This is recipe Roundup episode 62. Today we are going to talk about smoothies. 

Smoothies are a great option for a snack or light meal during the warm weather! It’s an easy way to get in a few servings of fruit and even maybe some vegetables and depending on how you make it, it might be the perfect dessert replacement on a hot afternoon. 

My current favorite smoothie is super simple: Equal parts frozen strawberries and blueberries blended with high fat coconut milk, and with a little bit of water to help it blend. It’s super creamy and lovely, and since the seeds of strawberries and blueberries are very small, it’s easy to drink. I like to take my berries out of the freezer about 20 minutes before I blend them so that they have a chance to soften a little bit. This allows me to use less liquid for an overall thicker smoothie. 

There is no limit to the creativity available to you when making smoothies. Start with the fruit that you would like to include: berries, pineapple, peaches, bananas – and many other options. If you are using fresh fruit, I recommend adding in some ice to make it cool. I personally prefer using frozen fruit to achieve this iciness. 

You’ll likely need some sort of liquid to help the ingredients blend together. Water, milk, yogurt, coconut milk, almond milk, ice tea,  even fruit juice are great options. 

Green smoothies have gained popularity in the past several years. As we talked about last week, we can unlock more nutrients in greens by cooking them before eating! I recommend parboiling your smoothie greens before combining them with the fruit. Just cook them enough to reach a bright bright green color, let them cool and blend it right in. 

Spices and supplements can also be added to smoothies. Many people like to add their favorite protein powder to make their smoothies a little more hefty. Cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric can give it a nice flavor boost! This is a great opportunity for experimentation. 

I still have yet to find a good way of saving a smoothie, so I recommend just making enough to have in the moment or sharing a whole blender-full with friends!

This recipe and all of my recipes are online at alleghenymountainradio.org. Please send pictures and reviews to sage@amrmail.org. For AMR this is Recipe Roundup.