I must confess that my love for smoothies stemmed from after-school experiments in middle school at my friend Breanna's house. Some were amazing and some were disasters; nevertheless it’s one of my first memories of creating "recipes" on the spot. We would mix all kinds of juices, red-colored drinks, I might even say Capri Sun, frozen strawberries we would hack away with a butter-knife, frozen concentrate juice, and powdered Country Time lemonade. To accompany our smoothies, we would almost always warm up a little tray of Dino chicken nuggets from Costco, and while numbing our tongues on the smoothies, we would munch on our toasty Dinos. Not too shabby for 8th graders.

Fast forward 10 years later, and fruit, organic everything, flax, Greek yogurt, and soy have changed the smoothie, but not the fun! Sweet memories and nods to two crazy smoothie makers! I’ll never forget how nice it was to have no fear of making mistakes. We would sometimes throw everything into that smoothie and laugh hysterically when we made one that was undrinkable. Despite all my culinary training, sometimes I forget to laugh at my mistakes and just have fun! It’s also humbling to realize how many friends have influenced me in my cooking endeavors. The shared moments with food and cooking with my friends have always been celebrated moments to me. Thanks, Bre!

Servings: Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups frozen berries, or mixed frozen fruit
• ¼ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup raw unsalted almonds or 2 Tablespoons Flaxseed meal
• ½ banana
• 1 cup orange juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 oz dark chocolate for topping (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except almonds and dark chocolate. Blend until thick and smooth. You may need to help the blender by turning off several times and stirring with spoon. You can add more juice if you want a thinner smoothie.
2. Add almonds after smoothie is blended and blend until you reach the same texture throughout. Avoid over blending, as you will make almond butter.
3. Top with chocolate.
4. Try to eat without getting a “brainfreeze.” If you do, press your tongue to the roof of your mouth sometimes it works.

Additional information: appropriate for Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten Free diet.