Classic Strawberry Smoothie

Does anybody else love strawberries? I have been in a strawberry craze this entire past week and it doesn't show any signs of stopping. I've always loved strawberries. When I was little I always asked my mom to make me a strawberry flavored cake for my birthday. It was my go to. It's still my favorite fruit, but in college I always seem to waste fresh strawberries. I'm not sure why but I always seem to buy them and unless I immediately wash and cut all of them they just end up sitting in my fridge. 

This week, however, I said no more! My solution to stop this mindless wasting of delicious fruit was to throw them in a smoothie. I decided to start this new rule where if my strawberries are starting to go bad I immediately toss them in the freezer. It has saved me countless strawberries and given me more supplies for my smoothies. I think I probably made a smoothie a day last week and I even ventured into making smoothie bowls! 

Now, it is really easy to make a disgusting smoothie. If you simply combine fruit and ice and water you will get a real fruit smoothie, but it will probably taste extremely bland. This will be a real disaster if you're trying to get to a Smoothie King or Tropical Smoothie standard. It is important to remember to add creaminess and texture to your smoothie for ultimate yumminess. 

While the fruit may change, I always add the same key components to my smoothies. I start with a frozen fruit, this week it has been strawberries. Then I ALWAYS add half a frozen banana. Even if you don't taste the banana it adds an extra level of creaminess. I add rolled oats, honey, peanut/cashew/almond butter (whichever I have laying around), and liquid. If I have almond milk I will use that, but if I don't water works just the same. The liquid is also very important because if you add too much it comes out soupy but if you don't add enough the ingredients won't mix in the blender. 

Then I pour it into one of my mason jars and head out the door depending on the day (most days). Or if I have more time I will make a smoothie bowl out of it! I usually add granola, nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, really anything laying around that needs to be eaten. It is a great breakfast or afternoon snack. My favorite part about smoothies is that they are crazy easy to customize so look forward to many more smoothie recipes and tips from me! Hope you guys enjoy this one!