Smoothie of the Day

Maybe the title of this post is a bit of a misnomer; I don't make smoothies every day.  I should, since eating healthier is one of my 2011 resolutions.  Smoothies are such an easy way to have a couple servings of fruit and veggies all at once.  A girlfriend of mine told me she uses kale in her fruit smoothies, which sounded totally nasty to me.  But she assured me you could barely even notice the kale taste and it adds the supposedly important anti-oxidants and other "vital" nutrients. 

Orange was the theme this morning.  Looking in our freezer, I noticed the frozen mango chunks were starting to show signs of frost.  While I usually toss frost-bitten foods, I figured the other ingredients would mask any weird flavor.  Is that gross?  (Thankfully my assumption was correct!)  The bag of frozen peach slices was nearly empty so I grabbed that, too.  Unfortunately my husband chucked the last over-ripe banana.  (Over-ripe bananas add a nice extra sweetness to smoothies, I find.)

To the mango and peaches, I added carrot juice, almond milk, non-fat vanilla yogurt, milled flax seeds and some ground cinnamon.  After a few minutes in my amazingly sturdy Cuisinart blender, I enjoyed a delicious, frothy, fruity, orange treat.

I couldn't really discern the specific fruits, but the almond milk and cinnamon combo added an interesting but subtle, spicy warmth.

Perhaps I will shoot for a smoothie a day.  I guess that means a trip to the grocery in the morning before storm #57 hits tomorrow afternoon.  I'd better stock up on more frozen fruits - and maybe I'll give that kale a try.  I'll certainly let you know if I do.