Day #3 of Smoothie Week – Berry Breakfast Blend

You know those people who wake up just as the sun is rising and a crisp new day begins, jog a few laps around the neighborhood and pick the newspaper up on their way back in the house, throw together an energizing breakfast smoothie and then drive to work for the day?

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That’s not me! In fact, my friends and family will tell you that I’m grizzlier than a bear when awoken…

But I will accept the energizing breakfast smoothie – thanks!

Today’s smoothie is lightly sweetened, but rich in fruit, fiber and dairy. It’s a little more complex than my Blue Afternoon smoothie, but it’s still very easy to put together and enjoy. It combines my preferred frozen fruit with a bit of fresh fruit (blueberries) so that I’m still able to buy and use all those great blueberries on sale right now.

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Unlike Edwin I don’t use juice, so if you’re on the fence about which method you prefer try experimenting with both. My base here is yogurt and skim milk. The yogurt gives the smoothie a little extra kick, but don’t worry about it tasting too “yogurty,” to put it elegantly.

To answer a question I’ve received – I typically wrap my peeled bananas in foil to freeze them, but I’d also stored peeled bananas in a gallon ziploc freezer bag. You want to make sure that your bananas don’t freeze together, get freezer burn, or turn dark brown too quickly.

Hope you’re enjoying Smoothie Week so far! Please let us know how your experiments are going – or if you have your own concoction that we should check out!

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Berry Breakfast Blend
makes about 3 servings

1 heaping cup plain non-fat yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
2 medium frozen bananas
1 cup frozen strawberry puree
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon wheat germ/bran
1 tablespoon simple syrup (it incorporates better than sugar)

Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until desired consistency is reached.

I’m a very simple man when it comes to smoothies. While occasionally I’ll go all out with a variety of ingredients or try to conjure up some flavor like key lime pie, usually I go for the classics; the expected. I first started making smoothies after reading (and watching) one of Mark Bittman’s posts at the New York Times. Bittman is all about simple; getting straight to the flavor without a lot of culinary magic.

Frozen Fruit for Smoothie!

I like fruity drinks, so I tend to opt for the banana over the yogurt and very rarely use any milk. I find juice to pack the best punch for what I’m going for but often go to a powdered drink like Crystal Light. I grew up on the stuff so maybe it’s just a preference, but I find it works well and is low on calories.

The cherries in this recipe bring out a sweetness with the strawberries (it’s hard to tell there’s cherry in there) and of course pairing that with banana is classic. I love a good lemonade so I top it off with that. This is the one I always come back to.

Strawberry Lemon Smoothie

Strawberry Lemon Smoothie
I tend to skimp on the initial amount of juice I use at the start and add it to get the thickness I want. You can always add more but of course can’t take any out.

2 cups frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen cherries
1/2 frozen banana
lemonade

Combine the frozen fruit into a blender and add enough lemonade to cover two inches past the top of the fruit. Blend, adding lemonade accordingly. Servers 3-4 16 ounce glasses, depending on your preferred thickness. Enjoy.

Lightened Up Strawberry Cake

It seems fitting to share this cake today, just after father’s day, because this is a cake I worked on with my father in mind.

batter that looks and tastes like strawberry ice cream

I’ve mentioned before that my dad adheres to an extremely strict and healthy diet (no eggs, butter, oil, cheese, etc.). This is hard for me, because I think trying to make desserts healthier is a slippery slope. I’ve been scorned by too many dry bran muffins and eggless applesauce cakes.

batter

However, I saw a recipe for a Pink Lady Cake on Smitten Kitchen, and I thought it might translate well to a healthier version. Instead of a large triple layer cake I decided to cut down on the portions and make it into a bundt cake. I also used egg white substitute and I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter’s new Cooking & Baking sticks.

lightened batter

I also left out the cream cheese frosting. The cake was so moist that a rich frosting wasn’t necessary (nor did it fit with my plans of being healthy!). This is great with just some fat free Cool Whip and fresh sliced strawberries. Enjoy!

lightened strawberry cake

Lightened Up Strawberry Cake
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 5/8 teaspoons baking powder
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter’s new Cooking & Baking sticks, room temperature
3/4 cups pureed frozen strawberries
equivalent of 4 egg whites using Egg White Substitute
1/3 cup non-fat milk
2 drops red food dye (makes it nice and pink)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and lightly flour bundt pan.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. Add room temperature butter and strawberry puree; mix to blend the ingredients. Raise speed to medium and beat a few minutes until fluffy (at this point, Smitten says, the batter looks like strawberry ice cream and warns not to try it – and she is not lying! It’s delicious!).

In another large bowl, whisk substitute egg whites, milk and red food dye to blend. Add the whites batter gradually, scraping down the sides of the bowl well periodically and mixing only until combined. Pour batter into bundt pan.

Bake for about 40-45 minutes (keep an eye on it though to prevent overbaking), or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a wire racks to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with a dollop of cool with and fresh strawberry slices.

Day #4 of Rainbow Week – Tropical Fruit Salad

You’re looking at day four of our Rainbow Week series. Click here to start on day one.

Need a little break from baked goods? Rainbow cakes are a lot of fun and make for great eye candy, but there are other options for impressive and vibrant food as well.

pineappletoss

strawberriesoverflowing

I hijacked this fruit salad recipe from my mom. In fact, I took the photos for this post the last time she made it (which I hope made for some cool action shots). I love the fruit salads that she makes because they always have very sweet and excellent glazes. This one packs a little more punch than some of my other favorites because it comes with tequila!

pouring

The tequila is noticeable, but not overbearing. You could leave it out if you really wanted to, but why? This recipe makes a very large bowl of fruit – perfect for entertaining at cookouts or dinner parties. If you’d like to adapt it to every day use, simply cut the recipe in half.

fruitsalad

You can probably tell this from the photos, but if you do decide to make a large batch, make sure you use the appropriate size bowl. We ran into some overflowing problems and had to transfer the fruit to a larger, wider bowl so that we could toss it with the glaze.

tropicalsalad

Tropical Fruit Salad
Adapted from Sandra Jackson-Work’s “Cooking with Friends” submission to Betty Crocker’s “CELEBRATE!” (April 2000, #161)

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Key lime juice
2 to 3 tablespoons tequila
1 teaspoon fresh grated lime peel
14 cups cut-up fresh fruit – strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, kiwi, honey dew melon, red grapes

Heat sugar and water to boiling in small saucepan. Reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for approximately 2 minutes, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and tequila.

Let stand to cool. Cover and refrigerate for approximately 2 hours.

Stir in lime peel. Carefully toss fruit and lime mixture. Serve immediately.

Or, click here for a version without tequila (boo!).