Beat the Summer Heat…With Cool Fruit Smoothies
On a hot summer day, a fruit smoothie can be a refreshing way to cool down and get a healthy meal-on-the-go. Fruit smoothies are blended, chilled beverages and usually combine fresh or frozen fruit with yogurt, making it a nutritious beverage for any time of the day.
Most smoothies use three to four simple ingredients and can be made to suit individual tastes. Fresh fruits are in abundance during the summer and are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber and disease-fighting phytochemicals. Smoothies are an ideal way to use over-ripe fruit such as bananas. The fruity base makes it easy to boost nutrients by adding healthy additions such as ground flax seed, whey protein powder, kefir, wheat germ, soy milk or tofu. Yogurt adds bone-building calcium, making smoothies a nutrient-packed snack or meal on-the-run for any age.
Fruit smoothies can be whipped up in seconds, making it a perfect solution for hectic schedules. If there’s not enough time during the week to whip up a smoothie, just make your favorite recipe up ahead of time and store in a plastic cup and bag and store in the freezer. You have a delicious, nutritious smoothie ready on your way out the door.
Blueberry Smoothie
A refreshing summertime treat.
All you need:
1 pint fresh blueberries or 2 cups frozen blueberries
1 c. pineapple-orange juice
1 container (6 oz) low-fat vanilla yogurt
2 tsp granulated sugar
All you do:
1. Combine blueberries, juice, yogurt and sugar in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute.
3. Serve immediately in tall glasses.
4. Serves 2
Daily nutritional values: 4% vitamin A, 80% vitamin C, 15% calcium, 2% iron
Nutrition information per serving: Calories: 230, Carbohydrate: 50 g, Cholesterol: 5 mg, Dietary Fiber: 4 g, Fat: 1.5 g, Protein: 6 g, Sodium: 75 mg
