I am so hot! But honestly, there is nothing sexy about greasy skin and frizzy hair, is there? August is a pretty relentless month in Washington. The charm of summer has worn off, the humidity is raging, and the tiger mosquitoes, OMG the tiger mosquitoes! A distinct lack of motivation to cook and general disinclination for hot foods is another marker of this glorious month. So why not turn chips and salsa into a nutritious and refreshing meal by whipping up a smoothie to go with them?
Smoothies are kind of like dancing to Prince at a wedding after X glasses of wine. They're so easy and fun that you forget they're good for you (I apologize if that is a really lame analogy - but it works for me!). Fresh (organic!) berries are chock full of vitamins, fiber and cool cancer fighting/preventing compounds. Plain (organic!) yogurt has all the dairy goodness, plus live cultures and no added sugar (unsweetened soy yogurt would be great, too). And follow the other ingredients' links to see why they're also worth keeping around.
My smoothies, like a lot of my recipes, have a basic framework (frozen fruit and liquid), and then a lot of optional add-ons. So put on your bikini and start blending!
Sexy Summer Smoothie Recipe
What you need:
1 c. orange juice
1/4 c. plain yogurt
1 frozen banana
1 c. frozen mixed berries
2 tbsp. wheat germ or ground flax seed (optional)
What to do:
Blend! If your blender is wimpy, add the liquids first, then add the frozen bits a little at a time. Add juice to achieve your desired consistency. Eating them with a spoon can be fun if you make them thick enough. If your banana isn't frozen, you might want to throw in a little bit of ice.
A few notes on the ingredients:
Replace the OJ with the juice of your choice, or even milk or soymilk. You can also customize the fruit any way you want. The bananas are pretty key for sweetness, but if you despise them you can just add a little sweetener of your choice. Note that honey doesn't blend well in really cold stuff. I usually use frozen organic mixed berries, but any combination of berries, peaches, mango, melon or whatever suits your fancy would be great.
Note: I peel and freeze the super overripe bananas we end up with at the end of each week. They are perfect for smoothies and banana bread. Other good candidates for freezing are berries that are a little too far gone to enjoy raw, or the 5 quarts of strawberries you just couldn't resist buying at the farmers' market because they just looked so darn good. Freeze fruit on a plate or tray first, then put it in a freezer bag. That way it doesn't freeze to the plastic or itself. I have had to smash frozen strawberries with a hammer to break them apart, for real.
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