Recipe of the Week: Smoothies

Summer is a great time for ice cold smoothies. All they take is a blender that is strong enough to process ice and some creativity with things you probably already have in your refrigerator. The basics are easy: 

  • Choose your ice. It can be water ice or a frozen form of one of the ingredients. Frozen bananas are my favorite for fruit smoothies. Frozen cherry tomatoes work well for veggie smoothies.
  • Choose your other ‘solid’ ingredients. Most blenders have a ‘fill’ line for non-liquids and it can get messy if you fill beyond that point. Seasonal fruits and veggies are all good choices.
  • Choose your ‘liquid’ to enable smooth blending. I almost always use a bit of lemon juice then add water or tea or juice. Again - do not overfill the blender.
  • Blend the ingredients first using pulses until the icy part is beginning to break up. Then run the blender on medium and then high. The smoothie should be thoroughly mixed, smooth, and frothy.  
  • Enjoy your smoothie. 

Remember serving size and avoid adding ingredients that will add a lot of calories. For this reason - I rarely use fruit juice for the liquid to get to the fill line in my smoothies.

My favorite fruit smoothie right now is a frozen banana, blueberries, a splash of lemon with water. I may add some fresh mint to my next one.

The pictures show my favorite veggie smoothie: frozen tomatoes, green onion, a splash of lemon juice, 4 drops of hot sauce, garlic and herb Mrs. Dash and water. This veggie smoothie is essentially a lunch salad in a glass! Next time I’ll try to remember to add a couple of fresh basil leaves.

Recipe of the Week: Blueberries

The blueberry season is beginning in North America. There are lots of ways to enjoy them but my favorite is just straight from the refrigerator - rinsed - savored one at a time.

It’s hard to pick a second-favorite. Competitors would be: 

  • Blueberries and melty vanilla ice cream
  • Frozen blueberries blended with milk and an apple (smoothie)
  • Blueberry muffins
  • Blueberry and watermelon or cantaloupe (fruit salad) 

Enjoy the fruits of early summer!