(10 seconds each to read and are almost that quick to prepare)
By Lisa Messinger
Food and Cooking at Creators Syndicate
Fruit has always been a first choice for fantastic smoothies. Lately, greens - like kale, spinach, cucumber and celery - have become a "go-to" solution. Those are all so last season, though.
If you're looking to liven up a summer breakfast, snack or dessert smoothie, take tea along for the ride. Fresh brewed tea, then iced or pureed with frozen fruit, adds both flavor and refreshment. So much flavor, in fact - along with the goodness of fruit, vegetables and sweet Greek yogurt - that the bold beverages usually pass the taste tests not only of adults, but choosier kidlets as well.
Greek yogurt, a centuries'-old food that has become popular in supermarkets, is creamier than traditional yogurt and packed with protein.
Different teas provide various taste palates: White is mild and cool; black is peppery; green is earthy; red is pungent. All also include a hefty dose of antioxidants.
Herbal teas, whether fruity (like peach, blueberry or mango) or spicy (like peppermint or ginger) make the choices virtually unlimited.
Following are some additional innovations. After brewed teas are cooled or iced, add ingredients to your own taste to a blender container and puree until desired consistency. The frozen fruit should make the smoothies thick enough, but, if thicker texture is desired, add a few ice cubes one at a time through the hole in the blender lid.
- Passion fruit tea, frozen blueberries, blueberry-flavored Greek yogurt.
- Ginger tea, frozen bananas, lemon-flavored Greek yogurt.
- Peppermint tea, frozen limes, vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt.
- Green tea, frozen pineapple, cherry-flavored Greek yogurt
- Orange tea, frozen tangerines, lemon-flavored Greek yogurt
Thinking about dessert? Consider these toppings:
- Whipped cream that's been mixed with sweetened flaked coconut.
- Drizzles of melted dark chocolate and minced dried cherries.
- Chopped chocolate mints and sugar-free cookie crumbs.
Fun fare like this also proves food and beverage preparation can be easy, nutritious, inexpensive, fun - and fast. They take just
10 seconds each to read and are almost that quick to prepare. The creative combinations are delicious proof that everyone has time for creating homemade specialties and, more importantly, the healthy family togetherness that goes along with it!
Another benefit: You effortlessly become a better cook, since
there are no right or wrong amounts. These are virtually-can't-go-wrong combinations, so whatever you - or your kidlet helpers - choose to use can't help but draw "wows" from family members and guests.
QUICK TIP OF THE WEEK: In restaurants, cushy booths seem to almost call out to customers to be the most comfortable spot in which to sit. But think twice when comparing that to a table or even a counter stool. The seats may be plush, but the leg room is often cramped, which has meant, a number of surveys have shown, that after leisurely meals, more people report leg cramps within 24 hours when having sat without getting up at a booth than at a table or a counter where space is usually more free to move the legs.
Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food and nutrition writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the National Council Against Health Fraud and author of seven food books, including the best-selling The Tofu Book: The New American Cuisine with 150 Recipes (Avery/Penguin Putnam) and Turn Your Supermarket into a Health Food Store: The Brand-Name Guide to Shopping for a Better Diet (Pharos/Scripps Howard). She writes two nationally syndicated food and nutrition columns for Creators Syndicate and had been a longtime newspaper food and health section managing editor, as well as managing editor of Gayot/Gault Millau dining review company. Lisa traveled the globe writing about top chefs for Pulitzer Prize-winning Copley News Service and has written about health and nutrition for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Reader's Digest, Woman's World and Prevention Magazine Health Books. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.
