During the holidays my youngest got hooked on "bubble juice" (Sparkling Grape juice that we got to celebrate birthdays and the new year).  And I thought "Hey!  I know how to make this healthier... and how to give us a late winter project to keep us busy!"...

I sent away for some water kefir grains on Amazon and they arrived... a little underwhelming.  They were dehydrated and took a good 3 weeks to get going well enough to make "bubble juice".  BUT we did it and it came out great!  Think fruity, lightly sweet seltzer water.


When the grains arrived, we immediately put them in a quart jar with water, 1/4 cup of cane sugar (nothing fancy, just the table variety), a couple drops of molasses for mineral content, and a small handful of raisins.

Quinny helped.

We repeated this process every 48 hours for a COUPLE WEEKS until the grains had doubled in size and started to cause the liquid in the jar to be slightly bubbly and tangy.

If you receive regular Water Kefir grains (that aren't dehydrated) in the mail to start off with, this initial step should only take about 48 hours and shouldn't need to be repeated.

WOOHOO!  Finally bubbly and ready to go!

We put the entire contents of the jar (including the raisins and kefir grains) into a swingtop bottle and also added a handful of crushed strawberries for flavor.

So, how do you get a family that doesn't like fish to eat it?  Well... I put this together the other day and it was really different for us, and super delicious.  Not at all "fishy" and got us some Omega3 fatty acids.  Dairy free, Corn free, easily wheat free, and about 1 Carb (15grams carbohydrate) per serving.   Served it with sweet potato and green salad.

Yesterday, when I was outside with the girls, we saw bunny tracks.  We also saw a mole/vole tunnel under the snow.  Soon, the sap will start to flow in our old Sugar Maples and the Earth will indeed begin waking up beneath its blanket of ice and snow.

I make soda bread every year around this time.  It's round like the sun, a little sweet, full of yummy chopped fruit and loaded with caraway seeds... in hope of Spring.



Kid Approved!