Do you feel alive each day? When your feet hit the ground in the morning are you pumped about the day? Did you feel appreciation and love for others? Do you have energy that will last all day?

Did you know that you are supposed to feel this way? It is not something that is for a few, but for everybody. I used to feel terrible, sick and dreaded the tasks before me each day. This is no way to live and I really wasn’t living and life felt hard.

Little by little I started to turn around and the place I started was what I fed my body. The food you eat makes up the cells of your body and the foods I added to my life were alive and teaming with probiotics. Cultured foods that changed me and made me feel different. They weren’t costly or hard to make but they were power houses. I added them to my diet and wow did I change. Actually everything changed. I had energy, excitement, and joy.

I remember that day. The first start of well being and I talked about it in my story video.
http://youtu.be/CbX9Nv9OtGM

While washing dishes I looked out the window and saw that my bird feeder was empty. It had been empty for a year but suddenly I found myself in the front yard filling it up. Suddenly I cared how about the birds and their food source. Many other things happened to me. The grass was greener and I was sure that people were kinder. The grocery store clerks handed me my groceries and told me to have a good day… well I wanted to hug them and tell them to have one too. Then there was my husband. He simply walked into the room that day and my heart went pitter patter. I could not stop hugging him and we had been married over 20 years. I felt like I was 21 again and had just seen him for the first time. Everything in my life intensified because I felt so good. It was a miracle to me, one that has continued to this day.

I swear I am aging backwards. I am not kidding. I am almost 53 and have no symptoms of menopause or even being close to going through this period of life. No hot flashes nor irregular cycles. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Everything is getting better and I feel great. I get up at the crack of dawn to go workout with trainers and friends. I still can’t believe I do this and I love every minute of it. I’m pushing my body to do things it has never done before. It shocks me that it performs things again and again that I never thought I could do.

My trainer was telling my to do a dead-lift weight exercise with 115 lbs barbell and I told him no way no how. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “Yes you can Donna. You’re giving me clues all the time that this will not be hard for you. First of all you are holding this 115 lbs with you arms bent instead of straight, so it is not too heavy for you and you are talking the whole time doing this exercise. If it was too heavy you would not be able to do any of these things.” I have since learned to shut up during my workouts or he will push me harder.

I need less sleep and have more projects and I work more than ever before. I feel like a new born that just got started. It is exhilarating to me.

So what happened to me? The first thing that happened was I got sick. I was really sick, but I had a strong desire to be well. One thing led to another and these special foods showed up in my life. Was it the special bacterias from these foods that made serotonin in my gut that caused me to feel so good? So many physical processes were taking place and I started on a journey to find out what had happened to me. (My story  is here:  http://youtu.be/CbX9Nv9OtGM)

The first thing I did that started me on the road to recovery was kefir. I didn’t know much about it but I started making it the easiest way I could find. There are two ways to make kefir and I started with the kefir culture packages. This was super simple and allowed me to make kefir in large quantities. I also found that with this method, I didn’t have to make it everyday. This felt easier to me. I since have switched to making it with kefir grains and I make it everyday. However, I received so much success with the first method that it’s what I recommend to people who are really busy and want to start off with a super simple method.

If you want to start to feel good, have more love to give your family and others, feel alive inside like you are suppose to, here is where I started and the first method I used. If you don’t know where to start, this is a great place. I also teach on my site how to make kefir with kefir grains. http://www.culturedfoodlife.com/kefir/

However you make and consume kefir, find the method that suits you and begin. It can change your life and start you on the road to being yourself; the “you” that feels alive and excited about each day. I can’t imagine being any other way now.

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(Kefir for Dummies or the Extremely Busy)

If you are super busy and don’t have time to make kefir everyday, or want something that you can make in large quantities, this is the method for you. I have taught this way to some of my favorite busy people and they love the ease of this method.

The only drawback is having to buy kefir starter culture packages. However each package makes up to seven gallons and the whole box will make up to 42 gallons so it’s very economical. Direct-set style powdered Kefir Starter Culture is a great option for people interested in making their own Kefir, but do not want to maintain a set of Milk Kefir Grains.

First you will need to purchase your packages.

This is a six-package starter, which will make up to 42 gallons of kefir:

http://www.culturedfoodlife.com/product/body- ecology-kefir-starter-culture/

If you don’t want to commit to making that much kefir, you can also purchase a single kefir starter culture packet. It will make two to seven gallons of kefir.

http://www.culturedfoodlife.com/product/milk-kefir-starter-culture/

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of Kefir Starter Culture
• 1 quart Milk
• 1 glass canning jar (quart, or half-gallon)
• 1 lid (plastic is preferable but you can use metal)

Milk considerations: Pasteurized milk is most commonly used with this culture. Non-homogenized milk can be used if desired. Ultra-high temperature (UHT) and ultra-pasteurized milk is less likely to culture effectively. Fresh raw milk also can be used but re-culturing is less likely to be effective if raw milk is used due to the bacteria content of the raw milk. If you prefer to use raw milk, I strongly recommend using Milk Kefir Grains to make your Kefir.

• Heat the milk,  85-92°F. (this is not necessary but will culture faster if you do.)
• Mix in the starter culture. Be sure to fully incorporate the culture into the liquid.
• Cover the container with a lid and allow the mixture to ferment at 72-80°F (see below):
• Ferment for 18-24 hours for animal milk, or 18-36 hours for coconut milk.Once the fermentation period is complete, shake the kefir vigorously, and place a lid on the container and store the kefir in the refrigerator.Choose a safe spot:An ideal culturing spot should be relatively warm but not excessively so. Temperatures between 72° and 80°F are ideal. The best fermenting spot for Kefir is out of direct sunlight.
  

  Culturing Kefir

  Signs the Kefir is Done Culturing:

  The culturing process is complete when the milk thickens to the consistency of commercial cultured buttermilk. It will be a pourable liquid and not an “eat with a spoon” level
  of thickness. The milk will also take on a distinctive sour fragrance.

Re-culturing the Kefir

Kefir made with a direct-set style starter culture can often
be re-cultured anywhere from 2-7 times. The exact number of successive re-culturings will depend on the freshness of the Kefir. I recommend re-culturing Kefir within 7 days of making each batch. Longer periods in between batches
will decrease the likelihood the new batch will culture successfully. Please note, re-culturing is less likely to be effective if raw milk is used due to the bacteria content of the raw milk. If you prefer to use raw milk, I strongly recommend using Milk Kefir Grains to make your Kefir.

• Reserve 1⁄4 cup of Kefir from a previous batch.
• Thoroughly incorporate the 1⁄4 cup of reserved Kefir into a quart of fresh milk.
• Cover the container with a tight lid and allow the mixture to ferment at72-80°F (see below):
• Ferment for 18-24 hours for animal milk, or 18-36 hours for coconut milk
• Once the fermentation period is complete store in the refrigerator.If you want to make more than one quart of re-cultured kefir, just add more kefir from the previous batch and more milk as follows:For 1/2 gallon, use 1/2 cup of reserved kefir and 1/2 gallon of milk.For 1 gallon, use 1 cup of reserved kefir and 1 gallon of milk.

For videos and classes on how to make Kefir: http://www.culturedfoodlife.com/category/biotic-pro-contents/videos/kefir-videos/ Please click to

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