Perfect Pink Paradise: An Ode To Friendship

**You may have seen this post before. It was inadvertently published 2 days early for about 2 hours!! If you commented, your comments are gone **

I got an email a few weeks ago from FoodBuzz asking for submissions to a smoothie contest. This was not to be just any smoothie, but rather a smoothie that used Lactaid lactose-free milk, and was “unique” in some way. Unique I can do. Smoothies I can do.

Why the heck am I posting a smoothie when this is a “Dinner” blog? Well, dang it, I want to go to Foodbuzz Fest in San Francisco in November, and the only way I get to go is if I win my way there. So I got to thinking about a smoothie.

When I saw Lactaid, I was immediately thrown back to the days I worked at Starbucks. Yes friends, I was a barista for almost six years. Anyway, Starbucks has a policy that any of the coffee beverages can be made with any milk that a customer brings in as long as the pitcher is sanitized before and after use. (Good to know, right?) There was one customer who brought in her nonfat Lactaid milk and she made us try the leftover steamed milk one day. I was amazed as to how creamy and delicious it was!

Fast forward 14 years, and I got a phone call from Lizz. She had finally gotten to the root of her tummy troubles, and it had been figured out that she is lactose intolerant. It was fairly devastating because she LOVES milk and cheese! I suggested a variety of different non-dairy milks that I enjoy, and after trying most of them, she came to a conclusion: the Lactaid was best.

So, my best friend, heterosexual life mate, and sistah-from-anotha-motha, I dedicate this to you. Every ingredient (well, except one) makes me think of you for some reason. Yes, it’s weird, yes it’s random… but hey, that’s us!

Perfect Pink Paradise

(Because with the way our brains work, this sounds kind of naughty)

Combine in a blender:

“Freshly squeezed mango juice”

Because it’s good in martinis

So it won’t hurt sensitive tummies

“Millions of peaches, peaches for me…”

Because we used to pick them in my back yard

Because your kid decided she doesn’t like them, and is weird for it

Yeah, this is the random one

Because that guy at Chipotle made us guacamole tacos

Blend blend blend until it’s smooth and the color is even.

Pour into a fun glass with a bendy straw and enjoy! (Yes, the bendy straw IS important.)

The final flavor was sweet, tart, complex, and delicious. It was satisfying as a snack, and a beautiful color. And, I guarantee you it smells better than the Chrysler LeBaron… and i know it’s pink. But honestly, is a black, white, or grey smoothie all that appetizing?

So I raise my glass of smoothie to the best friend ever, who loaned us her dad on Sunday to replace our hot water heater, and gets Every. Single. Last. Joke… and to the prospect of going to San Francisco to meet all my blogger friends. I might not have a million followers, but I can tell you this: I make a very friendly smoothie!

For more great lactose-free resources, make sure to visit Lactaid’s new Moovision website full of fun internet TV shows. The website goes live at 2 p.m. CDT, so check it out after then!

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Thanks to FoodBuzz for sending me a coupon for Free Lactaid!

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