Smoothies: A Summertime Treat

It's getting warmer outside, and we're all looking for new and exciting ideas for summer time eats. Smoothies are a delicious summer treat; they're sweet and creamy, but light in texture. They can be low in fat if you chose the right ingredients. All you need is a blender, some ice cubes and a few healthy ingredients such as fruit and low fat yogurt. Here are a few recipes for some of my favorite smoothie variations, all recipes make two servings.

The simplest smoothie can be an easy, tasty snack. To make a berry smoothie, in a blender, combine 1 cup of low-fat vanilla yogurt (I use Stonyfield Farms Organic Vanilla), two cups of fresh or frozen mixed berries, such as raspberries, blueberries and blackberries and 1 cup of ice cubes, then blend until smooth.

For a delicious tropical treat, try a smoothie made from ¼ orange juice, ¾ cup low-fat vanilla yogurt, 3/4 cup fresh or canned pineapple chunks, a banana and one cup of ice, again, blending until smooth.

When a chocolate craving hits, try making a smoothie to soothe your sweet tooth. Two cups of fresh or frozen strawberries, ¾ low-fat vanilla yogurt, ¼ cup of skim milk, a couple teaspoons of Hershey's chocolate syrup and a cup of ice blended will definitely hit the spot!

On a really stressful day, you can add a splash of liquor to your evening smoothie to chase your troubles away. Try blending ¾ cup cranberry juice, ¼ cup orange juice, 1/3 cup of vodka, 2 cups of fresh of frozen peaches and a ½ cup fresh of frozen pineapple chunks for a delicious, stress-busting treat!

You can also use frozen yogurt in your smoothies in place of ice cubes and yogurt. Try blending one cup of low fat vanilla frozen yogurt, 1 cup grape juice, 3.4 cup frozen red seedless grapes and a ½ cup of frozen blueberries to create a slushy, grapey smoothie.

As you can see, by simply combining your favorite healthy ingredients in a blender, you can create some super tasty, cool summertime drinks. Kid love smoothies and it's a great way to sneak extra fruit into their diets; you can even add about ¼ of grated carrots to their smoothies without them being any the wiser. They also love helping out by adding the ingredients to the blender and turning it on! Adults watching their weight but still looking for a sweet snack will find smoothies to be very filling and satisfying.