Mix Fruit Smoothie

What would be a great way to start your day than to have a glassful of smoothie on the breakfast table (who told you its only for kids?). A perfect drink to appreciate the blender you have just got yourself. A smoothie is not only wonderful in taste but also it is full of calcium much needed (and you don’t find it much in other foods you have) in our day to day life.

I love to try my smoothie in as many combinations and flavors as I can have. The best part is you can at any instant replace the basic ingredients with the fruits you like the most. My most favorite smoothie recipe is the Fruit & Yogurt Smoothie.

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup of your child's favorite fruit, such as peaches, bananas, pineapples, strawberries, mangos, etc.
• 3/4 cup of yogurt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

Preparation :

• Peel the fruit, if required, and cut them up into small pieces.
• Put all of the ingredients into a blender and puree them together until smooth.
• Pour into a chilled glass and serve with a straw.
• Keep in mind that you may have to add ice or use frozen fruit if you really want to serve it cold. Also, a banana may be needed to get the smoothie to the right consistency (thick and creamy).

Healthy Smoothie Recipe Ideas
Although a good source of fruit, plus calcium and other vitamins and minerals, the above Smoothie recipe is high in fat and sugar. For a healthy smoothie, you can:

• Use nonfat yogurt
• use skim milk
• use an artificial sweetener
• add a supplement, such as Carnation Instant Breakfast Mix, to get more vitamins, minerals and calories into your smoothie
• keep the skin on when using fruits like apples and pears to get extra fiber into your smoothie

Alternative Smoothie Recipe Ideas

• If your child doesn't like this fruit yogurt smoothie recipe, or in order to offer some variety, you might consider:
• using ice cream instead of yogurt, although then you basically have a milk shake and not a smoothie
• making a soy smoothie using soy yogurt and either soy milk (or rice milk) instead of cow's milk and regular yogurt if your child has a milk allergy
• using 100% fruit juice instead of milk and yogurt. If you use orange juice that is high in calcium, this smoothie becomes a good way for kids with milk allergies to get their calcium.
• using honey instead of sugar
• adding peanut butter to add more protein to your smoothie (goes best with a banana as the other main ingredient)