The Contest

Those of you who know me at all, and my mother can attest to this, I am a huge fan of yogurt. I always have been and always will be... in fact, I often buy it as a treat to myself as someone else might buy ice cream. It has to be a treat, because otherwise I will eat it all the time. While the consumption would not be terrible it certainly doesn't make for a balanced diet.

In a hotel with a full little kitchenette and no utensils of which to speak (I did manage some cutlery) I decided to indulge in some of my favorite foods. I bought blueberries, granola and the two containers of dairy foods you see pictured above.

I never expected that buying yogurt in Canada would be such a challenge. They mark the labels as 1% 2% or 3% which I assumed meant the fat content or some similar equivalence to the American milk system. I prefer the full fat everything, so I went for the one without any numbers that said "biologique" on it. (cultural side-note: from what I gathered at the shoppe, "biologique" is French for "expensive.")

Then nestled next to my favorite food was kefir. I have heard much in the health circles about this magical food and decided to give it a go. I did a bit of online research and my thought process whilst reading the information on www.seedsofhealth.co.uk went something like this:

"Kefir is a fermented milk drink. The word kefir is said to have originated from the Turkish word "Keif" which means "good feeling". Kefir dates back many centuries to the shepherds of the Caucasus Mountains who carried milk stored in leather pouches where it would ferment into fizzy sour yoghurt." SOUNDS DELICIOUS!

Also, according to the website, Kefir puts good yeast in your body to help fight the bad yeast. A battle! cool! "In addition to beneficial bacteria and yeast, kefir contains many vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Particularly calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, B2 and B12, vitamin K, vitamin A and vitamin D. Tryptophan, one of the essential amino acids abundant in kefir, is well known for its relaxing effect on the nervous system." Healthy and a good night's sleep? What is this black magic? I must try it.

The result? After a few days of careful testing, I found both foods enjoyable in their own special and not so different kind of way. However, the health benefits of kefir make an argument for its purchase and I reckon when I return to the motherland I will seek it out occasionally at my local Trader Joe's.