Smoothie Roundup

We are very into smoothies around here, especially as the weather warms up. What's not to love about a smoothie? It's super fast, delicious, my kids and I love them and they are healthy. We serve them with our breakfasts, lunch and dinner, and often for dessert. We have 3-4 smoothies a week on average. I even top them off with a little whipped cream if I'm feeling super fancy.

Here are a few smoothie basics for all you smoothie novices out there.

1. Most of our smoothies are a concoction of only a few ingredients: frozen fruit, sugar, skim milk and lowfat vanilla yogurt. This is a winner every time.

2. If frozen fruit isn't something you have on hand, 6-8 ice cubes can be thrown in the blender.

3. The key to a perfect smoothie is adaptation. If you have don't have frozen strawberries but still want it cold, mix with frozen orange juice concentrate. Want more fiber? Add some ground flax or grind up some oats first. If you don't have fresh fruit, try canned. Some unlikely things I have put in smoothies are: pineapple juice (saved from when I drain canned pineapple), coconut milk, applesauce, white grape juice, powdered milk, ground flax seed, nutella, and peanut butter.

4. Frozen fruit can sometimes be expensive. Freezing bananas about to go bad is a great way to have smoothies inexpensively. Our local store sells old bananas super cheap, I just chunk them and put them in a freezer bag in the freezer. Also the Dollar tree sells small bags of frozen peaches. A great deal! Costco is always a great place for berries and strawberries. And for Amber, blackberries grow everywhere and are great for smoothies.

Here are some of our favorite recipes:

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
2 bananas
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
1-2 tablespoons honey (depending on sweetness preference)
6-8 ice cubes
Blend until smooth. Ice can be omitted if bananas are frozen.
Serves 4

Strawberry Orange Banana Smoothie
1 1/2 cup orange juice
2 cups strawberries
1 banana
6-8 ice cubes
Serves 4

Peach Orange Banana Smoothie
3/4 cup orange juice
2 cups frozen peaches
1 cup skim milk
1 banana
Serves 4

Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie
1 cup frozen strawberries
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
2 tablespoons white sugar
6 ice cubes
Serves 2