@Terry Page , you make smoothies very interesting, indeed. I never heard of Amarula either...now I want to look for it in my local store! I also love elephants and enjoyed looking at the ad you posted.
I have never heard of Amarula either; and I also like the pictures in the ad that you posted for us. I often make kefir smoothies also, and use whatever fresh fruit that I have on hand for the smoothie. I also got some of the frozen juice mixes and it is easy to add a spoonful of that into the smoothie for extra flavor. I got pineapple, orange, and a cranberry/berry blend. All of them are great in the smoothies, although not as good as having fresh fruit in there. Sometimes, I also add spinach or other greens and make a green smoothie . I have finished the first batch of water kefir, and I added some apple juice to it for the second ferment, which adds more of the B+ vitamins and probiotics. According to what I read, it is supposed to taste similar to apple cider, which I like. Since this is my first batch, I am not sure how well it will turn out ; but I am hopeful that it will be drinkable. I guess, if not, it goes under the rose bushes.......
Hadn't thought of a veggie smoothie Yvonne, will have to try that, maybe some celery with kale. Hope the water Kefir turns out good, cider sounds good.
I haven't tried a veggie Kefir smoothie yet, but I did make a Banana and Blueberry one with a dash of Kahlua and a teaspoon of honey this afternoon, it tasted wonderful, highly recommended. The Kahlua website here you have to give your birth date in to enter
I made a green Kefir this lunchtime with Celery and Spinach and laced it with ground cumin, ground coriander and chilli, its pretty good like a cold soup, but I think it would be even better with water Kefir as the base. Needless to say Lisa having a sweet tooth prefers the banana and Kahlua ones
I introduced Lisa to a Bailey's Kefir today and she is completely addicted, saying it tastes like a drink of the gods
Now that looks yummy to me and yes, I would prefer it with water based kefir. Can you make me some, Terry and send it priority and refrigerated?
My first batch of water kefir was very sour, and tasted awful. I tried some and poured the rest of it out. Then, a strange thing happened-------- I noticed that a few minutes later, I was starting to crave it, so I thought that my body must have liked something about it; and needed it; but it was just a bad batch. I didn't know if I added enough apple juice to the mix, or maybe the water kefir grains were just "off" from being shipped to me. At any rate, this time, I added more apple juice to the kefir after it had cultured for 48 hours, and then left it out for another day, and then refrigerated it. It was definitely fizzy when I opened it, and this time, it did taste like apple cider ! I am very pleased with how it turns out. I just tasted a bit and then put it back in the fridge to cure a little bit more. Since the B+ vitamins and the kefir are supposed to be relaxing, I am going to try a small glass of this before bed tonight. I am going to try some cranberry juice in the next batch and see how that comes out. So far, I think that I like the water kefir as well as the milk kefir, if not better. I like the idea of it being carbonated naturally, plus all of the good probiotics. A win-win situation for me ! !
Interesting Yvonne maybe I will try it when I am back home, I like the veggie one I made but it would be better with water kefir I think. My milk ones become fizzy quickly if I seal them, but I prefer them flat.
When I made the green smoothie, I used fruit or fruit juice as well as the spinach. It tastes like a regular smoothie, due to the fruit; but it is a pretty green color, and has all of the extra vitamins and minerals from the spinach. You do not really taste the spinach. I think that the water kefir could also lend itself to a drink made with spinach or other greens, especially with the apple cider flavor. I think that I might like cranberry kefir with beet root and greens in it. Both are very healthy, and beets are a blood purifier. I have never had the milk kefir get even a little bit fizzy, @Terry Page , even though I close the lid tight. I wonder what I am doing different ?
That's odd Yvonne mine always seems to, it also becomes very thick on English milk from Tesco but not others nor on Russian milk, I didn't realise just how sensitive it is.