By Request Betty Shimabukuro

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Smoothies are a
refreshing summer drink

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The smoothie is the right drink for summer -- cool, fruity and pumped up with calcium. Two award-winning recipes follow, both combining strawberries and bananas.

The first won 8-year-old Andrew Alcorn, a third-grader at Royal Elementary School, a $1,000 savings bond in the national Mix It with Milk 'n' Jello-O Contest. His win earned him a trip to New York City to compete in a "mix-off" for a $10,000 college scholarship.

Andrew and his mother, Alice, submitted the recipe without a single tasting, believing that it sounded good in theory. Now that it has won, they've given it a try. "You don't think about Jell-O and pudding as being very good to drink so it was a little scary," Alice said. "But it's really quite good."

Jell-O is awarding one $1,000 prize per month through October. Drink recipes must include at least 1 cup of milk, 2 tablespoons of Jell-O instant pudding and/or flavored gelatin powder and other ingredients that vary with a monthly theme (Andrew's was "Fruit Fantasy").

For entry details see www.mixitwithmilk.com

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Banana Berry Blaster

1/3 cup mashed bananas
1/3 cup mashed strawberries
1 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon strawberry gelatin mix
1 tablespoon instant banana pudding mix

Smash fruit together to form a paste. Add remaining ingredients, cover and shake. Serves 1.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 200 calories, 1.5 g total fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 190 mg sodium, 39 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 11g protein.

Our second smoothie winner is a more sophisticated affair, created by Kapiolani Community College culinary student Kyle Shimoda. It took first place in HMSA's 5 A Day Recipe Contest, held at last weekend's Taste of Honolulu.

Shimoda, who won a $1,000 scholarship, said his smoothie is a low-fat version of the popular bubble tea drinks, with a fruit "confetti" standing in for the tapioca pearls. For full appreciation, use one of those wide bubble drink straws.

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Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

4 medium strawberries
1-1/2 apple bananas
1 cup frozen yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
1 cup ice
>> Fresh Fruit Confetti
2 4-inch thin banana slices
3 strawberries, finely diced
1 kiwi, finely diced
1/2 apple banana, finely diced
1/4 cup cantaloupe, finely diced

To make confetti: Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Coat a cookie sheet with thin layer of cooking oil spray. Lay banana slices on sheet and bake 45 minutes, until crisp; set aside. Combine diced fruits; set aside.

To make smoothie: Combine ingredients in a blender and purée. Pour into 2 glasses. Spoon confetti onto crispy banana slices and serve with smoothie.

To drink: Stir confetti into smoothie. Break up banana and stir into smoothie. Drink through a bubble drink straw.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 390 calories, 4 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 45 mg cholesterol, 90 mg sodium, 81 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 13 g protein.

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Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.