Recipe: Chilled Berry Soup

It's about 100 degrees here in Vermont.  That's not ok with me.  We are all melting a little.  Ok, a lot.

At my work, the cafeteria has a cold strawberry and yogurt soup every once and a while, and I thought it would be a really refreshing thing to use as inspiration.  Plus, the loads of vitamins in this fruit laden dinner make me smile.  Good for a couple of kids that have little colds.

And, it would be fabulous in a thermos for lunches.

I used half lemon juice and half lime juice, because I ran out of lemon juice, but it would have been better with all lemon juice.  As it was, the kids thought it was too tart.  Then, I realized that I used too much anyway.  Twice as much as I needed to.  I could have just used the lemon juice.  I'll just put lemon juice in the recipe I'm posting.  I had to stir in some whipped cream.

What a shame.

I also used maple syrup as sweetener, but you could use honey.

It's kind of like a thinned out smoothie, and it's delicious.  I served it with tortillas that I sprayed with cooking spray, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, and baked at 375 until crispy.

Chilled Berry Soup

3 c mixed fresh or frozen berries (I used Costco's Triple Berry Blend - blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries)
1 c cran-raspberry juice (100% juice)
1 c non-fat vanilla greek yogurt (I ran out of homemade, so I used Chobani)
1/4 c lemon juice
1-2 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
a dollop of sour cream, creme fraiche, or whipped cream for garnish (optional)

In a blender on high speed, puree the berries and the juice together until smooth.  If the berries are frozen, it may be rather slushy.

Strain the puree to remove any seeds or skins.

(You could use a chinois (I couldn't find mine!), a strainer, or if you are like me and have way too many gadgets, the juicer insert for your food processor and whiz it right through!)

Transfer the strained puree back to the blender.  Add yogurt and lemon juice and blend until smooth.  Add honey or maple syrup to taste.

Chill, and then serve, with garnish if desired.

Lunches Fit For a Kid on Facebook

The yes votes won, and I'm on FB!


You can find Lunches Fit For a Kid here.  Go "Like" me!

Mom & Dad's Lunch: 7.8.10

I got in a new order of lunch box containers from Easy Lunch Boxes yesterday.  My brother is here for the summer, with his three young daughters, and we plan on having lots of outings, so I wanted to have plenty of containers to pack our lunches for them!

(Stay tuned, there will be another giveaway later in the month for great back to school lunch boxes for kids! Or for you!  I'm very excited for another giveaway)

Anyhow, back to today's lunches!

Daddy has a ham sandwich in an Arnold Sandwich Fill'em, some carrots, a container of peanut butter, and some Triscuits.

I have a wrap with ham, swiss, and carrots with champagne dill mustard, triscuits, and some blueberries.

Mom & Dad's Lunch: 7.7.10

I got some new Arnold Sandwich thins - long roll types instead of the round ones.  Yum!

Daddy has a ham sandwich with mustard, pretzels, and some strawberries, in his Easy Lunch Box.

I have a ham and swiss sandwich with chipotle mustard, some blueberries, and some pretzel sticks.

Lunch for the Boy: 7.6.10

I made the boy lunch today.  It was his turn for an Easy Lunch Box lunch!

He had a roll up on a whole wheat tortilla with nutella and strawberries, some blueberries, some pretzel sticks, and some muenster cheese.

Mommy's Lunch: 7.6.10

I had a cheese and tea jelly sandwich, some pretzel sticks, and blueberries in my Easy Lunch Box.

Recipe: Berry Cheesecake Tart

One of my sister's birthdays is on July 1.  We tend to celebrate it on the 4th, because that's when we are usually all together. 

I think she is super lucky because her birthday is in prime fresh berry season.  My birthday is in January.  No juicy fresh berries for me.

She isn't a fan of frosting (and neither are the rest of us, honestly), so I decided to make her a tart.

I took a couple shortcuts, because I didn't have much time, but no one would have known if I hadn't told them!

I used a bagged sugar cookie mix, because it was a dollar and I figured my time to make fresh sugar cookie dough was worth way more than a dollar. I could have done it slightly healthier, I suppose... but it's a cookie crust.  We aren't talking health food here.

I used cheesecake flavored pudding mix, but chocolate or white chocolate would have been decadent!  I may have to try that for later in the summer, maybe mini tarts?  Because, as you should all know by now, mini things amuse me.

Berry Cheesecake Tart

1 (8.5 oz) pouch sugar cookie mix (and ingredients to make the dough) (you could also use ready to use dough from the refrigerator section, or go wild and make your own dough)

1/4 c chocolate, melted

1 box instant pudding mix (I used cheesecake flavor, fat free, sugar free)
1 box cream cheese (I used neufchatel 1/3 fat)
2 c skim milk

Berries to cover tart

1 Tbsp currant jelly

Prepare sugar cookie mix according to directions, and press into a tart pan, including up the sides, that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Let cool completely on a wire rack.

When it is cooled, melt the chocolate and pour into shell.  Cover shell with the chocolate in a thin layer.  This helps to protect the crust from getting soggy from the tart filling.

Mix together pudding mix, cream cheese, and milk.  Pour into tart shell.

Top with berries in a decorative pattern.

Melt jelly in the microwave carefully, and brush over berries. This keeps the berries shiny, acting as a glaze.

Chill for at least one hour before serving.