This strawberry and banana smoothie is absolutely delicious – it is the perfect smoothie for an easy breakfast or healthy snack. Worried about how to fit in your daily servings of fruit? Drinking a glass of this will give you some or all of the recommended servings.
Each ingredient in this recipe provides necessary vitamins, minerals, and fiber for a healthy diet. As the ingredients are also low in fat, they are a powerhouse when blended together.
The basis of this smoothie is a frozen banana. The sweet, light taste of a banana adds a wonderful texture to the drink, and freezing it overnight (or at least for several hours first) makes the drink seem like a shake. Bananas are a wonderful source of potassium (helps with heart function), and they also provide folate (helps produce and maintain new cells) and choline (helps with brain function). All of this, plus being a good source of fiber and some protein makes it one of the most perfect natural foods.
Strawberries also provide potassium and fiber, as well as Vitamin C (helps protect the body against infections). Sometimes referred to as a “super food”, strawberries are thought to help cleanse the body of free-radicals (sometimes created by pollution, cigarette smoking, or other environmental factors) and to provide mood-altering serotonin. www.juicing-for-health.com/strawberry-nutrition.html
Vitamin C is also abundant in orange juice. If you juice your own oranges, you can assure its freshness. It’s important, however, to drink freshly-squeezed juice immediately. Juice that sits out for even a short period of time begins to lose its vitamin content.
This is a drink you can have year-round. Bananas, strawberries, and oranges are available any time of year in most grocery stores (Giant Eagle always has an amazing selection of good quality fruits).
Banana Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients for Banana Smoothie:
- 1 frozen banana (peel the banana, wrap it in foil, place it in the freezer overnight or for several hours)
- 6 - 8 strawberries, whole with hull removed
- ¾ cup orange juice (freshly squeezed is best, but you can use store-bought as well)
Directions for making a Banana Smoothie:
In the container of a blender, add the frozen banana, strawberries and orange juice. Blend until smooth.
(It’s best to drink it immediately while the banana is still frozen.)
Ideas for optional ingredients (each could be added in addition to or in place of the strawberries):
- ½ cup fresh blueberries (these are a delicious addition)
- 1 fresh apricot, peeled and diced
- 1 fresh peach, peeled and diced
- ½ cup raspberries
- ¾ cup pomegranate juice could be added in place of the orange juice
OTHER HEALTHY RECIPES:
Healthy taco recipe -- all the taste and a lot fewer calories!
Broccoli recipe – the sauce is absolutely amazing!
Baked cottage fries recipe – delicious
Click on “SUBSCRIBE” above to receive email alerts of yummy recipes!
Comments