Power Peach Smoothie

My kids love smoothies, especially my oldest son Max. I like sneaking different healthy ingredients into these breakfast shakes, to see how much more fiber or nutrition I can pack in before they notice something different.

Enter quick oats. Yes, oatmeal in a smoothie is so, so good!

We had a few packets of no sugar added plain instant oatmeal in the pantry and a bowl full of overripe peaches in the fruit bowl.

Could I make a smoothie that stuck in my boys' bellies a bit longer than usual? Yes! And so can you.

The great thing about the oatmeal is that it adds a milkshake-like consistency to these breakfast drinks. This is a big plus for Max (and me, too!) We don't like an icy smoothie.

We've tried these with nectarines as well as strawberries, and they were just as yummy.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Power Peach Smoothie
This recipe serves 2 adults and 2 children.

1 1/2 frozen bananas (peeled before freezing)
1 1/2 cups almond milk
3 packets sugar free instant oatmeal (or 1 scant cup quick oats)
6 ripe peaches, pealed and chopped
1 single serving cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
1 or 2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
*Note: Be sure to adjust the amounts of any of the above ingredients to suit your own tastes.

Place bananas, almond milk and oatmeal into blender container. Let sit for about 5 minutes to soften up the oatmeal.

Add peaches, yogurt, vanilla, honey or maple syrup and 1/4 water. Blend until smooth. If smoothie is too think, add another 1/4 water. Blend again and pour into glasses.

After you serve this to your kiddos a few times, try letting them in on the "secret" ingredient. My oldest didn't care about the oatmeal, saying all the smoothie needed was a little more sugar.

Peaches vs. Nectarines

I was at the grocery store recently, and I ran into a conundrum. There were two bins of sunset-orange fruit in front of me: peaches in one and nectarines in the other. Both were on sale for the same price. Both were high quality and seasonal. Initially I gravitated toward the peaches, but as I was loading them into my basket, another shopper started choosing nectarines.

And then it hit me. What in tarnation was the difference between a peach and a nectarine? I know peaches are fuzzy, but besides that why was I choosing a peach over a nectarine when I didn't know which I preferred? So I did the only logical thing I could think of; I asked the other shopper.


"Excuse me," I interrupted the wise-looking woman as she added another nectarine to her growing pile. "Can you tell me the difference between a peach and a nectarine?"


She furrowed her brow in thought. "That's a good question. I think that peaches can be a bit more mealy. And they're more finicky; you have to eat them at exactly the right time. Nectarines are more forgiving."


Well that was a darn good answer. I promptly put my peaches back in the bin and snagged a few nectarines.

I think that helpful gal in the produce aisle was right. I let my nectarines get a smidge too ripe, but they were totally forgiving. They weren't mealy like the smidge-too-ripe peaches I'd eaten the week before. 


Since I can't leave well enough alone, I did some very official interweb research on the fruits in question. (What I mean, of course, is that I Googled it. It wasn't very serious at all.) This is what I learned:


According to wiki.answers, peaches and nectarines are both part of the prunus family, like plums. "Peaches have a certain dominant gene and a certain recessive one. When the dominant gene is prominent, the fruit is called a peach; when the recessive gene is prominent, it is called a nectarine. Physically, peaches are larger than nectarines; have a larger, rounder stone (pit); and have a fuzzy outer skin. Nectarines are smaller, with a smaller and flatter stone, and have a smooth outer skin. Nectarines are also sweeter in taste than peaches."


So there you have it, folks. Go forth and make educated fruit choices!