Berry Banana Smoothie
Makes 2 servings. Recipe is from “Dinner Solved! 100 Ingenious Recipes That Make the Whole Family Happy, Including YOU” by Katie Workman (Workman Publishing, August 2015). Workman says a basic smoothie recipe is good to have as a template for creating your own smoothie. She says to use any berry and soft fruit you want. Add more fruit or ice to thicken it, or a bit more milk to thin it out.
1½ cups strawberries, blueberries or raspberries, fresh or frozen
1 banana, fresh or frozen, sliced into chunks
1 cup (8 ounces) plain Greek yogurt
½ cup milk
3 to 4 tablespoons honey, to taste
1 cup crushed ice
1. Place the berries, banana, yogurt, milk, honey and ice in a blender. Pulse a few times, then puree to desired texture.
2. Pour into glasses and serve.
Fork in the Road: To make a Ginger Berry Banana Smoothie, add 1 tablespoon minced, peeled fresh ginger to the blender. If you want to serve one plain smoothie, pour out half the mixture after pureeing the fruit, then add 1½ teaspoons minced ginger to the rest of the smoothie in the blender and puree that.
What the kids can do: Choose the berries or other fruit, slice the banana, drop things into the blender, puree with supervision.
Make ahead: This is best made right before drinking but can be kept chilled in an insulated container for several hours. Shake before opening the container.
Note: The decision to use fresh or frozen fruit depends on how thick you want the smoothie to be. Frozen will make for a more milkshake-thick smoothie, whereas fresh will be thickened up slightly by the ice but have a thinner texture. I like to freeze the banana, and use the berries fresh.
Vegan Variation: Skip the milk and yogurt and use 1 cup orange juice instead.