Mom's Super Smoothie

I tell the kids it's my Super Smoothie because it's soooooo good.

But my real motive is to get some fruits into my meat-and-potatoes boy. Really, it's ridiculous. He'll eat the tiniest bites of anything green only under protest, and any fruit other than apples is pretty much off his list.

But, thank goodness, he likes these smoothies! And so do the other kids. Even The Husband will ask for a go-cup of Smoothie for the commute.

Mom's Super Smoothie

Frozen strawberries (about a cupful or two)
Frozen banana (1 or 2)
V-8 Fusion Strawberry-Banana juice (if you're a food purist, I'm sure you can find something organic, but this works for me, and I love that it sneaks some veggies in there)
1 large scoop whey protein powder
2 tsps. natural psillium fiber (I use orange flavored)
Sneaky addition: 2 Tbsp. flax oil

Put in the blender and whirl away.

The flax oil was great when I started adding it last winter; the kids never noticed, and it was great for them to get those Omega oils. But then, I started to suspect that my son was allergic to it. His lips would get fiercely chapped and raw, which was counter-intuitive since I figured the oil would actually help with dry skin. Oh well. I'd try cod-liver oil but I'm pretty sure they'd notice the taste... ugh.

And the fiber... another sneaky addition! Can't hurt.

I buy big bags of frozen fruit (Nature's Blessed) from my local orchard but I've seen a few of their products at the grocery store, too. They are SO good, and not too expensive. I buy bananas on sale when they're just a little too ripe and they get bundled together and marked down, then stick them in the freezer as is. When I want to make a smoothie, I just slice off the frozen peel and cut them into chunks.

This morning we had a Peach-Mango smoothie, with the V8 juice of the same name, frozen peaches, and a few strawberries. Pretty darn good!

I've often wondered if it would be worth it to get a real juicer (all I have is a blender). A friend of mine insists they're great, but they're also big and bulky and expensive! So for now I stick with my trusty old blender.