I love fruit smoothies for breakfast. Grant prefers his smoothie later in the day. It is refreshing any time of day during hot weather. I make smoothies about three times a week and have a leftover smoothie the day after I make it. Every couple weeks, I get out all the big bags of frozen fruit and divide it up into quart-sized freezer bags. Fresh fruit works well too; the smoothie will be much thinner, which is how Grant likes it. A mixture of frozen with some fresh makes the best consistency. If using more fresh than frozen fruit, cut back on the amount of juice and add a little ice, if preferred. Feel free to substitute other fruits. I cannot stand seeds so I don’t use raspberries or blackberries, but I am sure those berries would taste delicious in smoothies. This is by no means an exact recipe. All amounts are approximate.
Growing up, we would make a smoothie that we called “Egg Nog”. I don’t know where my Mom got the recipe. It was a time before smoothies were popular. It had frozen orange juice concentrate, banana, milk and a raw egg. Then, raw eggs became dangerous for consumption and we quit making our “Egg Nog”.
When Austin was in elementary school he received a recipe for what evolved into the smoothie I make now. Shelby printed that recipe in her My Family Recipes cookbook she wrote in Middle School during 2005/2006. It had only four ingredients, banana, strawberries, pineapple juice and vanilla yogurt. It was very good but I have added more variety to it over the years. I recently discovered that lime juice and a few dates add great flavor.
Fruit Smoothie
1 1/2 cups juice (our favorite is pineapple-orange-strawberry, but pineapple will do, or blueberry-pomegranate)
1 – 1 1/2 cups yogurt, plain or vanilla
1 tablespoon peanut or almond butter, approximately
fresh spinach, a handful or two
2 bananas, fresh or frozen
2 cups strawberries, (9 ounces) *
3/4 cup cherries *
3/4 – 1 cup blueberries *
2 cups peaches, pineapple, mango and/or papaya *
* These are the fruits I measure out together in a freezer bag ahead of time.
Pour the juice in the blender, using the lines to measure. Then add yogurt, peanut butter and spinach. Add bananas and other fruit. Blend until smooth. This fills my blender, so I blend as well as I can then pour some out into a cup and blend the remaining smoothie more. Then, pour some in a cup or two and, if the first cup needs blended better, pour it back in to blend more. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to two days. Makes 5 servings.
