Super Smoothies: Break Out the Blender

minty fresh

I don’t know why I have the books Smoothies and Super Smoothies, but I do. I might have picked them up at Powell’s, or gotten them through the cookbook club. They’re slim paperback volumes, each containing 50 recipes for drinkable fruity concoctions. Which means, yes, I have 100 recipes for smoothies in my possession. And I’m pretty sure I’d never used either book until today.

The books are very prettily designed. Really, really designed, with gorgeous color photography, though the designer got a bit enthusiastic with the typography and use of color too, and some of the pages are not that easy to read. It’s lucky my eyesight isn’t any worse than it is, or I’d need a magnifying glass and a floodlight to deal with the minimal contrast on some of the pages. I lean toward pragmatism in design — a book should be not just pretty but functional.

Of course, if I regularly made more of the smoothies listed, maybe my eyesight would improve. The Super Smoothies volume focuses on “recipes for health and energy,” and includes offerings such as “fountain of youth” (cherries, cranberries and blueberries for Vitamin C and antioxidants), “cold flash” (dried apricots, tofu and peaches for the relief of menopausal symptoms — I’ll be looking that up in about 10 years), and “cholesterol cleanser” (red wine, cherries and blackberries for vascular health).

For today I opted for “minty fresh,” which offers hydration and fresh breath. Preparation is simple. Put 1 1/2 cups of diced honeydew melon and 1/2 cup of low-fat lemon yogurt into a blender, then add a tablespoon of chopped fresh mint leaves and a cup of frozen green grapes. Blend, pour and drink. Serves two (or one very thirsty person with very bad breath, I suppose).

Verdict: Success. The smoothie tasted great and was a refreshing part of a summer morning breakfast. I’ll have to start making more of these, at least while the weather is warm. Given my nearsightedness, I should probably start with the “14-carrot” (does not actually require 14 carrots).