Looking to cool off on a hot summer day? For the rest of the week, 12 Tomatoes is here to give you fun food tips and recipes to help keep cool! Today: Smoothies.
Do you know the best part about smoothies? Everything. They're a great way to get kids to have their daily allotment of fruits (or vegetables if you can sneak them in there) and they're decently easy to make. All you need is a blender, and sometimes just a bit of preparation.
Tips
A common staple for a many smoothie recipes is ice. Unfortunately, if you leave ice too long it obviously melts and you end up with a strange mixture of water and fruit puree. One way to solve this is to freeze fruit juice before hand. A personal favorite of mine is either fresh orange juice or apple juice.
If you've made too much smoothie and end up with leftovers, don't toss them! Pour them into small, 3-5 oz. wax, paper cups, cover the top with plastic wrap, then shove a popsicle stick through the top. Put the cups in the freezer and serve as smoothie pops in the future. Just tear away the paper and enjoy!
Freeze the fruit before making the smoothie. This will help with the puree process as well as keeping the beverage a bit cooler. Better yet, you can buy ahead, freeze the fruit, and not worry so much about your food going bad before you decide to serve the drinks.
Recipes
- California Smoothie
- 7 large strawberries
- 8 oz lemon yogurt
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- Berry Good Smoothie
- 1 medium, ripe banana
- 3 1/2 cups berries
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup white cranberry juice or apple juice
- a pinch of table salt
- 3-6 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 ice cubes
- Chocopeanutbanana Smoothie
- 1 banana
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
- Melon Smoothie
- 1/4 cantaloupe - peeled, seeded and cubed
- 1/4 honeydew melon - peeled, seeded and cubed
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Orange Cream Smoothie
- 2 cups orange segments
- 1 cup milk
- 1 banana
- vanilla to taste
- 3 cubes ice
- Tropical Fruit Smoothie
- 1 medium banana
- 3 1/2 cups mango, peeled, seeded, and diced
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 2/3 cup apple juice
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 ice cubes
With all these recipes, preparation is pretty simple. Combine all the incredients in a blender, puree for about 10-15 seconds in general, pour into glasses and serve. These ingredients should be adjusted to taste, as some people will prefer sweeter or more acidic drinks. One of the best parts of smoothie making is experimenting.
Enjoy!
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