Soothie Smoothie

Erik had a gum graft this morning (his last for a while, wohoo!). To prepare for these minor oral surgeries I do two things: first, I make a gallon of sweetened iced tea and second, I stock up on frozen fruit and yogurt for smoothies. Why the tea? Tea helps to stop bleeding- in fact his periodontist even suggested he could just wet some tea bags and use it like a poultice on his gums, but iced tea is a lot yummier, and the cold is helpful for swelling. Magical stuff. The smoothies are so he doesn't starve.
Erik and I have long enjoyed a good smoothie- even without surgical necessity. I have two smoothie books within my cookbook collection. Erik used to joke about how we should open a smoothie stand some day. We are very critical of smoothies we get from malls or restaurants. First of all, I have to make two different categories of smoothies here. There are yogurt-based (or if you're really naughty, ice cream based) smoothies which are rich and creamy, sometimes have things like protein powder in them and honestly, are a meal replacer. Then there are what I now call "fruity freezes" because it was on the menu somewhere and it is a good description for the kind which don't have any dairy, but are really just crushed ice and fruit. Generally, I am a fan of the former. Although on a hot day "fruity freezes" have their place, for certain. But if you put "smoothie" on your menu and give me "fruity freeze" I am not going to be very happy.
Today I made a decadent smoothie with coconut milk, banana yogurt, frozen mango chunks, a bit of skim milk and a bit of Dole Pineapple Orange Banana juice. Woah. I gave Erik the first taste and he was slow to respond, which made me think I'd erred, and then he said "this is one of the best smoothies you've ever made." Of course I had to partake with words like that, and it is, indeed, darn good!