Those of you who are following me on Facebook already know that I’ve gone into full pemphigus remission. In honor of that occasion, I’ve begun to re-integrate previously banned foods like fruit, tomatoes and chocolate. I’m extremely grateful to be able to eat normally again. As the old song goes, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Add that to the fact that strawberries have come back into season, at least somewhere, and you can see why my diet has gone happily pink. I’m indulging in all things strawberry this month and have added this trio of dishes to my current repertoire: strawberry banana smoothies, strawberry chia pudding and a mocktail with the delightful name of strawberry crush.
I’m an old fan of fruit smoothies and frequently incorporate vanilla whey protein powder into them for breakfast. There’s no set recipe for these; I just throw in whatever’s in season. Banana and mango make the best bases for these smoothies. It also helps to have frozen fruit on-hand to cool down the beverage without diluting it. Try this for starters:
1 medium banana
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1 cup milk of choice (I use either skim dairy or almond milk)
Whey (or other) protein powder (how much depends on what brand of protein powder you buy)
Enough water to make sure everything blends smoothly
Throw everything into a blender and buzz it down to a liquid. If you’re using all fresh fruit toss in a few ice cubes to cool it down.
This recipe makes a lot of smoothie, so feel free to cut back on quantities. I sip on mine throughout the morning.
I’m also a big fan of chia puddings and find they go really well with all kinds of fruit. I recently came across a chia website that has a lot of great ideas for just about every food imaginable. I’ve been making a strawberry chia pudding that’s just on the verge of to-die-for. The recipe calls for homemade strawberry milk blended into half almond and half coconut milk. I also tried it exclusively with almond milk and it was fine. Whisk your chia seeds in at the end, stir again after 5 or 10 minutes, then put it into the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Then eat it. It’s as simple as that. I’m sure you can do this with any fruit that lends itself to blending.
Blend. Stir. Eat.Finally, I came across this mocktail while looking around for non-alcoholic drink ideas. The title, Strawberry Crush, was fascinating enough for me to give it a try. It also calls for some of my favorite ingredients: strawberries, mint, lime juice and ginger beer. The recipe also includes simple syrup which in this iteration is made with equal parts water and sugar. Put the two into a saucepan and heat it up until the sugar melts. Muddle (or blend) the strawberries, mint, syrup and lime juice together once the syrup is cool and pour it into a tall glass over ice. Top up with the ginger beer. Delicious.
I hope you’ll celebrate my return to health with me by trying these simple but delectable strawberry favorites. Next up: strawberry shortcake and its esteemed companions. Stay tuned!