This week’s Smoothie Sunday is a first because it’s main ingredient is actually kind of a weed.  Wineberries are an Asian species of raspberry that after being introduced to North America for ornamentation escaped from cultivation and now just grows in the wild.  They can be a bit annoying if they take over your garden, but overall we’re fans of wineberries here at PCFG.  They’re smaller and sweeter than raspberries and also free.  Obviously when eating fruit found out in the wild you want to be careful that you’re not eating something poisonous, but they have no poisonous look-alikes in North America, so if you find something that looks like a little raspberry growing it’s probably a wineberry and safe to eat.

This smoothie almost didn’t get made this year due to a drought affecting the wineberry output in my neighborhood, and then also a power outage the morning I was planning on making it.  But luckily things came together and I was able to make it.  It’s really yummy, so if you have wineberries growing by you, I highly recommend working them into your smoothie repertoire.

What you’ll need

Wineberry Smoothie:

• 1 cup wineberries (you can supplement with raspberries if necessary)
• ¼ cup vanilla yogurt
• 2 tbsp fruit juice
• 6 ice cubes
• Pinch of salt
• Sugar to taste

Combine the first 4 ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth.  Add the salt and sugar and pulse until well combined.  Pour into a tall glass and enjoy!