Summer Goodness of the Edible Variety

I don't know about you, but I hate eating when it's hot outside. Cooking the necessary three meals a day turns into an hour long trip to purgatory. Not only is cooking unenjoyable, but my appetite is off. A while back, my friend Sarah over at The Happy, Resourceful Home posted some smoothie recipes. I liked the idea but never went anywhere with it because frankly, I'm terrified of my blender. Thank my mom for this - I have this subconscious fear that I will forget to unplug the blender and chop my finger off, electrocute myself, or accidentally grind up my wooden stirrer. Oh, and to add to all that, I'm scared of cleaning it, too. Those blades! Way too close a proximity to my fingers. Well, the happy end to this story (and the purpose of this post) is that I overcame my fear of blenders (small round of applause) and am smitten with a smoothie-making craze.

Smoothies are the BEST way EVER to eat lots of veggies and fruits and never know it! For those of you with kids... I have never cajoled Greta into eating so much spinach except under the guise of a spinach-strawberry-banana smoothie. So get out your blenders, clean them up, hit the grocery store for a refridgerator's worth of fruits and veggies, and get ready for summer smoothies.

First of all, basic smoothie making techniques. I credit a few of these to Sarah. Start by blending your softest and wettest ingredient first or your blender will jamb. So start by adding your yogurt, coconut milk, fruit juice and blending that with the next softest ingredient (usually bananas or spinach). Next add your harder ingredients, like berries. Then put in the apples, carrots, pears, etc. If you like a really smooth smoothie (i.e., no chunks or grittiness), blend all this together on the "liquify" setting until the consistency is as you desire. Last of all, add your ice to taste and blend it on the "chop ice" setting. If you "liquify" the ice, it melts and your smoothie becomes watery.

All-purpose smoothie:

* As many handfuls of spinach as you want to stuff in your smoothie maker (spinach has next to no flavor and practically dissolves in the blender.
* A ripe banana or two
* Strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries; or peaches, nectarines or plums
* A serving of whole milk, unsweetened yoghurt or a cup of unsweetened kefir AND/OR
* A cup of coconut milk if you want to make the smoothie lactose-free
* A teaspoon of honey (Optional)
* About 2 handfuls of ice cubes.

Blend the yoghurt, kefir or coconut milk with the spinach. I usually use the "chop ice" setting or the "pulse" setting. Add the bananas. Add the berries. Add the honey. Blend on the "liquify" setting for a few seconds. Add the ice and let the machine pulse until the ice is blended. Pour into cups and enjoy!

Breakfast smoothie:

Just tried this out today and it was a hit with the husband. You can add whey protein or some sort of protein powder if you like that stuff. I can't stand the taste :) With this one, unless you don't mind gritty carrots in your smoothie, you should leave the blender on the liquify setting for longer before adding the ice.

* 1 cup yoghurt
* half a cup coconut milk
* 1 banana
* 1 chopped up apple
* 2 chopped up carrots
* 1 teaspoon of honey
* a pinch of cinnamon
* ice cubes to taste

Adults only smoothie:

* Simply Lemon lemonade, about half a cup
* lots of berries, raspberries, blueberries or strawberries are good
* chocolate syrup to taste
* a shot or two or three of rum
* ice
It's also called a daquerie :)