PROBIOTICS for you and your chickens

[featherbaby]

As promised here's my recent culinary adventure recipe:




KEFIR RAISIN BRAN MUFFINS

4 Cups (32 oz.) Keifer Milk
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 Large Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
6 Cups Raisin Bran Cereal
1/2 Cup Raisins
5 Cups Flour (All Purpose)
5 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt

Preheat oven to 400 (375 if you have a convection oven or use dark muffin pans).

In your largest mixing bowl mix Kefir Milk, Oil, Sugar and lightly beaten eggs. Add Raisin Bran cereal and raisins. Let soak and soften aprox. 15 minutes while you mix dry ingredients in another bowl.

Mix/sift together the Flour, Baking Soda and Salt (I prefer Kosher) until blended. Mix dry ingredients into wet with large spatula just until all ingredients are moistened. Do not over beat.

Bake immediately or Store batter in a covered bowl in refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. When you decide to bake from the stored batter, gently stir it with a little more Kefir milk to consistency before filling muffin cups. The longer it sits, the thicker it gets. Stir as little as possible.

Grease (or spray Pam) 12 muffin cups, fill each 3/4 full. Bake at 375-400 for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with real butter (honey-butter optional).



NOTE: This is a large batch which yields 36 regular size muffins. I mixed it up in my largest Tupperware bowl so I could store it in the same bowl. Once batter was made, I baked one batch of 12 immediately and stored the rest in the refrigerator. I baked another batch a week later. I have one more batch to go next week. It keeps beautifully in the lower shelf of refrigerator and I can have hot fresh muffins within 20 minutes whenever I want them.

 

[animalover]

Does anyone have any recipes for diabetics? I have been drinking it straight, and blending it with blueberries, but am not creative enough to come up with recipes.

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

Quote:
You can eat the grains if you like. I think alot of people do eat them.

But when my Kefir matures to quickly and it is half whey, I don't think it looks right or smells right, so I don't drink it. I have tried to stir it up and the whey just seperates back out, instead of blending back in.

But, that is just my personal preference. If you like it, then go for it. Happy Kefiring!!

 

[Chickielady]

So, yet another stupid question:
I have heard from gastroenterologists that all those capsules of probiotics that you swallow down do not survive the acid wash of the stomach and therefore do not make it to the gut.
Several gastros have told me that they are a waste of money.
The acid in the stomach kills all bacteria dead but a very few viruses.
So, how is it that kefir cultures can survive the stomach and make it to the gut to flourish ?
One gastro told me that the only way any of these cultures could make it to the gut would be from the other route

But I always wonbered if that were true, then how does our good bacteria get in our gut ?

OBTW:: My kefir marbles are so active I cannot believe my eyes !
Foaming and clotting and smells so good !!
Thanks Ernie !

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

Quote:
Well Chickielady, that is a very excellent question. It took me a little while to research this and I think I found a simplified and well explained article that covers this.

Kefir is part of the Probiotics family. I think the article states that the probiotic pills being sold at healthfood stores are not the same. But the Kefir we are drinking is a homemade, fermented, natural food, with good enzimes that DO survive the stomach acids.

Here's just a small part of the article.
Stomach acid and probiotics
The questions related to probiotics are essentially the same as those for proteolytic enzymes: aren't they broken down and destroyed by stomach acid -- thus requiring special, acid-proof capsules? And the answer, for most probiotics, is absolutely not. (I think this is primarily a marketing pitch for companies selling probiotics in enteric coated capsules, but the logic is flawed.)

The reason we're supposed to take probiotic supplements is to replace the probiotics that we used to get in a wide range of unprocessed fermented foods such as homemade yogurt, sauerkraut, buttermilk, pickled foods, kimchi, real soy sauce, raw vinegar, tempeh, etc. -- foods that are no longer a significant part of our diet. But think about this for a moment. These foods are not enteric coated. How could these foods provide probiotic value if the beneficial bacteria were destroyed by stomach acid? The simple truth is that beneficial bacteria, for the most part, easily survive stomach acid. Also, if you take your probiotic supplements with water on an empty stomach (as we've already discussed), they encounter almost no stomach acid anyway

 

[Chickielady]

Quote:
Well Chickielady, that is a very excellent question. It took me a little while to research this and I think I found a simplified and well explained article that covers this.

Kefir is part of the Probiotics family. I think the article states that the probiotic pills being sold at healthfood stores are not the same. But the Kefir we are drinking is a homemade, fermented, natural food, with good enzimes that DO survive the stomach acids.

Here's just a small part of the article.
Stomach acid and probiotics
The questions related to probiotics are essentially the same as those for proteolytic enzymes: aren't they broken down and destroyed by stomach acid -- thus requiring special, acid-proof capsules? And the answer, for most probiotics, is absolutely not. (I think this is primarily a marketing pitch for companies selling probiotics in enteric coated capsules, but the logic is flawed.)

The reason we're supposed to take probiotic supplements is to replace the probiotics that we used to get in a wide range of unprocessed fermented foods such as homemade yogurt, sauerkraut, buttermilk, pickled foods, kimchi, real soy sauce, raw vinegar, tempeh, etc. -- foods that are no longer a significant part of our diet. But think about this for a moment. These foods are not enteric coated. How could these foods provide probiotic value if the beneficial bacteria were destroyed by stomach acid? The simple truth is that beneficial bacteria, for the most part, easily survive stomach acid. Also, if you take your probiotic supplements with water on an empty stomach (as we've already discussed), they encounter almost no stomach acid anyway

Ahhhhhh I see, said the blind man...

 

[Chickielady]

Quote:
Why can you not use Splenda ?
Or use fresh fruits ?
If your diabetes is to the point that fruits are a no no...then...
how about some Splenda and spices, like cinnemon or nutmeg or vanilla ?
There is also sugar free Hershey's syrup, or use real coa coa powder, and Splenda...and have a chocolatey shake !
Use small amounts of these sugars.
Flavorines are also something I have looked into.
You see lots of bottles of Italian flavors at coffee shops...any flavoring can be used with the fruit necessary for those allergic to fruits or those that cannot have too much fruit (such as Diabetics)
A few drops of raspberry flavor and a small pink pack of splenda is a treat beyond treats for those that cannot have fruit, and sugars.
I love real vanilla !!!
And the grocery store will yield several types of flavorings.
Avoid weird stuff and msg....aspartame and other fake 'sugars' are not good either.

 

[Cebarmlds]

Splenda is a fake sugar too....

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/12/03/sucralose-dangers.aspx

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

Quote:
First of all.... Welcome!!

Now, I'm not diabetic, but I'll suggest a couple of things since no-one else replied back to your question.

After I strain my Kefir and get ready to put it into the fridge to mellow the taste for a couple of days, I add a tsp. of vanilla and a Tbs. of sugar. Omit the sugar since you can't have it. But the vanilla does give it a nice flavor.

Other people on here have talked about putting a cinnamin stick into it when they refridgerate it for a couple of days for a nice flavor.

You could try to blend it in the blender with banana's, mangoes,or strawberries, with ice to make a smootie. I use canned peaches and a pinch of cinnamin for a great tasting smoothie. Others have mentioned using it to make pancakes instead of water or regular milk, and to make homemade biscuts.

I'm still learning here also. If you go back about 10-12 pages you may find some recipies or links for recipies.
Good luck!!

 

[animalover]

Thanks for the good suggestions. I just found out agave nectar is not healthy (it tastes wonderful), so I will try Stevia. I'm pretty sensitive to the taste of artificial things. The good news is that I read that kefir is very good for regulating blood sugar. I have been making blueberry kefir shakes, as that is one of the fruits I am allowed. Vanilla and cinnamon sound good.