Smoothiepolitan

In these times we are very lucky to have a wide assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables at our disposal throughout the year.  Seasonal produce is a more critical factor when buying local, but really, we do have the ability to buy most anything at any time.

Also, we are a bit more discerning about our fresh foods.  We want them to be picture perfect, smell and feel fresh, while we prefer to buy them from a local farmer, some will settle for simply grown in this country and for others, all bets are off if they simply want an exotic hybrid in January.

Unfortunately, we also waste a large amount of food.  Though I have no real statistics handy, I am sure that in my house, we waste enough food to feed another human per year.  This may be a result of over-buying, improper storage or simply poor planning.  Whatever the cause, I am aware and trying to reduce the waste.  I have used a serrated knife to shave away the offending end of bread so that it is so thin, the remaining slice can still be toasted.  I frequently re-purpose cooked left-overs and now, I am policing the produce.

Strawberries were recently on sale and so I bought a full quart.  I love the look, smell, feel, everything about this wonderful fruit.  Though my older son prefers to "doctor" the berries with a Nutella dip, a coating of sugar or a melted chocolate chip sauce, he does eat them as well.  I watched the berries disappear except for maybe a dozen that were starting to lose their luster and worried they would soon be wasted.  What to do?

Smoothies!!

The almost unwanted strawberries, a fistful of blueberries, one banana,  a few ice cubes and a splash of milk... whir, whir, whir

No, no yogurt, no ice cream, nothing but fruit and a splash of milk.

                   

The fun part for me was putting mine in a martini glass.  Smoothies don't have to be boring and no one will ever know what the fruit looked like before it went in.  I've also used the bananas that everyone passes by.  As an extra bonus, hubby with high cholesterol will drink one and I feel good about sneaking some fruit in his diet!