With the temperatures rising into the 90′s and heat indexes in the 100′s, I was really missing being able to have a cooling milkshake or ice cream on the “No Fun Diet”, so I decided to improvise. Also being a type II diabetic, having lipedema and Dercum’s meant no sugar, no milk and no fun! I discovered a bag of frozen fruit at a local big box store with raspberries, blueberries and marionberries. Thinking about all of the benefits of antioxidants in berries and the MMP inhibitors in their seeds, I decided to give it a try. I also bought some Vanilla Almond Milk, some strawberries and some bananas.

I washed and chopped the strawberries, sliced the bananas, grabbed some sandwich baggies and made up bags of berries and bananas in 1 1/2 cup sizes and popped them into the freezer. I put about 2/3 of a cup of strawberries, 1/4 of a sliced banana and 3/4 cup of the berry mix in each baggie. I guess I made about 20 bags of fruit, so it should last quite awhile and is certainly cheaper and healthier than buying a shake/smoothie from a store.

To make a wonderful “shake”, I empty the frozen fruit into a blender, add sweetener to taste(optional, of course), about 3/4 to 1 cup of almond milk or more to the desired consistency, then add a splash of vanilla flavoring(optional). Whir it up, pour into a tall glass and you are transported! Delicious! The possibilities are endless. You could add some coconut extract or a dash of nutmeg or cinnamon or some fresh pineapple. I often add ground flax seed too. Hope you enjoy. Here’s to health!

(Carole Reed, FDRS Secretary and Florida resident, recently submitted this ‘healthy shake’ recipe…it sounds delish! Feel free to email FDRS at info@fatdisorders.org with any other healthy recipes!)