Good morning, sunshine! It’s Monday, a new week, another chance for a fresh, healthy start.

But, first … more confessions. 1: I have been known to eat ice cream/potato chips/cheese/some combo of the three for dinner. 2. I am a health nut. I know, I am a deeply confused woman. But I really try to pull my crap together sometimes, and this is one of those times (I recycle a New Year’s resolution to eat more fruits and veggies most years). Thus, smoothie time.

If you’re not big smoothie drinker, I highly recommend at least trying smoothies on for size for several reasons. They’re easy, they are super good for you (fiber, antioxidants, calcium, protein) and they are tasty, even for a sweets-scarfing gal like me.

Did I mention easy? You don’t even need a recipe. There are a million out there, and we will surely try some in the future, but I like the kitchen-sink approach following a basic, flexible formula. This makes enough for two nice portions, although I usually drink it all myself in a desperate attempt to offset all those ice cream dinners. Here’s the thinking behind the formula. If you just want the recipe, skip to below.

My base is always a banana. On the riper side is best so the fruit purees very smoothly and contributes sweetness. But any banana that isn’t green will work fine.

Next is yogurt. If plain, I’ll also drizzle in a tablespoon of honey. Silken tofu plus honey is a great replacement to make a vegan drink. If you want an all-fruit smoothie or one that’s a little thinner, skip the yogurt. One note: I often have plain Greek yogurt around. If I’m using that in my smoothie, I drop the quantity to ¼ cup because it is super thick and tangy. If I have conventional yogurt, especially if it’s flavored, I use ½ cup – which is 6 oz., the amount in a single-serving carton.

Frozen fruit: I view ice cubes as wasted space in a smoothie, but I do like a frosty drink, so I use frozen berries. If you disagree, more power to you, although the addition of water in any form will dilute the flavor, so go easy. Whatever you have in the freezer is fine: blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, sliced peaches, cherries, I have used them all. My current fave is 1 cup of raspberries plus 1/3 cup blueberries.

Kitchen-sink stuff: You can stop with bananas, berries, yogurt and juice, or go wild. Recently, I had some leftover cranberry sauce so I added that to a blueberry smoothie. YUM. Sometimes I add half a peach and some fresh ginger to a raspberry smoothie. Plums, pears, anything works. If it gets too thick with the extra stuff, add more juice.

Juice, 1-2 cups: OK, if you’re type-A like the BIK gals, you may wish for a strict recipe, but the amount of juice depends on personal preference. I use 1½ cups. If you like a thick smoothie, use less – just enough juice to make everything come together (it will thin out as the fruit melts). If you want it lighter, add more. I use orange juice because I always have it, but I have also used cranberry cocktail with good results. Mango nectar comes to mind as something I need to get my hands on for smoothie-ing ASAP.

Basic smoothie: serves one to two.

1 ripe banana

¼ to ½ cup yogurt, see above (if using plain, add 1 Tbsp. honey)

1 1/3 cups frozen berries or other fruit chunks such as mango, pineapple or peaches

1 to 2 cups juice (I use 1½ cups orange juice)

Toss everything into a blender and blend until smooth, adding more juice if needed to make drink come together smoothly. Enjoy!

Well, guys, J&B are headed back to their kitchen in the Great White North, leaving me with a freezer of bagels, croissants and more — just a little teaser for you. We will post excessive details toute suite!

It’s of course a little sad around these parts, but I’m sure I will bury myself in a culinary project shortly to spruce things up. First up is tweaking the croissants we spent our weekend on before we try to impose the whole dramatic, kitchen-trashing process on you. We seem to have had a little rising issue, little being the operative word. Our efforts yielded a whole bunch of sublime yet super tiny pastries.

I know! Looks good, right? Totally — I am eating one right now (my sis did just leave, after all! Must self-soothe). But they didn’t rise up into the fluffy layers they should have. So, I will soon launch back into the insanity and add more yeast.

So, no recipe for you yet. But in the meantime here’s a personal fave for an easy (not “easy” but actually easy) wintertime dessert that looks pretty, too. Sliced apples layered across straight-from-the-freezer puff pastry. Straight from Bon Appetit.

This one doesn’t keep well, so just plow through it. I’d say by the second night it’s still edible if you crisp in the oven. Polish it off then with a little ice cream if that’s how you roll.

And one last bit of news: Commenting at BIK is open for business!