smoothies and shakes

The summer has kind of started (depending on the day) and so have our favorite summer treats.  All our kids and daycare kids love when I make smoothies and can't get enough of them, even one picky eater who normally doesn't like most fruits.  So it is usually our morning or afternoon snack on a warm day.  The other kind of drink they love is a "strawberry shake" and it is pretty much strawberry milk made in a new and yummy way.  Here is my recipes if you want to give it a try.  It is nice to have a good sturdy blender to make these though.

Yogurt smoothie:
 - 6 oz yogurt, flavored
 - plain yogurt to add
 - 1 banana
 - handful of any frozen fruit
 - any extra fresh fruit you have (haven't tried apples though)
 - a big handful of spinach leaves
 - fruit juice

Put all the ingredients into the blender and keep adding fruit juice until it is the right consistency.  I like mine pretty thick.  Your kids will not have any idea that spinach is in it because you can't taste it at all.  If you want to make it healthier skip the flavored yogurt and use only the plain one but it is not very sweet then and some kids may not like it that way.

Our strawberry milkshake:
- milk
- Nestle instant Strawberry powder ( it is a lot healthier choice than the syrups)
- ice cubes
- handful of frozen strawberries

Pour milk into the blender, add a couple spoons of the powder and ice.  Blend well and taste to see if it is sweet enough.  You don't want it to be bright pink or else it will be too sweet.  But I do add more powder as I keep blending because I usually put too little at first.  You can skip the frozen strawberries but if I have them I put them in because it makes it a little better.

Serve in big glasses with straws and enjoy!

strawberry-banana-blackberry-kiwi smoothie