Simple Summer Strawberry Milk

This summer there is an abundance of beautiful, local strawberries. As someone who loves summer produce, I may have over extended myself and now have a flat of strawberries filling up my fridge. I’ve been trying to come up with creative easy to use and preserve these berries before they spoil. While on a weekend drive I remembered one of my favorite road trip treats: strawberry milk!  

I’m not sure if this is entirely  accurate but I remember only being able to get strawberry milk in the US. I remember drinking it in tiny jugs with my siblings on long haul trips to the states with my dad. It’s one of my favourite memories of my dad so I thought I might try making my own. 

Before we dive into a recipe, I think it’s important to talk about the exploitation that goes into  how we get our food. Even local, Ontario producers  are a part of the problem and Covid-19 has brought this devastating truth to light. 

Approximately 20,000 migrant workers come to Ontario each year to work on farms and in greenhouses — many of them from Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean. Currently at Canadian farms, hundreds of migrant workers have tested positive for COVID-19. In Ontario, more than 600  migrant workers have been infected and three have died. These people are not given proper living or working conditions, food, safety measures or payment. Our food system is broken and we must do all we can to advocate for the people harvesting the food on our plates.

What We Can Do: Do some research and support farms that uphold ethical working conditions, put pressure on our government to change legislation and make these workers safe and support organizations already doing the work of advocating for these workers, check out the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. They share up to date resources and offer frontline support to migrant workers.  Moving forward, it’s our responsibility to do better. 

I do believe there are farms doing the right thing and taking care of their workers. I know I am incredibly privileged to be able to support them. This is why it’s important we advocate for pour government to protect these workers and give everyone access to healthcare and safe working conditions.

This Strawberry Milk is deliciously creamy and full of childhood nostalgia! I used cashews but I think you could easily substitute with almonds, hemp hearts, tahini or peanut butter. I like to have this milk in cereal or granola, over fresh berries in a smoothie or straight up in a chilled glass.  It’s up to you!

Summer Strawberry Milk 

Ingredients 

½ cup cashews* ( soaked in water overnight) 

1 cup strawberries, washed and hulled 

¼ tsp sea salt 

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp maple syrup *optional 

Directions

Strain the soaked cashews into a high speed blender. Add remaining ingredients and 4 cups of cold, filtered water. Blend on high for 1 minute until smooth. Strain with a nut milk bag into a resealable vessel. 

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 

*if using nut butter instead of whole nuts I suggest using 2 Tbsp

Make sure to tag me @hello.franallen with your strawberry milk creations!

I always love seeing you making these recipes!