Are you looking for a natural alternative to soda? Try water kefir! It contains significantly less sugar and is loaded with probiotics!
Everywhere you go people are constantly drinking soda. People have it in their pantries, restaurants have it readily available, and it is a common beverage at parties and festivities.
But, what many people do not know is how bad soda actually is for them.
Soda is full of sugars and processed chemicals that have questionable uses and impacts on public health. The excess sugar has led to development of some chronic diseases. So what can people do to alleviate the issues that comes with drinking soda?
The answer is quite simple. For a similar tasting product you can switch to water kefir and it is fun to make at home!
But first, what exactly is kefir water? It’s a probiotic beverage that is made with sugar and water.
People have experimented and used it in other beverages. But commonly sugar and water are the main components along with kefir grains.
Kefir grains are made up of bacteria and yeast living harmoniously held together by a sugar. When introduced to a solution of sugar (such as the case of sugar water) where the bacteria and yeast utilize it to produce lactic acid, carbon dioxide, and a little bit of ethanol.
After leaving the solution to sit for a day or two, the normal water has the fizzyness associated with carbonated beverages (soda). The difference is that water kefir is probiotic, contains significantly less sugar, and is 100% gluten-free.
Kefir water is becoming more popular as it is becoming inherent that soda is worse than we initially expected.
Drinking it will naturally help balance out your gut bacteria. This is a safer option for those who can’t consume milk kefir due to issues with dairy.
So how exactly do you make kefir water? Follow the steps below to make yourself a batch to feel the health benefits that come with drinking something made from nature. You’ll need to pick up some of the starter grains first!
How to Make Water Kefir
Kefir Water Natural Soda
Are you looking for a natural alternative to soda? Try water kefir! It contains significantly less sugar and is loaded with probiotics!
- 1 cup sugar
- kefir grains
- water
- Dissolve 1 cup of sugar per 4 cups of hot water.
- Add 3 more cups of room temperature water and mix the solution well.
- Put the mixture into a glass container and add another 2 cups of water.
- When the solution is at room temperature add 1/3-1 cup of the water kefir grains.
- Cover the container with a coffee strainer or some substance that is porous
- Let the mixture sit in a warm location for 24-48 hours to allow it to culture.
- Using a plastic strainer over the container, strain out the kefir water leaving the kefir grains behind
- For the second round of fermentation add fruit or juices for flavor and cover the container with a plastic cover to keep out any air. This gives the mixture the fizzy feel that soda has.
- After 1-3 days of sitting strain out any solid fruit (if you added it) and place in the refrigerator to keep cool
As an additional suggestion, you may want to place the kefir grains that were previously strained out in a sugar water mixture to continually use them in the future!