Recipe baking: STRAWBERRY-BANANA SMOOTHIE

Fruit smoothies were invented as a healthy alternative to the milkshake. While very popular because of their taste, smoothies are also very healthy. Most smoothies are high in fiber, low in fat, and packed with vitamins and antioxidants.

While there are hundreds of ways to make a fruit smoothie, with varying tastes and textures, here are the basics:

First, chopped fruit (one type of fruit or several) is the smoothie's fruit base. Great fruits to use are bananas, berries (including strawberries and blackberries), pineapples, mangos, and/or kiwi.

Second, add an ingredient to the smoothie as a thickener. Good choices include low-fat yogurt, low-fat frozen yogurt, a can of frozen juice concentrate, frozen fruit, or a cup of ice. How much of these ingredients you will use depends on how thick you want your smoothie to be.

Third, you will need a liquid so everything will blend smoothly. You can add skim milk, soy milk, fruit juice or even water (some smoothie makers use flavored water). Start with 1/4 cup and then add more if needed.

An extra option to enhance flavor is to add a sweetener, cinnamon or vanilla extract.

A good rule of thumb for the ingredient measurements is to make your smoothie with 1 part fruit, 1 part liquid, and 2 parts thick base. For example: for 1 smoothie (a little over 1 cup), you would use 1/4 cup fruit, 1/4 cup liquid, and 1/2 cup thickener. But these measurements are not set in stone. The great thing about smoothies is you can experiment to get exactly what you want