A Summer Smoothie

melon and berry delights

It goes without saying that in summer, we consume a lot of smoothies. Sometimes the smoothies are the only source of our fruit intake for the entire day, until after dinner, when I love to serve slices of melon, grapes, or even a plate of fresh berries and a pot of yoghurt.

Because I make them on an almost daily basis in summer, they vary in content. The smoothie made right after fruit and vegetable shopping for the week can be different to the one made at the end of the week. But what I always do is stash punnets of berries in the freezer. Just before bananas fully ripen, I peel them, cover snugly in cling film and freeze- they give a lovely Slush puppy coolth and thicken the smoothie too.

If you follow me on Twitter, you’d know that I adore watermelon. When the fruit is at it’s prime over Dececmber and January,and even February in this country, I literally can not get enough. They have to be sweet though. Few things are more disappointing than a melon that promises crisp summer sweetness but fails to deliver!

I found myself in the enviable position recently of having too much perfectly sweet and heartbreakingly crisp (soggy melon is a big no-no) watermelon, so I cling-filmed the slices and froze them.

Enter this beauty:

Frozen Watermelon and Berry Smoothie

all shook up

Ingredients

Serves 2 large or 4 small glasses

250ml frozen watermelon, cut into cubes

250ml mixed berries: I used raspberries, blackberries and blueberries

6-8 mint leaves

300ml low fat yoghurt-plain, strawberry or cherry would work.

200ml apple or white grape juice, cold is preferable

100ml cold water, if the consistency is too thick

Method

Add all ingredients, except the water into a jug and blend with hand held stick blender or in a blender (or smoothie maker if you have one). Add water or more juice if you desire.

*Tips:

  •  a bit of chopped ginger adds a nice zing. More traditionally it’s combined with apple, pear, mint and beetroot juices, but I find it works in my smoothies, because I’m partial to it.
  • Mint will add a beautiful dimension to a berry smoothie, don’t leave it out if you can
  • No time for breakfast? Add 2 T of instant oats to the juice and blend together.Breakfast in a delicious slurp! 
 
 
 
 
 

middle of the week smoothie


Watermelon