Lisa Grentz, MS, RDN, CD/LDN, FAND
Fresh-Picked Strawberries
When the arrival of summer brings a fresh crop of berries at their peak, I am reminded of the summer I spent at my grandparent’s country home when I was 14 years old. That summer I got my very first job, picking plump, ruby-red strawberries. Each day during harvest, my grandmother would drive my sister and I into town where we would meet up with the rest of the crew and take a bus to the strawberry fields. We would crawl around on the ground for a couple of hours each morning filling crates with fragrant juicy berries. Even though the prime picking season for strawberries is short, mid-June to early July, we made a lot of memories that summer.
Please join us as we celebrate strawberries this month with recipes for a strawberry lemonade slush and a simple strawberry shake. We hope you enjoy these refreshing beverages while making lasting summer memories.
Strawberry Lemonade Slush
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. honey*
1 cup strawberries, stems removed and sliced in half (or you can use frozen berries)
1 cup of ice
*For infants under 1 year of age, replace honey with pure maple syrup
Instructions
Place the lemon juice, zest, natural sweetener, and strawberries in a blender and process until smooth. Add ice and process until slushy.
Simple Strawberry Shake
½ can full fat coconut milk
½ - 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 cup frozen or fresh, very ripe strawberries
1 scoop collagen powder (optional)
*ice if using fresh strawberries
Optional add-ins:
mini chocolate chips
handful spinach
Instructions
Add all ingredients to the blender and process until smooth and creamy.
Leftovers can be poured into popsicle molds for a yummy frozen treat!