Two things that cost us a lot of money when it gets hot at the farm: Popsicles and beverage. When we were newly married my husband got so sick from dehydration and exhaustion that he was admitted to the Emergency Room and administered fluids for 4 hours. After that experience I made it my job to keep everyone working at our home in the heat hydrated and taking breaks when necessary. I kept Pedialite frozen pops on hand for immediate heatstroke treatment. Those can cost 10$ a box. Gatorade has basically the same stuff but more HFCS. Ugh. Neither has nutrition, they are just a quick fix.
Now that we have kids who will play play play until they collapse even if it is 106 degrees F outside with a heat index of 10 degrees higher and humidity to boot, I have a different arsenal to battle the dreaded dehydration monster. Our farm provides what we need and it is not expensive (unless you count the stained clothes, but that's just part of farm life anyway!)
There are two things that we now consume: Mint tea and fruit puree Popsicles.
Brewing mint tea concentrate; stock pot full of water, food processed Spearmint leaves, bring to a boil then cover and turn off, let sit for 2-3 hours, then add 1/2 cup of raw turbinado sugar for every 2 gallons. Then I put it in freezer safe pint jars and freeze. It is really strong, so when the time comes I take 1 frozen pint in a pitcher and pour over that cold water to fill...still strong so I serve over a glass full of ice. It is really not at all like "tea" but rather minty ice water. Very refreshing with the added nutritional bonus. I think that the Spearmint vs Peppermint makes the tea, as Spearmint has a much lower menthol content and is not as strong. I'm not sure I'd like it with Peppermint. I have not tried chocolate mint or lemon mint. They added bonus over sports drinks is the folic acid content (vit B9) and natural potassium and lots of other essential nutrients! Mint tea is packed full of natural, easy to digest, goodness!
I dried the remaining mint from that harvest. The dried mint gets stuffed into mason jars with a few grains of rice and used all winter long for hot tea and seasoning. With the next harvest I plan on making mint extracts for cookies.
I've been making so many Popsicles. The kids gobble them and the good kind with no HFCS are expensive and not much selection at our local grocery. Why would I pay 5$ for 6 Popsicles made out of strawberry puree when I just harvested 60 lbs of strawberries and put them up in my own freezer? It just seemed so ridiculous. So I've been using frozen juices and better yet pure unsugared fruit purees. The favourite right now is Watermelon pops. Watermelon in a blender= most yummy dripless stainless Popsicle EVER. No extra sugar so the kids can eat as much as they want. I had to order more moulds because of the freeze time. They eat them so fast. So I will keep a total of 20 pops in a freeze cycle. I have also made these with yogurt and fruit, actual juice (like apple cider or fresh squeezed orange juice or lemonade made with honey or raw sugar).
13 comments:
We love Fro-jays... cups of frozen orange juice (use plastic cups with lids). Its just right after working outside and getting hot, dirty and sweaty. Sometimes, water just doesn't seem to cut it, but usually a fro-jay hits the spot.
Hmmm. Frozen home made popsicles might be just the ticket for my special boy, who is just 44 and very in touch with his inner child....and we have no AC...
I can't believe people buy popsicles. Homemade are so good. I used to make yogurt/ strawberry/ banana ones for the kids when they were too hot to eat real food and vietnamese coffee (with condensed milk) for the adults.
We also make a watermelon popsicle with a Mexican twist. We add some lime juice, salt and a little hot chili. This is really reviving.
Right now we have both mango and watermelon popsicles in the freezer but it is chilly and about to rain!
Sarah, what kind of hot chili do you add? I am intrigued!
Rachael, Fro-Jays sound awesome.
I'm coming to your house for watermelon pops!!!
what on earth is turbinado sugar???
:-)
I think home made Popsicles taste so much better anyway and they are so easy to make.
We are actually having some summer here in the UK and so the demand for frozen goodies is up. I am proud to say I haven't bought one yet from the shops.
Margo, Turbinado sugar is the form of raw cane sugar available to us here where I live in Iowa, the brand is "Sugar in the Raw". It is unwashed, brown, and big crystals. I think you could probably use brown pure cane sugar too or any unprocessed natural sweetener. I don't like the taste of Stevia and it doesn't add calories....part of the point of my tea is to replenish and rehydrate and that includes the need for caloric energy. Honey and maple syrup both work but impart a flavour that my husband didn't care for in this beverage, plus the syrup tends to settle to the bottom and the honey doesn't freeze well.
We drink a lot of coconut kefir (young coconut water fermented with water kefir grains) when it gets hot. It is super hydrating, has electrolytes and the kefiring reduces the sugar content. They are also delicious made into popsicles!
Mama Podkayne-I just add a pinch of what ever dry hot peppers I have lying around.
I'm fond of sekanjabin--a middle eastern beverage involving mint, vinegar and water, with sugar syrup to taste. You make up the concentrate in advance. I haven't made any yet this year and this week I could have used it!
Meanwhile, there's iced tea, gallons of it!
Oooh, what kind of vinegar?
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