B is for BERRIES

Well...I'm back and ready to conquer Crohn's one vegetable (and fruit) at a time!  I had my surgery on the 24th, was discharged on the 30th, celebrated my 27th birthday the following day, and have been recovering ever since.  Last Friday, I got my staples out and was cleared to drive (and pick up our kitties :).  I will try to go back to work this week but may need a little extra time at home; thankfully, I can work from here.  My surgeon says my body is healing up nicely, my colon and small intestine look great, and I am stronger than a lot of his male patients.  *haha*  He is partners with the official surgeon for the Arkansas Razorbacks, so I wonder if that means I'm stronger than those Hogs?!  ;)

Anyway, here I am with a quick little recipe to quick off my return--Quadruple Berry Smoothies!  We have breakfast for dinner quite a bit around here, and this smoothie is an item that has become popular on the Pharr menu.  For one, it provides some healthy foods, including milk, yogurt, and fruit (raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries with strawberries and additional berries from the yogurt).  Secondly, it purees the berries, so that they may be easier for me to digest as well as pick out some of the seeds that can be problem-causing.  Finally, berries specifically are low in calories, possess loads of antioxidants that fight cancer, may be anti-inflammatory, and offer lots of your daily needed vitamins and minerals.  Best of all, they taste AMAZING!  So mix together a smoothie tomorrow morning or tonight.  :)

Quadruple Berry Smoothie

1 1/2 cups yogurt (I used 3 individual-serving-sized containers of Activia, 2 in blueberry and 1 in strawberry.)

1/2 cup milk (I saved one of the containers and measured my milk using it since it is four ounces.)

2+ cups of frozen mixed berries (We buy the Triple Berries from Sam's Club.)

Pour yogurt and milk into blender.  Slowly pulse/blend/smoothie fruit into dairy mixture until well combined.  Pour into chilled glasses--we used our Simpsons ones--and serve with a festive straw and enjoy.  :)