Freezing is a great way to keep fruit! About once, maybe twice, a summer Strawberries will go down to about .99¢ a carton. (Price will vary from area to area. Just try to find the lowest price.) When they go down like that we buy a whole bunch, wash them, pull the leaves off, and freeze them. To prevent them from freezing in clumps, put them on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Then put them into freezer bags.

You can use this method with all sorts of berries and fruit! In our area, it is cheeper to do this than to buy them already frozen. I don’t know about you, but my family can eat some fruit! You can use this method whether you buy the fruit from a store, pick them yourself, or grow and pick yourself.

My family and I are also trying to eat a bit healthier. For sweeteners, we try our best to use Agave nectar and raw honey instead of white sugar. We do like us some ice cream, though. We have found a nice alternative for that- smoothies. I don’t mean thin smoothies, though. I mean thick like ice cream. The secret to getting a very thick, ice cream-like smoothie is not blending too much. Here’s the {not so} secret recipe.

Ice Cream Strawberry Smoothies

Ingredients:

about 2 – 2 1/4 cups of frozen solid strawberries

about 1 – 1 1/2 cups of plain yogurt

sweetener to taste

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Quickly chop the frozen strawberries in a blender. Add the yogurt and sweetener. Blend very quickly. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.

Recipe notes: If you aren’t going to serve this immediately, put the smoothie glasses in the freezer. You can leave them there as long as they don’t freeze solid. You can also add a Banana or two. The key to thickness is being very quick!

If you have any tips on keeping fruit or any favorite recipes, I’d love to hear about them in the comments! Enjoy~