Meal: Beverages & Smoothies

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Cherry Vanilla Kombucha

Kombucha with a second ferment using cherries and vanilla. It’s an excellent replacement for Cherry Vanilla Coke but with all real ingredients.

In your quart mason jar (or upcycled glass jar), add cherries and vanilla. Pour kombucha over them right up to the rim of the jar. Cover tightly to build up carbonation. The cherries cause it too carbonate pretty fast so to avoid an exploding jar (it can happen), you might want to burp it once or twice a day. Let it set for about 2 days then strain off the fruit and transfer to flip top bottles. I love these bottles! You can either drink right away or let set for another day to rebuild carbonation. Move to the fridge to stop yeast and bacteria activity or drink up! Kombucha doesn’t last long in our house. I keep my kombucha on the counter in a cooler part of the kitchen because it seems to lose carbonation once you refrigerate it.
Learn how to brew kombucha by visiting my blog on the link above.

Raw Milk Orange Julius with Ginger & Chia Seeds

A twist on the classic orange julius recipe made with raw milk and fresh oranges. With a little bit of raw honey, fresh ginger and chia seeds, this smoothie is transformed into the ideal post-workout recovery drink.

Peel and slice 2 navel oranges, and chop fresh ginger.
In a blender, add the chopped oranges, 2 tablespoons chopped ginger, 1 cup raw milk or dairy-free homemade nut milk of choice, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons raw honey, 2 tablespoons chia seeds and 1/2 cup of ice cubs, and blend for 30 seconds to crush ice, and liquefy. If you wish, add the egg yolks and blend to incorporate.
Drink and be merry!

Berry-Beet Kvass Green Smoothie

I love beet kvass, but getting my family to drink it is an ordeal. Beet Kvass is known for it’s medicinal qualities and also provides beneficial bacteria to the gut. This green smoothie is a great way to get it into them along with some greens. This smoothie is more like a juice as far as consistency and is completely dairy-free. I serve this type of smoothie alongside a nourishing egg breakfast. It is not filling enough to use as a meal replacement.

Rinse spinach well.
Blend water, kvass and spinach until thoroughly combined. This creates a smoother smoothie by blending the greens first.
Add the frozen berries, cinnamon and optional honey. Blend until smooth and frothy. Skim off the foam or allow to settle before drinking. I kinda like it, personally. 🙂

Creamy Banana-Almond Butter Green Smoothie

It’s a challenge to get my children to eat enough greens, especially raw. For this reason I’ve taken to creating kid-friendly green smoothies for them to drink every day for a snack. This smoothie is mainly sweetened by the banana in it and the almond butter gives it a rich nutty flavor, the kids had no idea that there was spring mix in the smoothie! The spring salad mix has many red and purple lettuces, so the shake doesn’t turn as green.

Rinse and drain salad mix.
Layer all ingredients into a blender and blend for several minutes. You may have to stop and stir with a spoon once to help the ingredients incorporate. Blend until smooth and frothy.
Pour into chilled glasses and enjoy!

Blueberry Broccoli Green Smoothie

Creamy and nutty is the way I would describe this smoothie. Though there is only a bit of coconut oil in the whole thing, the nuttiness of the raw broccoli brings out the coconut flavor and makes it taste as though there were more coconut in it. Very filling and full of probiotics, this green smoothie will keep you satiated for hours.

Add all ingredients to a large blender. Blend for several minutes or until thoroughly combined and no more chunks of broccoli remain.
While the blender is running, drizzle in melted coconut oil. Blend for an additional 30 seconds.
Enjoy immediately!

Naturally Sweetened Homemade Frappiccino

Made with all natural ingredients and sweeteners,this is a coffee drink that can be drunk without regrets. It’s really no secret that I live a significant way from a legitimate coffee shop. I live in Rural America. So, when I get a craving for a iced coffee drink on “one-of-those-days”, I have to improvise. It’s probably better that way, because I can make a healthier version of those sugared-up coffee drinks that we love.

Several hours or overnight from when you want to make the frappuccino, make some strong coffee. Pour into ice trays and freeze.
To make the frap, blend coffee ice cubes, milk, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth. Pour into cold glasses and serve.

Paleo Shamrock Shake

I couldn’t bear the thought of spending my hard-earned cash at McDonald’s, so I developed my own Shamrock Shake recipe! It’s really more of a smoothie, because it’s dairy-free

Everything goes in the blender! Blend until smooth, garnish with mint leaves.

Homemade Orange Julius

The Original Orange Julius is a classic drink that is nutritious and easy to make. Made with whole ingredients, it makes an excellent addition to any meal or as an afternoon snack.

Place all ingredients expect for oranges and ice into a blender and blend on high until light and frothy. Add in oranges and blend again until oranges are nicely combined. Finally, add in ice and blend until no chunks remain and the drink is smooth and creamy.

Carrot Ginger Kvass

A naturally sparkling, lactofermented beverage made with sweet carrots and ginger. Adding a second fermentation makes it even extra tasty!

Place carrots in a quart sized mason jar. Add salt, whey and water. Cover tightly and shake to dissolve salt. Loosen cover and let set at room temperature 3-5 days. Strain out carrot solids, squeezing out the juice. Refrigerate. Save solids for baking or soups. Reserve some liquid and use in place of whey to inoculate future batches.
Optional Second Ferment
I found doing an optional second ferment makes it much tastier and effervescent. Once you’ve strained the kvass, pour into flip top bottles or a mason jar, about 2/3 full. Add juice to top it off. Seal tightly and leave at room temp for another 8-12 hours. Remove to cold storage. I made one with apple and one with carrot juice. Both are great.

Raw Milk Tonic

This raw milk tonic is perfect for breakfast or a mid-afternoon pick me up. It is sweet, rich and creamy and oh so tasty. Be sure to use a good quality unsulphured molasses that has the highest vitamin content you can find. A good molasses is an excellent source of manganese, copper, iron and a very good source for calcium, magnesium and potassium. These are all minerals that many people don’t get enough of. Pair this with milk and egg yolk and this is a nutritious snack. This recipe is adapted from the one in Nourishing Traditions.

Place all ingredients into a bowl with a pour spout and whisk together until creamy. Sip leisurely. Alternately, you can place everything together into a blender, but you will get a lot of foam in your glasses and some people may not like it. My kids don’t particularly like the foam.