New Summer Smoothie to Try!

Quick and easy

Summertime is smoothie time for many of us. Smoothies make for a great summer snack or breakfast because you can whip them up in a couple of minutes, they don’t use the hot oven, and they are cool and refreshing when the weather is hot, hot, hot!

Smoothies are also my favorite way to work some ground flaxseed into my day. Every time I have a smoothie, I just stir in a tablespoon of ground flaxseed. I don’t even notice it’s in there.

I’m always trying out new flavor combinations, and I came up with the following smoothie recipe one day when I had the right ingredients in my fridge and freezer to make Cran-Raspberry Smoothies.

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Ingredients
(makes 2 smoothies)

1/4 cup light or unsweetened cranberry juice

1 cup nonfat or low-fat light or regular vanilla yogurt (plain can also be used)

1/2 to 1 banana (if you aren’t big on bananas, use 1/2)

1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries (without added sugar) or sliced strawberries

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

1 cup crushed ice

Directions

1. Place all the ingredients except the ice in a blender or food processor. Pulse until smooth.
2. Add ice and blend again, on high speed, until smooth.
3. Pour into 2 glasses and serve immediately.

Per serving: 170 calories, 6 g protein, 29 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat, 0.3 g saturated fat, 1 g monounsaturated fat, 2.4 g polyunsaturated fat, 2.5 mg cholesterol, 6 g fiber, 68 mg sodium. Calories from fat = 21%.

By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD
The Recipe Doctor Blog