As usual...

...I've been gaining weight over the winter (or whatever they call the season when it isn't 90 degrees daily in Florida). I don't mind my actual weight, but I do mind the uncomfortable fit of the few jeans that I have. The only jeans that fit me comfortably are the 2 pair of granny jeans with elastic waistbands that I've had for years, wearing only when I'm at home and not too concerned with my wardrobe du jour. So, I need to put a stop to the weight gain and, with any luck at all, lose a few pounds of belly fat.

During another attempt to drop a few pounds, I became addicted to fruit smoothies that I purchased from the Smoothie King around the corner. It seemed like a good idea until I became aware of the calorie count of those delicious libations. I decided to create my own fruit potions, thereby controlling the ingredients, the fat content and the healthfulness of my libations.

Sometimes my recipes were failures, but after months of trying different combinations of fruit and ice, I've found a few excellent medleys that I'd like to share with you.

Today my recipe was quite easy and quite tasty. I simply dropped about a cup of seedless green grapes and about 10 ice cubes into my blender. After less than a minute of blending, I had a grape icee that was delicious, healthful and filling.

I've also come up with other recipes that I was pleased with. I love berries of any kind so I can toss in any combination of berries and ice...those are extremely good. Strawberries and ice alone is my personal favorite but you can use whatever fruits you like.

These concoctions are GREAT for children, fruit served blended with ice is a great "dessert" for them...especially during the dog days of summer. They haven't a clue that they're consuming healthy drinks, to them these smoothies are simply treats along the lines of popsicles, especially if you freeze and serve them AS popsicles.

Here are a few combinations that I've found to be particularly good:

Peaches, pears and plums

Apples, oranges and blueberries

Strawberries and bananas

Berry medley...strawberries, blueberries and raspberries

Kiwi, bananas and blackberries

Obviously you can use whatever fruit you like. Some fruits liquefy easily and some don't. If you're blending a fruit or fruits that don't, you can add a splash of water or fruit juice of any kind. Also, you can add a touch of sugar if you find the mixture too tart for your taste although I prefer to add a fruit that will cut down on the tartness such as a banana. I don't peel most of my fruit but you certainly can do so if you (or your kids) prefer it without the peel although when you DO peel a fruit, you've peeled away the most nutritious part of the fruit.

Add the ice after the fruit, beginning with small amounts as you can always add more. Also, you can use frozen fruits which cut down on the amount of ice needed to make a decent drink. Smoothies are expensive when you purchase them at your local smoothie store. Making your own is much less costly and your own recipes are far less mysterious. Using fresh fruit (or frozen fruit) that you've purchased and rinsed yourself will not contain any chemical additives.

Last summer I bought a bag of frozen "fruit" that is made specifically for smoothies. The picture on the bag had some white blobs that I mistook for bananas. The blobs were NOT fruit, I don't know what the heck they were. I assume they were added to enhance the consistency of the smoothie but I see no reason to tamper with the consistency of the fruit mixtures. It was shortly after that purchase that I began making my own. The bag-O-smoothie was about 10 bucks and for that price, you can limit your purchases to fruit alone and that's all you need to make these suckers (that and the ice). Your family will enjoy them and you will be pleased to see them enjoy such healthy creations. They can be served as dessert, enjoyed as a snack or you can simply drink one before a meal in order to fill yourself up before attacking it.

If you find any combinations that are really good, please feel free to let me know in the comments so that others will be able to try different recipes that I haven't come up with!