Itsy Bitsy Foodies

Valentine’s Day is no different than most other holidays.  It is hard not to get swept away by all of the desserts and creative sweets.  I’m a firm believer in moderation and I think it’s ok to indulge in those special sweets on occasion.  However, especially for the sake of my boys, I love creating festive and fun treats that are nutritious, too.

This red berry smoothie is naturally bright and the perfect color for Valentine’s Day.  It’s pretty to look at, and in addition to being a healthy option for breakfast, lunch or a snack, it could also pass for a dessert.  In order to maintain the red {pink} color I didn’t add some of my other typical smoothie ingredients (banana, spinach, and blueberries).  However, the addition of chia seeds is a quick way to boost the nutrient content of this fruity drink.  As with all smoothies, there is no “right” recipe and I never measure out the ingredients.  The color of the smoothie will vary slightly depending on the mixture of fruits and juice that you use, but if you stick with red berries your smoothie color should be somewhere on the red-pink spectrum.  I used apple juice because it is the only neutral-colored juice that I happened to have at the moment but there are many {red} juices that would help intensify the red color of this smoothie.  I used more strawberries but I think that the smoothie would have a darker red hue if I had used more raspberries instead.