Raspberry Week: Smoothies

Sometimes I want a milkshake, but I know I should make a healthier choice.

I have been making the healthier choice a lot the past week.  And guzzling it all down myself :)



Here's how I make smoothies.  It is somewhat controversial at our house, as Tim doesn't like the "icy" quality of my style.  He prefers something more smooth and creamy.  I tell him to go make a milkshake, if that's what he wants, but I'm making smoothies, dangit!  Ok, that conversation has never really happened.  But he doesn't like this kind of smoothies.

As I discussed yesterday, I am working my way through a gallon of raspberries, and I need to move quickly before they spoil. 

These raspberries were frozen into one big glob, so anything calling for fresh raspberries is mostly out of the question... there is no separating these raspberries from each other.  So these raspberries need to be baked, cooked, or... blended :)

Start with the ice cubes.  I put about 4 into the blender.  If they are on the bottom, the blades can get to them first to crush them.

Then put in your raspberries.  I think this was about half of a cup.  It ended up having a VERY strong raspberry flavor, so you wouldn't need to use so many.

Then an individual size container of yogurt.  I am a matchy-matchy type of person, so I like to have the flavor of the yogurt match the fruit in the smoothie, but you don't have to be like that.  You could use plain or vanilla, or even get a little crazy and use blackberry or strawberry flavored, or maybe even peach or lemon.  But that's a little to wild for my taste today.

Now, I know that yogurt comes in different size containers, but this is not an exact science.  So use what you have.  If you are making smoothies for 3 or 4 people, you may even want to put in two containers of yogurt.  I'm flexible like that.

Then put in some milk.

And, if you want, a little bit of honey or sugar for sweetener.  This is what I use.

Then pulse, pulse, pulse... whirl, whirl, whirl, and BAM!  Smoothies!  This batch made enough for two people to have plenty, but I drank it all myself.  Tim doesn't like it anyway.

Sometimes a puff of whipped cream on top helps things go down a little more smoothly.

You could do this with all kinds of fruit.  I like peach and strawberry a lot, too.  I find it a great way to get in my dairy.  Not that I have any trouble getting in enough dairy.  And, in my personal opinion, the health benefits of dairy are a little overrated.  Maybe I will rant and rave about that another day.  For now, I have more raspberries to deal with.