Smoothies - From Amanda

The basic recipe is pretty simple, just a couple cups of fruit (if you use frozen, then you don't have to use ice) and about a cup and a half of juice. I usually use old orchard juices because they have a lot of flavors that I like with a apple juice base with blends in with anything.

Use fresh fruit when you can, but cut it into chunks and freeze on wax paper, then remove to freezer bags. I especially love to do this with melons! I add a little sugar if I'm using tart fruits like strawberries or raspberries.

If you have sherbet on hand, a couple of scoops smooths out the texture of your smoothie and adds sweetness. Use a little less fruit if you are doing sherbet, and put the fruit in the blender before the sherbet.

Here are some favorite flavor combinations just to give you some ideas. We served the first two at mom's group. But smoothies are very versatile so do whatever you like!

• strawberries, peaches, passion fruit juice (orange or pineapple sherbet)
• mangos, passion fruit juice (pineapple sherbet - or just throw in some pineapple)
• strawberries, raspberries, raspberry juice, lime sherbet or lime-ade concentrate
• pineapple (and strawberries), 1 cup pineapple juice, 1 cup milk (or 1/2 cup milk and 1 container coconut yogurt), (pineapple sherbet or vanilla frozen yogurt if you want)
• strawberries, blueberries, orange juice, (pineapple sherbet or just use pineapple orange juice)
• strawberries, blueberries, cranberry juice (raspberry sherbet or use cran-rasp juice)
• watermelon, strawberries, apple juice (rasp sherbet or apple rasp juice, you get the idea)
• honeydew, lemonade, lime sherbet