Easy Summer Smoothie

Ah, summer. While in most years summer is seen as a time to get out and head to the beach, hold backyard barbecues, and maybe even go on fun vacations, this year, because of our current pandemic, summer fun has been relegated to the confines of our homes. However, there’s one thing about summer that most certainly hasn’t changed: the heat. All throughout the Northern Hemisphere, people struggle to deal with the oppressive summer heat. While some people can simply crank up the air conditioning, those of us without an A/C system can find it particularly difficult to survive the high summer temperatures. So, I’m here to show you a recipe for a quick and easy smoothie recipe that is sure to help you beat the heat. This recipe is dairy-free, and only contains fruit, making it a great way to meet your daily dietary guidelines.

What You Will Need:

• 1 orange

• 2-3 clementines

• 1/2 an overripe banana

• 5 grapes

• 1 heaping tablespoon/20 ml of plain yogurt, dairy or non-dairy

• 1/2 cup/120 ml of frozen pineapple

• 1/2 cup/120 ml of frozen mango

• A splash of lychee or passion fruit syrup (optional)

• A splash of oat milk

• A blender (of course)

Step One: Peel your citrus fruits.

The first thing that you’re going to do is peel your orange and your clementines. While clementines are pretty easy to peel, oranges can be a bit more difficult, so feel free to cut the peel away using a knife. Once the fruits are peeled, add them to your empty blender.

Step Two: Peel and cut your banana.

Take an overripe banana, cut it in half, peel one of the halves, and put it in the blender. Don’t know what an “overripe” banana is? An overripe banana is a banana that is covered in brown spots, and is much more mushy than a normal, ripe banana. This will be much easier to blend in the blender, and will leave our smoothie with less chunks than with a normal or frozen banana.

Step Three: Add your grapes.

This step is simple. Take your grapes and throw them in the blender. These will add a nice touch of sweetness to the smoothie.

Step Four: Add the yogurt.

Using a large tablespoon (or a serving spoon if you have one), add a heaping spoonful of yogurt to the blender.

Step Five: Add the frozen fruit.

After you have added all the fresh fruits and yogurt, add the frozen pineapple and mango. Adding the frozen fruits after the fresh fruits will lead to a smoother, less chunky beverage once we’ve finished blending.

Step Six: Add the fruit syrups.

While this step is optional, it adds a lot of flavor to your final product. You’re going to add a splash of the syrup of your choice, either passion fruit or lychee. And when I say a splash, I really mean a splash. This stuff is super strong, and if you add too much, it could overpower all the other flavors in the smoothie, so don’t add any more than a teaspoon. If you want to use syrup in your smoothie but don’t have it at home, you can buy a 750 ml bottle of fruit syrup for about 13 USD on Amazon. Here are the links to buy them: Passion Fruit Syrup and Lychee Syrup.

Step Seven: Add the oat milk.

While it is completely possible to complete this smoothie without the oat milk, I find that adding a splash of oat milk helps the smoothie to blend easier and come out more smooth and easy to drink. If you prefer your smoothies more thick, skip this step.

Step Eight: Blend and serve!

Once all your ingredients are in your blender, put on the lid and make sure that it’s securely tightened, or else you’ll have a huge mess on your hands. If your blender has a dedicated smoothie setting, turn the blender to that setting until your ingredients are completely blended. If not, turn your blender to “high” and blend until all ingredients are fully liquidized. Once that’s done, turn off your blender, pour your smoothie into glasses, and serve. Enjoy!