Frozen Fruit Smoothies

A couple of years ago I had an eye opening moment. A co-worker had moved to China and was sharing the most amazing photos of her life overseas. I literally had an a-ha (that might be pretty obvious to you) that beauty is everywhere. I stepped outside and took photos of early spring which helped me appreciate the beauty in my neck-of-the woods!

This morning when I headed outside with my camera, it was like coming home to find little bits of spring awakening. After such wrenching stories in the news over the past few months, these little bits of nature are busy doing what they do. (The pink blossom is an apple blossom. This is the first year the apple tree will be producing apples. Quite an accomplishment for the little espalier tree! You go tree!)

There's a green glow of newly un-flolded leaves to the trees and the hillsides are fresh and spring-green. The leaves above are from a lilac bush. The purple flowers are sweet little hyacinths. Have you ever caught the scent of a hyacinth? They're a little headier than honeysuckle. In Utah hyacinths are one of the earliest blooming flowers.

Yesterday I took a leap and made a smoothie with oatmeal in it. I was thinking "This is gonna be gross." but decided to try it because it was bound to be "healthful" right? It turned out that my family and I both liked the smoothie and it was easy to make (perfect for when you're in a hurry).

Frozen Fruit Smoothie

1 ripe banana

1 C frozen fruit (mango, 
blackberries, blueberries, or strawberries)

2 heaped T plain yogurt (I used some lemon yogurt I had on hand)

1/4 C quick cook oats (not instant)

1 C 1% milk, soy milk, or apple juice

5 ice cubes

Combine ingredients and blend well. I blended it on different speeds to make sure the oatmeal was pureed into wee little bits, too small to detect. If it's too thick for your taste just add a little milk and blend it in. Get more ideas and tips for this smoothie on Jamie's website. (Thank you Jamie!)

Serves: 2

Recipe Source: Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution: Frozen Fruit Smoothies

I poured the pretty-purple-goodness into a reusable travel mug and my breakfast was ready "to-go." Mmmm! The smoothie was sweeter than I would have imagined with no sugar, but also very light.

I hope you'll give these a try too! :)

Suz