Fruit Smoothies

Another thing I've been working on over the past few weeks has been fruit smoothies.

Between work & home-life stress and some weight gain over the past couple of years, my blood pressure has risen into 140/90. So I'm trying to exercise more and eat better.

Part of eating better has been cutting back on the beer intake. Calories are calories and alcohol raises blood pressure.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not replacing craft beer and homebrew with smoothies. I'm using the smoothies to ensure I'm getting proper nutrition. This is the basic recipe I've been working with:

1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup 2% milk
1 - 1.5 cup fruit (preferably frozen)
3 or 4 ice cubes if the fruit is not frozen

Place all in a blender and purée.

Fruit combos I have tried:
Strawberry - banana
Blackberry - banana
Raspberry - banana
Pineapple - banana
Apple - banana
Raspberry - apple
Mango - banana

I know there is a lot of banana on that list. Banana is blood pressure reducing. Also, when frozen, it gives a milkshake quality to the smoothie.

The yogurt is to give it a little more sweetness. Choose the flavor you like.

If it ends up more chunky than smooth, add more milk.

Finally, you will want to have a blender that can blend ice. I purchased a Ninja for about $50.