D.I.Y. Flavored Milk and The Food Revolution

We don't watch much TV around here. Today I just saw on hulu that Jamie Oliver's show, The Food Revolution, has already been on for three episodes. I had watched the first season and really felt a comraderie with him in his efforts to help our kids here in America eat healthier.

If you have watched any of his shows, you know that he has a big thing for flavored milk and the effects it has on our kids health. If any of you were flavored milk drinkers as a kid, you know how addicting that stuff is! According to Jamie Oliver, an 8 oz. serving of flavored milk (chocolate or strawberry) has about as much sugar as the same amount of soda!

I was a strawberry milk lover as a kid. Even though I wasn't a big milk-at-meals drinker, I would go for milk anytime if it was enhanced by strawberry syrup or powder. After watching three episodes of The Food Revolution today, I have a confession: I wanted some flavored milk :) See...addicting! I was remembering how much I loved it.

I'm a firm believer that eating healthy is not synonymous with going without. So I went to the kitchen to make my own berry syrup for flavored milk. (I think my flavored milk would be Jamie Oliver Approved :). This recipe can be made with any berry. I think strawberry would be best, but alas I had no strawberries, frozen or fresh, around. So I made my syrup with a berry blend. (I will be making some strawberry syrup as soon as I get my hands on some.) I also made it without sweetener, but you can add some honey, stevia, brown rice syrup, or coconut nectar to it when you blend if you want it sweeter.

I'm not normally in the business of promoting something because everything has its limitations. However, I do think The Food Revolution and what Jamie is trying to accomplish is a worthwhile thing to watch. And getting involved in your own community to help others know that healthy eating doesn't have to be so challenging (whatever that looks like for you) wouldn't hurt either!


D.I.Y. Flavored Milk
Yields: 1 cup flavored syrup to add to milk
Ingredients

• Two cups of fresh or frozen berries (de-stemmed or hulled if fresh)


• Sweetener (optional)


• Milk of choice (I blend mine with almond milk)

Method

• Heat the berries of choice in a skillet over medium heat until they begin to bubble.


• Cut heat down to very low and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the mixture thickens up a little.


• Pass the berry mixture through a blender; then add sweetener if desired. You can also strain if you desire less seeds in your syrup. It will thicken up a little bit when cold, but still blends well with milks (cow or soy/nut/seed based). If you use a lower water content berry- like blueberries- then you might want to add up to 1 Tbsp of water per cup to thin it out a bit (only if you are not adding a liquid sweetener). Strawberries have a much higher water content and this should not be needed.
  


• Add 1-2 Tbsp per 8 oz. glass of milk for a yummy flavored milk treat.


• Store in container in refrigerator and use as needed.

This post has been linked up to Sugar Free Sunday

Happy Flavored Milk Drinking,
Eryn