Now that the heat of summer has set in, I find myself craving something light and vibrant in flavor, but also cooling and thirst-quenching. But far from the convenience-store favorite, this slushie is full of goodness: probiotics, antioxidants with just the tiniest touch of honey for a little sweetness.
You can use your own homemade kombucha, or pickup a bottle at the store, but the real trick here is to use frozen cranberries to give the slushie not only its wonderful iciness, but also its brilliant color and lovely tart-sweet flavor. We’ve been working with Cape Cod Select Cranberries, a multigenerational family farm that grows and harvests cranberries sustainably.
The Goodness of Cranberries
While cranberries contain plenty of minerals like manganese as well as vitamins C and E, they’re real goodness lies in their phytonutrients. It’s these phytonutrients that contribute to the cranberry’s anti-inflammatory properties. And they do so on the cellular level and molecular level (read more here). This is why cranberries, like other antioxidant-rich berries, are associated with mitigating the effects of chronic diseases and helping to improve vascular function (source).
When you couple the goodness of cranberries with kombucha, a naturally fermented tea that’s loaded with B vitamins and good-for-your-gut beneficial bacteria, it’s a winning combination.
Why Buy Frozen Cranberries
Fruit’s antioxidant capacity is at its peak when it achieves ripeness, and it begins to degrade after harvest. We usually see fresh cranberries in grocery stores only in the autumn, and, by then, they’ve had to withstand travel from the farm to distribution centers and eventually to your market. By contrast, frozen cranberries are picked and frozen at the peak of ripeness, which better preserves not only their flavor and color, but also those fragile phytonutrients, too. They’re particularly good blended into smoothies, or into slushies like this one.
Order frozen cranberries directly from the producer here.
Cranberry Lime Kombucha Slushie
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cape Cod Select Cranberry+ Power Blend Find it here.
- 1 1/2 cups kombucha tea
- 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Toss berries into a high-powered blender (like this one), and then pour in the kombucha tea. Split the lime in half, and squeeze its juice into the blender. Drizzle the honey over the berries. Blend until the fruit is broken up, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.
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Billy says
This looks delicious. I love using kombucha in different creative recipes. This is definitely one of them! Can’t wait to try this at home. I haven’t had a good slushie / smoothie in a long time!
Stephanie Anderson says
Great recipe, thank you Jenny! Even my teenage friends loved it. I did find a number of sources for organic frozen cranberries online. My favorite is Cranberry Hill: http://www.localharvest.org/store/M555. They sell both traditional and hybrid varieties. You can buy them frozen or fresh (in season), and dried. But you have to be quick about it because they run out of stock so mark your calendar for this October! Otherwise, check out Northwest Wild Foods: https://nwwildfoods.com/.
Jill says
Jenny,
I just wanted to thank you for NOT providing calorie counts or anything similar with your recipes. This may have nothing to do with it, but i hate our calorie- obsessed culture, and i really appreciate finding people who are working against that (consciously or not). Thank you for continuing to put out delicious whole foods recipes that my family loves pretty much every time. 🙂
Jenny says
Hi Jill!
I really appreciate your comment. While I fully respect that someone may choose to count calories out of personal interest or at the direction of a health care provider, I think that for me to provide calorie counts is counter to the philosophy of the site which is focused on food, not numbers, and the integration of healthy habits as a whole into a lifestyle which is why calorie counts will never appear on Nourished Kitchen (though readers can always plug ingredients into any of the many, many counters available online).
Glad your family enjoys the recipes!
Lauren @ the soaked bean says
Cranberry/kombuchie SLUSHIE?! This is just genius, Jenny. Can’t wait to try this out.
Tricia says
Thanks so much for posting this unique recipe! I love cranberries and always have a hard time finding quality berries out of season. I will be sure to try Cape Cod Select!
Jenny says
I think you’ll like it very much. We also like their Cranberry and Mango blend.
Linda says
This looks heavenly. I’m so happy to now find frozen cranberries. I typically freeze many bags when they’re available for the holidays and ran out this year!
Jenny says
I do too, because I love them so much. Only by the time I get mine in the freezer, I’ve discarded many wrinkled or spongy berries because they didn’t store well at the market. This is one reason I’m happy Cape Cod Select reached out. And, they’re more affordable than buying them fresh, discarding many, and freezing.
Amelia says
Linda,
Amelia at Cape Cod Select here. We are so happy Jenny has shared our cranberries with her readers. Our frozen cranberries are available in roughly 5,000 stores nation wide. No need to freeze your own and take up space in your freezer! Enjoy.
Shannon Reeves says
Jenny thank you so much for sharing all your information. I look forward to every email. I met you at a Weston A. Price conference in Dallas a few years ago & was even more impressed with you & your intention to help us all eat real food & how to prepare it deliciously. You gave me lots of great color recipe cards I love & I was so excited when your first book came out & just received your new one. They are my go to cookbooks & I have over 400 cookbooks! I never cared about the stats of the food since it is real food. I can’t Imagine how much time & work is involved to provide this site & great photography & want you to know how much a lot of us appreciate it!
Kate says
Hi, how can I stop receiving your emails? Although I have never written a comment to one of your posts, I find your responses to sone comments more than a little abrasive (see above response to perfectly nice calorie count question as a great example). I don’t want to get your emails anymore. Don’t readily see an unsubscribe…. Thanks.
Jenny says
Click the unsubscribe link that’s at the bottom of every email sent out.
Susan says
This slushy sounds wonderfully refreshing. It gets pretty hot here, and I often find myself craving something icy in mid-afternoon, so this would be perfect.
Jenny says
I think you’ll really like it.
Julia E says
Hi Jenny,
If I am not mistaken the cranberries you use are not organic. I’d love to hear your thoughts on that….
Thanks!
Jenny says
Hi Julia,
Nope, they’re not organic. They are grown on a vertically integrated family farm that runs its facilities on solar power.
Trischa says
what part of the country is the craberry farm in?
Jenny says
Hi Trischa!
They’re located in Massachusetts.
Katerina says
“Not organic” is not synonymous with “pesticide/Herbacide/chemical use. Many small family farms cannot afford the expensive “organic” labeling but practice organic growing practices.
Helen says
Hi, Jenny
Is there any way that I could get a calorie count on some of your recipes. I love what you are doing and hope you keep up the good fight for health and nutrition. I am on a calorie count the get rid of candida over growth and weight loss. I am doing my own calculating but at times am in a hurry and skip recipes if I have to spend a lot of time with pencil and paper.
Thank you so much
Jenny says
Hi Helen,
No. We have no intention of providing calorie counts, but you can plug the ingredients into a program of your choice.