Strawberry Time!

My strawberries have gone nuts again this year, thanks to tons of rain and heat. Unfortunately all that rain has led to much of the crop rotting on the ground before I could pick it. I will probably be able to get one batch of jam out of this year's crop.

My struggle with strawberries is... I'm the only one in the family who really likes them. So I start to get burned out on eating them after a bit. The jam was a big hit last year... I made two batches of freezer jam. We're still eating on it and my mom is always happy to take some.

This year, I was determined to get Alex to try strawberries. Alex, being distinctly my child, is a picky eater. I gave my mother fits growing up, refusing to eat so many things it would take weeks to list it all here. I have outgrown this picky-ness quite well, I think. Alex is coming around. I insisted that he stop saying "I hate that!" about foods he hasn't tried. Instead, he's supposed to say "I've never tried that." It's actually working, and I've gotten him to try a few new foods over the past month or so. I figured we'd give strawberries a shot since I knew we'd have a lot of them.

He wanted to help me pick the strawberries and I told him he could, but he would have to eat a strawberry. He said, "I won't eat a strawberry, but I would try a strawberry smoothie."

Alright! I have an entire smoothie cookbook. And I only make healthy smoothies, so I was THRILLED!

Tonight was the night. He pronounced the smoothie "So delicious!"

Here's the recipe:

2-3 cups whole strawberries
1 banana
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 to 1/2 cup plain low-fat or fat free yogurt
Ice if desired

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Makes about 3 good sized smoothies.