It’s April and with tropical fruits like pineapple coming into season I can’t be happier. I adore pineapple. I love hitting the produce aisle and picking up fresh pineapple and just eating it plain with nothing added. Soo good if it’s ripe enough. 1 serving of pineapple (around 150 grams or so) is more than a whole day worth of vitamin C requirements. Just beware that there is a high natural sugar content so you don’t want to overdo it too much!

Ingredients:

1 c. fresh orange juice (you can use 1 can frozen juice instead if you double the rest of the recipe)
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained (fresh pineapple will work too. Use about a cup of pineapple, 1/4 c. water, and 2 tsp. sugar)
2 med. bananas (sliced)
1 (8 oz.) carton plain or vanilla yogurt
1 c. crushed ice

Directions:

Combine everything except yogurt in the blender and whirl until smooth.
Add yogurt and whirl until blended.
Serve.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice (really try to get fresh OJ for this one)
1 banana
2/3 cup frozen strawberries
2 scoops fat-free vanilla yogurt
1 cup ice

Make sure you crush the ice completely and the drink is smooth.

Ingredients:

1/2 frozen pitted unsweetened cherries
1 banana (peeled) (also good frozen)
4 oz. plain low-fat yogurt (I’ve also used cherry yogurt or cherry vanilla yogurt and it makes it sweeter and brings out the cherry flavor)
1/2 cup skim milk (add a bit more if it’s too thick for your taste)

Directions:

Blend until smooth
Serve

Ingredients:

2 cups apple cider
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 frozen banana
4 or 5 ice cubes
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
Cinnamon stick for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Ingredients:

2 c organic calcium-fortified orange juice
1 c frozen organic strawberries
1/3 c frozen organic blueberries
1 med banana, can be frozen or extra ripe.

Optional:
1/8 c. Flax oil
3 scoops protein powder

Directions:

Blend the main ingredients in your blender until smooth, then add any optional ingredients desired.

This also freezes really well (for smoothie Popsicles).

If you only need to feed yourself, then you can cut the ingredients in half

Ingredients:

1/2 C orange juice
1/2 C low fat cottage cheese
1 frozen banana
1 C frozen strawberries (any berry is fine)

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth. Add more juice or water to get desired consistency. Experiment with different fruits! Raspberries, blueberries, and peaches all work well. The cottage cheese is a great source of protein and makes the smoothie nice and thick. This is my favorite way to refuel after a long workout.

1 can pumpkin puree (or use the homemade recipe below and make it fresh)
1 c skim milk
1 med banana
1 t honey
1/8 t. cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg

Put all ingredients into blender and whirl until smooth. You can add more milk a tablespoon at a time to reach desired consistency.

Homemade pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cut the pumpkin in half, stem to base.
Remove seeds and pulp (you can roast seeds if you like)
Cover each half with foil.
Bake in the preheated oven, foil side up, 1 hour, or until tender.
Scrape pumpkin meat from shell halves and puree in a blender or food processor.
Strain to remove any remaining stringy pieces.
Store frozen in freezer bags.