The Lifeway Story – The Lifeway Foods story begins in 1986 with kefir, a milk-based cultured drink that is popular in Eastern Europe and is said to be more nutritional than yogurt. Today, Lifeway is the country’s leading manufacturer of kefir, with multiple flavors and varieties that include lowfat, whole milk and organic versions as well as a children’s line, and a provider of other probiotic natural and organic dairy products for health-conscious consumers.
Here is my take on Lifeway Low-fat Kefir’s!
My REALLY general review: Flavor-wise is a hit or miss. Most of the flavors aren’t especially strong in flavor …and don’t go looking for any fruit bits. My favorite is the peach and probably least favorite the pomegranate . Consistency-wise, the kefir is very milky, smooth and creamy smoothie-like drink. Think: in between milk and regular yogurt. Nutritionally, they are rather high in calories for a drink, but the fact that there are probiotics is definitely a plus! I have noticed improvements in regularity by incorporating the drink into my daily diet. (Is that too much information?)
Here are the ingredients to all the low-fat kefirs. The only difference between all of them is what juice concentrate is used in the mixture.
INGREDIENTS: Cultured Pasteurized Lowfat Milk, Nonfat Milk, Organic Cane Juice, XXX Juice Concentrate, Natural Flavors, Inulin (a natural dietary fiber), Red Beet Juice For Color, Vit A Palmitate, Vit D 3
Stats per cup: 160 Calories, 2g fat (1.5g saturated fat), 10mg cholesterol, 125mg sodium, 25g carbs, 3g fiber, 21g sugars, 11g protein
What is Kefir? “Kefir is prepared by culturing fresh milk, water, or other non-dairy substitutes (with some adjustments) with kefir grains, which are basically clumps of bacteria that have been proven to be beneficial to the human digestive system. The end product is a creamy, slightly sour, refreshing milky beverage that is filled with these ‘friendly bacteria’. The fermentation process only takes about 24 hours at room temperature and does not involve many of the sterilization techniques that go along with many other cultured products, such as yogurt.”
Benefits of Kefir:
- Known to be an effective immune stimulant and antimicrobial against a wide variety of harmful gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.
- Kefir has been used to treat metabolic disorders, atherosclerosis, allergic disease, tuberculosis, cancer and other gastrointestinal disorders
Lovely RD Emily recently discussed what Pro and Prebiotics do for your health! Here is a short excerpt, but check out her post here.
- Probiotics increase the number of good bacteria and inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria in the intestine. They may help the immune system and assist in maintaining barrier function.
- Prebiotics promote the growth of good bacteria in the intestinal tract and may enhance the effect of probiotic bacteria; may also increase the absorption of certain minerals (such as calcium and magnesium) and may help reduce risk factors related to colorectal diseases.
Pictured kefir is the top orange -colored layer of the parfait below.
Tastiness: 8/10. This was a very light, refreshing flavor that definitely reminded me of eating peach yogurt! It also went very well whatever cereal I ate it with… the Nutridel flax cookie tasted amazingly delicious in this!
Kefir eaten as a cold soup topped with mini vanilla meringues (courtesy of Trader Joe’s)
Tastiness: 6/10. I was disappointed with this flavor. Not only was the liquid hardly “blue” (yes I like my blueberry drinks blue, and not the kind from chemicals), but there was hardly any blueberry flavor. The liquid was a good balance between sweet and tart, the liquid itself was very smooth and runny. To my further disappointment, it did not contain any blueberry bits. The blueberry kefir definitely didn’t taste bad, and I would even consider it good if only I didn’t know it was meant to be blueberry flavored! *sigh* This formula needs some readjustment.
3) Low-fat Strawberry Kefir
Kefir eaten as the topping over kashi heart to heart warm cinnamon cereal & strawberry special K.
Tastiness: 8/10. It’s hard to mess up strawberry, and thankfully this was quite a good flavor. The kefir flavors are well-balanced between tart and sweet, and there is unmistakable strawberry flavor (unlike the blueberry.) However, because strawberry is such a classic, I do wish the kefir had a stronger authentic strawberry fruit flavor.
4) Low-fat Pomegranate Kefir
Tastiness: 4/10. I can only compare this to POM juice (which tastes like grape juice to me with a slightly bitter aftertaste) and fresh pomegranate seeds (which are just delicious)…and unfortunately I have to say that this kefir flavor did not resemble any of those two. The flavor honestly tasted like sweeter plain yogurt to me with a minor bitter aftertaste (like POM juice). Not an exciting or delicious flavor at all.
5) Low-fat RaspberryKefir
Tastiness: 7/10. This had good “berry flavor” – though more like mixed berries than plain raspberry, but like most of the other flavors, true fruit flavor is lacking. As expected, it’s quite similar in flavor to the strawberry.
6) Low-fat Strawberry Banana Kefir
Kefir eaten as topping over plain yogurt and topped with Kashi Go Lean & Homemade Granola
Tastiness: 8/10. There is a slight hint of banana (not overwhelming, otherwise I would have not liked it very much) and highly strawberry-like…though you have to get over the fact that it is technically strawberry flavoring. Not the real stuff.
Michelle’s Overall Suggestions: I love the consistency and health benefits of kefir, but I definitely think that buying a non-fat plain flavor would not only save you calories, but give you flexibility to add in your own flavors and mix-ins! However, if you’re short on time and you like fruit-flavor, the organic non-fat peach or strawberry kefir would be my recommendation.
Store Price: $3.49 per bottle at my local Dominick’s store (Chicago)
My price: Complimentary from Lifeway representative Erin
Great reviewing! I’ve tried other Kefirs and liked them. I’d be curious to try this brand sometime, but right now I’m enjoying So Delicious coconut milk kefir
GREAT post!! It’s actually kind of ironic that you posted this because I just purchased some kefor from Trader Joe’s and I was planning on doing a post about it soon. It’s such a great product, as you mentioned, and it’s great for those who are lactose intolerant as well. I have never tried the flavored ones, as I know they are high in calories and sugar, but the plain one tastes great with some cocoa and Purevia!
Thanks so much for the awesome review on this pretty cool product, love!! Love what you did with the strawberry flavor!
❤ jess
xoxo
Thanks for the review! I’ve never had kefir. I saw Andrew Zimmern have some fresh made w/ nothing mixed in and he made a face. haha I guess it’s pretty strong plain. At least the probiotics are helping you out, even if the flavors are somewhat dull!
I saw this Kefir on my prof’s desk every day. Always wondering why he likes it so much. it looks like baby food for me somehow……:-) thanks for the review ! I finally know some details! it’s pretty watery right?
I once read that these kind of probiotic will all lose it’s effect (actually they all die). when the bottle is stored in the fridge for another 2 hours. Are this bottle one-serving bottles?
Glad your regularity problem alleviate by this product!
i love how you ate the blueberry kefir as a soup topped with mini meringues. aren’t those meringues so good? i still can’t believe those are 1 calorie each!
mmmm i love these products! the strawberry banana is my fab flavor 🙂 great review!
I’ve never seen these in stores but it doesn’t look like something I would be interested in. I LOVE yogurt and frozen yogurt but a high calorie milky yogurt? Eek. Haha. It does look like it would be amazing with cereal though!
I’ve never tried Keifer and often wondered if it would be something that would move seamless in to my rice milk slot. Still up in the air basedo n your review
I’ve never tasted kefir, but you sure make it look and sound healthy and delicious. I’m really happy to know there’s a dairy-free alternative, too. Thanks, Evan for mentioning So Delicious coconut milk kefir. I can’t wait to try it!
i’ve never had kefir, but my ex. skating partner was OBSESSED.
thanks for another awesome review!
hmmm they do sound good but they look pretty high in calories. GREEEEEEEAT review girl 🙂
I was waiting for someone to review these before I went out and bought them–I am always looking for new drinks to try! Thanks for sharing 🙂 Hope the rest of your week goes fabulous!
Thanks for the great review! We love peach, too…seems to be a favorite!
Good review, although completely disagree with your assessment of the pomegranate flavor. It’s by far the best Lifeway makes!
I love this Kefir Brand. It has literally saved my life. Suffering from IBD- severe ulcerative colitis since age 17, led to colon cancer and then after 3 surgeries a complete colectomy with a jpouch then chronic pouchitis. Im 33 now and finally have my life back! After incorporating this every morning I have not had to undergo a scope in over 4 years! This compant is top notch I assure you. Do your research! It will save your life.
I am using milk kefir for 5 months now. Let me tell you that I have noticed a change in my energy level, The first thing I noticed immediately the next day after drinking kefir for the first time was my bowl movement which I felt was much better and after 4 or 5 days, no more constipation or bloating. Now it is a part of my diet. I don’t buy ready made brands but I am cultivating my own kefir. I drink it plain before bed time and I do smoothies with different fruits and I enjoy it during the day. I have one glass after workout and I feel really full. My skin is glowing and I don’t really look that I am 53. I have lost my belly fat which was sleeping next to me. No high blood pressure, no cholesterol and of course no diabetics. Now my husband can’t do without it. I shared the grains with some friends and every one is thanking me every time they see me.
My understanding is that people who cultivate their own Kefir leave it at room temp so the bacteria can ferment to provide maximum probiotic effect. So I have to question how Lifeway’s product, which is refrigerated on the shelf and whose label clearly states to refrigerate after opening, could be providing the maximum benefit for those who use it.
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My favorite is the raspberry. The peach is also fairly good. I tried the blueberry today, and not only did it not taste like blueberry, it also had a chemical taste to it. Strawberry was all right.
Order: 1. raspberry, peach, strawberry, blueberry. This is what I’ve tried so far, just in case this helps anybody out there.
I question its health benefit, 21 grams of sugar per cup, that is very high