Sunday, 1 July 2018

Healthy Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Ambitious Kitchen
Healthy Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
Healthy Rice Krispie Treats made with peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup and brown rice krispies. These vegan and gluten free treats are topped with dark chocolate and sea salt for an indulgent treat that tastes just like a crunchy peanut butter cup. Options to add a bit of protein powder to make these a great post workout treat!

Healthy Rice Krispie Treats made with peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup and brown rice krispies. These vegan and gluten free treats are topped with dark chocolate and sea salt for an indulgent treat that tastes just like a crunchy peanut butter cup. Options to add a bit of protein powder to make these a [...]

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A Sweet Pea Chef
How to Make Homemade Soda + 5 Easy Caffeine-Free Homemade Soda Recipes
How to Make Homemade Soda + 5 Easy Caffeine-Free Homemade Soda Recipes

Ever wondered how to make homemade soda?  Discover my favorite recipes for fruity Caffeine-free homemade sodas, made from fresh fruit and without any artificial sweeteners.  The perfect soda replacement for a healthy lifestyle!

Caffeine-Free Homemade Sodas | Discover my 5 favorite recipes for fruity Caffeine-free homemade soda, made from fresh fruit and without any artificial sweeteners, including Strawberry Soda, Orange Soda, Lemon Lime Soda, Grape Soda and Blackberry Soda | A Sweet Pea Chef

A while back, I shared the 7 steps I took to finally quit sugar. Staying as far away from soda, even the diet kind was a big part of it. Yes, you know it’s not that good for you, but we all crave a tall, ice-cold glass of a sweet drink every now and then.

Sure, a glass now and then won’t do you much harm, but as soon as those hot summer days start rolling in, it can be hard to stop at just one glass.  Then, the one-time treat becomes a habit and you’re hooked.

An overhead image of a blender with strawberry puree for the Homemade Strawberry Soda.

In order to avoid the temptation, you could start by avoiding that aisle in your local supermarket.  Another option is to make make your own homemade soda.

Believe it or not, it’s actually super easy to make homemade soda. You only need a few basic ingredients, including your favorite fresh fruit.  I love that, when you’re making homemade soda, you can control the sweetness. Now, you can enjoy a tall glass of refreshing fizzy bubbles without the artificial sugars, colors, and preservatives.  Woot!

Homemade soda is much healthier for you, as you can use real fruit and also experiment with flavors. Start by making my favorite 5 Caffeine-Free Homemade Soda recipes!

An overhead image of a kitchen counter with a mesh strainer and a glass pitcher with freshly squeezed and strained orange juice for the Caffeine-free Homemade Orange Soda.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE SODA

Making this fizzy fruity refreshment at home is quite simple, really. Plus, homemade soda is so much healthier than regular soda and you can make it to your own liking.

The key ingredients of these homemade soda recipes are (1) fresh fruit “syrup” and (2) seltzer water.  We will be using fresh fruit and a simple syrup made from raw honey and water to sweeten the soda.  To make your honey simple syrup, just combine some raw honey with water and cook in a pan over medium-high heat until the honey is dissolved, and then set aside to cool.  Easy peasy.

A side image of five glasses each with juice made from fresh fruit including strawberry juice, orange juice, lemon lime juice, grape juice and blackberry juice for the Caffeine-free Homemade Sodas.

Next, comes the fresh fruit. Depending on the fruit you’re using, you’ll either need to juice it (lemons, lime, oranges…) or add them to a blender and chop them (grapes, strawberries, etc.).

Once you’ve got the fruit broken down, you can strain it using a fine mesh strainer.  You could leave the pulp in, but the soda will have a different texture.  Then, transfer the fruit syrup to a bottle, add seltzer water, and any simple honey syrup to sweeten.  Seal the bottle and place it in the fridge to cool.  You could also just drink it right away over ice, if you prefer.

An overhead image of five sealed glass bottles on a kitchen counter, each filled with Caffeine-free Homemade Soda including Blackberry Soda, Grape Soda, Lemon Lime Soda, Orange Soda and Strawberry Soda.

HOW TO REMOVE CAFFEINE

One of the best things about this homemade soda is that it is caffeine-free.  I love having this sweet drink later in the evening, at times when I really don’t want to have any caffeine.  I’ve found it difficult to find low calorie, unprocessed, caffeine-free soda options out there so making these sodas has been a great way to remove caffeine from my evening and still enjoy a fizzy beverage.

A close up of a glass of Caffeine-free Homemade Grape Soda made from fresh grapes, raw honey simple syrup and seltzer water, served with ice cubes.

HOW TO STORE HOMEMADE SODA

Before we get started, we need to talk bottles.  While you could make these sodas right when you want them and pour them over ice, you can also prep them ahead, which is what I prefer so I have them ready in the fridge when I want a drink. 

I’m using these sealable bottles and I can leave the link for you in the description below.  If you dob’t have something that will seal it tightly enough to keep in the bubbles, you can just wait to add the seltzer water until it’s time to drink.

A side image of bottles of carbonated water you can use to make Caffeine-free Homemade Soda including Seltzer Water, Sparkling Mineral Water and Club Soda.

WHAT’S THE BEST SODA WATER FOR HOMEMADE SODA?

For the carbonated water, you can use club soda, seltzer water, or sparkling mineral water — they all have bubbles and will work. I like using Seltzer (Sparkling Water) most because it’s just plain water that has been carbonated, but is (usually) lacking in minerals and any added flavor.  That being said, any of them will work fine and you can experiment to see what tastes best to you.  

5 Easy Caffeine-Free Homemade Soda Recipes

A side image of five sealed glass bottles on a kitchen counter with Caffeine-free Homemade soda, including Strawberry Soda, Orange Soda, Lemon Lime Soda, Grape Soda and Blackberry Soda.

HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY SODA

Bold both in color and in flavor, Homemade Strawberry Soda will soon become your favorite summer drink.

A side image of a sealed glass bottle with Caffeine-free Homemade Strawberry Soda made with fresh strawberries, raw honey simple syrup and seltzer water.

HOMEMADE ORANGE SODA

Freshly squeezed orange juice is great on its own, but it’s even better when you mix it with seltzer water and some raw honey to make Homemade Orange Soda.

A side image of a sealed glass bottle with Caffeine-free Homemade Orange Soda made with freshly squeezed orange juice raw honey simple syrup and seltzer water.

HOMEMADE LEMON LIME SODA

This Homemade Lemon Lime Soda is my go-to drink! Zesty lemons and limes, subtle sweetness of raw honey and bubbles. What’s not to love?

A side image of a sealed glass bottle with Caffeine-free Homemade Lemon Lime Soda made with freshly squeezed lemon juice, freshly squeezed lime juice, raw honey simple syrup and seltzer water.

HOMEMADE GRAPE SODA

Unlike most store-bought grape beverages, Homemade Grape Soda actually tastes like grapes! My Caffeine-free homemade Grape Soda is made from fresh grapes and without no added sugar!

A side image of a sealed glass bottle with Caffeine-free Homemade Grape Soda made from fresh grapes, raw honey simple syrup and seltzer water.

HOMEMADE BLACKBERRY SODA

Drink your daily dose of rich antioxidants by enjoying a glass or two of Homemade Blackberry Soda made with all-natural ingredients.

A side image of a sealed glass bottle with Caffeine-free Homemade Blackberry Soda made from fresh blackberries, raw honey simple syrup and seltzer water.

Caffeine-Free Homemade Sodas

Discover my favorite recipes for fruity Caffeine-free homemade sodas, made from fresh fruit and without any artificial sweeteners. The perfect soda replacement for a healthy lifestyle!

Simple Honey Syrup 2 cups water 1/4 cup raw honey Homemade Strawberry Soda 1 lb. strawberries ((to yield a minimum 1/2 cup juice)) 1/2 – 1 liter seltzer water Homemade Orange Soda 2 oranges ((to yield a minimum 1/2 cup juice)) 1/2 – 1 liter seltzer water Homemade Lemon Lime Soda 4-6 lemons ((to yield a minimum 1/3 cup juice)) 1-2 limes ((to yield a minimum 3 tbsp juice)) 1/2 – 1 liter seltzer water Homemade Grape Soda 1/2 lb grapes ((to yield a minimum 1/2 cup juice; I used seedless black grapes)) 1/2 – 1 liter seltzer water Homemade Blackberry Soda 1 1/2 cups blackberries ((to yield a minimum 1/2 cup juice; I used seedless black grapes)) 1/2 – 1 liter seltzer water
For the Simple Honey Syrup:

Combine water with raw honey and cook over medium-high heat in a sauce pan until the honey is dissolved, then allow to cool. Set this aside because we’ll be using it in a little bit.

For the Homemade Strawberry Soda:

Add fresh strawberries to a blender and quickly chop them to break them down.

Then transfer the blended strawberries to a fine mesh strainer to press through the liquid into a bowl below. Repeat with the remaining strawberries until you have all the condensed strawberry juice in your bowl. Then, add that strawberry juice to the bottom of our bottle. Next, slowly add the seltzer water to the bottle, almost all the way up to the top. Then add a little of our raw honey simple syrup to sweeten the drink – you can taste at this point and decide how much you need.

Continue to fill almost all the way to the top with your seltzer water and then seal bottle and place in the fridge to get nice and cold.

For the Homemade Orange Soda:

Juice the oranges to get fresh orange juice. You can either strain the pulp from this juice or leave it as is. To strain it, press the juice through a fine mesh strainer.

Then, add the orange juice to the bottom of the bottle or glass.

Next, slowly add the seltzer water to the bottle, almost all the way up to the top. Then add a little of our raw honey simple syrup to sweeten the drink – you can taste at this point and decide how much you need. Continue to fill almost all the way to the top with your seltzer water and then seal bottle and place in the fridge to get nice and cold. For the Homemade Lemon Lime Soda:

Juice the lemons and limes.  To strain it, press the juice through the fine mesh strainer.

Then, add that lemon and lime juice to the bottom of the bottle or glass.

Next, slowly add the seltzer water to the bottle, almost all the way up to the top. Then add a little of our raw honey simple syrup to sweeten the drink – you can taste at this point and decide how much you need. You’ll probably need to add more of the simple syrup in this soda than the others, since the lemons and limes are less sweet naturally.

Continue to fill almost all the way to the top with your seltzer water and then seal bottle and place in the fridge to get nice and cold.

For the Homemade Grape Soda: Ad fresh black grapes to a blender and quickly puree them. You can use any grapes, but I find black grapes to give the best color and flavor. Then transfer the blended grapes to a fine mesh strainer to press through the liquid into a bowl below. Repeat with the remaining grapes until you have all the condensed grape juice in your bowl.

Then, add that grape juice to the bottom of the bottle or glass.

And, slowly add the seltzer water to the bottle, almost all the way up to the top. Then add a little of our raw honey simple syrup to sweeten the drink – you can taste at this point and decide how much you need. The grapes are already pretty sweet so you wont need to add much simple syrup at all. Continue to fill almost all the way to the top with your seltzer water and then seal bottle and place in the fridge to get nice and cold. For the Homemade Blackberry Soda:

Add fresh blackberries to a blender and quickly puree them.

Then transfer the blended blackberries to a fine mesh strainer so we can press through the liquid into a bowl below. You may need to add a little water to help it out in case it get’s too thick. Repeat with the remaining blackberries until you have all the condensed blackberry juice in your bowl.

Then, add that blackberry juice to the bottom of the bottle or glass.

Next, slowly add the seltzer water to the bottle, almost all the way up to the top. Then add a little of our raw honey simple syrup to sweeten the drink – you can taste at this point and decide how much you need.

Continue to fill almost all the way to the top with your seltzer water and then seal bottle and place in the fridge to get nice and cold.

This post contains affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.

The post How to Make Homemade Soda + 5 Easy Caffeine-Free Homemade Soda Recipes appeared first on A Sweet Pea Chef.

Cookie and Kate
What to Cook This July

Learn what's in season this month at cookieandkate.com!

What are you craving for July? How do lots of salads sound? The recipes you’ll find below are perfect for your Fourth of July festivities and hot summer days.

When you make a recipe, please leave a comment to let me know how it turns out. Your comments keep me inspired, and your star ratings help other people find and trust the recipes. I love to hear from you!

Here’s what I’ve been into lately! The list contains affiliate links.

Best Brownie Bake Off: Now I’m craving brownies. The Shy Person’s Guide to Being the Center of AttentionHave you tried Instacart? They buy my groceries and deliver them to my doorstep. After buying a cookbook’s worth of groceries, I never want to go back. Adrianna explains how to freeze cookie dough. Game changer! Excited to find a reasonably priced, high quality sunglasses brand. I love the Yubas, which remind me of Ray Ban’s Erika sunglasses. Another find: affordable natural shampoo and conditioner for curly hair that works marvelously. Did you hear about the Minneapolis raccoon saga? Avocado

best cucumber salad recipe

Gaby’s Cucumber Salad

Gluten free and vegan

“Made this immediately last night and loved it – my daughter as well! Quick and easy for when you get home from work – served alongside pasta.” – Connie

More avocado recipes »

Continue to the recipe...

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