Fantastic, Easy Recipe for Ginger-Lemon Water Kefir–Great for Digestion

Here’s a easy recipe for Ginger-Lemon Water Kefir. I have been making my own water kefir for over three years. Before that I made kombucha for four years. Compared to all the prep necessary for kombucha–water kefir is an breeze to make, is dairy-free and also helps to promote excellent gut-health.  It’s a great beverage to help with digestion at meals and is a good source of enzymes and probiotics. As a matter of fact, people have made fermented beverages like water kefir for thousands of years as a good supply of drinking water was not available.

You’ll need to order kefir grains first or get them from a friend. They double with each batch–so you will have lots to share. http://www.amazon.com/Cultures-for-Health-LLC-Grains/dp/B003JO71D8

Here’s what you need:

1 gallon glass jar with lid
1 gallon filtered water
1 1/3 c. organic sucanat (unprocessed brown sugar available at the health food store)
4 heaping T. kefir grains (reconstituted)
1/4 c. diced fresh ginger (use food processor–no need to peel)
1 1/2  diced whole organic lemons (process peel and lemon with ginger in food processor)

Put filtered water in jar with sucanat and kefir grains. Stir with a wooden or plastic spoon until sucanat is dissolved. (You don’t want metal to come in contact with the kefir grains.) Cover loosely and place on top of refrigerator for 24-36  hours. Then drain kefir water through a plastic strainer into a large bowl. Pour strained kefir water back into gallon jar. Save the kefir grains in a glass jar and feed them with 2 T. of sucanat (store in fridge) until you make next batch. (You will always double the grains with each batch–so you can share or put them in your garden.)

Add the lemon and ginger to the kefir water and stir. Cover lightly and place back on top of refrigerator for about 24 hours.  Drain the water kefir again through a strainer into a large bowl and discard the lemon and ginger. After this, pour finished water kefir back into the glass jar and cover.  Place jug in fridge. Enjoy!!

You can make lots of different flavors of water kefir.  Be creative! I also add fresh ground mint to this recipe. Try using berries or citrus fruit.

For more information on building health and healing with nutrient-dense foods see my book, Performance without Pain and my e-book on healing acid-reflux.

Best in health,

Kathryne Pirtle