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Ravi's Favorite Kefir Smoothie

"Hmmmm" every morning Ravi and I enjoy a kefir smoothie for breakfast. Most times Ravi will finish his first and chase me around the backyard trying to drink mine. He always catches me...

Many years ago I used to hate kefir, maybe because the one I drunk wasn't very nice but now I have learned the secrets and I love it! I've never felt as healthy and energetic.

Milk Kefir is a fermented drink, which is made with "grains", actual colonies of yeast bacteria that look like curds. These grains are then placed in milk. The grains then ferment the milk, increasing its Lactobacilli bacteria. Lactobacilli bacteria is essential for a healthy gut. Kefir is specially good for those people who suffer from gastrointestinal distress.

The fermentation can vary depending on the grains, temperature and water. I leave mine in the milk overnight (12-24hrs). I then sieve the grains out and place them in a clean glass jar with organic fresh milk.


HOT Buzz: for those of you who are mildly lactose intolerant yet love smooth smoothies kefir is a great solution! The abundance in beneficial yeast and bacteria in the kefir provide lactase, which is an enzyme that consumes most of the lactose in the milk. Woohoo! There is also water kefir, which I'll go into another time.

Let's get started on the recipe because I want to go and make mine!

Ravi's Favorite Kefir Smoothie:

- milk kefir
- activated linseed (Nonni can't do without it, she loves it)
- activated almonds or any other raw nut that we have in the pantry
- frozen fruit; either berries or mango for us
- bananas
- sometimes add some raw cacao

Stay tuned and learn how to make your own milk kefir...

Upcycled Seedling Table

Have you ever noticed how many barbeques are thrown away here in Australia? There are so many in the dump and even on the streets. So many people leave their old barbeques on their front lawn hoping that someone will take it. So "naturally" when I moved into my house the old tenants left a broken barbeque in the backyard. I didn't really want to participate in the "national habit" so I decided to upcyle it. First, Nonni (Lucia Legan, my mumma) and Ravi pulled it apart. Then, with my recently acquired drilling skills ;) I turned the old barbeque into a seedling table. It's really useful and totally fits into our green backyard challenge, plus I totally love it.

 The making...

Thanks for looking!

My veggie patch!

 
Many parents wonder whether their children will “miss out on experiences” if they live in the country. Well I grew up in the country and I wouldn’t have had it any another way. Growing up in the country was the best thing my parents could ever give to me as a child. I learnt about the natural cycles of life and had so much fun climbing trees, taking care of my horse, duck and black chook. I want to give my son a similar experience. Yet, since we live on an urban block I decided to bring the country life into our backyard. A veggie patch was my first mission. 
 

I asked Matt and my parents to join me in the challenge. Our first task was to watch the sun for a few days to see where the garden should go. Most veggies and herbs need a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of sun each day. Once we decided that our space was good to go we cleared it out and measured it up. We scribbled up a plan and then got straight into it!

For the frame we chose recycled corrugated iron sheets that we sourced on Matt's cousins farm.  We used untreated hardwood stakes to hold the frame up and for that special final touch on the edges we used recycled decking timber. What's that new word that everyone is using? Oh yes, it was totally shabby chick.

One of our first challenges was cutting all the corrugated iron sheets. First, we were doing it with metal snipper’s, "WOW" very time consuming and hard, not to mention dangerous. So after some researching Matt finally found a video on You Tube, of a guy using a hammer and screwdriver. "Crazy man", I thought. "But we might as well give it a try or else we will be here for days"! Amazingly enough it actually was a really effective technique. It kept my hands away from the sharp edges of the corrugated iron and cut the sheets fairly quickly. 

The hardest and most frustrating challenge were the roots we came across when we were digging the trench to fit the garden into. The huge roots were from an old mango tree that had been cut down many years ago. Some of the roots we smashed out with an axe and in other areas we simply cut the corrugated iron around the root.

Once the frame was up we collected twigs, soil, small rocks and partly filled the raised garden.  As the garden beds were deep we sourced a local garden supplies and topped the beds up with good growing quality soil. Time to plant!

  

Caution: corrugated iron is VERY sharp. You need to use the appropriate tools and safety equipment.

 

Thanks for reading!

Veggie Cheat Sheet ;) great resource!

Why DNA Reboot?

Hey, so why bother about reading another blog? I mean it takes a lot for me to actually follow a blog. To grab my attention it has to be unique and interesting in a humorous and sort of educative. Well, my aim for this blog is to bring you exactly that. Maybe, just maybe this blog might be what you’re looking.

My name is Laila and I grew up in a community/Permaculture centre in central Brazil called Ecocentro IPEC. It's where I learnt my greenethics, gained my permie skills and made sustainability a part of my life. After 15 years living in the country, I now live in an urban block. And my challenge is to show that growing organic food in a small space is possible.

I've been living in the Byron Shire in Australia for the past 6 years, experiencing life to its fullest. Making true friendships, gaining new skills, going through some hardships, yet still standing strong and enjoying life. 

I am a mother of a beautiful boy and together we enjoy gardening, doing craft and many other fun activities. I am also a student of Naturopathy, which is one of my greatest passions. I love deep conversations about everything possible and impossible.

So welcome to my challenge of creating an urban Permaculture paradise. I would love to share my ups and downs of gardening, show you how to create fun activities in the garden with kids and how healthy recipes and quantum nutrients make you feel and look.

Enjoy! :)