summer smoothie recipe

I have mentioned smoothies a number of times recently and I have been enjoying them as a great way to start the morning. Before I go swimming, I whip up a smoothie, or drink what is left from the previous day, and find that is just the right thing to give me energy to swim without making me feel full. For a long time, I used almond milk as the liquid base in smoothies, but have recently been opting for orange juice instead. In these Summer months, orange juice feels more refreshing than almond milk. I am drinking a glass of the Summer Citrus Smoothie as I write this, and thoroughly enjoying it, so thought I would share the recipe while it is still fresh in my head & zingy in my mouth!

Summer Citrus Smoothie (makes about 1 litre / 4 tumblers worth)
ingredents
1 banana
2-3 rings chopped pineapple
1 medium sized mango
juice of 2 oranges + extra 250ml of orange juice from a carton
juice of half a lemon
1 - 2 tablespoons chia seeds

method
Put all of the ingredients in a blender then blitz until smooth!

notes
+ Chia seeds are not essential but add a whole lot of goodness & you can't actually taste them

+ If I ever have bananas that have started to turn black, I peel them, chop them up and freeze them, ready to add to a smoothie.

+ I often buy pineappples when they are on offer at the supermarket or green grocers, but struggle to finish them, so freezing them provides the perfect solution, and means when you put them in a smoothie, you don't need to add crushed ice, because the frozen fruit is cold enough to chill the smoothie perfectly.

+ On this occasion I used a mixture of fresh oranges and ready-squeezed orange juice, simply because I had oranges I needed to use up before going on holiday, but not enough for the quantity of fruit I was using. It's entirely up to you whether you squeeze your own OJ or pour it from a carton.