Strawberry-Banana-Pineapple Smoothie

So when is the best time to make smoothies?  Easy....whenever you have fruit that is about to go bad!!  My kids think I'm making them to be nice which is partially true and I'd rather give them a "dessert" that is made up almost entirely of fruit.  We have tried lots of different combinations of fruit and juices.  Sometimes I will throw in a scoop of yogurt if I have some in the fridge, but this is hands down our favorite combination.  In the past, I have tried freezing the fruit to skip the step of adding ice, but honestly, smoothies are almost always a last minute decision in my home so I don't have the added bonus of time to prep the fruit and throw it in the freezer.  I know you could always buy the fruit ahead of time and have it pre-frozen for when my kids need a smoothie fix, but honestly I think it's just easier to throw in the fresh fruit, some juice and a cup of ice and whizz it up in the blender.  I haven't found the ice to water down the smoothie too much or dilute the sweetness of the fruit at all.  It actually is almost needed to balance out the sweetness of the fruit.  Plus, when you are making smoothies for 5 people (6 in a year from now!!!), the ice is a nice filler.  I'm all about stretching out your resources and making a little go a long way!

Bananas rarely make it to the point of even starting to brown in my home.  I've even tried buying an extra bunch in the hopes of them turning brown for banana bread or smoothies (pretty much the only 2 ways I use "old" bananas) and all that happens is my family ends up eating more bananas.  Not a bad thing, but not helpful in making the bread or smoothies.  Banana bread without bananas would just be bread and that's silly!  Strawberries were on sale this past week for only $1 per 16 oz. container!!  I couldn't believe it!!  So I stocked up and bought 3 containers.  The strawberries acted as a nice diversion from the bananas allowing them to start turning brown.  Yeah!  So in went the last 2 bananas, the last container of strawberries (which were starting to turn a little questionable themselves), half of a 20 oz can of pineapple chunks in their own juice, a little orange juice and a big cup of crushed ice.  Blend it well and serve immediately in glasses. 

Smoothies are so easy to make that it's a shame and a waste of money to buy at those expensive smoothie places.  Plus in the time it takes you to get in your car, drive out to the smoothie place, wait in line and then fork out your cash, you could easily have already made your own at home!!  Sure I don't have powdered supplements to add in or any wheat grass growing on my window sill, but fruit is fruit whether you buy it in the store or pay twice as much or someone else to buy it and prep it for you.  Plus, most of the smoothies you buy have hidden sugars in them somewhere!  The only exception I will ever make to the rule is when I meet a friend out for smoothies, but I'm pretty much paying for the conversation and a child free evening, not so much the smoothie itself.  Every now and then it's good to pretend that even for just a few hours I am still an adult, not just a mom!!

1 container strawberries, washed and hulled of course.  I suppose if you really want to use the top green parts of the berry you could, but I probably wouldn't recommend it!!  2 bananas, 1 20 oz can pineapple in 100% juice and some orange juice.

Throw in the bananas, berries, 1/2 the can of pineapple chunks and 1/2 the juice, and a splash of orange juice.  At this point my blender is pretty full so I have to blend it once to make room for the ice.

I never thought I would ever take a picture of a glass of ice, but here it is in all it's glory! The oooohhhs and aaaahhhs may commence now!  =)

Add ice to the blender and process until smooth....thus the name smoothies.

Pour in a glass and serve.  Sorry, we were out of straws and those little umbrella things.  It still tasted the same without them though.