Fruit Salad Smoothie

Lots of fruit along with a little plain yogurt and peach nectar makes this smoothie quick, easy and healthy. You can add whatever fruit you have on hand - fresh or frozen. At the cabin, soaking in some sun? Then maybe you want to kick it up a notch with the addition of a little tequila or vodka.

Makes one smoothie.

Ingredients

1 cup fruit - I used strawberry, orange & watermelon but any combo will do
1/2 cup peach nectar (or other juice or even water)
1/2 c plain yogurt
a handful of ice cubes if NOT using frozen fruit
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional but adds another level of flavor)

Instructions

Blend everything in blender or nutribullet until smooth. If too thick add more juice or water.

Watermelon Raspberry Lemon Refresher

What an amazing few days of great weather! We managed to finally put in our vegetable garden - tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, brussel sprouts, cucumbers, squash and peppers. It's not a very big garden but the kids love helping to plant everything and when (and if) all of the veggies grow they love picking them. There is simply no better way to get kids to try new veggies than growing them in your own backyard. They also realize the hard work it takes to grow them, and that things just don't magically appear in the grocery store! Best of all they learn that homegrown veggies usually taste 100x better than what we buy from chain stores.

With the heat of the weekend and all of the kids' hard work, we had to find a way to quench their thirst with a special drink and this watermelon refresher was perfect...especially since we served it in the the melon after taking out all of the juicy watermelon bits! A perfect end to a hard day and the perfect beginning to summer!

Ingredients

1 mini watermelon
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (or strawberries)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup ice cubes

Instructions

1. Cut off a tiny bit of the bottom of the mini watermelon. Just  enough so it sits evenly on a surface. Do nt cut into the fleshy part of the melon!
2. Cut an inch or 2 off the top of the watermelon.
3. Scoop out the inside flesh of the watermelon and set aside.
4. Add the scooped out watermelon, lemon juice, frozen or fresh fruit, yogurt and ice cubes to a blender or nutribullet.
5. Blend to desired consistency.
6. Pour back into the watermelon.
7. Add straw. Enjoy!

If you find it a bit tart you could add a tablespoon of honey.

Peanut Butter Cocoa Smoothie

Did you know a Canadian was the first to patent peanut butter?

In 1884, Marcellus Gilmore Edson (February 7, 1849 - March 6, 1940) from Montreal, Quebec was issued a patent for peanut butter. According to Wikipedia, “His cooled product had 'a consistency like that of butter, lard, or ointment' according to his patent application. He included the mixing of sugar into the paste so as to harden its consistency.”

As a child of the 70s, I grew up on Kraft dinner, lime soda and peanut butter and often watched The Six Million Dollar Man, Little House on the Prairie, & MASH. I'm sure there were healthier foods and other shows but that's what I remember. I also remember sometimes being allowed to eat dinner on our collapsible TV trays! Those were the days :)

Speaking of peanut butter, I don't eat it as much anymore but occasionally use it in my smoothies, including this one. When made with plain yogurt this smoothie has a tangy flavour that reminds me of sour cream ganache. If you use vanilla yogurt it will be milder and sweeter. Originally, I was going for a peanut butter cup type of flavour only to discover that I was running out of peanut butter so I went for more cocoa flavor. But feel free to add as much peanut butter as you want!

The great thing about this smoothie is that it will satisfy your sweet tooth and your chocolate craving at the same time - without the extra refined sugar and fat found in a chocolate bar or milkshake!

Makes 3 small smoothies.

Ingredients

2-3 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp cocoa
2/3 cup yogurt - plain or vanilla
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 medium banana
6 ice cubes

Instructions

Place everything in a blender or Nutribullet and blend until smooth.