Confession time. I don’t really like frozen blended drinks. My drinks are ordered almost solely over ice. No frozen margaritas. Definitely no thanks to frappuchinos and iced capps.
Because of this aversion, I always thought smoothies were, well, gross. Why would you blend perfectly wonderful fruit with ice?
When I had an overabundance of cherries and bananas the other day, I was at a loss of what to do. We’re on a health kick over here, so baking something decadent was mostly out of the question. It’s also summer, which means turning on the over is less than appealing.
That’s when I decided to give smoothies one last chance at redemption. But this was going to be on my terms. So, I divided the bananas and cherries into ziplock bags and threw them into the freezer.
The next day, I noticed that the strawberries were also a little worse for the wear. They too would have a meeting with the blender. With that, I added the frozen bananas and cherries, the slightly wilted strawberries and a little vanilla almond milk to the blender.
I now had a very beautiful fuchsia drink, speckled with dark purple bits of cherry. After a tentative first sip, I was sold. By freezing the fruit, you avoid the dreaded ice chunks. It was actually more of a milkshake consistency (when the milkshake is a little thawed and easily drinkable) than anything.
The vanilla almond milk also added a little extra sweetness and creaminess to the smoothie. Not to mention that you’re also getting a good couple of servings of fruit in what tastes like an indulgence.
I’d call that a win.
- 1 banana, sliced and frozen
- 1 cup cherries, pitted and frozen
- 1 cup strawberries, stems removed
- 1/2-1 cup vanilla almond milk
- Place all of the ingredients in a blender, beginning with 1/2 cup of almond milk. Blend at high. If the mixture seems too thick, add more almond milk and blend again.
- Once the mixture is smooth, divide in two glasses and enjoy.
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