Banana-Kefir Smoothie

My son David is particularly fond of this recipe; in fact he helped to develop it himself. I am absolutely thrilled that he loves it, for he tends to be one of my more picky eaters, and I feel good knowing that he is partaking of something as wonderful as kefir. Kefir is a cultured beverage, which (like yogurt) is extremely probiotic in nature. Here is an excellent website which gives everything you want to know about kefir (and everything you didn't want to know :-) ). Dom's Kefir Site is very fun to read because it is written in such an engaging style.

We were blessed when the wise and gracious Robyn (Mama of 7), from whom we buy goat's milk, gave us some kefir grains (and sold us a $6 strainer), and we have been having these smoothies every other day since then. It is so easy! We just pour fresh milk over the strainer, which contains the kefir grains, and then set it in our pantry for a few days until it is of the right consistency (kind of lumpy). When we use it up, we transfer the kefir strainer to a new jar, pour fresh milk over it and then begin the process anew.
So, without further ado, here is this easy recipe:

Combine the following in a blender, chill (if you can wait) & enjoy! My son will often add color to the smoothies, so it will sometimes be rather vivacious looking :-).
1 quart kefir

1 quart milk

1/4 cup raw honey

2 bananas

1/4 tsp. vanilla

5-6 strawberries (optional)