I love skimming the freezer sections for new and interesting products ... I am a college student, after all. I always look at the frozen dinners to make my long study nights easier and occasionally stop by the frozen desserts section -- a little ice cream never hurts anyone, right? But, this time, I decided to check out the frozen fruit section. For some reason, I was in a smoothie mood.
Between stacks of frozen fruit packages, I found bottles of frozen fruit. Curiosity got the best of me, so I opened the freezer door and discovered something so brilliant, so handy and so clever ... well it's not THAT amazing, but it's pretty cool. Dole Fruit Shakers are a means to make smoothies without a blender. How much easier can it get?
I bought two of their flavors: strawberry-banana and mixed berry. These bottles come with frozen fruit and yogurt, so all you have to do is add the juice and shake it until it is the consistency you want.
On the back of the bottle it easily maps out the three steps to making the smoothie:
- Shake to loosen the frozen fruit and yogurt and let thaw for about five minutes.
- Fill the bottle with your favorite juice (orange, apple, pineapple) to the fill line and shake for about 45 seconds.
- Enjoy your smoothie.
I recommend filling your juice to the extra thick line, which is at the bottom of the "fill zone." That way, if you want a thinner smoothie, you can add more juice.
When deciding which juice to add, seriously consider the taste of the smoothie combined with that that flavor of juice. The first time I added orange to the strawberry banana smoothie, it tasted great at first, but it had a slightly sour after taste. The next time, I tried it with apple juice and it tasted much better.
The smoothie comes together in a snap if the fruit and yogurt pieces have thawed enough. The thick blend of fruit, yogurt and juice is refreshing and delicious. It is amazing how something so simple and easy can taste so good.
Not only are these fruit smoothie shakers easy to make, they are also healthy. With added pre and probiotics, less than 200 calories after adding juice and 100 percent daily value of Vitamin C, these smoothies are loaded with nutrients. So, you get great flavor with an added bonus of nutritional content.
I love having an on-the-go smoothie for breakfast or even at lunch. No need to whip out the blender anymore, just shake it until you make it.
Follow Eating Our Words on Facebook and on Twitter @EatingOurWords