Kefir Fruit and Berry Smoothie

When going through a package of goodies we had received recently, three of the items I had never tried before – Kefir drinks. One of those items I see all the time when shopping at Whole Foods and co-op’s but never had thought to try it. The first one was flavored, Blueberry Pom Acai by Green Valley Organics – a lactose free Kefir. We shook it up and Kirk took the first drink where he commented that “this is like drinkable yogurt”. So that was what Kefir tasted like? Oh. Well if I had known that I would have tried it before. It was thick and delicious! Walker loved it even more and happily drank it out of his favorite glass.

They had also enclosed two varieties of plain Kefir, a lactose free version by Green Valley Organics:

And a plain goat’s milk by Redwood Hill Farm.

After we finished up the flavored Kefir I decided to have fun and try the plain in a smoothie of my own. With my birthday coming up soon (in just over a week) Kirk talked me into a present – a new blender. So now I have no excuse, my chintzy blender is gone and I have one that makes really nice cold/blended drinks. So what did he get me? A Ninja 1100:

Kirk figured that for $120 it was a fair price (since it comes with two pitchers and multi-blades/paddles and a very nice cookbook) that we’d take a gamble on it. Being Costco if it stunk we’d at least be able to return it. I have long considered a Vitamix but even at Costco prices I just couldn’t justify spending $400 to 650 on a blender. It’s a blender, not a major appliance! The Ninja was a bit more reasonably priced….and honestly all I really need is great ice crushing power for my frozen drinks. I am not grinding my own flours from beans…..and so far the new blender is working out well. It is quiet and pulverizes the ice for our morning coffee drinks!

Kefir Fruit and Berry Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain Kefir
• 2 cups frozen fruit and berry blend
• ¼ cup sugar (or to taste)
• 12 ice cubes

Directions:

Process until blended and smooth, serve immediately with wide straws.

Serves 3 to 4.

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received product samples for potential review.