We had an ice day yesterday and the temperatures hovered around freezing all day. It was gray, cold and gloomy. I decided to cheer up my afternoon with a delicious smoothie. Considering the season I had no fresh berries on hand, which are my favorite. I opened my freezer and found bags of strawberries I had hulled and frozen.

I had fresh pineapple, fresh papaya and frozen strawberries. I added a little of each to my VitaMix container. I always add some greens to my smoothie. Today’s choice was baby spinach. I threw in a few leaves of fresh mint and a piece of ginger (great immunity booster during these winter days). I avoid using ice, especially on cold days, to pack as much of the real fruit and veggies I can. So for the liquid part of the smoothie I chose 1/4 cup each of the orange juice and pomegranate juice. I love the color it gives my smoothies. Lastly, I also like to some plain Kefir to get my dose of probiotics.A quick whirl in the VitaMix and I had a refreshing, nutritious and tasty smoothie.

The availability of fruits and veggies during winter can be limiting. Use frozen fruits and vegetables when fresh are not available. A great way to have these on hand is to freeze them yourself when they are in season. All kinds of berries, grapes, mangoes can be frozen for later use. Eat what’s in season and freeze the rest for later.

Sometimes even the “in season” items can be found in the freezer section and can be convenient. Although Kale is available most of the year, I came across, frozen Kale, Chard and Collards. No washing, no chopping, ready to use. Frozen veggies are a great way to boost the nutrition value of your soups. Add a bag of frozen greens to your next batch.Keep up your fruit and vegetable intake daily with at least 5-7 servings altogether throughout the winter for an extra immunity boost.