Summer Smoothies

I think we are all in the midst of a summer heat wave so I'm looking for cold drinks and cold foods to eat.

Summer fruits are delicious and sweet and just what you need to make smoothies.   You can use any fresh fruit you like -- melon, berries, peaches, bananas, whatever you have.

If you have a lot of fresh fruit that is starting to over-ripen just cut it up, put it in a freezer bag and freeze until you are ready to make a smoothie.

There are ready-made smoothie packages in the frozen section of the super market. My advice is to leave them there - don't buy - save yourself money and calories.

My favorite fruits are berries, but you can use any fresh fruits you like.  Last week I used fresh peaches that were starting to soften.  I cut them up and put them in the freezer for an hour and then made my smoothie.

You can make them low in calorie or rich (a few added calories if adding ice cream). I usually make my strawberry smoothies low in calorie by adding the low-fat milk. Though there are some days when I make them a little richer and add ice cream or yogurt.

Smoothies don't really need an exact recipe, you can be creative and use whatever you have on hand. Or if you prefer to use a recipe you can try mine - it's easy and as are many of my recipes it's flexible so that you can substitute your favorite ingredients.

Summer Smoothie
Ingredients:

• 1 cup ice cubes
• 1 cup fruit cut in chunks & frozen (use any fruit you like)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup milk (skim or low-fat)
• 1 tsp. agave (use sugar if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (optional)
• 1-2 scoops ice cream or frozen yogurt (optional)
  

Directions:

1. Place the selected ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.  Depending on the power of the blender it could take approximately 30 seconds - maybe a little less, or a few seconds more. The ice and frozen fruit gives it a thick consistency.

This is easy enough to make anytime, and you can increase the ingredients if you want to make several servings.


I'm sharing this recipe on the following linkys:

Turning the Table Thursday
Hearth and Soul
Simply Delish






Mangia!
Winelady Cooks