Cool Fruit Smoothies

Johnny B's Tips for Healthy & Thrifty Eating: First Edition

It's starting to warm up (at least here in Tennessee), and when you start craving something cool and refreshing, don't run to Sweet CeCe's or DQ! Make a smoothie at home, with about 50¢ worth of supplies!

[Note: this tip requires a modicum of foresight. Have a couple bananas a day past ripe? Got some fresh berries at a good price? Got a can of peaches sitting around? Lay them out on a tray and pop them in the freezer. Once they're frozen, stash them in a Zip-Loc bag for some future date. It will be well worth your while.]

Two weeks later, it's 85°, sunny, and you want a cool treat. You're in luck! Grab that bag of frozen fruit, your jug of milk, and a couple ice cubes. Unless you have a top-notch blender, start with the ice first. This works for food processors or blenders, food processors just require more patience to get things blended up well. Blast the ice until it's not getting any smaller, then add the frozen fruit, bananas last. The point is to put the stickiest/wettest things in LAST, so everything else can get busted up pretty well by bouncing around and hitting the blades. SO, go ice, then, say, strawberries, then peach slices, then banana chunks, stopping and stirring as necessary to break up clumps. I even shake my Cuisinart while it's running, to dislodge things. At last, pour in just enough milk to make a homogeneous mixture. You will find, to your delight, a thick, smooth creamy treat more like ice-cream than your typical watery smoothie. You can add more milk to make it runnier, if you want. I like mine thick like frozen yogurt.

Here's a ratio I've used with good success (makes 1 big serving):

3 ice cubes

5 to 8 strawberries (sliced and frozen)

4 peach slices

~1/3 cup whole milk (whole milk = very rich and creamy)

If you're looking to be knocked over the head with intense flavor, this isn't it. But if you want a COOL, HEALTHY, CHEAP snack, plus the satisfaction of making something yourself and beating the over-priced retail food market, this is it!

Additions to try:

Vanilla extract

Fruit jam to intensify the flavor

Lemon or lime juice to intensify the tartness

Honey if you really want more sweetness (dont' give in! Train your tastebuds!)

If you try this, let me know how it turns out! If you have any requests for ways to eat healthily and cheaply, let me know, and I'll try to cover them.

Cheers