Build­ing a sum­mer rou­tine begins today. No doubt that local stone fruits, berries, and mel­ons can influ­ence good habits.

An instant refresher, smooth­ies make for a nutri­tious break­fast or sat­is­fy­ing mid-​day snack.

Sum­mer hydra­tion is crit­i­cal to men­tal alert­ness and phys­i­cal sta­mina. The liq­uid choices in smooth­ies run the road from coconut water to fruit juices.

Fruit juices range from cran­berry, orange and pineap­ple to cherry, pome­gran­ate and apple. Tap in to the antiox­i­dant attrib­utes of those dark reds for max­i­mum ben­e­fit.

Watch the sugar intake as fruit and juices have nat­ural sug­ars that need to be accounted for when cre­at­ing a smoothie menu.

Dairy and non-​dairy oat, almond and soy milks add their own ver­sion of liq­uid fla­vor. A yogurt of any type boosts the nutri­tional value of what goes into the blender.

Make it green. Plenty of green fruits and veg­eta­bles turn the daily smoothie into a BIGGreen energy machine. Avo­cado, kale, baby spinach, kiwi, cucum­ber, mint, lime, apples, cel­ery and chard qualify.

Keto-​friendly addi­tions of wal­nuts or almonds, seeds (chia, hemp or pump­kin), gin­ger root and cin­na­mon lift fla­vor pro­files and con­tribute to sati­a­tion. Go trop­i­cal by way of bananas, mango, papaya, guava and fresh pineap­ple. 'Aloha' to days of warm weather with the cool breeze of fruit smooth­ies.

Prepa­ra­tion short­cuts- wash­ing, cut­ting and freez­ing fruits and veg­gies takes the has­sle out of the actual blend­ing and mix­ing.

Keep smoothie recipes in mind dur­ing those sum­mer shop­ping trips. When great tast­ing peaches or straw­ber­ries show up on dis­play, buy extra. They freeze nicely for future use.

If frozen fruits and veg­eta­bles are not avail­able, con­sider do-​ahead ice trays of the favored juices. Pop out a few cubes at a time to give each smoothie a frothy tex­ture.

Pro­tein pow­ders, flax seed oil, vanilla extract, dates, or almond but­ter can con­tribute to higher nutri­tional sip­ping.

Start with the fla­vors we like before sneak­ing in bit­ter greens, car­rots or spinach.

Serve them in fes­tive clear-​view glasses with col­or­ful straws for sip­ping. Travel tum­blers will keep them cool for lunch. Gar­nish with berries, herbs or fruit slices. No umbrella required.

Beat the heat. Boost immu­nity. Improve the mood. Set your­self free from at least one meal a day by adding smooth­ies to the line-​up. They appeal to every age group. The smooth move is find­ing the per­fect com­bi­na­tion of ingredients.

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