When we first started taking our kids to movies, we would buy lots of popcorn and frozen slushies to get them through the entire movie. Yes, we used food as both a pacifier and a babysitter so we could enjoy the movies too. I shudder at the thought of all the junk they consumed in one sitting. I could never bring myself to do that again now that I've learned so much. Movies in the theatre now include air popped popcorn made at home, and a bottle of water. But what's even better is our movie nights at home! We make these processed free strawberry lemonade slushies and the kids go wild. These have the same consistencies as those red and blue frozen drinks at the theatre, but NO added sugar. Lemons and strawberries - doesn't get too much better when this is what your kids are considering a super treat.
Zest of one lemon (optional for more lemon flavor)
juice of 4 lemons
1 1/2 tsp. liquid stevia
1 cup water
3 cups ice
2 cups (heaping) frozen strawberries
Pour everything into a high powered blender and hold on tight! This may take 1 to 2 minutes to completely pulverize the ice and strawberries. I have had to play with this recipe several times to get the right proportions for what my family likes. None of us like overly sweet lemonade, so if this is too sour, I suggest adding more strawberries rather than more stevia. The liquid stevia is so strong that when you add too much, it seems to be all you taste. You also might make minor adjustments if you have really juicy lemons or tiny ones. If you don't like stevia, you could always use honey in a larger proportion, but I like the fact that stevia is 0 calories and has no effect on blood sugar. Hope this makes for a fun movie night at your house too!
