Frozen Fruit Concoctions (With Recipe Included)

Lately, I am realizing, I've really been digging eating frozen fruit.  I guess this is because a.) I get too excited when I go to the grocery store and buy too much fruit at once and as a result have to freeze it in order to prolong its life or b.) I eat too much fresh fruit, which then disappears, prompting me to open up my freezer where there is a stock pile of frozen fruit.

For breakfast I've been obsessed with my smoothie and granola parfaits (well, they're kind of parfaits, more like a smoothie-granola soup, which is still awesome).  Instead of pouring non-dairy milk over my Simply Suzanne Granola, I've been instead pouring my smoothie over it.  Or, rather, dumping it on top of my smoothie in a bowl.

My way of thinking is, it's still like having milk and granola because they're's milk in the smoothie, but this way I get the extra oomph of fruit and a whopping tablespoon of ground flax seed, which I would not otherwise put in my plain milk and granola.

Thus far, I've done your standard, not-too-exciting smoothies: strawberry-banana, strawberry-blueberry, strawberry-raspberry, blueberry-raspberry-banana.  I work with what I have.  My favorite has to be any smoothie with the blueberries though.  Too good.

Alright, and for fruit concoction number two (the title of my post is plural, after all): strawberry sorbet.  Umm, this stuff is pretty much heaven and but for its sweet factor from the added simple syrup, it's pretty darn healthy because, essentially, it's strawberries.

Strawberry Sorbet


Ingredients:


- 1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and hulled (the strawberries must be fresh--it makes a world of a difference!)
- Juice of half a large lemon (or a whole lemon if they're bitty)
- Simple syrup*, to taste
*To make simple syrup, combine equal parts sugar and water in a small saucepan on the stove over medium heat.  Once sugar has fully dissolved, increase heat to medium-high and when mixture begins to boil, let boil for one minute.  Remove from heat and pour into a heat-resistant container.  Put in fridge to chill.  Syrup will keep in fridge for a week or so.


Directions:

Puree strawberries and add lemon juice.  Cover and let chill in the fridge for an hour or so.  Add simple syrup to strawberry puree/lemon mixture and freeze, about 3-4 hours.  Blend frozen mixture in a blender until it reaches a creamy, sorbet-like consistency.  Re-freeze blended mixture.  That's it!  When ready to eat, allow sorbet to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes so that it can soften.