabyte.

[tofumama]

Anybody still in need of kefir grains? I have LOTS and they are ginormous!!! I have milk, water and juice going, and I can't use the milk kefir fast enough. PM me!

xenabyte, can I freeze it?

[MaMaLi]

I'd love some! Do you have lots of all of them or just the milk? I think I'd like to try the water ones first.

[AbeautifulMind2]

stomach cramps from kefir?

Ok, got a dilemma! I have been drinking about 8oz of kefir a day for about 2 mos. now with no problems until last week. I started getting severe stomach cramps within about an hour of drinking it. I also had a severe case of diarrhea for 24 hrs. after drinking it.

Well, I took a break from kefir last Wednesday until today, Monday. No stomach cramps. I had other dairy and no problems. This morning I made a kefir smoothie and bam, within an hour I had horrible stomach cramps. From what I've read (correct me if I'm wrong, please!) kefir is an acidic beverage. So I made myself some baking soda and water and drank it down. My cramps are gone.

Now, my question is, what is going on?! lol. I have never had a problem like this before and am perplexed. I have just been learning about eating better, ie. nourishing traditions and following more of a biblical based diet, so I am a bit ignorant on the effects of different foods on our bodies. Can anyone tell me what I should do? I do not want to give my beloved kefir up as it has helped me in so many ways (anxiety, weight loss, recurrent skin yeast infections). Do I have to take an antacid everytime I drink it? Is baking soda bad for you? Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

[tofumama]

I only have extra milk grains right now. LMK if you want some! I'll do what everyone else does, $5 for s/h.



On an unrelated note...I want to buy a yogurt maker as my attempts at making yogurt without one doesn't work out for me. Any recomendations?

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by tofumama

On an unrelated note...I want to buy a yogurt maker as my attempts at making yogurt without one doesn't work out for me. Any recomendations?

I have this one from Williams Sonoma and it works great. I'm not really one to experiment with oven temps or heating pads, I just want to set it and forget it
http://ww2.williams-sonoma.com/cat/p...e096&cmsrc=sch

I also found that a flat round 1 qt. pyrex dish I have fits it too, so I can make one big batch at once instead of the individ. jars.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by AbeautifulMind2

Ok, got a dilemma! I have been drinking about 8oz of kefir a day for about 2 mos. now with no problems until last week. I started getting severe stomach cramps within about an hour of drinking it. I also had a severe case of diarrhea for 24 hrs. after drinking it.

I have heard that this is relatively common but usually at first...
You are stirring up your digestive microflora and likely eliminating any bad bugs. Probably yeast since you are noticing your rashes improve. Yeast causes diarrhea. Also there are different kinds of candida. I would guess that the really tough kind are finally exiting the building!

If your kefir tastes the same I wouldn't worry about it being contaminated or anything like that.

I would cut down to a small amount that you can tolerate and then gradually increase it and let your body get used to it. Or maybe if you drink the same 8 oz but spread it out a little bit throughout the day??

[tofumama]

JaneS thank you for the link! That is perfect for us.

I am pm-ing you too...

[AbeautifulMind2]

thanks for the advice Jane! I do notice that if I drink a smaller amount with other food I don't get crampy. Hmmm...

[mamalex]

Just want to get in the loop...new to probiotics. Gotta go get some sleep...

[memory maker]

Did everyone say that kefir was ok to freeze (as in you were making ice cream with it) I thought it was. I was thinking about making smoothie popsicles for my kids. Would this work?

[Gale Force]

tofumama (or anyone else who's interested): I have been planning on listing my Yogourmet yogurt maker on ebay. It's in very good condition and I have an extra container so that when one is full of yogurt, you can get another batch started. You can make 1/2 gallon at a time, though there are instructions for making a quart as well. Here's a link -- it's the second one down:

http://www.everythingkitchens.com/yogurtmaker.html

The retail price for this with the extra container is about $60 (ouch). Watching ebay auctions, they'll skin you on the shipping. I'll take $30 inclusive of postage in the US (PPD) if anyone is interested.

FTR, I started making a gallon at a time in a cooler. We go through enough that I was tired of making half gallons all the time. Most yogurt makers make about a quart, so I thought the Yogourmet would be great for us, but it turns out we use a whole lot of this stuff.

[ChiknGirl]

I'm interested if no one else is.

[tofumama]

Thanks! I actually already have one and I loooove it! I will never eat store bought yogurt again!