Save a Buck and Stay Cool: A Handy Homemade Smoothie Guide

[See More Recipes: Beet Gazpacho from MyMoon | Sweet Tea Done Right]

You know what’s really satisfying when it’s hot out and you don’t want to hate yourself? Smoothies. You know what’s unbelievably, remarkably stupid-expensive? Smoothies.

We’ve all been there. You walk into your nearest juice bar and you think to yourself, “I’m getting a banana-pineapple smoothie. Only banana and pineapple. That’s it. No more.” But as you wait in line, listening to the whirr and rattle of juicers and blenders, you start reading the menu to stave off your impatience.

Mmm, papaya. Oh! Passionfruit. Hey there, apples. Protein powder can’t hurt. Definitely need energy booster.

Stop right there.

Snap out of your blended-fruit-induced fugue state. Instead of being a fancy smoothie snob and spending $10 on a single beverage, you could whip up a batch of strawberry frozen lemonade at home. It will cost you significantly less and will taste better because, well, it costs significantly less.

Here’s what you do:

1 Dump some frozen strawberries into your blender.
2 Now dump some store-bought lemonade into your blender.
3 Now blend.

If you want to be fancy, you can buy fruit at your local farmer’s market, freeze it, and then blend it with lemonade you’ve made by squeezing dozens of lemons into a little sugar water. Or, you can do it bodega-style by buying the crustiest bag of frozen fruit you can find hidden under the ice cream sandwiches and a bottle of from-concentrate lemonade.

The thing about making your own refreshing frozen beverage is that it’s not a competition. You can make it however you want, with no one to listen to you or judge your elaborate order (kale? really?). No matter how you make it–fancy, bootleg, or somewhere in between–it’ll be cold, sweet, citrusy and cheap.