Smoothie Making 101

Smoothies are a staple in our house and make for especially easy breakfasts when motivation is lacking.  Its also a good way to use up some fruit that is riper that you prefer, or would otherwise go bad.  There is really no limit here, your imagination is your limit but I'll provide the guidelines I use and a few recipes of my own.

Tropical Lust Smoothie:
Half a pineapple, outer layer and core removed, cubed
2 Apples (sweet or tart)
2 Bananas (very ripe is ok)
1 Quart Strawberries, tops removed
Flesh of one mango, cubed (about 1C. if using frozen)
1/2 C. Cold water
Nectarine or peach (optional)
A few Ice Cubes (optional)
1 t. Cinnamon

I rinse all of the fruit thoroughly, cut and chop as needed and put everything into my Blendtec. My blender is the one piece of kitchen equipment that I can't live without and it was worth every penny.  It'll blend pretty much everything I could possibly want to blend, including frozen bananas, with ease.

This much fruit works out to two large servings.

Keep in mind that there will look like there is more fruit that you can eat. Once you blend it down this makes about 2 large servings.  I store half in the fridge to eat just before lunchtime.  Its not a good idea to make this too far ahead.  To cut down on time you can use frozen fruit (omit ice) or cut fruit in advance and store it in sealed containers in the fridge.  Cutting all the fruit you see here took me 15 minutes or less, blending about 30 seconds.

Tropical Lust Smoothie

The other recipe most commonly used:

Everything Smoothie:
2-4 Apples (tart or sweet)
2-4 Bananas (the riper they are the sweeter they are)
Any other fruit you have on hand: Strawberries, melon, blueberries, mango, raspberries, plums, nectarines, peaches, etc.
1/2 C. Soymilk (optional, can substitute water)
1 t. Cinnamon

Blend and serve!

Cake Batter Smoothie:
4-6 Very Ripe bananas
1-2 C. of Soymilk (depending on how thick you like it)
1-2 t. Cinnamon (to taste)
Agave Nectar (again to taste, but I use a few Tablespoons)

For this recipe you may want to start out with less soy milk and add more after tasting.  Same thing applies for the cinnamon and agave.  It's supposed to be fairly thick (like cake batter) and smooth. This recipe is not just a favorite for breakfast but also a great dessert when we have guests.