There are few small pleasures for anyone who appreciates awesome produce/food, than getting an awesome, seasonal, bountiful pile of goodies from the local farmer's market.

This past Saturday, I actually had the morning off from training sessions for the first time in about two months, and I took full advantage of it by getting to the farmer's market bright and early, right when it opened at 8am. As a result, I scored some gorgeous peonies, and a bundle of spring produce goodness including some perfect ruby-red rhubarb.

Last year was the first time I had tried using fresh rhubarb, and I made some awesome Strawberry-Rhubarb Chia Jam with it-- then I used the leftovers from that to make a mouth-watering jammy oat crisp. I was actually going to make the crisp again for dessert after making dinner for a friend, but then I was craving something refreshing and tart earlier that day. So this strawberry-rhubarb lemonade smoothie was created!

Rhubarb has a slight tangy-ness to it, which lends itself perfectly to lemonade. Strawberries and rhubarb go together so well that you almost never see rhubarb by itself in a recipe without its companion, strawberry. The sweetness of the strawberry balances out the rhubarb and keeps it from getting too bitter of an aftertaste, I find.

To amp up the protein content and tart flavor, I added Greek yogurt, which also made this just the right amount of creamy. If wanting to go dairy free, you can totally substitute any kind of yogurt!

It's a super simple recipe and can be whipped up in a few short minutes! It was just the refreshing drink I was looking for, and it's perfect for those sunny summer days coming up.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Lemonade Smoothie

*serves 2

Gluten-free, Dairy-free/Vegan optional

Ingredients

1 cup Strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup Rhubarb, diced
1/3 cup Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Water
1 cup Greek yogurt (or coconut/almond yogurt if vegan)
2 tbsp Maple Syrup or Honey
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup Ice

Recipe

1. Place all ingredients except ice in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth (may take a little longer than usual to break down tougher rhubarb stalks). Add ice, and blend until ice is crushed and mixture becomes smoothie-like. Pour and serve!