Temples of the Holy Spirit, pt. 2

Oh, it's such a beautiful "winter" afternoon here in Charlotte, North Carolina. I went for a run this morning and actually wore a t-shirt for the first time in months...and was hot! But it was so beautiful outside. It's 64 degrees. The breeze is blowing. All the windows are open. The sky is a gorgeous, crystal blue color. The sun is shining. There's a daffodil in the front bed that bloomed yesterday morning. The birds are chirping in that special spring-time way that says "even though you haven't been outside yet, you know it's not cold out here." It's such a perfectly delightful day!

It's this kind-a day that is just mercy-abounding. It's just so "clearly seen" that you woke up and His mercies were new to you this morning and His faithfulness is great. It's on this kind-a day that I love a good healthy snack. (continuing our Temple of the Holy Spirit "series" here.)

In the Blair house I am the Smoothie Master. Everyone always wants me to make them smoothies and I love to make them. They're such a yummy, healthy snack. So, I wanted to share my recipe and variations with you so you can enjoy healthy snacks all summer. And hey, they make really great breakfasts, too.

I make my smoothies by weight. We set our blender on a kitchen scale and measure it that way. However, I will give you rough estimates in case you don't have a scale that is blender-conducive. ;)

Smoothie Sonatinas, Opus One

Strawberry Lemonade Smoothies
Makes 2 16-oz. glasses

6 oz. frozen strawberries (between 8 and 10 strawberries)
12 oz. lemonade (about 2 cups)
5 oz. plain yogurt (about 5 tablespoons)
1 oz. honey (just do what looks good :)
5-6 ice cubs I estimate 1 ice cube per oz. of strawberries. But, I do like my smoothies really thick so I usually do more like 10-12 ice cubes. It depends how thick you want it.

Combine all ingredients in a blender. You may need to add more lemonade (do you like them really thick or not?) Blend for about 1 minute. I usually do more like 1.5 minutes but you have to be careful not to overwork it because then it becomes runny. Enjoy!

Smoothie Sonatinas, Opus One, Variation One

Instead of using lemonade, our favorite is orange juice. My sis, Leah is a particular fan of the Strawberry Orange Juice Smoothie Sonatina.

Smoothie Sonatinas, Opus One, Variation Two

Last summer we had fresh blueberries from our garden. I froze 12 oz. of them and made blueberry lemonade smoothies. They were really good. The blueberries gave them a sweet flavor and the lemonade made them sour. It was a really interesting combination. So, for the Blueberry Lemonade Variation use all the same measurements and ingredients (above) but instead of strawberries use blueberries.

Smoothie Sonatinas, Opus One, Variation Three

I also like to put a spoonful of protein powder in my smoothies. There are also other vitamins that you can get in a powder form and throw into your smoothie. I like to do that better when I have a smoothie for breakfast but it really doesn't matter.

Smoothie Sonatinas, Opus One, Variation Four

I have never tried this smoothie but a dear friend of mine loves to make a smoothie using a mixture of frozen fruit, or just plain frozen blueberries, with water and protein powder. That sounds like a good breakfast smoothie.

So, this week, do you have any great smoothie recipes. If you mail them to us at girleytalk@gmail.com we'll post them this week! Who cares if they sound gross? I'm sure you're thinkin' a smoothie with water and protein powder sounds gross. But it would be fun to post it and see what kind of comments we get. Maybe the whole world loves Spinach Smoothies and you just had no clue! So, come on, mail us your recipes. Then we can all dig in on each other's smoothie ideas and have a great sugar-free, variety-filled summer of smoothies!

Sarah