The Very, Very Sweet Banana Cantaloupe Grape Smoothie

Well it wasn't that orange....

No sorbet today.
But this banana cantaloupe grape smoothie was pretty interesting.

Sweet Banana Cantaloupe Grape Ingredients

1 large ripened frozen banana
1 cup diced cantaloupe
14 seedless plump juicy cold green grapes
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup orange juice not from concentrate (I used Tropicana!)
4 extra grapes for garnish (optional)

4 of the 5 ingredients.

Banana is ice cold. Had been in the freezer for 2 days.

Prepared to be mixed fruits!

Blended and ready to drink.

Enough for one.

Very peculiar.
It's as though these flavors don't mesh and they try so hard to be perfect.
It was a "what have I created? Yes. No. Yes.  No. No way. YES! YES! YES!!!!!" Sort of emotional response.  
I loved that it tasted like a creamy, slightly frothy cantaloupe orange juice with REAL grapes and that the banana's purpose was to make sure the smoothie was cold.
Some people hate it, but I personally have become an avid fan of chewing on pieces of fruit in the middle of drinking. To me, it staples this punchline,"you're officially enjoying REAL fruit and not processed, corn syrup, artificial laboratory garbage." There were grape pieces almost throughout, but having plump juiciness covered in remainder of smoothie at the end- excellent! 
So what do I call these? Chunkies? The chunk-smooth? Or the smooth-chunky?
For now, I'm sticking with smoothie until someone tells me different.

Cherry Lime Fruit Bliss Smoothie

Put the lime in the smoothie...

Smoothie yumminess continues.
And this blend kept a smile on my face long after the cup emptied.

Cherry Lime Fruit Bliss Smoothie

1 ripened banana
1/2 cup frozen cherries
6 frozen strawberries
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
few slivered almonds (optional)

Squeezing in the lime juice.

Look at that extra.

Prelude to almond in college mug.

Mmmmhmmmmm.
Sweet icy cold fruit, citrus zest, and a little spice makes everything all nice to drink.
I may have become an official full fledged smoothie addict and thankfully sharing is no longer a priority. Except when blogging of course. :)

A Vegan Strawberry Peanut Butter Frosty

Slightly thick & creamy, this fruity treat is much better than that strange stuff at Wendy's.

I promised bananas all week, didn't I?
Tomorrow is market day, so please bear with the lack of banana. Besides, I wanted to explore making frozen treats without the aide of the yellow ripened fruit. Though I love it immensely, other sweet fruits deserve spotlight too.
Like these frozen strawberries for example.

Vegan Strawberry Peanut Butter Frosty Ingredients

6 large frozen strawberries
2 tablespoons Peanut Butter And Company's Mighty Maple peanut butter
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Three of 6 ingredients for a fiber/protein enriched sweet treat!

Blend ingredients. I mainly used the puree/whip functions.

Minutes later, a happy spoon sits in wait.

Was never a huge fan of artificial strawberry flavoring. It always left that false, sugary taste on the tongue and that feeling always left me thirsty for water due to throat scratchiness.
This is that love of dipping strawberries into peanut butter turned into a yummy frosty!
Natural and nutty- a very satisfying, chilled treat for any strawberry-peanut butter fanatic, it tasted amazingly delicious and nutritious.
Next time will include additional strawberries atop.
Perfect on hot steamy days when the skin feels like it's melted.

Carrot Spinach Strawberry Smoothie

One my way to a fantastic fruity, vegetable smoothie.

It's fun throwing things in a blender and seeing what happens. That's just part of celebrating creative, free spirited excitement, but in a kitchen setting.
An avid lover of Naked and Odwalla juices, I decided to make my own. 

1 large banana, ripened
5 strawberries, frozen
1 cup fresh spinach
1/2 chopped carrot
6 frozen cherries
2 tablespoons cold water

Place all ingredients in blender, making sure to chop the carrot!

Icy cold, refreshing goodness.

A perfect delight with bow tie pasta coated in spinach-chickpea sauce.

It's delicious!
This I guarantee as an amazing chilled beverage.
With the addition of flax seed, cacao powder, spirulina, and maybe wheat grass, the health benefits will fly out of the window. Definitely inspiring ideas to try for next fruit and vegetable packed smoothie! :)

Banana Peanut Butter Fruit Smoothie Freeze!

What better to have with spinach brown rice salad than an iced cold smoothie freeze?

This week it's all about making ice creams, smoothies, and popsicles to combat humid weather and cool overheated body. With the starring ingredient being..... bananas!
Seven days of summer desserts using few ingredients and no added sugars (fruit is all the sweetness one needs!).
Fun times...

Banana Peanut Butter Fruit Smoothie Freeze Ingredients

1 banana
1 cup soy milk (8th Continent used here)
2 tablespoons Peanut Butter And Company's Mighty Maple Peanut Butter
handful of frozen cherries and raspberries
sprinkling of sliced almonds (optional)

Place banana, raspberries, frozen cherries, milk, & peanut butter in blender.

Blend very, very well.

Top with almonds & freeze for an hour or two.

Enjoy!!!

On a 91 degree afternoon this fruity, creamy concoction was the perfect cool off treat!