I thought I'd share something that we make almost every day in our house as part of breakfast (sometimes it is breakfast for me and my husband!): the fruit shake, AKA the fruit smoothie! Why get an expensive smoothie from some place like Jamba Juice when you can make one at home in seconds for a fraction of the price? We always try to keep some frozen fruit on hand just for this purpose (bless you, Trader Joes). The children love it and it's an easy, painless, and delicious way to get everyone to eat all their fruit for a nutritionally balanced diet. Here's a basic recipe; amounts can vary depending on your taste or what's on hand.
Marin Mommies Fruit Shake
One banana
2 cups mixed frozen berries (I like to use Trader Joes' berry medley, but almost anything will do. Sometime I just use blueberries. Frozen pineapple and mango chunks work really well, too.)
1-2 cups orange juice
1 cup lowfat (or nonfat or whatever) vanilla or plain yogurt
Put all ingredients into blender jar and blend until smooth, about 1 minute (nobody like chunks in their smoothie). Use more or less orange juice depending on how thick and frosty you like it. Of course fresh fruit from the farmers' market would work great, too, but make sure you add some ice to the mix to make up for the frozen fruit.
