Kefir Strawberry Ice Cream | No Churn

I wanted ice cream the other night, but the grocery store didn’t have any good ones, and the place where I usually buy my organic ice cream was closed, so I decided to make my own. I wanted to try something different, so I got some organic kefir (instead of cream). And yes, this type of kefir is made with dairy, so today’s recipe is not for vegans or dairy-intolerant people. Sorry, but you can check out my awesome vegan Blueberry-Coconut ice cream instead. Yum! (although if you are lactose-intolerant, keep reading!)

What the heck is Kefir?

Have you ever heard of kefir? Traditional kefir is a fermented milk made using kefir grain starters. I remember my mom made some when I was a kid. It kind of looked like a small cauliflower, and you would just put it in a big jar of milk, at room temperature, and about 24 hours later, you had this delicious yogurt-like thick liquid to drink. I loved it. I always liked the sourness of it. Because of the natural fermentation, this liquid is filled with lots and lots of healthy bacteria, which we need in order to be healthy (to read more about the importance of a healthy gut, read my article 90% of our DNA is not ours).

Unfortunately, it looks like the kefir we buy in the store is no longer made the traditional way…

As a result of the fermentation, very little lactose remains in kefir. People with lactose intolerance are able to tolerate kefir, providing the number of live bacteria present in this beverage consumed is high enough (i.e., fermentation has proceeded for adequate time). It has also been shown that fermented milk products have a slower transit time than milk, which may further improve lactose digestion.[8]

For the preparation of the present factory-produced kefir, the so-called kefir mild, kefir grains are no longer used, but a precise composed mixture of different bacteria and yeast, allowing the flavor to be kept constant.

Traditional kefir is fermented at ambient temperatures, generally overnight. Fermentation of the lactose yields a sour, carbonated, slightly alcoholic beverage, with a consistency and taste similar to thin yogurt. (Source: Wikipedia)

Anyway, give it a try, it’s a yummy and different flavour, I quite enjoyed my Kefir strawberry ice cream. No ice cream machine needed. 🙂

Enjoy!

ECP xo

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Kefir Strawberry Ice Cream (no churn)

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Canadian

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 4

Author: Eyecandypopper

An easy recipe for natural probiotic kefir strawberry ice cream

Ingredients

• 2 cups organic kefir (plain, unsweetened)
• 2 cups organic strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup organic maple syrup

Instructions

1. Simply blend everything with a blender or an immersion blender for about 45 seconds. You want it to be as smooth as possible, but you also want to create a lot of air bubbles.
2. Pour everything in a freezer-friendly container, and put it in the freezer for at least 3-4 hours, or overnight.
3. If frozen solid, simply remove from freezer and leave at room temperature for about 20 minutes or so to soften. You can use an ice cream scoop to form nice ice cream balls. Enjoy!

Note: I do not believe anyone should worry about counting calories, but here is the nutritional information for one serving
Calories: 152kcal | Fat: 4g | Saturated fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 64mg | Potassium: 155mg | Carbohydrates: 25g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Protein: 4g | Vitamin A: 245% | Vitamin C: 42.3% | Calcium: 183% | Iron: 0.3%