Make it Better: Strawberry Milk Shakes

Treats are on my mind this week!   It must be the lack of goodies on our Food Stamp Challenge that has me digging through old posts-in-progress looking for tasty, nourishing treats like sprouted grain doughnuts. Like every good American, I have a penchant for cheeseburgers, french fries and milkshakes but fast food shakes filled with pasteurized, RBGH-laced milk and high fructose corn syrup just don’t make the cut anymore.   Instead, we focus on a fully natural and wonderfully nourishing version of the classic milk shake. I feature this milk shake as one of my favorite healthy treats for kids.

Served with sweet potato fries, sour pickles, and a good grass-fed beef burger atop a sprouted grain bun, this milk shake is heaven. It is, as you can imagine, one of my 4-year old’s favorite treats.   Take care in choosing good quality frozen strawberries.   Our freezer is packed solid with berries that were picked at the height of ripeness in June, and it makes a difference as they pack considerably more flavor, color and sweetness than most of the frozen berries I’ve purchased at the store.

Classically, this recipe contains only a few ingredients: strawberries, fresh whole milk, honey and vanilla but you can load it up with other goodies for even more nutrients.   Try adding coconut oil, bee pollen or even a teaspoon of cod liver oil – none of which will impact the flavor of the shake to any great degree.   Fresh raw milk is a good source of food enzymes, natural fat soluble vitamins, calcium and other goodies while strawberries are packed with vitamin C, folate, manganese and potassium.   They also boast an ORAC value of 3,577.

Strawberry Milk Shakes

This recipe will make about 4 reasonably portioned milk shakes.

Ingredients for Strawberry Milk Shakes

• 2 Cups Frozen, Hulled Organic Strawberries
• 1 Quart Fresh, Raw Whole Milk from Grass-fed Cows
• 2 Tablespoons Raw Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract OR   1 Vanilla Bean

Instructions for Strawberry Milk Shakes

1. Add all ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Serve to your eagerly awaiting guests.