Spring is about to Spring! Can you tell we’re excited? Now that your refrigerators are refreshed, we think you’re ready for a brand new #balancedeats recipe! Remember, Balanced Eats recipes fit into one of your seven meals a day from the BALANCE Nutrition Guide.
With the beautiful spring weather comes incredible spring produce! In this weeks episode of Balanced Eats, we highlighted an unfamiliar gem in the produce world: RHUBARB. It’s that weird, red celery-looking stuff you start seeing in late March—it’s bitter, sweet and SO healthy to eat! When researching spring produce, we were reminded of this incredible vegetable (yes, it’s a vegetable) and it ignited a distant childhood memory. When I was a young tomboy living in upstate New York, my mom would make a “fruit porridge with cream”. My mom is Danish and the actual name of the soup is called rød grød med fløde på. When she said it, it kind of sounded like the noise you make right before you throw up… so we would often make fun of how it was pronounced—silly kids!
Anyways, it was one of my all-time favorite desserts. My mom would make a huge pot with fresh rhubarb, straight from our garden. We enjoyed it as a porridge with a few drops of cream or over vanilla ice cream.
With a month focused on detoxifying and refreshing, we knew Rhubarb was the perfect fit. It’s rich in fiber, antioxidants and supports liver health and digestion. We decided to take the original recipe and tweak it. We lowered the sugar content by cutting the original recipe’s sugar measurement in half. We switched out heavy cream with a much healthier coconut cream alternative. We added it to our favorite chia pudding and even tried a popsicle recipe, ready just in time for the warmth of spring. Here are 3 ways to get to know rhubarb:
RHUBARB PORRIDGE
Creates 20 Servings
INGREDIENTS:
- 5 – 8 stalks of rhubarb, cleaned and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 bag frozen raspberries
- 1 bag frozen strawberries
- ½ Cup Sugar or Coconut Sugar
DIRECTIONS:
- Combine rhubarb, raspberries and strawberries in a large pot.
- Add ¾ Cup Water (about and inch)
- Cook on medium heat. Add sugar and let cook until the rhubarb is separated and resembles porridge. (about 20 – 30 minutes)
- Cover and let cool. Refrigerate
RHUBARB CHIA PUDDING – NOURISH – M5
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/3 C chia seeds
- 3/4 C unsweetened almond milk
- 1 t cinnamon
- 1 t maple syrup
- Rhubarb Porridge Base
DIRECTIONS:
- Combine chia seeds, almond milk, cinnamon, maple syrup in a bowl.
- Stir to blend all ingredients and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Layer chia mixture and rhubarb porridge into a mason jar.
- Refrigerate overnight to set. Enjoy for 2-3 days after preparation.
SWEET RHUBARB POPSICLES – EQUALIZE – M7
Mix up your Rhubarb Porridge in a blender and pour the smooth mixture into any Popsicle Maker. Freeze until solid. Easy as that! These are great for a guilt-free dessert or a healthy after school snack for the kiddos!
We hope you enjoy the versatility of this new recipe as much as we do. Try it in a pie, on top of pancakes, or over greek yogurt. The possibilities are endless!