I’m that weirdo who makes smoothies in the dead of winter. I’ve been really trying to not buy fruit at the grocery store. It’s very hard to only eat and only buy fruits and vegetables in season. After growing up with food in the grocery store available all winter there is a noticeable gap in your ability to eat what you’d like and what you’re craving. But it seems silly to buy and eat strawberries out of season when you’ve had the real thing, juicy, off-the plant strawberries from the back yard taste NOTHING like the absurdly large strawberries found in grocery stores several months after local Strawberry season.
If you pride yourself on composting, recycling, carpooling, walking instead of driving and other environmentally friendly practices but buy out of season, not locally grown food you actually negate every good deed you try to do for the earth. It takes more fossil fuel to drive the fruit up from Florida or even across from California than it does to drive from down the street.
But as you know, I LOVE fruit, not just like, or even like-like but head of heels, doodle it wherever I can L-O-V-E love it. So in the dead of winter when my sweet tooth has been exhausted by cup after cup of hot chocolate I realize the sweet I’ve been craving is the natural sweetness of fruit. Thank goodness for freezers.
I also have just discovered Kefir and am totally pumped about it! Kefir is a liquid that is not as thick as yogurt and not as thin as milk. It is made the same way as yogurt, fermenting milk and is loaded with good bacteria and minerals that are great for your digestive system. The best thing about it for me is that it is lactose free! It has the tang of plain yogurt that I’ve grown accustomed to but if you’re not used to plain all natural yogurt it will take some getting used to. It does come in plain but also other flavors like berry flavors, so you might want to start with those. It’s consistency is perfect for smoothies.
Quotes from the Farmer
I introduced Jenny to Kefir as I wanted to boost my immune system and bacteria when I got a cut on my hand. I wanted to not take the prescribed antibiotics, but still do something to help my antibodies fight and heal naturally. So I loaded up on Kefir, cut down on sugars, and ate some extra garlic and turmeric for antibiotic support. We enjoyed the Kefir so much we’lll be keeping it around for a while!
Ingredients:
4 frozen strawberries
4 chunks (2 inch pieces) of frozen mango
4 chunks (2 inch peices) of frozen pineapple
1 half frozen banana
1/2 Cup plain Kefir (we love Green Valley Organics brand, it’s at Big Y!)
1/2 Cup orange juice
Blend together and drink!
Maybe wear mittens so your hands don’t get cold, and perhaps have a nice warm cup of tea afterwards.
Share your own smoothie recipe below!
Share Now!
