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A “cultured milk product” may sound foreign, but if you’ve ever eaten yogurt, you’re closer to kefir than you thought. Find out what makes it just a little more special.

What Is Kefir?

Kefir has the mild tang of  yogurt, only with a thinner and more drinkable consistency. Plain is the traditional variety but its increasing popularity has caused manufacturers to produce flavors like cherry, strawberry, chocolate, cappuccino and pomegranate. Low-carb flavors are also available but are sweetened with artificial sweeteners.

Kefir is available in non-fat, low-fat and whole milk forms.  Brands such as Lifeway also offer frozen, scoop-able versions, with a texture similar to frozen yogurt.

Healthy Attributes

One cup of low-fat, plain kefir has 110 calories, 2 grams of fat, 12 grams of carbs and 11 grams of protein. It’s comparable to milk in the calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin D department but does contain more iron than milk – 30 percent of your daily needs per cup (milk has 1%).

Kefir is perhaps most well known for its digestion-promoting healthy bacteria known as probiotics. Regular ingestion of these “healthy bacteria” help to keep a balanced environment in the intestines, which can help with regularity.

Yogurt is also a good source of probiotics but kefir tends to have more per serving and its thinner consistency is often easier to digest.

5 Ways to Love Kefir

1. Make a creamy low fat salad dressing
2. Blend into a smoothie
3. Use in place of buttermilk when baking
4. Swap out yogurt for kefir in your favorite frozen yogurt recipe
5. Toss with shredded cabbage, carrot, cider vinegar and celery salt for a tangy coleslaw

Tell Us: Have you tried kefir?