Fruit Smoothie - It's Like Ice-cream for Breakfest

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Fruit smoothie is my favorite breakfast!

In my quest for real food and reducing the amount of processed food in our diet I stopped buying ice-cream about the time I got pregnant.  I hadn't missed it until I entered into the third trimester. Now I'm thirsty all the time and I am always hot, especially with the warmer weather.  I guess the saying "bun in the oven" has more implication than I thought. 

We don't have an ice-cream maker but we do have a food processor.  The same Good Eats 'Live and Let Diet" episode that has the Avocado Sardine Sandwich; now a weekly staple in our menu also includes a delicious looking smoothie. Alton Brown calls it a "Buff Smoothie".  I'm not sure why it is buff. To me buff implies that there's a heavy dose of protein.  Really it's mostly fruit with a dollop of yogurt. 

Ingredients: frozen fruit, yogurt, 100% grape juice.

The first time I made the smoothie I bought a frozen berry medley of strawberries, blackberries and raspberries.  Jeff and I both picked seeds out of our molars for the rest of the day.  Leave the seedy berries out.  Peaches, strawberries, blueberries, mango, banana are all delicious and seed free.

Here's the section of the Good Eats episode with the recipe:



Ingredients:

4 ounces plain, low-fat soy milk
4 ounces acai, grape, or pomegranate juice
4 ounces frozen banana
4 ounces frozen strawberries
4 ounces frozen blueberries
4 ounces frozen peaches

The trick is to weigh each of the fruits on a scale.  Alton suggests a scale with a tear function, so you can use the blender carafe and keep resetting the tare as you add ingredients.  All I've got is a little thing that will measure up to a 16 ounces.  It works just fine.  If I rinse the dishes as I go the clean up is quick and easy. 



For a liquid, drink-it-through-a-straw type smoothie, Alton's method of measuring the ingredients and putting them in the fridge overnight works perfectly. I like a thicker soft-serve, ice-cream consistency so I defrost the fruit lightly just before blending.
The nurtrion information is for a recipe for two smoothies made from 4 oz by weight of each: peach, blueberry, strawberry, 100% grape juice, and plain Greek yogurt.

A nice summer project would be to pick the fruit locally and store in the deep freeze.  I'm sure I can find U-pick places for the peaches, blueberries and strawberries.  I could even potentially get grape juice locally.  Just a couple more things to add to my plan to preserve!

This smoothie is just what I want for breakfast. It takes care of my thirst and I feel good that every ingredient is whole and healthy; no sugar added! Plus lots of antioxidants, fiber and nutrients from the fruit.

Do you make smoothies?  What's your favorite combination?



29 weeks (note to self: clean mirror)


Quick pregnancy update:  I'm now 30 weeks pregnant; nearing the end of the seventh month. People now ask me "When are you due?" as if it might be tomorrow.  Or maybe the dress I wore to Master Gardeners last night was a little too flow-y, but gosh darn it was comfortable.
My laptop no longer fits on my lap nor does the cat.  I worked a bit in the herb garden at the CSA yesterday and was pleased to find that I can still pull weeds with no problem although putting on my work boots was a little tricky. 
So far I don't have any real complaints. One interesting bit is that the peanut is transverse; laying sideways in utero.  In the next couple of weeks there should be a head down rotation. I would think there would be more room in there in a vertical position. 

With ten weeks or so to go we're stocking up.  I'm making cloth wipes (I think we have enough cloth diapers), learning how to make laundry detergent, adding more casserole type dishes to my repertoire and generally enjoying having two free hands. 

This post was included in Simple Lives Thursday.