Healthy Snack Wednesday: Strawberry Rhubarb Mint Agua Fresca Recipe

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Renee {Eat.Live.Blog.}

So you have heard me whining a lot lately about trying to cook in this heat. To tell you the truth, half the time I don’t even want to eat in this heat! But drinking, that is a whole other story!

We only keep water and milk in our house. No soda, no juice, none of that crap. If you are thirsty, you drink water…that’s our motto! But then I made it to the Clover Food Truck on MIT’s Food Truck Row. And there I had…Rhubarb Agua Fresca…a moment of silence please….

For some reason I cannot get this beverage out of my mind. The flavor isn’t strong, but it dances with your taste buds. I found myself taking a sip and then rolling it around on my tongue to get the full array of the flavor. And I did not stop thinking about it!

Chef Rolando of Clover was nice enough to tweet me the recipe for my dream drink, and I was in heaven. Their traditional drink is straight rhubarb, water and simple syrup. I took some liberties with it, naturally!

This is the perfect drink to sip pool-side, beach-side, or inside in the AC! Where ever you enjoy this, I promise this drink will make you smile!

Recipe: Strawberry Rhubarb Mint Agua Fresca

Ingredients (makes 2 servings):

  • 1 stalk of rhubarb (washed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
  • 2 strawberries (washed, greens removed, and chopped)
  • 5 fresh mint leaves (washed and torn into small pieces)
  • 16 oz filtered water
  • Simple Syrup, Agave or Honey (I used 1/3 cup simple syrup)

Directions:

  • You may use an immersion blender, food processor or blender.
  • Combine all ingredients except for the sweetener.
  • Blend for 30 seconds, stir, and blend for an additional 30 seconds.
  • Blend again if needed to get a smooth consistency.
  • Place a metal strainer over a bowl and pour the mixture through the strainer.
  • Use a metal spoon to press the remaining ingredients in the strainer until you extract all of the liquid.
  • Discard ingredients remaining in the strainer.
  • Add your sweetener (to taste) to the liquid.
  • Refrigerate the liquid until ice-cold! (If you can reserve the urge to guzzle this as soon as it is cold, and are able to let it sit overnight, you will get the best taste. The flavors really meld if they sit a little longer…but I do understand this may not be possible…trust me…)

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The Return of Healthy Snack Wednesday: Strawberry Sorbet Recipe

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Renee {Eat.Live.Blog.}

So here’s a funny story for you. The mecca of strawberry growing is Plant City, FL., about an hour and a half away from where I grew up. Every February Plant City is host to the Florida Strawberry Festival, which is a lot like a state fair, only with a strawberry theme. Awesome, I know…

Since birth I have pretty much been a strawberry addict, eating them as much as I can, whenever I can, in whatever form I can. So needless to say I got very giddy every February when it was time for the festival! The prize of the festival was taking home an entire flat of strawberries at the end of the day. To be clear, a flat of strawberries is 12 pints, or approximately 12 lbs of strawberries.

This one year in particular, I must have been about 7 years old. It was a long day at the festival as we loaded back into the station wagon for the trek home. I climbed all the way in the back of the wagon to take a little napper and make sure our flat of strawberries stayed safe. About 45 minutes into the car trip my dad called back to me to make sure I was okay, since I had been quiet the entire trip. The story goes that my head popped up with strawberries smeared all over my face. I had eaten the ENTIRE flat of strawberries!! You would think the stomach ache I got from that episode would have solved my addiction to strawberries. Not so much.

Back to Healthy Snack Wednesday. I have gotten a few requests to bring back this series, and I am happy to oblige! It gives me a goal to have to write regularly, and that is a good thing. It also makes me research and try new healthy snacks, and who wouldn’t like that?

I attended a tapas party last weekend, and one of the attendees made a strawberry ice cream cake that was amazing, so I knew I would be making strawberry something this week! Being that  6 oz of strawberries have only 49 calories and a whooping 3 grams of fiber, I knew this was the perfect “gateway treat” to make the return to HSW.

This dessert snack is fabulous! It can satisfy any sweet tooth, while remaining as close to “just fruit” as you can get. We ate the sorbet with a nice scoop of low fat Cool Whip on the side (yes, I like Cool Whip). You can easily make this into a larger batch for entertaining, or even mix it up by using a different fruit. I think I am going to attempt Nectarine Sorbet next! And, I’m not going to lie, mix in some rum and you may have the perfect party treat!

The hardest part of this recipe…trying not to eat all of the strawberries before you get the final product…

Strawberry Sorbet Recipe

(Adapted from AllRecipes “Sweet & Silky Strawberry Sorbet“)

Ingredients

  • 1 lb strawberries (stems removed)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1.5 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1.5 Tbsp water
  • 3 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions

  • Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and pulse until pureed
  • Place strawberry puree and sugar in a sauce pan and heat until it JUST starts to boil
  • Meanwhile, mix together cool water and cornstarch
  • When puree begins to boil, remove from heat and stir in cornstarch mixture and lemon juice
  • Place mixture into a shallow dish with a lid and put in the freezer
  • Every hour, stir mixture and flatten back out. Place back in freezer
  • Repeat until sorbet is frozen

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