Thirsty Thursday: Pina Colada Smoothie or Daiquiri

With the weather warming up, I feel like I should be at the beach.  But alas, I am 12-14 hours from anything even slightly beachy (assuming rocky shores along lakes don't count, and they DON'T).  When temps creep above 70, all I really want is to be by the water with my toes in the sand, a cold drink in my hand, and to hear the lapping of waves in the distance.

Thankfully, this recipe takes care of one of those things.  We developed this smoothie in our second year of The Scoop, and it was a huge hit.  It has a very tropical feel to it, and can very easily convert into a tasty adult beverage with the addition of just a bit of coconut rum.

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz frozen pineapple chunks
2 tbsp shredded coconut
1/2 cup Vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp coconut syrup
1 tsp toasted coconut to top

To Make Daquiri:
Add your preferred coconut rum (Malibu, Cruzan, Parrot Bay, etc) to desired strength--you can replace part of the orange juice or yogurt if you want to maintain a nice semi-thick texture. A friend gifted me with some pineapple honey vodka that is also great in this.

DIRECTIONS:
Blend the first 5 ingredients (plus booze, if you're making the daiquiri version) on High until well combined and no large chunks remain.  Then top with the toasted coconut*.

* to make toasted coconut, spread sweetened or unsweetened coconut flakes on a cookie pan, then place in a 350F oven for 5-10 minutes until golden brown.

Thirsty Thursday: Strawberry Lemonade, Smoothie or Daiquiri

So, you may have noticed that I haven't posted many alcoholic drinks lately...

And that's because I'm in the process of waiting for a very special delivery:

(Yes, this was our official announcement. Just a little PhotoShop fun.  Please feel free to steal/share the idea--I found a screen shot online, a font that was similar, and then revised the text to suit and added the "Facility Scan" section by cloning parts of the "Shipped By" section.  I will likely revamp in a few weeks when we have an updated ultrasound and find out gender.) 

So, while I've been OK'd by my doc to have "a sip" of anything my husband is drinking, hard liquor and cocktails are generally out of bounds for me for the next 6 months or so.  

Fortunately, cocktails are the easiest beverages to make "mocktails" out of, so I'm planning to share recipes that could easily be made in either adult or kid-friendly versions.

Today's recipe is actually a smoothie we served at The Inside Scoop last summer, but with the weather warming up, this would be SO completely perfect for adding a little booze into for a backyard cocktail.

INGREDIENTS:
4 oz frozen sliced strawberries, unsweetened
4 oz lemon sorbet
6 oz lemonade (I've tried it with both regular and pink lemonade, and I liked the regular better--it has a more sweet-tart result) 
Boozification Option:  I think straight or flavored rum would work best in this, like Bacardi Limon, but a flavored vodka or white tequila would also work well with the acidity of the lemon.  If you go this route, replace a portion of the lemonade with the booze, to your preferred strength.
LIGHTER OPTION:  Use Crystal Light Lemonade instead--it'll be 140 calories instead of 267.

DIRECTIONS:
Blend all ingredients on high until well combined.  Some sorbets can be a bit sticky & not want to blend--just add a touch more booze or lemonade and you should be golden.

NUTRIFACTS: (without booze)

Calories		267.4
Total Fat		0.2 g
	Saturated Fat	0.0 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.1 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.0 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		33.9 mg
Potassium		159.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate		68.9 g
	Dietary Fiber	1.8 g
	Sugars	65.0 g
Protein		0.6 g