Smooth operator.

It's that time of year when it's so freaking hot you just want to die, but all kinds of produce are in cheap abundance which is encouraging. We hit up the Superstition Ranch Market (Apache Trail and Meridian) weekly and pick up tons of berries, grapes, spinach, melons, pineapples, you name it -- for next to nothing. I'm serious.

Last week I got a 2.5-pound bag of fresh spinach for $1.50 (I told you ... how cheap is that?!). As I threw it into my cart, I noticed a nearby elderly lady staring at the gargantuan bag. She turned to me and said, "That's a LOT of spinach!" To which I replied, "Yeah ... but it's really good in smoothies! I just throw a big handful in and you can't even taste it. You should try it!" As I walked away, I saw her stick a big ol' bag in her cart, too. Hope she likes her green smoothies!

I make smoothies for myself and the kids once a day. They've become our new mid-morning snack. I've been whipping up the same recipe for the past week so I thought I'd share it here. I don't actually measure the ingredients when I make it; these amounts are a guesstimate. More for a reference. So, if you don't like how it turns out, don't shoot me. You might have to fiddle with it a little to get what you want.

Berry Green Smoothies

Ingredients (add in this order for best blending results):

1 1/2 c. 100% apple juice (no added sweetener)
1 BIG handful of spinach (doesn't really matter how much you put in -- it blends down to almost nothing)
2 small bananas, broken up
1 c. frozen sliced strawberries
1 c. frozen blueberries

Put the lid on and hit the gas! I mean, the "go" button. "Blend." Whatever.

Serves me and my two children ... so, two adults? I dunno.

Now, it's time for ... SMOOTHIE FACES!!!

Check out that green 'stache.

Hit me up with YOUR best smoothie recipes!