May has been a rainy month in New Jersey, so we took advantage of the sunshine this morning and picked some strawberries at a local farm. Nothing taste sweeter (or smells better) than fresh picked strawberries! I have several recipes for fresh strawberries, but I love to throw them in anything and everything throughout the day. I needed an afternoon pick-me-up and thought some pureed berries in freshly brewed iced tea would be the perfect refreshing treat now that the weather is finally warming up. It just so happened that the only caffeinated tea I had in my pantry was an organic green tea from Trader Joe's......so green tea it was! I brewed a large batch of green tea and placed a carafe in the fridge for now and later. This is a great tip for anyone who drinks ice tea throughout the week. Make a large batch of caffeinated or decaf, and save in the refrigerator for up to three days. While the tea cooled, I pureed about five strawberries in my magic bullet. Next, I poured the cool tea over some ice and stirred in the puree. I had some simple syrup that I had made previously, so I added about 1 tsp. of that into the mixture. If you want to keep the calorie and sugar content low, you can skip the syrup and rely on the natural sweetness of the fruit or use some Stevia or favorite natural sweetener. Now, that I think about it, this would be a great drink to throw in a shaker with ice and serve in a mason jar with a cute straw! Perfect BBQ mocktail if you ask me.
What you will need:
-Five strawberries, cut and pureed
-Brewed and cooled green tea
-1 tsp simple syrup or Stevia