VERY BERRY SMOOTHIE

While my kids are all back at their various schools and jobs, far from home, I have been left with a freezer full of fruit. When their rooms were bare and the fridge was full of uneaten food, I went on a freezing binge to reduce wasting any berries hidden in the deep depths of my fruit drawer. Even the best of gourmands would not have been able to eat up all the berries I bought and grew in my garden over the holidays.

I have to  admit that I miscalculated what was truly needed (out of practice, I suppose)and keeping stock of a revolving fridge can be a daunting task, even for me. We are all human and the holidays is a beast in itself, creating excessive eating, drinking and waste!

All berries are easy to freeze as long as you follow a couple simple rules. Remove all rotting berries before washing and placing them on a tray that can fit into the freezer. Once the berries are frozen, remove from the freezer, place in well marked containers and return them to the freezer. If you place them unfrozen into a container, you will have a solid block of berries that will be hard to use so take that extra step. It makes it worth while.

Clean and spread berries out on tray before freezing

Frozen berries make a great base for a tasty and refreshing drink

This very berry smoothie did a great trick of using up the berries I froze a few weeks ago. With the temperatures above the 30C mark, this purple concoction was the perfect refreshing afternoon snack. I could have easily enjoyed it for breakfast as well, if only there were some leftovers!