Fruit Smoothies

I love fruit and one of my favorite ways to eat fruit is in a smoothie! It is a great way to get in some servings of fruit. Also, they make a great healthy snack! I spent a lot of time this summer making smoothies for snacks and sometimes even for breakfast too, because I was on a soft food diet for my TMJ. So, if you really like fruit, smoothies make a really great treat! They are very refreshing and great for anytime of the year.

All you need is a blender, ice cubes, fruit and some fruit juice.

Some smoothies are pretty simple to make, like one of my favorites, a strawberry, blueberry, and banana smoothie.
For one serving, I usually use 1 sliced banana, about 8 medium to big sized strawberries (sometimes cut in half if they are really big), and about 2 good handfuls of blueberries. Also, I add in 3 ice cubes and some fruit juice. I prefer to use some sort of cranberry juice, like OceanSpray Cranberry Cocktail, Cran-Apple, or Cran-Grape. However, if I do not have any of those juices on hand, I use orange juice, and it tastes just as good. I do not measure the juice though. I put a decent splash in to start and if the smoothie is too thick, I just add more juice. Just put all the ingredients in the blender and blend until the consistency you prefer, and you will have a great tasting smoothie!

Another one of my favorite smoothies is made with a mango, strawberries, and a banana. This one takes a little longer to make because you have to cut up the mango, unless you find pre-cut mango at the store.
For what I make as one serving, I use 1 sliced banana, 1 cut up mango without the skin, and about 1.5 handfuls of strawberries (once again, cut in half if they are really big). Along with the fruit, I add 3 ice cubes and a splash of fruit juice, just like in the previous smoothie - any kind of fruit juice that you like will work. Add all the ingredients in the blender and blend. If it is still too thick, add more juice, if you want more flavor of a certain fruit just add more of that fruit in, and blend until it is perfect for your tastes! Just adjust the ingredients to your tastes.

To make multiple servings, just repeat what you put in for one serving, as many times as you need to.

Also, besides using fresh fruit, I will use frozen fruit, if the kind I want is not in season. Frozen fruit works just as well as fresh, but I do not put in ice cubes, and I let the fruit sit out a few minutes before I put them in the blender, so they are not so hard. Also, I usually add more fruit juice with frozen fruit because it usually turns out thicker than when made with fresh fruit.

Other good smoothies are combining the two previous ones, or just strawberry and banana, blueberry and banana, mango and strawberry, and many others. Oranges are great in smoothies too. You can make many different kinds of smoothies. Just about any kind of fruit combination will work and make a great smoothie!

Happy smoothie making!