I love the summer for so many reasons including more daylight hours and fun outdoor activities. Perhaps my favorite thing about summer is the access that I have to delicious seasonal fruits such as fresh blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and watermelon. Since the heat is currently raging in the city, I have been seeking refuge by enjoying light and refreshing fruit-based smoothies. Instead of just adding fruit and ice, I have been experimenting with various fresh herbs like rosemary and mint as well as with adding flax seeds and light sweeteners (like almond extract and honey) to compliment the healthy, natural flavors from the fruit. I hope that you enjoy these three refreshing fruit smoothies as you stay cool and healthy this summer.
Watermelon Smoothie
Yield: 2
Ingredients
• 3 cups unseeded watermelon chunks (or melon of choice)
• 1 cup of crushed ice
• 1/2 lime
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 3/4-tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp almond extract
Cooking Directions
- Cut the watermelon up into small chunks.
- Add the watermelon, ice, rosemary, lime, ginger and almond extract to a blender.
- Cover and blend until smooth.
Blueberry Mint Smoothie
Yield: 2
Ingredients
• 1 pint of blueberries
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh mint
• 1 cup of pomegranate juice
• 1 cup of crushed ice
• 1 tsp of honey
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
Cooking Directions
- Add blueberries, mint, pomegranate juice, flax seeds, honey and ice to a blender.
- Cover and blend until smooth.
Recipe Notes:
I used fresh berries but frozen is fine as well.
Triple Berry Mango Smoothie
Yield: 2
Ingredients
• ½ cup of crushed ice
• ½ cup of orange juice
• ½ cup of blueberries
• ½ cup of blackberries
• ½ cup of raspberries
• 1 mango, peeled and diced
• ½ cup of Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp of flax seed
Cooking Directions
- Peel open and cut up the mango into small chunks and place them into a blender.
- Add the blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, orange juice, flax seeds, ice and yogurt to the blender.
- Blend all of the ingredients until smooth.
Recipe Notes:
I used fresh berries but frozen is fine as well.
