Smoothies

I never used to eat breakfast. I have no idea how I did it. Now making breakfast is part of my typical morning routine. The water is warming up for my tea while my English muffin is toasting and I’m throwing ingredients in the blender for a smoothie. I usually eat at work so I make sure what I make for myself is portable. In the past few years I have become a big fan of the smoothie. I’m picky about what goes into them.  There’s a place in town that makes a very yummy smoothie, but some of their mixtures have ice cream or sherbet in them. Ice cream or sherbet = dessert, not breakfast.

Smoothies are a great way to use up odds and ends of fruit and juice. I’m picky (shocking!) about the texture of my fruit. When bananas start to go a little brown I peel them and throw them in the freezer. This is good practice for banana bread but one can only make so much banana bread. Berries, grapes, pineapple, stone fruit, I throw them all in the freezer in zip lock bags to be used in a smoothie. Frozen fruit is sometimes cheaper than fresh but just as good when thrown in a blender. Do not, however, buy those premade smoothie mixes in the freezer section. They are a waste of money!

I like to use orange juice as my liquid. Apple juice works well and doesn’t affect the flavor of your fruit the way orange juice can. Our health food store carries frozen packets of acai juice. This is a little pricey but it’s a nice change. Experiment with what you have in the fridge. I’ve used all different types of yogurt: flavored, plain, stained, non-strained, homemade, with fruit, without fruit. I like to buy the big containers of plain yogurt but if I have tons of flavored in the fridge I will not hesitate to use it.

This is the basic recipe I use. Make adjustments to suit your taste buds.

1 cup orange juice

½ cup yogurt

½ banana

½ cup fruit

Add ice if you like your smoothies a little more chilly. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.