Necessity is the mother of invention. I’ve been on a smoothie kick lately all due to one of those days when I had nothing in my fridge but was starving. I rummaged through my pantry about 6 times hoping something would magically appear but ended up staring at an empty abyss. So I took out my blender and put everything I had in it: a bit of frozen fruit, one last container of yogurt and a dose of fresh juice. What came out was so addicting I haven’t been able to stop slurping it down since.

My favorite thing about smoothies is, of course, that they taste so dang good but they’re also good for you and really low in calories, as long as you stear clear from those giant ones at smoothie stores. Here I use one of those “green” juice blends that include juices and fresh fruit along with spinach, parsley, wheat grass, barley grass, blue green algae, spirulina, broccoli and ginger. Trader Joe’s makes as good one but I especially love Odwalla’s, which they’ve dubbed “Superfood”. With all of these health benefits it feels like having a smoothie is cheating…this delicious and healthy?!

I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw this picture so I HAD to post it.

You can mix and match your favorite fruits, yogurt and juices, but this is a good place to start:

makes 1 serving
1/2 cup frozen cut mango
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries (blueberry, blackberry, raspberry)
4 oz. fat free strawberry yogurt
1/2 cup “green” juice(refer to above), or more if necessary

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add a bit more juice if necessary in order to help it blend.