Next to strawberries, blueberries are my favorite u-pick fruit of the season. Plump, round, firm, juicy and sporting a rare-in-food color, blueberries are not only tasty, but decidedly good for you too—small but mighty antioxidant powerhouses capable of neutralizing free radical damage in the body.
photo credit Chloe Tuttle, Big Mill Bed & Breakfast, Williamston, NC
While there is no shortage of recipes for creating delicious blueberry muffins, coffee cakes, miniature tarts, crunches, syrups and sauces, innkeepers Bob & Mary Jo Stamper of the Aska Lodge B&B in Blue Ridge, Georgia, have created a no-fail, signature smoothie for pampering their bed & breakfast guests: Green Tea Blueberry Smoothies. Packed with extra antioxidants from green tea, the Aska Lodge B&B’s signature smoothie also brims with frozen banana for an added kick of potassium—perfect for cooling down inn guests or invigorating them before hiking & white water rafting trips.
A bonus? Mary Jo created her inn’s bountiful kitchen using blueberries picked from bushes located on their beautiful, north Georgia, mountain property.
From Mary Jo of the Aska Lodge B&B…
Even when the blueberry bushes on our property aren’t in season, blueberries have been so reasonable in our local groceries that our signature Green Tea Blueberry Smoothie has become a popular, year-round treat. Whether I’m harvesting berries from our own bushes or buying them on sale, they are so easy to prep (simply wash, dry and freeze) that I always have an abundant supply of blueberries on hand.
photo credit Inn Cuisine
When re-creating our signature smoothie at home, I suggest keeping a few frozen bananas on hand as well—they will make this enticing drink even more frosty and delicious! Also, I try to buy (and freeze) overripe bananas when available since they’re less expensive to purchase and are perfect for lots of different recipes: just peel, put the bananas in a zippered, freezer-safe bag, freeze and take them out as needed.
For the tea, I recommend Celestial Seasons Blueberry Green Tea, which gives this smoothie an extra blueberry punch, but any good green tea would work.
Editor’s note: When making the Aska Lodge B&B’s Green Tea Blueberry Smoothie, I have found that using chilled Pomegranate Green Tea works nicely as well and adds a nice dimension to the flavor. By following Mary Jo’s suggestions and using frozen blueberries, bananas and chilled green tea, you are sure to be rewarded with a thick, frosty smoothie of perfect consistency. Simply put, smoothies can be persnickety, but this is the finest smoothie I have ever made or tasted and I thank Mary Jo for sharing this delightful recipe. It has become a regular in the Inn Cuisine household.
Enjoy!
photo credit Inn Cuisine
Green Tea Blueberry Smoothies
(as featured on Inn Cuisine, from the Aska Lodge B&B, adapted from Woman’s Day magazine)
- 1 & 1/2 cups strong, chilled green tea (made with 6 standard tea bags)
- 2 cups frozen blueberries
- 1 frozen banana, sliced into 1″ chunks
- 3 tablespoons honey
In a blender, whirl chilled green tea, frozen blueberries, banana chunks and honey on high speed until smooth and combined. Top with fresh blueberries, a sprig of basil or mint if desired, and serve immediately.
Yield: Makes 3 (1-cup) servings.
Editor’s note: Even if you’re not fortunate enough to have blueberry bushes growing in your yard, this doesn’t mean blueberries can’t play a significant role in creating a bountiful kitchen: There are plenty of u-pick berry farms across the United States and one useful, online tool I’ve found to locate them is PickYourOwn.org’s handy state-by-state list.
No luck finding a u-pick berry farm in your area? Pay a visit to your local farmers’ market or join your local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for deliveries of in-season produce throughout the year. Opportunities for creating a bountiful kitchen are plentiful, if you are willing to participate.
For more blueberry tips & tempting recipes, check out…
Blueberries & Bloggers: A Taste of the Community Kitchen
- Blueberry Picking at Butler’s Orchard – The Arugula Files
- 8 Tips for Blueberry Picking – The Kitchn
- Blueberry Pickin’ – The Cutting Edge of Ordinary
- Blueberry Pie – Simply Recipes
- Whole Wheat Blueberry Buckles – Andrea’s Recipes
- Blueberry Pound Cake – Lynn’s Cooking Adventures
- Blueberry Apricot Muffins – Baking Bites
- Blueberry & Strawberry Buttermilk Cake – Pinch My Salt
- Blueberry Muffins: Superfood Never Tasted So Good – Cook Sister!
- Blueberry Soup – Biscuits and Such
Speak up! What’s your favorite way to use fresh or frozen blueberries?
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I love the rich color of this smoothie!
Such a perfect smoothie!!! anti-aging blue drink!!!
Great idea! I also try and keep bananas in the freezer and have blueberry smoothies all year round.
Smoothies are a great way to use flash-frozen fruit out of season, too. I’ve been known to sneak a bit of vanilla frozen yogurt into our summer smoothies.
Sandie, What a great way to use extra blueberries…your photos are yummy looking.
green tea & blueberries what an antioxidant power house! I love frozen blueberries in smoothies, they are the bomb, and that color!
wow, this drink is packed full of antioxidants! Great idea with the green tea.
Veggie Belly – I know…gorgeous isn’t it?! This color would make such a bold paint color too, especially for a bathroom or accent wall.
Jen – Anti-aging slant: Maybe I should have renamed this drink the Smoothie of Youth?! The more I think about it, the better idea that seems!
Katerina – Keeping a supply of bananas in the freezer is something I just picked up from this post, myself. Can’t believe I never thought of doing that before, but I’m always thrilled to learn something new from the innkeepers I work with or other food bloggers and cooks, as it’s often the obvious ideas that escape me.
Lydia – Frozen vanilla yogurt & blueberries is ALWAYS a good combination!
Chloe – Thanks for the photo compliment—these smoothies are so good, I really needed to do them justice.
Kristen – It’s that stunning color—a sure attention grabber.
Pigpigscorner – I agree. This is a perfect & interesting use of green tea, and it’s hard to believe this smoothie is so good for you when you’re drinking it because it tastes so darn good! Nice being able to enjoy something for breakfast (or any time of the day really) that doesn’t make you feel guilty for consuming it.
This looks so similar to the smoothie I made last night! I had one with blueberries, yogurt, honey and milk. It was so/so though — I think I need to hone my smoothie-making skills.
Mmmmmm . . . blueberry anything is so good. Nice idea with the green tea though. Double your antioxidant dose of the day! I’m with Lydia — I love to freeze blueberries and use them for all sorts of stuff all year long. Absolutely the easiest fruit to freeze on a tray,
Thanks for this wonderful recipe! I tried it out and i love the background taste of the green tea. good way of getting fruit and green tea in.
This looks amazing. I am making this for my husband tonight to sip while sitting on the patio!
It has been so hot lately that those blueberry smoothies look incredibly refreshing. Do you pick blueberries around here? If so, where have you gone?
Ella sat down the other day and ate an entire quart of blueberries in one sitting. The girl loves those things!
we used to do the annual blueberry picking in Copake Vermont every summer.. Freeze lots of em and have blueber pancakes in the dead of winter … yummers.
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Is there any substitute for the banana? I’m allergic to them.
I would think ANY other fruit could be a great substitute… try it with some frozen strawberries, which I do if I don’t have frozen bananas. Just make sure you use frozen fruit so you don’t have to use ice cubes and water it down.
Sandie, your pictures were amazing…that rich color makes these smoothies look as good as they taste! Isn’t that what good cuisine is all about?
Perfect dish especially for this time of year were having an oven turned on sounds horribly miserable.
Plus there is something fun about picking blueberries too. Although our grocery stores always seem to suck compared to the farmer’s market.
Gah! This look soooo good. Too bad it’s not summer anymore. I want some fresh blueberries!