REAL food recipes
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This smoothie tastes like summertime itself. Freeze any smoothie leftovers in popsicle moulds for a refreshing treat later on.
Place all ingredients in blender (you will get smoother results in a high-speed blender like a vita-mix). Blend on high for about a minute or until it’s smooth enough to your liking. Serve and enjoy!
This strawberry lemonade has a higher ratio of strawberries to lemons so I would not have to add as much honey to sweeten the drink up. For an added treat, use Meyer lemons for their special sweet and tart flavor.
Place the strawberries in a large pot. Add enough water to just barely cover the strawberries.
Boil the strawberries for 5 minutes or until the strawberries turn from red to pale pink.
Strain the berries out of the juice with a fine mesh strainer or a strainer lined with a coffee filter.
Add the berry juice and lemon juice to a large pot.
Add the honey. When adding the honey start off with a smaller amount and taste your juice before adding more keeping in mind that you are tasting concentrate.
Bring the concentrate to a boil.
Add the juice to hot, sterile jars leaving ¼” headspace.
Place lids that have been simmering in hot water on the jars. Screw on the second part of lid.
Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.
Serve cold and diluted with 1 part water 1 part juice.
Rhubarb is one of my favorite spring vegetables with its pretty pink stalks and tart flavor. To preserve that wonderful flavor all year long, I usually make a rhubarb nectar that can be drank in place of lemonade or added to yogurt for a quick and refreshing drink. Be sure to use safe canning pracites when canning this recipe.
Zest the lemons and oranges. Juice the lemons and oranges.
Place the zest, fruit juice, and rhubarb to a pot.
Add enough water to barely cover the rhubarb.
Boil the rhubarb on medium high heat until the rhubarb is very soft and falling apart when picked up with a spoon, about 30 minutes.
Strain the rhubarb and zest.
Place the rhubarb nectar back in the pot and add the honey.
Bring the nectar to a boil
Place the rhubarb nectar is hot, sterile jars leaving ¼” headspace.
Add lids to the jars that have been sitting in a pot of hit simmering water. Add the second piece of the lid and tighten the lids.
Process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes.
To serve, use 1 part nectar to 4 parts water.
I make these wonderful smoothie enhancers when my spring and fall garden is filled to the brim with mild green lettuces, broccoli raab, fennel fonds, and spinach.
Place the greens and water in a blender, food processor, or in a wide mouth mason jar for an immersion blender.
Finely chop the greens with your choice appliance.
Fill the ice cube tray with greens. Add any excess water to the green filled cubes. Adding the excess water will allow you to remove the green cubes easier from the ice cube tray.
Freeze over-night.
Remove the green cubes from the ice cube tray and move to an air tight container in the freezer or toss in any smoothie that you want to add extra flavor and vitamins to.
This is a super fast, super delicious smoothie that also travels well, and is a great choice when you need to run out the door! Creamy, smooth, and slightly tangy from the yogurt, it is a refreshing treat on a hot day!
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour in a glass or jar and enjoy!
Editor’s Note: While some may feel okay about using orange juice concentrate, you should be aware that flavorings are almost always added to bottled and frozen orange juices. They reason for this is to make every batch taste exactly the same and also to make the orange juice taste palatable because it has been stored in holding tanks and had the oxygen removed to make it last longer. The removal of oxygen makes the juice flavorless and flavors need to be added back to it, this can be done chemically or “naturally.” It’s best just to stick with juice you make yourself, so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Raw, fresh, ice cold milk with Real maple syrup! Delicious, and soul satisfying. Maple syrup is rich in minerals, particularly manganese, zinc and iron and can be an important addition to a healthy diet.
Pour milk into a glass.
Add the maple syrup and stir.
Just in time for the hot days of summer, here is a simple way to make a quantity of “Sun Tea” to enjoy! Peppermint is particularly refreshing and has many health benefits.
Pour the water into a clear glass jar.
Place the peppermint in a small muslin bag or a square of muslin, and tie it shut.
Put the bag of peppermint into the water and cover the jar.
Set the jar outside in the sunlight and leave it there for 4 or 5 hours, depending on how concentrated you wish it to be.
Remove the peppermint packet and pour your tea into a container to keep in the refrigerator. Add 1/8 teaspoon stevia and stir to dissolve. Refrigerate.
Serve over ice!
This is a recipe for naturally fermented mead, super easy and delicious!
In a one gallon glass jar mix together the water and the honey with a wooden spoon until the honey is dissolved. Add your optional fruit or berries and stir. Cover with a cheesecloth to keep bugs out and let it sit out in a warm place for 5-7 days, it should get really bubbly because the sweet water is attracting yeast from the air. Make sure you stir it with a wooden spoon at least twice a day! If it does start to grow mold, don’t despair! Just scoop it off the top.
Strain the fruit out and pour the mead into a one gallon jug and either seal it with an airlock/carboy (just a few dollars at a brewing store) or you can put a balloon over the top. Basically it needs to be able to let air out without letting air in. Let this sit for 2-4 weeks and then store in the fridge! So far I’ve tried strawberry, blackberry, and regular mead… all delicious!
Here is a simple, summery smoothie our family enjoys. They are great for breakfast, snack, or frozen into popsicles.
Place all ingredients in the order they are listed and blend on high for about a minute. You will get the creamiest results with a Vitamix. Freeze any leftovers in popsicle moulds for later enjoyment.
Usually we think of lemonade as the classic summertime drink. But lemons have two harvests a year: one in the winter and one in the summertime. Lemons are a welcome aid to our immune systems, especially during those cold, short days. Adding some ice to this blended beverage transforms it to a slushy treat. Normally, I’m not a fan of stevia. The taste and my tongue don’t seem to get along. Except with this recipe. It just… works. Although this treat will loose it’s slushiness after about 30 minutes, the leftovers are still a delicious strawberry lemonade that you can store in your fridge for about 24 hours before it’s flavor starts to change. What I love about this drink (besides it’s refreshing deliciousness)? My kids adore it and I can give them full permission to drink as much as they want since every ingredient is health-promoting.
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high for 45-60 seconds, or until thoroughly blended.
This satisfies any chocolate craving without the use of dairy. It also makes a delicious ice cream when churned in an ice cream maker.
This recipe works best in a high-speed blender like a Vita-Mix, but you can use any blender. Place all ingredients in the blender and blend on high for 45-60 seconds. If you’d like it warm, blend it for 2 minutes.
This is a tasty way to enjoy probiotic-rich milk kefir. These can be frozen into popsicles, too.
Put all ingredients in the order listed in blender. Blend on high for 45-60 seconds, or until smooth.