Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 pears, cut into chunks and frozen
2 bananas, cut into slices and frozen
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 cups apple juice
Dash of nutmeg

Instructions:
Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Sprinkle with nutmeg and enjoy.

1 quart freshly squeezed orange juice
6 limes, juiced
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped
2 cups Club soda
8 to 10 sprigs fresh mint for garnish

Pour the orange juice and lime juice into a large pitcher, add the sugar and chopped mint and mix well, then put in refrigerator to chill.
To serve at picnic, put ice in tall glasses, add 1/4 cup Club soda in each glass, then pour in juice mixture.
Garnish with fresh mint sprigs.

photo credit: bgottsab

Homemade Lemonade

1 cup sweetener of choice (Sucanat or maple sugar are great)
1 cup water
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 to 4 cups cold water

Start by making a ‘simple syrup’ by combining the sweetener and water in a heavy saucepan, heat to boiling, then turn down and simmer until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture looks ‘syrupy.’ If you use honey or brown rice syrup for your sweetener, you can skip this step, but you may find the mix dissolves more easily if you heat it.

Squeeze enough lemons to get 1 cup of juice (about 6 or so should do it.)
Pour the juice in a pitcher and add the syrup.
Pour in 3 cups cold water, taste and pour if more if desired.
Put in refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Transport to picnic in closed pitcher and bring ice to pour over in each glass.  Top with lemon slices for garnish if you wish.

Few things beat the summer heat like a refreshing smoothie. Smoothies are also a great way to get fresh fruits into your diet, and kids tend to like them, too. Here are some ideas for a frosty, healthy summer treat.

The following recipes are enough for approximately two smoothies. You can increase or decrease the ingredients to vary the amount and the taste. Smoothies are very forgiving – if you don’t have some of the ingredients listed below, you can leave them out or try something comparable (soy milk instead of almond milk, for instance, or vanilla yogurt instead of plain). Leftover smoothies can be frozen in ice cube trays (use them in your next smoothie) or popsicle molds.

1. Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie

In a blender, combine:

* 5 medium-sized, frozen strawberries
* 1 frozen, sliced or chunked banana
* 2 ice cubes
* 1 cup sweetened vanilla almond milk
* 1 heaping tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (you can substitute carob powder if you like)

Blend on high speed until thick and creamy. Add more almond milk if it’s too thick.

2. Summer Breakfast Smoothie

This smoothie contains protein in the form of peanut butter, and it also contains chia seeds. These little seeds are reported to help you feel fuller longer, as they form a thick gel in liquid. They also add a nutritional boost.

In a blender, combine:

* 2 frozen, sliced/chunked bananas
* 1/4 cup unsweetened, natural peanut butter
* 4 ice cubes
* 1 tablespoon flax meal
* 1 tablespoon wheat germ
* 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
* 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
* 1/4 cup plain yogurt
* 2 teaspoons raw honey
* 1 cup milk (if using sweetened nut milk, leave out the honey)

If your blender has an “ice crushing” feature, use that to break up the frozen ingredients. Then blend on high speed until smooth. Add more milk if necessary.

3. Berry and Tea Smoothie

Leftovers of this one are especially good frozen into popsicles.
In a blender, combine:

* 1 to 2 cups of various frozen berries, such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries
* 1/2 to 1 cup of fruit-flavored herbal tea or unsweetened apple juice
* 1/4 teaspoon Stevia extract, or to taste

Blend until smooth, using the ice-crushing feature if you have it. Taste before adding the Stevia, and remember that 1/4 teaspoon of Stevia extract is approximately as sweet as two teaspoons of white sugar.

4. Melon Smoothie

Before making this one, chunk up fresh watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, and/or melons of your choice. Freeze the chunks on a wax paper-covered cookie sheet, then place the frozen chunks in plastic zip-top bags.

In a blender, combine:

* About 2 cups of various frozen melon chunks
* 1/2 cup orange juice, orange-pineapple juice, or pear juice
* 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
* Sweeten to taste with raw honey, sugar, agave nectar, or a sweetener of your choice (you may not need to use any sweetening at all)

Blend until thick and smooth, once again using the ice-crushing feature if your blender has it. Add more juice as necessary.

Put all slushie ingredients in blender, then with blender on high speed, start adding ice cubes until desired consistency. Serve immediately in tall, chilled glasses. This is a nutritious and delicious breakfast, lunch, or pick-me-up drink.

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 tbsp maple syrup
½ cup pineapple juice
1 banana
1 tbsp coconut milk
Ice cubes

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

This is a delicious and refreshing smoothie with a Hawaiian twist.

Kefir is actually a fermented beverage that you can make at home on your kitchen counter top. The process is made possible by kefir grains, which are actually a gelatinous grouping of bacteria and yeasts. The grains themselves look quite a bit like tiny cauliflower heads but they are living powerhouses that can turn milk, or other beverages into a drink that is deliciously sour and fizzy. The grains can be used many times over to make a continuous supply of kefir drinks.

You may be most familiar with dairy kefir or kefir grains fermented in cow’s milk but kefir drinks can also me made from soy milk, rice milk, coconut milk, juice, and water. A smoothie or drinkable yogurt can be made by simply adding fruit and other sweeteners. Try a bottle of flavored kefir at your local store and see just delicious these drinks can be!

How to Make Your Own Dairy Kefir

While store bought kefir is delicious it can also be pricey and making your own at home is pretty easy. You first need to obtain some grains and that can be done online quite easily. Some online stores specialize in live cultures for fermentation and eBay has many kefir sellers as well. After purchasing your grains you will need to 1-2 tablespoons for every two cups of milk to a glass mason jar. You can use any type of milk you want from skim to whole.

Let your jar sit at room temperature on your counter top for 12-24 hours, shaking it up a bit to mix things occasionally. Make sure to keep your jar away from direct sunlight though. The Kefir is done when it starts to taste tangy. If you let it ferment too long, it will get solid like cottage cheese, which many find unfavorable for drinking. Strain the kefir grains over a bowl or jar and place your kefir beverage in the refrigerator. The grains can be placed in a clean jar and the process can be started all over again. If you don’t plan to use them for awhile you can place them in the refrigerator for a week or two as well. They are less active in cold temperatures.

The kefir grains will multiply as you make more and more batches. You can add the excess grains to the strained beverage and blend them to increase the probiotic value of your drink. You can also sell them or donate them to someone who wants to try their own hand at making kefir.

This amazing beverage has important vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and strains of healthy bacteria and beneficial yeasts that help with digestion, immunity, and healing. You may begin to see changes in your energy levels and those with frequent tummy aches or bowel problems may be pleasantly surprised at what kefir can do.

Kombucha is a fermented tea that is held in high esteem for its healthy and medicinal properties. It is antimicrobial, hepatoprotective (preventing damage to liver), antioxidative, full of B vitamins, and it contains both live yeast and live bacteria that is beneficial to our bodies. All of these properties make it a wonderful drink for those who are experiencing illness and immunity problems, especially those who heal and normalize a gut imbalance. It has been used medicinally for centuries in many different cultures and is still going strong in this regard today.

Since Kombucha can be pricey to buy in stores many people opt to make it themselves at home. Instead of $3 for small bottle you can make your own for less than $1 a gallon. The process and the guidelines can seem daunting at first but once you churn out your first few batches of this delicious tea you you will be an old pro.

What you Need to Make the Kombucha Tea

The first thing you need is a Kombucha culture. They are often called a mushroom, mother culture, or SCOBY, which is an acronym for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. Just as you add kefir grains to milk to ferment it and make kefir drinks you need a culture for this fermented tea as well. The Kombucha mother/culture looks like a flat grayish white pancake that floats on top of the tea and you need one of these to get started making your own. You can grow one but most people choose to either get one from a friend who makes Kombucha or from an online source who sells live cultures. When you get them from an online source they come dehydrated and you have to rehydrate them before use. You can then use the same culture over and over.

In addition to the mother culture you will need 2-3 black or green tea bags, a quart size glass jar, organic unbleached cane sugar (white), and a towel or paper coffee filter to cover the jar. Using other teas or sweeteners can throw off the pH level of your tea and make it unsafe to drink.

How to Make Your Own Kombucha Tea

Add a ¼ cup of the sugar to your jar and a cup of very hot or boiling water. Swirl the jar around for a few seconds to dissolve the sugar and then pour in more hot water until the jar is ¾ full. Put your tea bags in the jar and let it steep for 10 to 20 minutes. Let it cool completely. For your very first batch add ½ cup of vinegar. On subsequent batches forgo the vinegar and instead add a ½ cup of tea from a previous batch of Kombucha. Now add your mother culture to the jar and cover with your coffee filter. A rubber band around the rim to seal it closed is helpful because a sugar tea on the counter can attract bugs.

Let it sit in a warm spot (at least 70 degrees) for at least six days and on up to thirty. As long as you have a new culture that has formed at the top it is ready to drink. The culture will form over time via a white/gray haze that forms on the top of the jar. If you spot any green, black or orange, coloring then that is most likely mold and you will need to toss it and start over.

How long you let it sit depends on the flavor you like. At around six days of fermentation it will be fairly sweet. Thirty days will result in a sour tea with more health benefits. Choose the fermentation time that best suits you.

photo credit: Avatarshark

1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup soy milk
1 banana
1 cup frozen berries (blueberry, blackberry, or raspberry)
1/2 cup silken tofu
1/2 tsp honey

Put all ingredients in blender and blend on frappe speed until smooth and frothy. Serve immediately. This drink is loaded with protein and antioxidants and makes a perfect drink for breakfast or to compliment a fitness program.

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. You may wish to cut the strawberries in half before you add them, or use mashed strawberries. Serve immediately while smoothies are still frothy.