Pavlovian Smoothies

There are some things I never tire of for breakfast, and here is one such concoctions. I have consumed one of these refreshing treats just about every morning during this long, hot, pandem-icky summer. Ya’ll, these are so. darn. good. Think, “loud, rude slurping straw noises at the bottom-of-the-smoothie-tumbler” good. Think, “Wow–this is a huge amount. I’m never gonna be able to eat this much….2 minutes later…literally licking the bottom of the bowl” good.

And as the name suggests, I am not the only fan in my household. One thing both recipe preparations have in common is banging my spoon on the edge of the blender or food processor, to dislodge yogurt or nut butter into the appliance. 

And with this sound, with scientific regularity, every morning we reenact Pavlov’s conditioned response experiment. Peanut hears the banging spoon and immediately scrambles into the kitchen, where he sits, waiting patiently, literally drooling onto the floor, for his chance to lick the spoon. Think I’m exaggerating? Watch closely.

My son is an equally enthusiastic fan of the smoothies, but refused to drool on camera.

Ideal Yogurt

Lately I’ve been doing my best to adhere to a lo-carb, keto-ish diet. But I have to draw the line at breakfast. Eggs and cheese before 9 am are not only unappetizing to me, they upset my stomach. The discovery of “Two Good” greek vanilla yogurt has been a godsend. 2 grams of added sugar (4 grams total of carbs) per 3/4 cup serving of rich and creamy goodness. Kind of expensive, but highly recommend. 

Freeze your Fruit

The key to a good smoothie (or breakfast ice cream) is frozen fruit, especially bananas. I buy big bags of frozen strawberries and peaches at Publix, but also freeze fresh berries when they’re starting to get, as my mother-in-law used to say, elderly.

Freezing Berries
Best way to freeze berries? Wash and dry well with dish towel. Remove stems. Place them in a large ziploc bag, and put on a flat surface in your freezer (top of a frozen pizza box works well), making sure berries are spread out in a single layer. When they’re frozen after an hour or two, you can upend the bag and store them regularly without the concern that they’re all gonna freeze into a solid mass.

Freezing Bananas
For my finicky palate, fresh bananas have about an 18 hour window when they’re neither too green nor too ripe for optimal consumption. The good news is, they can be almost completely brown/black and still be freezer/smoothie-worthy. Peel ripe bananas, break into thirds, toss into a ziploc bag, and freeze as berries, above.

Meet Oskar

To make breakfast ice cream, ideally you have a mini food processor like my Oskar, which has its own story attached to it. I’ve had Oskar since October of 1988, when my then-boyfriend, now-husband of 28 years, Paul, presented it to me on my 22nd birthday. Now, such an ‘unromantic’ gift would send a lot of sisters running for the hills, as a sure sign of other utiliarian gifts to come, like an under-counter toaster oven (Mother’s Day, 2005) or a set of chef’s knives (Christmas, 2018). Not me. His selection of Oskar demonstrated that he was thoughtful and observant (I was just beginning my love affair with cooking, along with my love affair with Paul), had done his research (a 1988 Washington Post food columnist had written Oskar was the hardest working fellow in her kitchen), and practical. And here, 32 years later, I’m still using Oskar to grate hard cheese, mince large quantities of ginger, pulsify canned tomatoes, and of course, make breakfast ice cream.

Consume with a Clear Conscience

Finally, you really and truly will feel like you’re getting away with something gobbling down this ‘breakfast ice cream,’ just because by using lots of frozen fruit you’ve turned yogurt into delectable pink or purple soft-serve. Save the actual guilt for when and if, like I do, you eat giant hunks of leftover pumpkin bread pudding with whiskey whipped cream (recipe coming in November) or chocolate cake for breakfast. Breakfast ice-cream is a guilt-free indulgence.

Best frozen breakfast smoothie ever!

You really should have a decent, heavy-duty blender for this recipe. Emulsifying hard-frozen fruit is not a JV sport.

PS–If you have had the poor judgement to defy my advice by using “unfrozen” fruit, you can try adding a few ice cubes for consistency, but proper smoothies should not have ice in them, IMHO.

RECIPE FOR PRINT