I have one kid who absolutely despises bananas, so I have to go and invent banana-free smoothies for her. Not that I mind! This one has a gorgeous pink hue from strawberries (fresh or frozen - so you can make it year round ??), is wonderfully creamy thanks to a healthy dose of Greek yogurt and tastes almost like a milkshake. I mean, what is not to love about that!
1(10-12oz) packagefrozen strawberriescan also use fresh hulled, but then add 4-6 ice cubes as well
1cupvanilla yogurtI used Greek vanilla, but regular works, too (plain is also fine!)
½cupmilkor more to taste (any kind works - skim, 2%, whole, almond)
1tablespoonmaple syrupOR honey OR white sugar
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a high-power blender and blend until smooth.
Serve immediately, or chill in the fridge for up to 2 hours.
Video
Notes
Blender tips: If you don't have a high-power blender, make sure to thaw the strawberries on the counter for 15-20 minutes, or your blender will really struggle with them.Load the blender right: As you can see in the video, I let the berries thaw even though I have a Vitamix. That was just because I wanted to add the strawberries as the first ingredient - if you use solid frozen berries, always add the liquids first (in this case milk and yogurt) and then place the berries on top. Otherwise the frozen fruit will block the blade.
Ingredient Notes:
Yogurt: As noted in the recipe, Greek vanilla, regular vanilla, Greek plain or regular plain all work. I'm sure strawberry flavored yogurt would work as well. If you don't want to use yogurt, feel free to sub in 1 large banana.Milk: I like this best with whole milk (what do the cool kids say these days - because I'm extra?), but any fat percentage is OK. For dairy free options, you can use almond milk. Unsweetened vanilla almond milk sounds perfect for this one.Strawberries: If you're using fresh instead of frozen, go for about 12oz. Make sure to rinse them well and hull them before adding.Actually, I always rinse frozen strawberries really well, too. You know, hygiene and stuff.Maple syrup: Entirely optional, but much loved by my children ;-)