Tastiest Last Minute Breakfast...Or After Dinner Treat!

     Let's talk smoothies. Or fruitsie freezies. Or virgin daquiries. Or vegan shakes. The choice is your's, but so is the almost sinful pleasure! Back at the beginning of summer, when the best of the season's fruits first started to show up at the local farmer's markets, I decided to commit myself to eating more of these tasty delights. Surprisingly, I'm not a big fruit eater. I like the taste, I can usually go for a nice fresh fruit salad at the pot-luck picnics, but I rarely pick up a piece of fruit and snack right out of hand. I think its the mouth-pucker, tongue-tingle that comes from an unexpectedly tart apple or berry that makes me shy away, but whatever the reason, I don't eat enough of these nutrient rich, antioxident powerhouse foods.

     Such WAS the case, until I borrowed my mom's blender and whipped up my first homemade smoothie. It was fantastic! Plus, at home, I could control the sugar content, the quality of the fruit, the flavor combination and I could substitute dairy-free ingredients to make it more digestible for my sensitive system. I also realized right away that with a few pre-prepped ingredients which I could easily have on hand in my freezer, I could enjoy those wonderful summer fruits quickly and easily all year long.

     Smoothie making is definately not rocket science. I'm pretty sure this is true because I spent my entire 7th grade year building a rocket out of a paper towel tube and it never got more than a few feet into the air. I spent 10 minutes making, drinking and cleaning up from this morning's blueberry-banana breakfast shake and, as it does most every morning, the experience helped me start my day smiling.  You don't need much to throw together this great kick-starter, mostly stuff that should be in your fridge and pantry already, and a blender. The blender is crucial. I was lucky enough to have a mom who willingly lent her's to me (probably not realizing it'd be 6 months before I brought it back) but you can pick one up for about $20 and it will work just fine. From there,  you can follow the "recipe" below as a guideline and start getting creative. Since I started making this a morning routine, back around April, I think I've made one almost every day and probably haven't duplicated the combination at all. Have fun and MIX IT UP!! (Punny, huh?)

Here's your basic roadmap:

     About 2 cups of frozen fruits: whole blueberries, raspberries or blackberries; sliced strawberries, peaches or other stone fruits; pitted cherries all work well
     1 cup milk or non-dairy milk substitute of your choice (I like vanilla flavored rice milk)
     1-2 cups juice, coconut water* or good ol' tap water or a combination of these
     sweetener to taste (you can use sugar if you really want to, but you're risking a mid-morning crash. I prefer to add honey or agave nectar* if the fruits aren't sweet enough on their own)

Those few ingredients are enough to make a tasty treat on their own. If you want to add some additional richness or get more of your "good stuff" out of the way for the day, add any of the following:

     1/3 cup silken soft tofu* or plain Greek yogurt
     1Tbl soy lecithen granules*
     protein powder (per package directions)*
     1Tbl ground flaxseed*
     1 banana, sliced, fresh or frozen

Once you have your selection of ingredients placed into the blender jar, give it a few pulses on "chop" or "ice breaker" and then crank it up to a good high speed and give it a minute or two to really blend together. You can add more liquid if the blender seems to be struggling or if you prefer a thinner drink. I keep mine as thick as I can without burning out the motor because it makes me feel like I've just gone through the McD's drive through and I'm sipping down an extra thick shake!

These "measurements" will yield 2 shakes (each a breakfast in themselves) or 4 smaller ones if you want to serve them along with your cereal or toast.

*Most of these ingredients, which may be unfamiliar to many readers, can be found in the health food section of any well stocked grocery store. The silken tofu will be stocked with dry goods and comes in foil-lined paper "freshness" packaging similar to a juice box carton. The coconut water is generally found in the International foods section with the fruit nectars and juices; GOYA brand makes a great unsweetened variety that comes in individual serving cans. Be sure you are buying coconut "water" and not milk or the syrups used for mixed drinks!

Last but not least...keep in mind that you can also use these delicious, thick and creamy blended beverages as a dessert when you want to grab that little pint of ice cream but don't want to  double your caloric intake for the day! For an especially decadent treat, use frozen raspberries and bananas and sweeten with just a bit of CHOCOLATE agave nectar or Hershey's syrup. Mmmmmm...chocolate.

ENJOY!!