Magical Mama Rebecca wrote in to suggest one of our favorite treats. Smoothies! Here’s how they make them at their house….
Alright, here is a real kid-pleaser for summer that is so refreshing and filling, and pretty healthy too. (You might already have something like this somewhere, so if you do, ignore this.) Whenever you have some bananas that are starting to get tired, don’t bake banana bread; peel them and throw them in a ziploc and into the freezer. Always keep in your fridge some plain whole yogurt and keep some kind of frozen berries in your freezer. Costco has huge bags of them for cheap. Then when it’s hot and you can’t bear it anymore, throw into your blender a couple of frozen bananas, some yogurt, a handful of berries, and then whatever little odds and ends you’d like to use such as a peach, kiwi, some kind of juice to thin it a bit, some leftover bit of sorbet or ice cream, you name it. Sometimes we go fancy and put them in fancy glasses (that I bought at Ross for a dollar) and set some fruit on the rim or garnish with berries, and serve with a straw. Make a large batch and make the extras into popsicles. It’s way better than the ones you can buy–not counting Haagen Dazs bars, that is. My dh who is very picky about food begs me to make these.
We are long-time fans of smoothies here too. We make them very similarly to Rebecca’s except I usually put in a couple of spoonfuls of frozen juice concentrate (to sweeten and intensify the flavor and color) and add milk or soy milk as the liquid. We’ve made them a million ways though and they’re virtually always a huge hit. Like Rebecca, I always have bags of bananas and berries in my freezer for these fabulous quick treats. 🙂
Fill blender half full with ice and add a few big scoops of frozen 100% juice concentrate. Pour in some water and blend, adding more water a little at a time until it’s the right consistency. Add more juice concentrate to taste.
Follow the recipe above, but blend in 1 or 2 bananas. The banana adds a bit of smooth sweetness and some extra nutrition too.
Mix 2 frozen bananas (chopped into chunks), one cup of vanilla yogurt and one cup of frozen berries. Add a bit of milk or water to get the right consistency and some frozen juice concentrate if desired (it gives it more sweetness, flavor and color).
Thanks Rebecca!
I love the idea of putting them in fancy glasses too!
Here’s some of our recipes for smoothies and their cousins (slushies!) from an old Magical Childhood newsletter, for some variations…
We make tons of smoothies and slushies around here. They’re quick, easy, healthy and fun. Here’s a few basic recipes that are hits at our house.
Fruit slushie
Fill blender half full with ice and add a few big scoops of frozen 100% juice concentrate. Pour in some water and blend, adding more water a little at a time until it’s the right consistency. Add more juice concentrate to taste.
Banana-fruit slushie
Follow the recipe above, but blend in 1 or 2 bananas. The banana adds a bit of smooth sweetness and some extra nutrition too.
Berry blast
Mix frozen strawberries, one banana and some juice, water or milk. Add a touch of sugar or honey if your berries are on the sour side.
Yogurt smoothie
Mix 2 frozen bananas (chopped into chunks), one cup of vanilla yogurt and one cup of frozen berries. Add a bit of milk or water to get the right consistency and some frozen juice concentrate if desired (it gives it more sweetness, flavor and color).
All of these can easily be adapted for vegans and milk allergic kids too, by using ingredients like rice milk and soy yogurt.
Thanks Rebecca!
Banana Smoothie Things
I made a banana smoothie this morning that rocked! I cut up enough bananas for 4 smoothies into bite sized peices. (I used 5 bananas) I froze them for 2 days because I forgot about them. Then I evenly distributed the bananas into our blender glasses. I covered them with milk, put in a splash of vanilla and a good squirt of chocolate syrup. (You can buy it or make it yourself). Blended and voila! Beautyful, frothy, creamy banana smoothie things. (Not really a smoothie but not really a shake.)
Gerky