Kids in the Kitchen: Homemade Strawberry Milk

When I look back to my childhood, I am quickly reminded about how differently my parents, well, parented.

My Mom strictly enforced the three bites rule, when trying new foods (or to get us to eat at least some veggies) and my Dad was very adamant about us drinking a lot of milk. You know, the whole milk does a body good thing and to make sure we had strong bones and all.

For me this was not a problem at all. I have always been a big milk drinker. I’ll not only drink a big glass of milk with a plateful of hot cookies, like most people, but I’ll drink it all by itself, straight up, or served over ice.

My little sister, on the other hand, did not like milk, at all. Most times, it was a fight to get her to drink any milk, even on her cereal. However, my Dad quickly found out if you served milk to her in her favorite princess cup with some strawberry syrup mixed in, well, she loved it!

A few weeks ago, I was drinking a tall glass of milk, on the rocks, and was texting my sister at the same time (all totally normal). But right at that moment I couldn’t help but think of our younger years, and all I wanted was some strawberry milk. Of course I didn’t have any strawberry syrup on hand, but I had to feed my craving.

So in honor of my sister (and to satisfy my craving) I whipped up some homemade strawberry milk. Homemade Strawberry Milk simply requires making a simple strawberry sauce and stirring several tablespoons into the milk of your choice. While many strawberry sauce recipes have a lot of sugar, I wanted to keep this strawberry milk on the healthier side. I used just a little honey and allowed the strawberries to do the rest of the sweetening. This strawberry milk instantly cured my strawberry milk craving and brought me right back to those days of sharing pink mustaches with my kid sister!

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Homemade Strawberry Milk
by Heather H. of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com
Printable Version
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 10-15 minutes Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
2 tablespoons honey (or sweetener of your choice)
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 cups milk; as needed, for serving

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, over medium-low heat, combine sliced strawberries, honey, and water. Let strawberries cook for 10 to 15 minutes, breaking up/mashing the strawberries with a wooden spoon as they cook. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and let cool. Transfer strawberry mixture to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

For serving, spoon approximately 2-3 tablespoons strawberry sauce into 1 cup of milk. Add additional strawberry sauce as desired.

Other recipes you might enjoy:
Very Vanilla Smoothie
Frozen Pink Lemonade Smoothie
Red Velvet Hot Chocolate with Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
“Skinny” Strawberry Cheesecake Shake
White Hot Chocolate