Fresh Fruit Smoothies

Starting the new year means starting better habits, and for us that means Fresh Fruit Smoothies.
Living in the desert we have found our share of challenges keeping fruit fresh.
Our solution; to freeze it of course.
Freezing fresh fruit seals in all of the nutrients and flavor while extending the life of your product. This is ideal if you live in a harsh claimant, like the desert. It also helps to ensure you get a chance to eat all of your tasty edibles. Nobody wants to see their fresh fruit investment mold and go bad on the counter. Freezing helps to give your fruit the longest lifespan possible.

Picture of fresh fruit, strawberries, mangos, apples, peaches, nectarines, bananas, watermelon and pineapple. — Delicious Fresh Fruit

Gather up all of your fresh fruit and give it all a wash, you never know what it has been through.
Next up, you’re going to want to peel your fruit, if necessary, then dice them into bite sized pieces. We find that cutting the pieces roughly the same size yields a product that is much easier to work with later.

Grab yourself a few sheet trays or baking trays and line them with parchment paper. If you are in the market for sheet trays (click here). Place your diced up fruit on the prepared sheet trays. Make sure not to over crowd the trays, you want frozen pieces of fruit not a solid block of frozen fruit.

Once you have your fruit cut and placed on the sheet trays, move them to the freezer until they become solid. This usually takes about 4-6 hours. When your fruit is frozen, remove the trays from the freezer and break up any pieces that have stuck together. Place the frozen fruit into freezer bags or an airtight container labeled with that days date and place back into the freezer. The fruit will last up to three months in the freezer, but we always end up eating it long before time is up.

Sheet trays full of frozen fruit. Watermelon, strawberry, mango, pineapple, peaches, and nectarines. — Sheet trays full of frozen fresh fruit.

Gallon sized bags of frozen fruit, watermelon, strawberry, mango, pineapple, peaches, and nectarines. — Frozen Fruit

When it comes to making fresh fruit smoothies, the flavor combinations are only limited by your imagination and the fruit readily available. haha.
Start by grabbing your favorite blender, we have had amazing luck with our Ninja (Link Here).
First add in about 8-12 ounces of liquid — water, orange juice, and cranberry juice are our favorites. You can also any of the nut milk alternatives as well, we find some coconut milks to be a delicious addition.
Then add in your frozen fruit, watermelon, strawberry, and mango with orange juice is a go to of ours.

If your blender is like ours you can hit the smoothie button and wait for your finished product. If you are using a regular blender just pulse the ingredients at the beginning to get things going. Then turn the blender on high and mix until you have a nice smooth texture.

During the blending process, you may have to add a little more liquid in order to get your frozen beverage nice and smooth.
Feel free to add in protein powders, greek yogurt, oats or even a little peanut butter. Like we mentioned earlier, the possibilities really are endless.

fresh fruit smoothie, in a large glass with copper straw — Fresh Fruit Smoothie

Closing Thoughts.
Whether you are new to the world of fresh fruit smoothies or just getting started, a myriad of flavors and combinations await you. Don’t be shy about trying new things or branching out, you might just find that the crazy idea tastes fantastic. For example, we ran out of orange juice one day and I used tang and water, and it was fantastic!
Trying different yogurts, and protein powders can greatly enhance the flavor and add in extra nutrients your body needs. In the morning before a work out we like to add in our favorite pre workout powder (link here) for a little extra kick. You can also add in your post workout powder for a nice pick me up after a workout.

The possibilities are really only as limited as your local store and your own imagination.
Be healthy, be happy and be fearless, a world of flavor awaits.