Superhero Smoothies
In this week’s The Willowbee Tree story "What is No Longer Needed", Piper has to go to the dentist. Two of her baby teeth will be removed, and she is feeling nervous about it. The Willow Tree takes her to the Grand Canyon where she encounters Snake Woman, a powerful rattlesnake who is shedding her skin, and Piper learns the value of letting go what is no longer needed to make room for what is to come.
When I was growing up, my dad has his own way of making me feel less nervous about the dentist — ice cream! After every successful visit, we would stop at a special diner and share an old-fashioned strawberry milkshake. In addition to being a fun treat to look forward to, the cold, blended ice cream also always felt good on any spots that were tender from dental work.
The smoothie recipe that follows is a slightly healthier version of my childhood milkshake tradition. With creamy, frozen bananas as a base, you don’t even need to use ice cubes to make this drink cold. You could use frozen berries as well, but our strawberries are so fresh and in-season right now that I couldn’t resist them.
Don’t feel like you have to wait for a trip to the dentist to whip a few of these up!
Strawberry Banana Smoothies
(Makes about 2 16-ounce smoothies)
Ingredients
2 bananas
about 15 strawberries, hulled and sliced
½ cup greek yogurt
1 cup milk
1 tbsp honey (optional)
Directions
Start by covering a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. Slice the bananas into 1-inch rounds, spread them out in a single layer on the cookie sheet, and freeze for at least 1 hour.
Once the bananas are frozen, put them in the pitcher of a blender. (You can also use a food processor or an immersion blender if that’s what you have.) Add the sliced strawberries, yogurt, and milk. Blend until the ingredients have a smoothie like texture — it shouldn’t take longer than a minute. Taste and make any modifications you’d like. If you want it thinner, add a little more milk. If it needs to be sweeter, try a drizzle of honey.
When you’ve adjusted the smoothie mixture to your liking, pour it into a couple of glasses and enjoy!
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About the Author
Meryl Carver-Allmond
The Sparkle Kitchen Series is created by Meryl Carver-Allmond.
Meryl lives in a hundred-year-old house near the prairie with her sweet husband, two preschoolers, one puppy, one gecko, and about ten chickens. While she's been writing since she could pick up a pen, in recent years she's discovered the joy of photography, too. She feels lucky to be able to combine those skills, along with a third passion — showing people that cooking for themselves can be healthy and fun — in her Sparkle Kitchen posts.
