Food lies at the heart of our bodies and our culture; it is there for celebrations and sustenance. NOMaste features a local fierce foodie each month, in four weekly segments. First, an interview, then a top 10 list, followed by a recipe to share, and finally a food review. This food corner will not just feature local chefs but also restaurateurs, buyers, suppliers — any woman involved in any aspect of the food chain, from farm to food truck. Join us each week as we get to know another Foodie in the city. Part I of this month’s series can be found here, and part II can be found here.
Heart Healthy Strawberry Lemonade
Creates one pitcher, or four 8 oz servings
4 oz Organic strawberry puree, providing vitamin C and folate
3 oz Organic beet juice, providing nitrates to lower blood pressure
1 oz Organic lemon juice, supporting digestion and providing extra vitamin C
4 oz Organic, fair trade lemongrass tea, providing citral and antioxidants that protects you from free radicals
20 oz Organic, fair trade kombucha tea, providing probiotic support for your immunity and digestion
Chill and allow flavors to mingle.
Stir and garnish with fresh mint or the citrus slice of your choice. Enjoy!
I will start by saying that I did not find strawberry puree so I did the next best thing which was puree my own from fresh strawberries. I used the Mango Spice flavor kombucha from Snowy Owl as my kombucha of choice.
The final result has a strong smell to it – very tart. Mine had a strong strawberry smell that I think was from using homemade strawberry puree rather than from the bottle (maybe — I can’t test this theory since I didn’t find it in a bottle!). It did have an intense beet smell and flavor. A little bit of beet juice goes a long way! I might be more sensitive to beets — I am actually not a big fan of them — so next time I make this I might add half the beet juice. The end color was an intense raspberry; the puree provided a thick and frothy texture with added effervescence from the kombucha.
It is definitely great for a hot day when these tart flavors over ice would be refreshing and energizing. It works best (for me) when served in small amounts, since the tartness and thickness was almost too much. I ended up cutting it with some seltzer and that proved to be the ticket! The extra watering down and fizz made it more light and drinkable. I recommend adding enough seltzer to taste, so that it is a ‘chuggable’ drink. Overall, this is definitely a unique flavor and worth a try! I have a feeling that this mixed with some vodka or gin would be DELICIOUS!
So try this as is, or watered down with seltzer, or as a mixer — I guarantee you will find a use for this tasty tart concoction.