What Is In A Banana Smoothie

Smell Color Easy Of Plucking

In any doubt, remember my own smell, color and ease of plucking test. A ripe banana will be 1) have a sweet banana smell, 2) yellow color with lots of dark speckles, and 3) very easy to be plucked from its branch. An unripe banana will be 1) little to no smell at all, 2) very bright yellow color, and 3) hard to be plucked.

I would recommend for you to freeze these ripe banana immediately because if you let it ripe more, it is going to go bad soon. A banana gone bad will feel squishy, mushy looks very dark and you wont even think of eating the flesh. Freezing the banana at its ripest stage will allow you to use it at a later time not too mention you dont have to add any ice if you are using a frozen banana for your smoothie.

A bit overripe banana in this picture here. For these, you are going to need to peel it open and see its inside. If the banana is still firm and bright yellow in color, then its good to be eaten. But if its dark, mushy and slimy, its better to just throw it away

What Are The Benefits Of Banana Smoothies

09 March, 2021

Banana smoothies can have many benefits for your health when you know how and when to make them. Keep in mind that you should always include a small amount of extra fiber, to help reduce the glycemic index.

Before we get on to smoothies, its good to point out that the best way to eat fruit is whole, without any processing. As a general rule, you should avoid processed fruit juices.

However, with smoothies, you can sometimes make an exception. Its true that in these cases the fiber is broken down mechanically when you blend the smoothie. But you can always add a little extra fiber after processing your drink. By doing this, you can make up for the initial loss of fiber.

How To Make Banana Smoothie Recipes:

• Add all the banana smoothie ingredients to blender
• Blend until smooth
• Pour and enjoy

Making healthy banana smoothies is easy! Below You will find 10 recipes to make more smoothies with bananas.

Smoothies with bananas is versatile, the recipes in this article work with a number of different ingredients. From avocado, to raspberries. Ive even shared a few chocolate shake copy cat recipes!

Below you will find 10 Healthy Smoothies with Bananas

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Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

Peanut butter banana smoothies have been a favorite snack of mine since I was a teenager. I usually always have the ingredients on have on hand, theyre ultra-creamy, just sweet enough to kill my sweet tooth, and filling enough to stand in for breakfast. Plus, theyre INEXPENSIVE. There are a lot of ways you can modify this simple banana smoothie if you want to make it your own, so if you havent tried this one yet, definitely put it on your list!

Our Favorite Nutritional Boosters

This easy chocolate peanut butter smoothie is great for adding your go-to nutritional boosters. Here are some of our favorites to add:

• Flaxseed meal: this is one of my favorite ingredients to add to smoothies for a little boost of fiber and minerals, and is especially great for nursing mamas as flaxseed can help increase milk supply. Usually, a tablespoon is plenty! Heres a brand I love.
• Hemp seeds: feel free to throw a tablespoon of hemp seeds into your smoothie for a boost of healthy fats, omegas and minerals.
• More veggies: you could also try adding some frozen cauliflower for an extra boost, or adding a handful of spinach or kale. Youll never be able to taste them!
• Protein: Easily add more protein to a smoothie by adding some greek yogurt or 1 scoop of your favorite protein powder. I recommend Vital Protein collagen peptides or Four Sigmatic Plant-Based Protein Powder.

Recommended Reading: How To Make A Good Fruit Smoothie

How To Thicken A Smoothie

Using frozen fruit, such as frozen banana, berries, mango or peaches, will thicken a smoothie. Blending in chia seeds or uncooked old fashioned oats can also help to make a smoothie thicker. If you find that your smoothie isnt thick enough after blending, blend in a little more frozen fruit. Ice is not the best way to thicken a smoothie because as the ice melts, it will water down your drink.

Blend Banana Smoothie In A Blender

We love our Vitamix, but any blender will work to blend this healthy smoothie to creamy perfection! Now, remember that this banana smoothie can be as thin or as thick as you want it.

If you like your smoothies a bit thinner, try adding extra almond milk. If you like thick and creamy omit some of the almond milk.

Our Favorite

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How Should You Make Banana Smoothies

Making healthy banana smoothies is very simple. Youll just need a couple of bananas that are just ripe, half a liter of whole milk, cinnamon, and inulin powder.

Put everything into the blender apart from the inulin. When youve blended it and it has a nice texture with no lumps, add about two or three tablespoons of inulin, to add fiber.

With this recipe, youve got a healthy drink that can work well as a light dinner, which is especially helpful if youre going to do exercise later. This way youre making sure youll have a good supply of energy. This can mean the difference when it comes to performance and can contribute to helping to avoid fatigue.

Raspberry Banana Smoothies Recipe

This simple smoothie recipe is packed full of healthy antioxidants!

If you want to swap out the blueberries for more raspberries, or even strawberries, it will be delicious.

Special Tip: Baby spinach has virtually no flavor, making it the best green to add to smoothies when you first start making green smoothies.

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Are Banana Smoothies Good For You

Banana smoothies can be good for you as long as you use healthy ingredients! This recipe contains bananas, milk, vanilla, ice and a bit of sugar. Sugar is optional though. If your bananas are ripe enough, they will provide enough sweetness for your smoothie which will make a very healthy banana smoothie recipe!

The sugar in this recipe is used to sweeten and deepen the banana flavor. But it is not necessary if you prefer to leave it out.

The point is, you can always modify this recipe to meet your dietary needs, just know that the overall taste and texture will be a bit different if you do so.

Are you ready for this smoothie recipe? Ok. Let’s do this!

Banana Smoothies: Healthy Drinks

As weve seen, banana smoothies have many different benefits for your health, and especially for athletes. When you drink a smoothie at the right moment, it can have a ripple effect on your strength and health. Of course, a good part of these positive effects will depend on the quality of the ingredients you use.

Dont forget that the best moment for drinking a smoothie is actually at dinner time. During the first few hours of the day, your body wont absorb all of the carbohydrates correctly. Or at least this is true in a large percentage of individuals.

In the morning, its ideal to consume more protein-based foods. And late at night or during the night, you should try to avoid consuming carbohydrates, since this is associated with a greater risk of obesity.

Recommended Reading: How Do You Make A Smoothie

Final Thoughts On Smoothies With Bananas

This article proved beyond a double that bananas are a great addition to any smoothie.

Next time you have browning bananas, slice them and freeze them to make recipes with frozen bananas.

Here at Lose Weight By Eating we love smoothies! Between the website recipes and the cookbook recipes Ive written over 100 smoothie recipes.

I couldnt do that without my trusty blender. Check out this article to find out what blenders are best for smoothies.

How To Make Ultra Satisfying And Nutrient

My favorite thing about smoothies is that you can adapt based on what you love. In this case, we took a basic blueberry banana smoothie and added lots of extra nutrition with hydrating cucumber, iron-rich greens and anti-inflammatory ginger. For even more sticking power, we throw in omega-rich hemp seeds and cacao nibs.

Lets dive into what makes this smoothie great:

• Blueberries are high in fiber, low in sugar and are packed with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. You can use fresh or frozen berries. The only downside to fresh is that they have quite a bit of pectin. There isnt anything wrong with that, but when fresh blueberries are blended, the smoothie becomes thick and jello-like over time. This isnt a problem with frozen blueberries, so if you have frozen, use them.
• Banana adds creaminess, but it doesnt stop there. They are a nutritional powerhouse packed with heart-healthy potassium, vitamin B6 and fiber.

• Cucumber, spinach and fresh ginger are rich in many essential vitamins and minerals and work wonders in reducing inflammation. Theyre also great for healthy skin, hair and nails.
• Hemp Seeds and cacao nibs add a bit of protein and lots of omega fatty acids. The hemp seeds blend in and make the smoothie extra creamy while the cacao nibs add a little bit of dark chocolate flavor. If you dont have cacao nibs, try a teaspoon of cocoa powder or just leave them out.

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Read Also: How To Make A Good Smoothie Bowl

How Long Does Banana Smoothie Last

Theoretically, it will last for up to 5 days in the fridge, but it will turn brown due to oxidation and become rather unappealing. If you keep it in the freezer, however, it will last for up to 3 months and wont discolor as much.

We recommend that you store each portion in individual containers, for easier thawing. If your freezer lacks space, use Ziploc bags instead of large containers.

How To Make The Best Strawberry Smoothie

Our basic smoothie recipe calls for four simple ingredients:

Strawberries I love adding a heaping cup of whole strawberries and particularly enjoy when the smoothie is made with frozen berries. For a smoothie made with blueberries, try our easy blueberry smoothie recipe.

Banana I use one banana to make one large or two smaller smoothies. For the best tasting smoothie, use a ripe banana. For the creamiest smoothie, use frozen banana slices .

Half an orange When I have oranges in the house, I love adding them to my morning smoothie. It adds extra vitamin C and tropical flavor. If you dont have oranges on hand, dont worry, you can substitute other fruits like mango, pineapple, and berries.

Milk To help the ingredients blend, I like adding some liquid to the blender. For a smoothie without milk, use water. It still tastes amazing. For more creaminess use milk .

To make the smoothie, I add everything into a blender, and then blend until smooth. For an icy cold smoothie, throw in a handful of ice or use frozen fruits.

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Tips For Storing Bananas

Living in Florida means my bananas ripen in two days tops. I love having them on hand for a quick snack or easy smoothie ingredient, yet they turn brown too quickly! So I’ve learned a great trick- freeze them.

I leave bananas on my counter until they are the perfect ripeness for me . Then I line a baking sheet with parchment, peel the bananas, and line them up on the baking sheet. Freeze for 1-3 hours, then toss those lovely frozen bananas in a freezer safe bag .

Now I’ve got the perfect banana smoothie ingredient ready to go. If you don’t have gallon sized freezer bags, then cut your bananas in half before freezing to maximize space. Prepping smoothies ahead also saves produce!

What Else Can I Add

As mentioned above, there are a lot of different things you can add to this smoothie to take it in a different direction. Try adding some of these ingredients to your banana smoothie:

• Quick oats
• Coconut

The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products we use and love. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Also Check: Things To Put In Your Smoothie

Can You Make Smoothies Ahead

Its best to serve smoothies right after blending. Thats when they taste best and have the best texture. Most smoothies will still taste ok on the second day if you make them the night before and then store them in the refrigerator until the morning.

If youd like a make ahead or meal prep option, you can measure out the smoothie ingredients, except for the liquid, and store in an airtight container in the freezer. Then to make the smoothie all you have to do is add the prepared frozen ingredients and liquid to your blender and blend.

How To Make A Banana Smoothie Recipe

When making a green smoothie I recommend blending the leafy greens + liquid first. Yet for a non-green smoothie, feel free to blend all your ingredients at once!

If this smoothie is too thick for your blender blades to handle, try adding a bit more liquid, stirring up the ingredients, then blending again. This should help.

If cashew milk isn’t your thing, then use the plant based milk of your choice! Oat milk will produce an equally creamy smoothie, while almond milk will make this smoothie a bit thinner.

Read Also: Belly Fat Burning Smoothie Recipes

Ingredients For This Banana Smoothie

Now that youre convinced its worth a whiz in the blender, here are the ingredients youll need for this banana smoothie! Its just 4 ingredients:

• Ripe bananas at room temperature: No need to freeze a banana here! You can whip up this banana smoothie on the spot.
• Ice: A hefty quantity of ice counteracts the need for frozen bananas.
• Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt gives this recipe a protein boost and helpful probiotics. It also makes for a perfect creamy texture.
• Milk: Just the right amount of liquid makes this smoothie blend up perfectly. You can also use non-dairy milk .

Benefits Of Banana Smoothie

Although this fruit smoothie is sweet, it contains plenty of micronutrients and a fair amount of fiber. One banana gives you vitamin C, riboflavin, folate, niacin, copper, potassium, and more, with amounts varying from 5 to 12% of the recommended daily value.

With Greek yogurt and chopped almonds included, our banana smoothie is also packed with loads of healthy fats.

Still, as our smoothie contains about 9 grams of added sugar , you shouldnt have more than 3 servings per day. If youre going to have other sweet desserts or snacks within the day, check out our guidelines to understand how much sugar you should consume.

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Banana Smoothies Are Good For You

There are many health benefits to be gained from enjoying Banana Smoothies. Here are a few of the benefits:

• Frozen bananas: This fruit is linked to moderating blood sugar levels, improving digestive health, and as an aid to weight loss.*
• Almond butter: Almond butter is packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein. It also gives this smoothie so much flavor and increases the creaminess of it. Almond butter also helps to make this smoothie more filling.
• Vanilla almond milk: Almond milk is low in calories and sugar while being high in calcium and other vitamins. Almond milk is also naturally dairy free, vegan, and lactose-free. I like using vanilla-flavored almond milk for an extra punch of flavor. Smoothies taste much better with milk than water!
• Cinnamon: This unassuming spice is loaded with health benefits! Cinnamon consumption is linked to reduced heart disease risk and linked to lowering blood sugar.

*While I do have my background in health, I am not a doctor or certified nutritionist. Make sure to consult your doctor or nutritionist as needed.

But wait, there isnt ice listed in the ingredients for this recipe whats up with that?!

How To Make The Best Banana Smoothie

My basic smoothie recipe calls for four simple ingredients:

Banana I use one banana to make one large or two smaller smoothies. For the best tasting smoothie, use a ripe banana. For the creamiest banana smoothie, use frozen banana slices. Ive shared how I freeze bananas for smoothies below.

Half an orange When I have oranges in the house, I love adding them to my morning smoothie. It adds extra vitamin C and tropical flavor. If you dont have oranges on hand, dont worry, you can substitute other fruits like mango, pineapple, and berries.

Plain or Greek yogurt I dont always add yogurt to my smoothies, but when I do have it in the fridge, adding a spoonful ensures a protein-packed and creamy smoothie. For a smoothie without yogurt, add a little extra fruit or include veggies like spinach or kale.

Water or milk To help the ingredients blend, I like adding a splash of liquid to the blender. For a smoothie without milk, use water. It still tastes amazing. For more creaminess add milk .

To make the smoothie, I add everything into a blender and then blend until smooth. For an icy cold smoothie, throw in a handful of ice or use frozen fruits.

We have more easy smoothie recipes! Try our 5-minute strawberry smoothie or this easy blueberry smoothie.

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Make It Plant Based / Vegan

You can make this banana smoothie plant-based or vegan by doing two swaps:

• Use vegan yogurt or another ½ banana. Use your favorite brand of plant-based yogurt or try another half banana to get just the right texture.
• Substitute non-dairy milk for the milk . We like using oat milk or almond milk. Another good option here would be coconut milk, since the flavor pairs well with banana.