Sweet strawberries and mint make your mouth happy and your gut too!
I have been super busy. I know, join the club. EVERYONE is “busy”. There are a million things to do and people to see. But this has been different for me: busy in a way I have never been before.
I’ve been busy taking care of myself and making myself a priority.
Something so simple, and should be first nature, has been a lifetime struggle. Someone else always needed my time or attention more, and I would default to doing too much, working too much and basically heaping everything else for everyone else on top of my own needs and wants. Until I didn’t even know what my own needs and wants might be.
SO MESSED UP. Right?
After our Ayurvedic cleanse this spring (if you missed the post you can read it here), I enrolled in The Habit. 10 weeks of weekly coaching and daily support from the very funny, open, and supportive Carly. You can creep her and her program here. And I have been changing my mindset and my daily habits to take care of myself like IT is my job… because it is.
I feel like my sparkle is coming back, that I am finding pleasure, slowing down and enjoying more of my every day, instead of just trying to get thru it. Because I was getting through but was missing the joy.
One of the things that I have done this year (with the help of Raj – thank you, sir) is plant a rooftop garden. In fact, the strawberries and the mint for this recipe were cultivated with love in our kick-ass pallet planters. You can check out more from the rooftop garden in Raj’s Mamajuana Rum Marinade recipe or Instagram.
Gardening sets my joy on FIRE.
I’m connecting with nature (even if it’s picking cabbage worms off our broccoli to feed the birds), chatting with the flowers, and getting that good dirt on my skin to diversify my microbiome.
Getting out and about to be a tourist in my own town is also revving my engine. There is this super cute fruit stand/market/petting zoo that I have wanted to stop at for years. This weekend we went! Yes, my wildest dreams were fulfilled, and now I am free to dream bigger and bolder, unless of course, the turkey gets me… (watch the video below, and spoiler alert I did manage to escape unscathed).
What brings you joy? Do you have any simple pleasures I should add to my routine? Pleasures besides Strawberry Mint Water Kefir. 😉
Want to know more about Water Kefir? Check out our How-To.
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Strawberry Mint Water Kefir
- Total Time: 24-48 hours
- Yield: 2L 1x
Description
Sweet Strawberries and mint make your mouth happy, and your gut too!
Ingredients
Equipment
- quart jar or larger
- nylon strainer
- chopstick or wooden spoon
- silicone funnel
- swing top bottles, small or large
Ingredients
- 2–3 Tbsp kefir grains
- 1 quart of filtered water, we use a Clearly Filtered pitcher
- 1/4 cup sugar or a small palm full of unsulfured dried fruit
- pinch of sea salt (optional)
Second ferment
- 1/4 cup crushed strawberries (and juice)
- 1/4 cup fresh mint
Instructions
- Place water kefir grains in a glass jar, add sugar (or dried fruit) and water and using the spoon or chopstick stir until sugar has dissolved. You can add a pinch of sea salt here if you need more minerals in your water.
- Place mesh strainer over top of the jar and place in a warm spot. You could alternately use cheesecloth, but make sure the kefir can breathe. 24-48 hours depending on how sweet and how carbonated you want your beverage (less sweet and more carbonated the longer you go).
- Strain the liquid off the grains and set aside for step 4. Prepare a new sugar water mixture and add the grains to keep them alive (and for your next batch).
- SECOND FERMENT:
Add the crushed strawberries and juice and the fresh mint without stems to the strained liquid, and stir well. - Pour into swing top bottles, filling 3/4 full leaving space in the bottle, and seal them up.
- Leave on a counter 12-24 hours- this is the second ferment.
- Make sure to “burp” your ferments daily, and then pop into the fridge. Alternately, you can keep them in a lock top jar and strain into those swing top bottles before popping them in the fridge.
Notes
The best way to get the flavor without bitterness on fresh herbs is to spank it with your hand, give it a firm tap/slap with warm hands before throwing it into any dish, and try to avoid the stems as much as possible.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Category: drink
- Method: ferment
Keywords: water kefir, strawberry mint,
I looooooove water kefir! Can’t wait to try this flavor combo! Thanks. 🙂
★★★★★
refreshing and easy!! 😉