Strawberry Season

We are in the middle of strawberry season and I am totally enjoying it. The other day we went to pick up strawberries to a local farm just outside the city. I try to freeze as much as my freezer drawer will hold so we can have these great berries in breakfast smoothies till spring.
We had this lovely combination in the morning:

Lots of strawberries, lots of fresh baby spinach, 1 banana and water

Banana will make it sweet and creamy

Blend well...

... and enjoy!

 

I always put in 1 or 2 bananas. They blend into a lovely smooth, sweet and creamy drink. 

The base is always:

banana + fresh leafy greens + water

then add various fruits you have on hand or are in season such as

+ mango, peaches, plums, apples, pears, cherries (pitted, of course), blueberries ...  

Use fresh fruit. If unavailable, frozen fruit is the next best choice.
Also always use (room temperature) water as liquid. Fresh coconut water is a great choice, too.


My kids love all smoothies I make them. They both have a cup and don`t mind if the colour is really green. If you introduce green foods right from the beginning, they WILL LIKE green vegetables and eat them without objections.
And if they see you eat greens, they will follow you and like what you like to eat. Kids are copy cats. 


Leafy greens that I love in smoothies are spinach (for its fantastic green colour - if combined with banana only - and for its neutral taste), romaine lettuce, mixed baby greens, parsley (for its amazing FRESH taste), dandelion (for its availability and healing effect). 3 - 4 leaves of lemon balm add a nice lemony kick to it. Nettles also taste nice. 

Today just shortly. I will write more on greens and smoothies in the future. Till then --> give it a try!!!

Milk - new ingredient

Milk Soap
Gentle unscented bar carefully made with fresh, organic, full fat, non-homogenized milk from local pastured cows

I always wanted to try to make soap with fresh milk but never dared to actually do it. It is said to be a tricky process that frequently ends in failure. So without any planning one day I got my hands on some lovely fresh organic milk directly from a local farm. I had enough for a nice batch. I had to act fast (within 3 days) before the milk could spoil.

In the evening I recalculated one of my recipes, measured ingredients and prepared everything. As soon as the kids were in bed the fun started. "Keep it cool and do it slowly" that's the advise I was given. It worked. The milk had to be cooled and lye had to be mixed in in small amounts in order to avoid fast heat up and scorching the milk.

Everything worked out nicely and in several weeks I had these cute bars. Milk (whether cow's or goat's) has been used for centuries in beauty treatments and bathing for its conditioning and moisturizing effect on skin so the soap is very gentle and perfect for sensitive skin. It is unscented and smooth with creamy lather.

Glad I gave it a try :)))