SMOOTHIES... Easy, Delicious, and Ready to Give Us Energy!

Morning energy is a key to getting the day off to a good start and evening energy is a key to accomplishing personal goals and having quality time to spend with friends and family.  Drinking a homemade smoothie in the morning and/or the evening can be a great way for us to get our nutrients as well as have sustained and focused energy. Smoothies can be economical as well as convenient.

Frozen fruit is the key

The key to a great tasting smoothie with great texture is to use frozen fruit.  Frozen slices of banana are an excellent addition to any smoothie.  I try to always buy fruit when it’s on sale and when buying fresh fruit, such as strawberries, kiwi’s, mango, blueberries, or apples, I try to slice and freeze them as soon as they’re purchased.  This way, there’s no worrying about having to throw away fruit that’s gone bad and it really adds to the thickness.  

Preparing saves time

A huge time saver is to measure the sliced fruit before freezing. We freeze our favorite combinations in ½ cup and 1 cup servings.  Some nice combos are kiwi/strawberry/banana and mango/pineapple/banana.

Almond milk is a great dairy substitute

If you have an allergy to milk or choose not to cook with dairy, I have found almond milk to be a tremendous, tasty substitute. Not only does it taste terrific, it also gives the smoothie a nice consistency.  Another added bonus is that it has 50% RDA of vitamin E.  It comes sweetened and non-sweetened. (The "original" flavor has good taste with only 60 calories per cup and only 7 grams of sugar).

Here are three quick and delicious smoothie recipes that are perfect to take on the go!

BASIC STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE

½ cup sliced frozen strawberries

½ cup  sliced frozen banana

1 cup milk (almond, soy, or lactose free milk can be substituted)

-Put all ingredients in a blender or the magic bullet for 1 minute.

BANANA, KIWI, MANGO SMOOTHIE

1 cup sliced frozen banana

¼ cup sliced frozen kiwi or strawberries

¼ cup sliced frozen mango and/or pineapple

1 cup milk (almond, soy, or lactose free milk can be substituted)

2 Tablespoons strawberry syrup (2 TBLS sugar-free syrup or 2 TBLS of pomegranate juice can be substituted)

-Put all ingredients in a blender or magic bullet for 1 minute.

CANDY APPLE FRUIT SMOOTHIE

1 cup sliced frozen apple

½ cup sliced frozen pear 

½ cup sliced frozen banana

1 cup milk (almond, soy, or lactose free milk can be substituted)

2 Tablespoons caramel syrup (regular or sugar-free)

-Put all ingredients in the blender or magic bullet for one minute. Sprinkle cinnamon on top before serving.

Please note: depending on your preference for thickness, more or less milk can be added. Additionally, 1 Tablespoon of flaxseed meal can be added to any of the above smoothies. The flaxseed meal adds thickness as well as heart healthy Omega 3’s.

ENJOY!