Kefir Smoothies...and Popsicles!

So now that you know how to make creamy, probiotic-filled kefir...what to do with it?

I mentioned that in my family, some of us drink it straight up, and some would rather......not.

So this is what I do with the vast majority of the kefir that we prepare:









Smoothies can be as simple or as complicated as you like. I prefer simple.  But I'll give you some ideas of ways you can make it more complicated if you'd prefer.


Our smoothies always contain:

Kefir
Bananas
Other Fruit



The bananas add a creaminess to the smoothy that we have found is just non-negotiable for us.  The other fruit can vary, but we always like to have bananas in there.

My exact recipe looks like this:

3 c. kefir

3 bananas

3 cups other fruit

That is enough smoothie for six of us.  You can reduce the amounts proportionally from there to make less - but I'll explain further down why you wouldn't want to do that.

But seriously, it occurred to me as I was figuring out how much I do use, that this recipe equates to this simple recipe per person:

1/2 c. kefir

1/2 banana

1/2 c. other fruit

So, just whip our your mad math skillz and multiply how much you need based upon the number of people you're trying to feed.  

Grab a cute 7-year old to help you.

Smile at me, Lily Kay!

That's better!

After reading in our GAPS book that it is not optimal to eat fruit at the same time as a meal (for digestion purposes), we changed the habit that we'd had for years of drinking smoothies with supper every night, and now we have smoothies as our afternoon snack

And how do the kiddos like it?

yes, Daniel is still in a phase of making funny faces when I point the camera in his direction

Ummm.....they love it.

This particular cute guy would drink that whole blender-full of smoothy if I let him.  Not. Even. Kidding.

So if I ever have leftovers of smoothy, which never happens so  when I intentionally make extra (and stave off the hungry beasts clamoring for more) I make popsicles:

These twelve popsicles that I made here...gone in approximately 24 hours.  The kiddos think they are such a treat - but it is a treat I can feel great about letting them have - so I let them have at it!  They are "snacking" on something super healthy, and I look like a Really Cool Mom...win/win!

Other smoothy variations:

I buy a big 4-lb. bag of frozen assorted fruit, and we just scoop what we need out of there as the week goes by.  Our assortment includes peaches, pineapple, mango and strawberries.  Sometimes I'll buy frozen blueberries...but they're more expensive, so that is an occasional treat.  

If we happen to have other fruit, I may use that instead.  The oranges my mom was given from her neighbors' tree?  They went in our smoothies a few days ago.  

I have kept our smoothies real stream-lined and simple lately, while we've been doing GAPS.  But here are other options on what you can add:

Honey - we think the fruit-sweetened recipe above is perfect, but if you'd like to sweeten it a bit, adding raw, local honey is a great way to do that.

Almonds - We eat enough nuts that I don't want to do this (it's not good to get too much nuts...balance, balance)...but it we didn't eat them plain, I'd add them right in so they could get whizzed up in our smoothies.  Back when the kids were younger, I did do this.  (Remember, it is best if they've been soaked at least overnight first.)

Some greens (kale, spinach, etc.) - I've done this in the past occasionally.  It makes the smoothy a not-so-appetizing color, but the taste is not bad if you don't add too much.  BUT, it's not good to have too many raw greens in your diet (balance, balance)...to read more about that click here.

Healthy Fat (like coconut oil) - It would be great to consume that sweet fruit with some healthy fat, to help with the assimilation of the nutrients (our body NEEDS healthy fat to work and digest optimally) and to help modulate the effects of the (natural) sugar in the fruits.  Confession - I mention this because it would be very healthy, but honestly, I don't normally do this, simply because of the cost of coconut oil.