Cold Foods for Summer

One way to easily conserve energy and avoid heating up the house with the oven during the warm summer months is to eat raw fruits and vegetables, and to prepare cold soups, drinks and desserts. Fruit makes a very good breakfast food, raw vegetables julienned on a tray with cheese and crackers make a healthy and tasty lunch, and cold soups, such as chilled zucchini with basil and walnuts, make a filling and satisfying dinner. Though the recipe link for the chilled soup calls for chicken broth, I would personally recommend substituting that for vegetable broth. Even if you are a meat eater, this vegetable soup needs no meat ingredients.

One of our favorites, since we eat very few packaged foods, is frozen yogurt pops. This is a dessert you can eat without guilt, and with an assurance that you are still eating for health. If you are a dairy-free household, you might try rice yogurt as a substitute.

2 cups nonfat or whole milk UNFLAVORED plain yogurt

3/4 cup cherries or blueberries or strawberries (or other fresh or frozen fruit) NOTE: do not substitute any canned or prepared fruits because you will lose the simplicity and nutritional value.

1 TBSP RAW honey (not the processed, filtered kind) Raw honey gives actual food value that processed honey is lacking. If you do not have raw honey, the next best substitute is processed honey.

Blend in food processor, blender wand, Magic Bullet, Bella Cucina Rocket, or similar blender until smooth. If using cherries or blueberries, you will still see bits of fruit skin, and this is okay. If using berries, you will of course have seeds still visible.

Place in freezing dish, such as freezer-safe Corning ware or stainless steel cylindrical container until frozen. To make popsicles, use popsicle forms or place in small containers and add popsicle sticks.

ENJOY!

Labels: Did You Know, Make Your Own, Guest Blogger