In Love with Smoothies...

Smoothies are great for a quick breakfast or pre/post-workout snacks. My love affair with smoothies started in college in 1995 when I had my first Jamba Juice smoothie. I can't say the same for the wheat germ juice shot! That tasted like mowed lawn - no joke!

Anyway, here are a couple recipes for you to try. These two recipes are high in heart-healthy potassium found in melon, pumpkin, banana, and yogurt.

Smoothies are a great way to use ripe fruit. I got a over-ripe honeydew in my produce box this summer and came up an idea to use it in a smoothie. It's very mild in flavor and delicious. Also, I get tons of bananas in my box. I freeze the bananas when ripe and use them in smoothies or defrost for baking banana bread or energy bars. To freeze bananas peel, cut in half, then place in a freezer bag. It's really easy. And frozen bananas are great for smoothies to add body.

Vanilla-Honeydew Smoothie
A. Berkey
Serves 1

1 cup cubed honeydew melon
1/4 cup natural lowfat vanilla yogurt
2 tbs water
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
Dash of stevia powder or drop of honey to sweeten

Process ingredients in the blender. For colder version, add 1/4 cup crushed ice. Serve immediately.

Banana Pumpkin Smoothie
Cooking Light - "The combination of banana, pumpkin, yogurt, and orange juice gives this breakfast beverage 740 milligrams of potassium per serving. "
Serves 2

1 cup natural low-fat vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree, (chilled)
1/2 cup crushed ice cubes
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 tbs brown sugar (or honey)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Dash cloves
1 ripe frozen banana

Combine yogurt and next 8 ingredients (through banana) in a blender, and process until smooth. Garnish with dash of ground cinnamon, if desired. Serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

CALORIES 218(9% from fat); FAT 2.2g (sat 1.1g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 8.4g; CHOLESTEROL 6mg; CALCIUM 243mg; SODIUM 87mg; FIBER 5.5g; IRON 1.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44.5g