A Toast to Spring

Alright, let me make this clear and get it out in the open before anything gets misconstrued.

I’m no smoothie maker.

I was never really big on the smoothie scene. I don’t have a huge, $300 blender that has its own infomercial. I’m just a dude that likes fruit. That’s it. No, I’m not converting my food blog to a smoothie blog. Until my $20 blender that I don’t even remember buying burns out and dies, don’t expect me to get too invested in this game. I don’t even know if it was $20. I said that because it just looks like it costs that much. And don’t come to me for any sort of guidance unless it has to do with this post. Baby steps, people. Let me get there.

Why am I even bothering then? Well, because I liked the way it came out. Nothing fancy about it, nothing crazy in the ingredients. And it probably won’t blow your mind; it’s just good.

And it’s the first day of spring!! So what better way to welcome it than a nice, fruity smoothie? ¡Salud!

Puréed Cheshire Cat   (Yes, I’m calling it that)

           3/4 cup ~ Frozen Mixed Berries
               1 each ~ Fresh Banana
            1/2 cup ~ Plain Yogurt
            1/4 cup ~ Old Fashioned Oats
            1/4 cup ~ Milk
            1/4 cup ~ Fruit Juice
3/4 teaspoon ~ Cinnamon
             a pinch ~ Nutmeg, freshly grated
      1 teaspoon ~ Sugar or Honey
                                 A few ice cubes

Look, I’m not going to sit here and tell you how to blend a smoothie. If you really don’t know how to make one, there is absolutely nothing I can do to help you in life.

I will tell you that I used Juicy Juice Fruit Punch as the Fruit Juice. But I’ve used Orange Juice in the past and it came out good too. Also, the mixed berries contain Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries and Raspberries. It’s a pack I picked up in Target. I’m using frozen because they’re easier to keep in this house than fresh fruit.

And by easier, I mean cheaper.

Also, in my smoothie research (yes, I researched how to make smoothies, it’s a bad habit I have), I found that frozen fruits are in fact better than fresh fruit when it comes to nutrients. Reason being is when fresh fruit is picked, in order for it to last from the grower, to the shelf, to us, it has to be picked before it’s ripe. And not letting it fully ripen doesn’t allow whatever it is to become fully enriched the way nature intended.

Frozen fruit on the other hand, is picked when it is fully ripened. Then it’s frozen, shipped and used whenever you decide to use them. And whenever you do, they’ll have all the nutrients they had just like the day they were picked. Think Sylvester Stallone and how he was cryogenically frozen in Demolition Man, then he defrosted and it was like he never aged. Like freaking magic. But more science-y.

Look at me! Not knowing anything about smoothies and still teaching you stuff!

Wanna learn more? Here’s a nifty little chart I found on Pinterest that breaks down what you need for a smoothie:

Freaking Pinterest. So handy if you can navigate around all the nail polish pins.

Let me know if you like this smoothie post thing. I really do want to get into making more of them and more often. I’m in it for the good stuff. I want to start eating more balanced and when I have a smoothie it usually accompanies a slice of peanut butter toast and it replaces a meal.

Mmmm… Melted peanut butter..

And when I get comfortable I’ll start going all mad scientist and use all sorts of ingredients like vanilla extract, iced coffee or cocoa powder (hey, chocolate is good for you, you know). It should be fun. I look forward to it!

Hope everyone enjoys spring! Go say hi to a butterfly or something..