My kids LOVE smoothies or "moosies" as my son has called them since he started talking. They are a perfect summertime or really anytime snack. You can almost always find them on a restaurant menu and are good "occupiers" when you're out shopping. Even though, I am a little leery of store made smoothies, because oftentimes they have added sugar, you already know how I feel about added sugar, or gasp, canned fruit. (I am not a huge fan of canned fruit either). Not that I am opposed to either of these things, I do have canned fruit in my pantry and I put plenty of sugar in my morning coffee, but I have read in countless articles on healthy eating that fresh is better and I'm inclined to agree. Plus fruit already has sugar in it right?

I'm also a fan of smoothies because my youngest has become a bit of a picky eater. Now, for those of you who know her, she doesn't miss any meals and probably eats more than her older brother, but she won't just chow down on anything. She does however, love to drink through a straw though and will suck down pretty much anything in a cup (you can hide lots of goodies a.k.a. veggies in smoothies).

Smoothies are also super easy. You can pretty much toss in any type of fruit and yogurt into a blender of your choosing and it'll work out. My go-to smoothie, whose ingredients are a staple in my house is the Strawberry Banana Smoothie. I make all my smoothies one serving at a time and blend it in a Magic Bullet blender. For me it makes less mess and I'm not left with a huge blender full of smoothie. I always start with a frozen banana as seen below.

I know what you're thinking, GROSS. But really I think I use more frozen bananas in my cooking that any other food. Okay, maybe not, but I use them often. Maybe it's because I will only eat bananas when then are pretty much green. When they start going brown and spotty, I throw them in the freezer. Now I will say they are kind of a pain to peel frozen, but just soak them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes or run them under warm water and the peel will come right off. You can also peel them prior to freezing, but then you have to use a freezer bag and to me it just seems wasteful to use a freezer bag when the skin contains the banana for free.

Okay, I'm off my "frozen bananas are useful" soapbox. You need frozen fruit, I'm using a frozen banana and frozen strawberries; remember this recipe is for one serving or two small servings so if you are blending for a crowd double or triple the recipe. You also need honey, yogurt, and milk. When I first started making smoothies I used apple juice as the liquid and sweetener instead of milk and honey, but I recently switched to milk and honey after watching The Pioneer Woman make smoothies. Let me just take a moment to say that Ree Drummond is my blogging and cooking inspiration. She's funny and her food is just plain delicious. But back to the milk and honey, it gives the smoothie a different creamier flavor than the apple juice that I like better. Plus I don't always have apple juice on hand. Yes, I have two kids under the age of five and I don't always have apple juice? Crazy, I know.

Back to the smoothies. I usually just pour and toss, but for you, I'll measure it out.

I put a peeled frozen banana and a 1/2 cup of frozen strawberries into a blender base. I put the frozen fruit in first so it is closer to the blade. I find if I put the other ingredients in first then sometimes the fruit has a hard time reaching the blades leaving big chunks in the smoothie, which in turn makes it hard to suck through a sippy cup straw. Next I add a quarter cup of yogurt. My yogurt of choice is Greek yogurt. I happened to have vanilla flavored, but sometimes I use plain. Honestly any kind of yogurt will do. Next I put in 2 tablespoons of honey as a sweetener instead of sugar. Lastly I pour 1/2 cup of milk over the top. You have to have some type of liquid in the smoothie, otherwise it's simply too thick.

I blend it until everything is chopped and mixed and the consistency resembles a milkshake. Then I pour it into a glass, or in my case two straw sippy cups. It's a great, easy, healthy snack or breakfast.

Amy's Strawberry Banana Smoothie

1 frozen banana (peeled)

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup milk

1. Place frozen banana and frozen berries in a blender base.

2. Add Greek yogurt and 2 tablespoons honey on top of the frozen fruit.

3. Pour 1/2 cup milk over honey.

4. Blend until mixed.

5. Enjoy!