Oh, the beauty of the milkshake. I mean really, who came up with this idea?

Ice cream, milk and some fruit or flavorings. It’s cold, it’s refreshing, it’s flavorful. It’s like pure goodness in a glass. Not to mention perfect on a warm summer day.

They are fairly easy to make, although you do need a blender. And chances are the whole family will enjoy them. What’s not to like about a milkshake?

We had our milkshakes with dinner, burgers and fries, but they would of course, make a great dessert.

This is my favorite berry milkshake recipe. We used fresh strawberries, but I really think your favorite in-season berry could be substituted with no problem. If you have to use frozen berries, just omit the ice. I use crushed ice because my blender isn’t super powerful, you could just use ice cubes. Also, the sugar is really optional. It depends on how sweet your berries are and how sweet you like your milkshakes. Enjoy!

Fresh berries, what could be better?

Strawberry Milkshakes

This makes enough for 2 large glasses.

• 2 cups strawberries, cleaned and stemmed
• 1 cup ice cubes/crushed ice
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups vanilla ice cream
• 1 tsp sugar, optional

1. Add all the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately.

Cooking With Kids, Desserts, Drinks easy milkshakes

I know rice milk is readily available at the grocery store now, but have you read the list of ingredients? Oil, natural flavoring and salt? Ummmm……no thanks, I think I’ll just take rice milk.

If you are lactose intolerant, vegan, or just trying to consume less animal products rice milk can be a great alternative to cow’s milk.

Personally I like drinking soy milk, but I don’t like the aftertaste it leaves in baked goods. I know lots of people prefer almond milk, but it is really expensive and we have a tree nut allergy at our house so it isn’t even an option.

None of my gluten free cookbooks, nor the vegetarian cookbook I had checked out from the library, had a recipe for rice milk. I searched some vegetarian forums, read some blog posts and then called my mom, who used to make rice milk for my lactose intolerant sister when we were kids.

I tried a few things and came up with a method that works for me. My husband got slightly irritated through this process asking “why don’t you just buy some rice milk already, you’ve made four batches trying to get it right.” Of course I just ignored him.

Almost all the recipes I found direct you to take cooked rice and blend with water until you get the consistency you desire. However, cooking the rice in too much water and then blending and straining the mixture produced a much creamier and flavorful rice milk in my opinion.

I don’t have one of those super powerful, super expensive blenders, but if you do, you might be able to skip the cheesecloth altogether. I found it really messy to use my blender, so I opted to use an immersion blender and that worked so much better.

If you are going to drink this or use on cereals or oatmeal I would flavor it with vanilla, maple syrup or maybe some cinnamon. However, if you are just going to cook with it, you can leave the flavoring out.

Making your own rice milk is relatively easy, extremely inexpensive, and a great alternative to cow’s milk (of course homemade won’t be fortified). What are you waiting for? Give it a try, you can even cook it in your slow cooker.

The amount of rice milk you get will depend on how smooth you are able to blend it and the consistency you desire.

The cooked and blended rice mixture straining.

The final product has a thick, cream-like consistency.

Rice Milk

Depending on the consistency you desire, you can add more or less water. But this is a good recipe to start with. The sweeteners and flavorings are optional, but are a nice addition if using for cereal or oatmeal.

• 1/2 cup brown rice (you can use white rice but it won’t take as long to cook & of course isn’t as healthy)
• 8 cups water
• 1 Tb honey, agave, brown sugar, maple syrup etc, optional
• 1 tsp vanilla, optional
• dash cinnamon, optional

Stove top method:

1. In a large pot or dutch oven, combine rice, water and additional ingredients if using. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cover with a lid. Cook until rice is a bit overdone, about one hour.
2. Allow to cool slightly and blend in a blender or use an immersion blender (I prefer the immersion blender. However, I did have to lift my pan a bit on one side to get the liquid deep enough to blend well). Based on my experience, I wouldn’t suggest using a food processor, it didn’t work and I had a big mess to clean up
3. Line a strainer with cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. Pour the rice/water mixture over cheesecloth and allow to strain. Discard solids and what you have in bowl is rice milk.
4. The rice milk will keep in the refrigerator about one week, but does not freeze well.

Slow cooker method:

1. Place rice, water and additional ingredients if using in your slow cooker and cook until rice is slightly overdone. Cooking times will vary depending on your slow cooker; I cook it 4 hours on the high setting.
2. Allow to cool slightly and blend in a blender or use an immersion blender (I prefer the immersion blender). Based on my experience, I wouldn’t suggest using a food processor, it didn’t work and I had a big mess to clean up
3. Line a strainer with cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. Pour the rice/water mixture over cheesecloth and allow to strain. Discard solids and what you have in bowl is rice milk.
4. The rice milk will keep in the refrigerator about one week, but does not freeze well.

Drinks, Gluten Free Basics frugal alternative to cow's milk, homemade rice milk, making rice milk

A refreshing drink, perfect for a spring or summer day. Lemonade is a wonderful beverage and with only three ingredients it is very simple to make.

Lemonade is great for the whole family, even my children love this version and prefer it to the frozen “from concentrate” variety.

It’s best to start with lemons at room temperature, as they will yield the most juice.

Lemonade

If you want to create a flavored lemonade, simply add 1-2 tablespoons strawberry or raspberry puree to each glass of lemonade before serving.

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 8 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (about the juice of 6 large lemons), seeds removed

1. To make simple syrup: in a small saucepan, combine the sugar and one cup of the water. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
2. In a pitcher stir simple syrup, lemon juice, and remaining water together until combined. Chill thoroughly before serving. Enjoy.

Drinks Homemade Lemonade, Strawberry lemonade