Q: I was hoping you could share a breakfast smoothie recipe. In the summer, even the mornings are hot where I live. I thought a breakfast smoothie would be just the ticket.

A: Kudos for thinking outside the box (or the blender, as it were). There's no reason why a smoothie can't suffice for breakfast, especially when it features a few fruit servings, a dairy serving and a whole-grain serving — like this week's recipe. I'm usually a berry smoothie gal, but this week I decided to go orange and am featuring mango and cantaloupe.

Elaine Magee (ENLARGE)

Original size 24p/ mango breakfast smoothie

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This smoothie will start your day off with an impressive supply of key nutrients, not the least of which are vitamin C, folate, beta carotene and calcium. The carbohydrates in this recipe come from the fruit plus the yogurt, soy milk and granola topping.

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Melon Mango Breakfast Smoothie

1 serving

Hands on: 3 minutes Total time: 3 minutes

You can reduce the carbohydrates by eliminating the granola topping.

3/4 cup frozen mango chunks

1/2 cup frozen banana slices (or fresh banana slices)

1/2 cup diced cantaloupe

1/3 cup vanilla yogurt (light, low-fat or nonfat, as desired)

1/4 cup vanilla soy milk (or substitute low-fat milk with 1/4 teaspoon vanilla)

Topping

1/4 cup low-fat granola (more, if desired)

A few hours before making the smoothie (or the night before), place mango chunks and banana slices in a freezer-safe dish or plastic bag.

When ready to make the smoothie, place mango, banana, cantaloupe, yogurt and soy milk in a food processor or blender, breaking up the fruit into chunks and slices if frozen together, and pulse or puree until thick and smooth.

Spoon into a dish or glass and sprinkle granola over the top.

Per serving (using light vanilla yogurt): 350 calories (percent of calories from fat, 8), 9 grams protein, 71 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fat (0.4 gram saturated, 1 gram monounsaturated, 0.8 gram polyunsaturated), 2 milligrams cholesterol, 7.3 grams fiber, 147 milligrams sodium, 0.2 gram omega-3 fatty acids, 0.3 gram omega-6 fatty acids, 6 Weight Watchers points.

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Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian and author of 25 books on nutrition and healthy cooking, including the new "Food Synergy." Need us to help make your recipes healthier? E-mail Magee via her Web site at www.recipedoctor.com.