Looking for a refreshing recipe to cool things down while having fun with the kids in the kitchen at the same time?

Check out my Homemade Strawberry Lemonade.  It’s a great recipe to make with the kids without having to heat up an oven or turn on the stovetop.

Simply grab the blender, a few key ingredients and blend your way to recipe making yum.  Even the simplest of recipes helps to strengthen and/or build kitchen skills while boosting recipe making confidence. 

Here are a few key lessons to focus on when making the Strawberry Lemonade with children:

• Preparing fruit
• Hulling strawberries
• Slicing
• Extracting juice from lemons
• Measuring ingredients
• Following directions
• Blending
• Knife safety
• Blender safety

Homemade Strawberry Lemonade by Jodie Fitz

1 cup fresh sliced strawberries

2 whole lemons,

4 cups ice

2 cups water

½ cup PICS honey or organic agave nectar

2 teaspoons PICS vanilla extra

Prepare and measure the strawberries by washing them, hulling them and then slicing them before measuring.

Note:  When making this recipe with younger children or children who have not sliced before, begin cutting soft fruits with a plastic knife until they become confident and understand safety procedures.  Always remind them to be mindful of where their fingers are and to always make sure fingers are clear before cutting anything.

Cut the lemons in half to create four halves.  Squeeze the lemon juice from the lemons. 

Note:  If you have a citrus squeezer simple squeeze it right into a blender pitcher, because it will catch the seeds.  If you do the lemon squeezing by hand, simply squeeze the juice into a liquid measuring cup so that you can extract the seeds from the juice before pouring the freshly squeezed lemon juice into the blender.

Add the ice, water, strawberries, honey and vanilla extract together with the fresh lemon juice in a blender.  Blend the mixture well; until the ice is crushed.

Serve and enjoy!