What’s for Lunch when it’s 90 Degrees in your Kitchen?

Here in the Northeast, we had to wait until August to feel any real summer heat.  But now it’s here, an official heat wave, and although I’m dying to cook, I just can’t bring myself to do it.   We have no air conditioning this summer, for one, because we have to haul the huge heavy window units in from the garage, and two, because I don’t think we can afford the added electricity to run them.  And so, there is no way I’m going to add heat to my house by lighting the stove or using the oven.

And so today, although my supply of fresh pesto and pine nuts stared at me longingly from the refrigerator shelf, I had to deny myself the desired noodles and come up with something else for lunch. Ahhhh….just standing with the fridge door open made me feel better, as I scanned the rest of my cold supply for something I could make fast.

I spotted some whole milk banana yogurt, leftover from my one-year-old niece’s visit, and a nearly empty container of fat-free plain yogurt, both from Stonyfield Farm Organic, in nearby New Hampshire.   At first I thought I’d mix the two, and top with a handful of roasted almond slivers, which I had leftover from a salad.  As soon as I mixed them though, I had the idea to skip the nuts and throw it in the blender to make a smoothie.  Yes, a smoothie would be perfect on a hot day like today, and would keep me hydrated, something I am notoriously bad at doing.  I returned to the refrigerator to gather some ice, and remembered I had a whole bunch of frozen bananas, which had not been eaten in time for the summer heat and had to be saved in the ice box.   Would banana flavor be enough or could I add one more fruit to make it taste sweeter?  Orange Juice!  I hardly ever buy it, but again, it was left over from a weekend of guests and I had less than a cup left.  This smoothie was doing a great job of cleaning out my refrigerator!

And so that was it – an Orange-Banana Smoothie for a late lunch, and I’d be ready to fight this summer day for a few more hours.

My daughter, who had eaten several hours ago (of course, because I made the kids lunch but not my own!), approved of the smoothie and drank it up for a mid-afternoon snack.  I find that kids always love smoothies, and you can use whatever you have on hand and customize it however you want.  Frozen fruit is wonderful, and I usually use yogurt or soy milk and ice.  I’ll admit today I also added 2 packets of Splenda to sweeten, but you may use something more organic, like honey, maple syrup or even chocolate.

Stay Cool!

Orange-Banana Smoothie

• 1 container of Stonyfield Farm Organic Yo-baby yogurt, banana flavor
• 3/4 cup of Stonyfield Farm Organic Fat-free Yogurt, plain
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 frozen banana, peeled and cut into chunks
• A Handful of Ice Cubes
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 packets of Splenda (optional)

Combine the two yogurts in a bowl and add to a blender.  Add remaining ingredients and blend until ice cubes are dissolved.  Makes about 3 cups.

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