Banana Smoothie Recipe is a great choice of food anyone could easily prepare and try. It contains lots of benefits that are healthy for the body. Banana is one of the most popular fruits worldwide. It contains essential nutrients that can have a protective impact on health. In this article, we shall examine one of the ways of eating bananas, in form of a Banana Smoothie Recipe but before we do, let us talk about the benefits of bananas.

Health Benefits of Bananas

Bananas are high in potassium and contain good levels of protein and dietary fiber. The following are some of the possible health benefits of bananas.

Blood pressure regulation. Cardiologists encourage people to lower their intake of salt or sodium and increase their consumption of foods containing potassium. Potassium can help manage blood pressure and reduce strain on the cardiovascular system. A medium banana provides almost 9% of a person’s daily potassium needs.
Asthma. A recent study suggested that eating bananas might help prevent wheezing in children with asthma. One reason for this could be the antioxidant and potassium content of bananas. However, more research is needed to confirm these findings.
Cancer prevention. Laboratory investigations have suggested that lectin, a protein that occurs in bananas, may help prevent leukaemia cells from growing. Lectin acts as an antioxidant. Antioxidants help the body remove molecules known as free radicals. If too many free radicals build up, cell damage can occur, potentially leading to cancer.
Heart health. Bananas contain fiber, potassium, folate, and antioxidants, such as vitamin C, all of which support heart health.
Diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends eating bananas and other fruit as they contain fiber. Eating fiber can help lower blood sugar levels.
Digestive health. Bananas contain water and fiber, both of which promote regularity and encourage digestive health. One medium banana provides approximately 10% of a person’s fiber needs for a day.
Preserving memory and boosting mood. Bananas contain tryptophan, an amino acid that may help preserve memory, boost a person’s ability to learn and remember things, and regulate mood.
Potassium. Bananas are rich in the mineral potassium. Potassium helps fluid levels in the body and regulates the movement of nutrients and waste products in and out of cells.

Potassium also helps muscles to contract and nerve cells to respond. It keeps the heart beating regularly and can reduce the effect of sodium on blood pressure. One medium-sized banana contains 422 milligrams (mg) of potassium.

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The Banana Smoothie Recipe

Banana Smoothie Recipe is thick, creamy beverages usually blended in form of purée. These Smoothies Recipes are usually very easy to make, requiring minimal ingredients and little amount of prep time.

Smoothies of fruits/vegetables have numerous benefits to the human body.

Some of the benefits of Banana Smoothie Recipe are listed below:

Helps in weight loss
Prevents dehydration
Control cravings
Aid digestion
Source of antioxidants
Enhance immunity
Curb sleep disorders

Having discussed the health benefits of Banana Smoothie Recipe, it’s time to talk about how to make a banana smoothie. Banana smoothies make excellent breakfasts, mid-day snacks, and hangover cures. Since bananas blend so well with other flavours, it’s easy to create a smoothie to satisfy your particular tastes.

Basic Banana Smoothie Recipe Ingredients

One Banana. The ripeness of your banana will affect the taste of your smoothie. For a sweeter smoothie, use very ripe bananas. Frozen bananas are best because they help to thicken the smoothie. If you forget to plan and don’t have frozen bananas, you can use fresh. If using fresh bananas you may want to blend in a few ice cubes to chill the smoothie.
½ to 1 cup (120 to 240 millilitres) milk
1 tablespoon (15 grams) of honey
5 to 8 ice cubes (optional)

Makes 1 to 2 servings

Method of Preparing Banana Smoothie Recipe

Peel and slice the banana, and put it into a blender. For a thicker smoothie, use a frozen banana instead. If you don’t have a blender, you can use a food processor fitted with metal blades.
Add the milk and honey. The more milk you use, the thinner smoothie you will get. For a thicker smoothie, use plain or vanilla yoghurt instead. For extra protein, add 3 tablespoons (45 grams) of peanut butter. For extra flavour, add a pinch of ground cinnamon. If you can’t find any honey, you can use sugar, agave nectar, stevia, or even maple syrup instead.
Top it off with ice, if desired. If you are using frozen bananas, then you can skip the ice cubes—unless you prefer thick smoothies.
Blend the ingredients until everything is smooth and evenly combined. There should be no lumps or clumps. From time to time, you may have to pause the blender, open it up, and push the ingredients down the sides with a rubber spatula.
Pour the smoothie into a glass and serve. You can enjoy it as it is, or you can garnish it with a dollop of whipped cream, banana slices, or a drizzle of honey.

every Banana Smoothies Recipe can be customized to an individual’s taste. You can always modify the ingredients in your banana smoothie to add or remove what you want or do not want.

As stated earlier, banana smoothies can be enjoyed as snacks or as meals. The ingredients in your smoothie can be modified to include your favourite breakfast items.

Below, is a typical banana smoothie recipe for breakfast

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Banana Smoothie for Breakfast

Ingredients

1 banana
½ cup (120 millilitres) of milk
½ cup (125 grams) yogurt
½ cup (40 grams) oatmeal
2 tablespoons (30 grams) peanut butter (optional)
1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 grams) honey (optional)
¼ to ½ teaspoon (0.65 to 1.5 grams) cinnamon (optional)
A handful of ice cubes (optional)

Makes 1 to 2 servings

METHOD:

Add a peeled and sliced banana into a blender. For a thicker smoothie, use a frozen banana. If you don’t have a blender, you can use a food processor fitted with metal blades instead.
Add the milk, yogurt, and oatmeal. For a sweeter smoothie, use vanilla yogurt. For a less sweet smoothie, use plain yogurt. You can also omit the milk and use more yogurt for an even thicker smoothie
Top it off with some cinnamon, honey, and peanut butter. The cinnamon will add a hint of spice and flavour to the smoothie, while the honey will add a touch of sweetness. The peanut butter will add some extra protein. If you are using peanut butter, be sure to use the smooth kind; it will be much easier to blend than the chunky kind. If you like your smoothies extra cold and thick, add some ice cubes.
Blend the ingredients until everything is smooth and evenly combined. Occasionally, pause the blender and push the ingredients down the walls of the blender. This will ensure that everything gets evenly mixed and that no lumps remain.
Pour the smoothie into a tall glass and serve. You can enjoy it as it is, or you can garnish it with a sprinkle of oatmeal, a dash of cinnamon, or a drizzle of honey.

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How To Freeze Bananas

Banana smoothies recipes are best enjoyed with frozen bananas. You can freeze your excess bananas, that way, you’ll have frozen bananas ready whenever you want to make a smoothie.

To freeze bananas, start by peeling the bananas and slicing them into 1/2-inch thick rounds.
Place the sliced bananas in a ziplock baggie and squeeze out any excess air. Alternatively, freeze in an airtight container.
Freeze for at least 8 hours and up to 1 month, then add the frozen bananas to your favourite smoothie recipes.
The bananas may stick together a little as they freeze, but you can easily separate any big clumps. It’s ok if a few banana slices are stuck together when you put them in your blender.
To prevent bananas from sticking together you can first flash freeze the banana slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and then transfer them to an airtight container.

Banana smoothie recipe is quick and easy to make. All you have to do is add the ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth.

However, there are a few tips for how to make a smoothie that can help you to make the best smoothie, every time.

Use at least one frozen ingredient in your smoothie. Frozen fruit or veggies, help to thicken and chill your smoothie.
Err on the side of using less liquid, to begin with. You can always add more liquid to get to your desired consistency.
Layer the smoothie ingredients for the most efficient blending. Greens, such as spinach or kale, should be at the bottom of the blender to give them a head start on blending up smoothly. The same goes for raw oats, nuts, and frozen fruit. Add ingredients such as nut butter or yogurt on top of the fruits and vegetables to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of your blender.
Begin blending on low speed and increase to higher speed as the smoothie starts to blend.
Don’t overfill the blender. If you are making a double or triple batch of smoothies to feed a crowd, start by adding only part of the frozen ingredients. Then add more once you get the first addition blended smooth. I do this when I make enough smoothies to feed myself and my four kids. If you fill the blender too full to start with it will be difficult to blend the smoothie.
As you blend, you may have to occasionally stop and stir, shake, or use your blender’s tamper to mix the ingredients. Sometimes you can get an air bubble at the bottom that prevents the blender from mixing the smoothie.
If you make smoothies often, a high-powered blender can save you time and effort.