Smoothies are a great way to kickstart your day! They’re bright, full of flavor, packed with vitamins, and what easier way to make breakfast than throw everything in a blender and hit a button? This one makes use of bananas, strawberries, peaches, mangos, pineapples, and vanilla yogurt for a tasty morning treat!
It always seems to happen around this time in January. After a whole fall season of getting ready for winter coziness, snuggling up in a pile of blankets by the fire with all the hot chocolate and cooking comfort food meals, enjoying all the fuzzy sweaters and socks, bringing all the koselig I can into the house, and then, suddenly, mid-January…I’m over it.
It’s silly, because after four years in Virginia, I know that while we can have 70-degree days in February, we also often get a snowstorm and some gray days in April. But this is also when we go out on hikes and I realize that the trees all have their buds. In our yards, the first signs of bulbs are starting to poke up through the ground. Even though everything is brown and gray, you can see all the signs of spring starting to wiggle around in nature, getting ready to emerge from their winter cocoons or burrows, and – bam! Time for spring, hurry up, let’s go!
I’m just as bad in the fall. The sign of the first red leaf, and I start putting maple and cinnamon in just about everything.
But foodwise, my tastebuds are ready for spring. So I start craving all the fresh fruit, all the green salads, all the sunny citrus, all the new produce, everything! And smoothies make a regular appearance on our menu.
The great thing about a smoothie is that you don’t have to have a ton of fresh fruit to make it awesome. I usually just pick one or two ingredients to add in fresh, and I’ve started loading my smoothies up with bags of frozen fruit. I like not having to add ice to the blender.
One tip: if you’re using frozen fruit, add any liquids to the blender first. It helps you keep from getting the blades caught up on the frozen fruit. Even my trusty Vitamix gets jammed up on them sometimes.
Strawberry Sunrise Smoothie
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 banana quartered
- 1/2 cup mango chopped and frozen
- 1 cup strawberries tops removed, chopped
- 1/2 cup pineapple chopped and frozen
- 1/2 cup peaches chopped and frozen
- 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
- 1 cup nonfat milk or milk of your choice
- 2 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Add the milk, yogurt, and honey to the blender and pulse lightly until combined.
- Add the fruit, reserving some of the chopped strawberries for garnish, and pulse until well blended. Adjust the texture and creaminess by adding liquid (I like adding a little extra pineapple juice) until it's where you want it.
- Pour into glasses, garnish with chopped strawberries. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
I’ll start my day with about a serving and a half of these, and then Scott pours everything that’s left into a large pint glass and takes off with it. So for those of you with metabolisms like mine, it’s the perfect amount to get started with your day. If you have a maniac metabolism like my husband’s, you’re going to need a little something extra either to go with it or for a mid-morning snack. No judgment here – it’s all about what you need.
If you’re looking for other smoothie options, I’ve also got my California Dream Smoothie and Very Berry Smoothie recipes posted here – although stay tuned for those to get updated with new photos and new recipe cards in the near future!
Happy Friday!
While I haven’t tried a smoothie before, I do like strawberries. Your recipe looks great and well made.