Mango Cherry Smoothie

or what to do with over ripe fruit. 

A couple weeks ago a local grocery store chain had a special where avocados and mangoes were 79 cents each.  Limit 2.  Yes, there was a limit.  This isn't the store I normally shop at, but I was drawn in by the amazing deal, however when I got there I realized that the items in question were a little more ripe than "ideal".  This presented no problems for the avocado, which was promptly made into Guacamole.  However, the mango was a little more challenging.    

Of course, I suppose I could have just eaten it - but if my fruit is going to taste like mush - why not make a smoothie. 

Side note:  I also had some cherries lying around that were probably "ready to go" too. 

Not having a cherry seed popper device in my collection yet... it took me some time to master the art of seeding a cherry with a paring knife.  Here is one of my more successful attempts:

I then diced these a little further.  There's no real science to the dice work when you are making smoothies, as far as I am concerned. 

Simply layered the chopped fruit and added some yogurt (plain - not vanilla) at the bottom. 

Whirr!

To make your smoothie smoother: add milk. 

Voila!

Recipe:

• 1 Mango (chopped)
• 1/2 cup Cherries (seeded and chopped)
• 1/2 cup yogurt 
• A couple ounces of milk (soymilk in this case)

1.  Prepare fruit ingredients

2. Put all ingredients in a blender, in this case I used the magic bullet.   

3. Blend to desired consistency.

Serving Analysis (1 Smoothie):
1 Mango - $0.79 - 135 kcal
Cherries - $0.50 - 40 kcal
1/2 cup yogurt - $0.19 - 71 kcal
1/4 cup SoyMilk - $0.07 - 25 kcal
Total - $1.55 - 270 kcal


Making your own smoothie is clearly cheaper than running out to Jamba Juice or similar, but still more expensive then a glass of juice (though is sort of depends).  I think the value here comes from the rich nutrient content and making use of foods that might have been wasted otherwise.

I should add here that smoothie making is hardly an exact science, and that if it weren't for this blog the idea of making a "smoothie recipe" would be completely lost on me.  The mango/cherry combination worked great but there are hundreds of others out there, just waiting for someone to experience.  I'd love to know if you found a really killer combination.