So Smooth: Plan now to savor the flavors of summer smoothies all year long

The amount of fruit that finds its way to our house these days is ridiculous. It's a wonderful dilemma to have! But, there is no way that Ran and I can consume all of it before it goes bad, so I'm planning now to stockpile the juicy taste of summer in the form of fruit purees, and load my freezer to the hilt.

It's easy to do: simply throw fruit in a blender (mix and match as you like!), whir until smooth, and store individual servings in plastic Ziploc bags (you don't even need a fancy food sealer). Throw the bags in the freezer, and you've got the taste of summer available all year long for sauces, fillings, and maybe best of all: smoothie starters!

I'm a big fan of smoothies: healthy, delicious, inexpensive and super easy to make in a flash. And although you can find fruit smoothie recipes out there loaded with added sugars and calories, I much prefer the stripped-down, naked models where the fruit is the star. The following recipe is sort of a basic template from which I vary the ingredients according to what I have on hand and what is in season (or in my freezer!). So play with it as you will, but do play!

Honey Vanilla Fruit Smoothie (makes 2 large smoothies)

• 2 cups fruit puree (pictured: strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and peach)
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 banana
  
• 1 6-ounce container of honey-flavored Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 ice cubes
• Optional: 1 +/- tablespoon agave syrup (if the smoothie is too tart to your liking)
  

Throw it all in a blender, hit the button. Blend until smooth.