Smoothies for Lunch

Never mind the fact that, as I write this, there is a lovely thunderstorm going on outside. Rewind back about six hours and this Carolina July morning dawned just like the many others before it, hot, humid, sticky, blazing, muggy, and, did I mention HOT? Jack started his much anticipated week-long football camp this morning at 9 am. Three hours out in the hot, hot sun running, passing, jumping, sweating, baking, sweating. We sent Jack with a couple of snacks & a large cooler of ice water to stay hydrated. Of course, we forgot the sunscreen today, thankfully he's pretty brown already from time at the lake and pool. 

The other kids & I picked Jack up at Noon. Just the walk from the parking lot down to the field made the rest of us hot, tired, sticky & cranky! The kids were finishing up their scrimmage game down on the field, so we watched the last play & baked in the sun. I'll have to get there a few minutes early one day to get a few photos of the action. Soon enough Jack was done & we were trekking back up from the field to the car...once again, hot, sticky, cranky, thirsty...I'm not sure how much water Jack drank during the camp, but when we got in the car he said his stomach wasn't feeling very good, so I think he was a bit dehydrated. I blasted the A/C all the way home & Jack came straight inside to lay down in the cool for a few minutes...SO, I decided I would make smoothies for lunch!

Now, I {completely big red puffy heart} smoothies! And I love to make them at home! 

My favorite recipe is the "Use What You Have on Hand" recipe. 

In the freezer, I found frozen pineapple, strawberries, cranberries, dark cherries, and raspberries. I dumped those into my trusty Kitchenaid blender. Next I added several large dollops of strawberry yogurt because it's what I had. Then I poured in enough orange juice & milk to nearly fill the blender. Put the lid on & push the buttons. I start with chop, then mix, then puree, and finish off with liquefy for a nice consistency. If it's too thick, I add more juice or milk. If it tastes really sweet, I'll add milk...if it could stand to be a little sweeter I'll use juice. My favorite juices to use are orange peach mango or straight pineapple, but I only had orange juice today, so that's what I used. Sorry that I don't have pictures of the process, but my kids were starving & growing faint...

Everyone enjoyed smoothies for lunch today, especially Drew!

Hmmmm, what's this?

Mmmmmmm, gooood!

Smoothies make me smile!

More!

Uh-oh!

No, don't take it away!

Smoothie face!

I think I have something right here...

All clean!

Darcy enjoying her smoothie

Jack & Sophie enjoying their smoothies, too!

(And of course, as soon as they finished the smoothies, everyone was asking for a Popsicle for dessert!)

The rain has now stopped & through my window the sun is brightening the sky once again. It is like I'm watching that scene out of Bambi with the raindrops drip-dropping off the tree leaves and the birds flitting about. I sure hope the rain has managed to cool the air by a few degrees or 20. That would make for a downright pleasant evening!