A Berry Healthy Smoothie

A daily smoothie is a tasty way to pack a whole lot of nutrition into your day. I especially like to use homemade organic yogurt and organic tofu as protein sources. Then add flax and avocado for some heart healthy fats. Lastly, the crowning glory - organic frozen fruits and a bit of freshly ground cinnamon (which has been shown to stabilize blood glucose levels).

The flavor variations are endless. When peaches are in season, I like to omit the banana and berries (but still keep the apple) and use alot of peaches and a bit of organic vanilla extract to make a peaches and cream smoothie. Other times nothing hits the spot like an orange-banana-strawberry blast. Mmmm. And plums are an awesome mix with blueberries and banana.

You don't even need a recipe. Just browse the fruit section of the grocery or farmer's market for what moves you. Then wash and prep fruit and place in plastic freezer bags so they are nice and frozen when you want them. I sometimes place the ingredients in the blender bowl the night before, so all I have to do in the morning is blend and drink. Life is sweet!

A Berry Healthy Smoothie Recipe

1 cup plain (regular, low or nonfat) yogurt
2 oz tofu (soft, medium or firm)

1/4 cup freshly ground flax seeds (adds nice fiber and omega 3's but makes the smoothie too grainy if it sits for too long, so be sure and drink it quickly) or 1 tbsp cold pressed flax seed oil (gives a much smoother texture than the ground seeds)
1/4 ripe avocado

1 banana, peeled and frozen
1 cup frozen berries
1 apple, cored and frozen

1 tsp freshly ground cinnamon

add all ingredients to blender and then blend to desired consistency; add milk or fruit juice to thin if necessary.