almond flax berry smoothie

The other day I came into my house, my eyes began to hurt a little bit around the edges, and I saw a little bit of a glare wherever I looked. Puzzled, I donned sunglasses for a few hours and let that be that. I solved the mystery yesterday, when it happened again: that yellow orb so infrequently glimpsed in the sky in this part of the world had come out, and shocked my eyes with its brightness. I'd be willing to bet that all over the Pacific Northwest, car crashes and sunglasses sales are way, way up.

I am not complaining: I feel as if part of me which was dying a slow death over the past several months is returning. I wore short sleeves today and I wasn't even cold. I hate being cold. I love spring.

I also love smoothies: creamy ones with yogurt and berries and bananas. But since I don't like being cold, smoothie season is only a few precious months of the year. I made this particular smoothie yesterday afternoon while the sun was shining and my heart was aching for berries and tanlines. I got one and not the other, but I'm content.

I'm always lacking protein and fiber in my diet, so I added some almonds and flax seeds to my glass of blended goodness. The slight nutty crunch was a perfect complement to the sweet creaminess of the rest of the ingredients. Although this was technically a post-workout-recovery drink, it felt more like dessert than anything.

Almond flax berry smoothie

Makes 1 large smoothie

Mix in blender until a coarse flour:
1 Tbs sliced or chopped almonds
1/2 Tbs flax seeds or flax meal

Add:
2/3 cup berries of your choice (I used the frozen black-, rasp- and marion-berry mix from Costco)
1 small ripe banana
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup milk, plain soy milk, or other alternate milk
1 tsp honey

Blend until smoothie is creamy and no chunks remain, adding a bit more milk if it's too thick. Pour into a tall glass. A bendy straw most certainly augments the experience if you happen to have one lying around. Enjoy!