Fruit and Yogurt Smoothie

Like most people here, I was thrilled when we had a few days of lower temperatures AND low humidity. It doesn't mean I had good hair days, but it was lovely in the morning hours and I could send the kids outside without the fear of them passing out from heat exhaustion.

Well, the humidity came back a few days ago. Bummer. We have at least another month of 90 degree weather, so let's celebrate (lol) by making smoothies.

I really wish I had thought of this when I was pregnant with my last 3 babies. I know I could have kept a smoothie down, and even added some protein powder for extra nutrition. Anyone out there who's been pregnant will know what I mean, and I don't have to explain any further, right?

My smoothie run (which lasted 3 weeks--yes, I had a smoothie every morning for 3 weeks) started when the store had containers of blueberries for 99 cents a pint. What a deal! I bought 9 pints over the course of a week, and Gabriel probably ate 3 pints worth. Seriously, that baby was in blueberry heaven-- he couldn't get enough of them.

I made a blueberry cobbler with 3 pints, and was contemplating what to do with the rest. No way was I going to let them go to waste. I then remembered my MIL making a blueberry smoothie for herself last time she came for a visit. I pulled out my blender, put in some blueberries, added a container of low-fat peach yogurt, and a a handful of ice cubes.

The result? Mmmm....creamy, cold, and delicious. I had a couple of ripe mangoes to use up, so the next morning, I made a blueberry mango smoothie. Awesome. I quickly discovered almost any combination of fruit and yogurt would work. So you can really tailor this to your liking, and make it any way you want to.

You really need a good blender for this, one that crushes ice easily. If you don't have one, Christmas is right around the corner...

I think my favorite turned out to be a peach smoothie with low-fat white chocolate strawberry yogurt. I didn't even bother to peel the peaches, just threw 'em in skin-on. The prettiest was anything with fresh blueberries. I could kick myself for not taking a picture of one-- but I took a pic of a peach smoothie so you could see it. Anyway, here's the recipe. Oh, and Gabriel LOVED my smoothies. Every time I'd fire up the blender, he'd come running to beg :-)

Fruit and Yogurt Smoothie

1 6 ounce container of regular or low-fat fruit yogurt (your choice)

1/2 to 1 cup of fresh fruit of choice, sliced into bite-sized pieces (use seasonal fruit to save $)

8-10 ice cubes

A good blender, able to crush ice with a single push of a button

Put in the yogurt and fruit into the blender. Blend on "high" or "crush ice" for about 30 seconds. You make have to give your blender a little shake, or stop the blender, and push the ingredients down to get it combined. Once that is well blended, add your ice, and blend again for about 30 seconds to one minute, depending how powerful your blender is. Here's a picture of a peach smoothie, and one of my cute little begger, having his share. I made a strawberry one a few days later.

Pour into a tall glass, add a straw, and enjoy!

God bless your table tonight!