Orange Chai Kefir Drinks
I am a big lover of smoothies and probably have a whole bunch of good recipes to share! I always load up my smoothies in such a way that they pretty much serve as meals (fruits, veggies, protein, etc). But sometimes I just want a healthy drink that won’t sit too heavy on my stomach – more like a little snack or refreshment.
These Kefir drinks are perfect for those moments!
Ingredients:
- The juice of 2 large oranges
- 1 cup of Kefir
- 2 chai tea teabags
- 1 tablespoon of honey or golden syrop
These drinks are very simple to make:
First wash the oranges and zest or grate the peel and set the little pieces aside to use for garnish later.
Squeeze the juice of 2 large oranges into a pot on the stove. Heat the juice (but be careful not to burn the juice, as this will alter the taste and make the drink bitter). Add the chai tea and steep for about 10 minutes. Remove the teabags and let the ‘juice-tea’ cool down.
In a blender, combine the ‘juice-tea’ (he-he), Kefir and syrop (I used syrop instead of honey) and blend until all ingredients are mixed.
Pour into your glasses, garnish and enjoy!
Makes 2 servings
These drinks are very refreshing and summery because of the orange flavour that comes through. And I love the spiciness that the chai adds!
Modifications:
Kefir is certainly an acquired taste, as it is quite sour. If you do not like the taste of plain yogurt you may not be a fan of Kefir either. You can certainly substitute the Kefir in this recipe with plain or vanilla yogurt.
A tip for masking the sour taste is to add 1 frozen banana when blending the ingredients together. This will make the drink more sweet.
So what exactly IS Kefir? And how on earth do you pronounce it? Well, you say it like “Kiefer Sutherland”. (Total side note: I Googled that dude to make sure I spell his name correctly and in addition to Kiefer he has 5 other names!)
The very basic description of Kefir drinks are ‘milk with bacterial cultures‘. The less appetizing description would be ‘fermented milk”.
The Kefir grounds themselves are clusters of naturally occurring bacteria and yeast. It gets added to milk to develop (or ferment) to create a Kefir drink.
The active bacteria and yeast have many health benefits. Even as a milk based product, Kefir is easily digestible by those who are lactose intolerant. It is also loaded with vitamins and minerals and contains easily digestible complex proteins.
Because of the many active bacterial cultures and yeast, Kefir consumption is great for preventing intestinal disorders. It creates a healthy digestive system and ensures a balanced ecosystem for your body, which promotes optimum health and longevity.
The Kefir container that I bought (Liberté Organic) says: “One tablespoon (15 ml) per day is necessary to obtain 5 billion of good bacteria”
The taste: It can be quite sour, so you may want to blend it with lots of fruit while getting used to the taste.
Kefir drinks can be found in specialty health stores or in the health section of your grocery store.
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The smoothie looks devine. Would SA shops have Kefir? Or could you use milk instead?
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Revel! Reply:
May 18th, 2010 at 7:45 am
Hey Coleen – I’m sure you will be able to find Kefir in South Africa too. Even in Canada I had to go to a couple of different stores before I found it. And if you can’t find Kefir you can always make the recipe with milk or with yogurt.
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This smoothie looks great! I will have to try it out. Your blog is very inspiring, I am enjoying it. Thanks for sharing it with me.
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Revel! Reply:
May 18th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Yay – I’m glad you like it!! Thanks for checking out Revel – maybe I will make you another smoothie some time!
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What do you use for protein in your smoothies? I’m never sure how to add that aspect to make it more of a meal then a drink.
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Revel! Reply:
May 19th, 2010 at 9:13 am
Hey Laura – I like to use whey protein powder. But you can also add some peanut or almond butter, or even greek yogurt with lots of protein to give the smoothie the extra staying power that makes it like a meal.
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These look so yummy! I will def have to try these!
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I’m a known danger in the kitchen…but surely I can pull off that drink. It looks delicious!!!I want to drink it now! What a pretty, good feeling blog!
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Revel! Reply:
May 19th, 2010 at 9:15 am
Hi LifeLikeYou – thanks for stopping by! I’m pretty sure you can pull it off – you gotta love drinks that seem complicated but are actually easy peasy ( I like to trick my guests that way).
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LOOK at your amazing photos. The lighting is perfection!!! How do you accomplish that!?? The place I set up my photos is less than ideal but it works for now. The 3rd photo is completely stunning and my fav but the 4th photo comes in a close 2nd
Not to mention this sounds delicious!
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This looks so delicious – I’d love to try this! Reminds me of ‘lacto’ we used to have growing up in Zimbabwe (I think it’s most comparable to buttermilk)
Love how beautifully you’ve presented this
xo
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