Finally! Healthy Nutrition Made Easy: Learn How to Prepare Delicious Green Smoothies That Your Family Will Love!

If you are looking for easy healthy recipes and an super-easy way to add super-important nutrients to your everyday diet, you are truly lucky to have found this page!

Because what you will learn here – if you just try it and stick with it – will likely change your life and health for the better (really, I don’t exaggerate one bit – because it happened to me a few years back).

Introducing…Green Smoothies

You probably heard about green smoothies by now, as everyone is raving about them. You may call them blended drinks, green shakes, green smoothies, green fruit smoothies, drinkable salads or salads straight from your blender.

It doesn’t really matter what you call them — as long as you drink them!

The fact is that if you are having problems with eating a healthy diet, and especially if you have picky-eaters in your house who will not eat a green vegetable if their life depended on it – this is a perfect solution to your problem.

The idea to blend various kinds of leafy greens, fruits and vegetables to create a liquid soup with a baby food consistency is not new. About 5 years ago that Victoria Boutenko (from the Raw Family) greatly popularized the concept of the Green Smoothie.

The Green Smoothie is essentially a blended salad made with fruits and leafy greens, with some optional water, blended at high speeds to smooth consistency. Generally, hard or savory vegetables such as carrots or tomatoes are avoided, or only added in small quantities. Only fruits, leafy greens, and some vegetables are included.

Many of you may cringe at the idea of adding spinach or kale to a fruit smoothie, thinking these greens belong to a salad or dinner side-dish and not in a sweet drink.

However, the fact remains that this is the EASIEST, FASTEST, and TASTIEST way to consume large amounts of greens on a regular basis.

Just think about it: it’s MUCH faster to drink the same amount of greens in a smoothie than that it would take you to prepare and consume (and that includes chewing properly!) the same amount of greens, fruits and vegetables in a salad or other dishes.

Great things I love about smoothies is they only take about a minute to prepare (with a good blender, such as Blendtec or Vitamix), and a minute or two to drink.

And, when you make a green smoothie, the smoothie making blender will do the chewing for you!

There is really no excuse not to have them!

Important: Quick preparation does not also mean quick consumption. Do not just gulp down the entire glass of smoothie quickly. It is recommended that you drink your smoothie SLOWLY – mixing it with your saliva for best digestion and assimilation of nutrients.

Benefits of Green Smoothies versus Green Juice

Drinking freshly made juices made from vegetables, greens and fruits is an EXCELLENT way to add important nutrients to your diet. Juices contain super-concentrated nutrients that the body can absorb almost instantaneously — there is no need to digest anything! This gives the body a rest, while flooding it with great nutrition — great for people who have serious health problems and want to heal quickly.

However, juicing may or may not be an ideal solution for you.

One problem is that you may be skipping juicing — and therefore not benefiting from it — because it’s more work. I used to do a lot of juicing in the past and I still try to do it, but let’s face it – it is quite time consuming and really messy. My problem is over since I started making green smoothies. Making smoothies is a super easy way to eat lots of greens, and a great alternative to juicing. It is much faster, less messy, and you also get fiber in addition to juice, so you get that feeling of satiety. If you can discipline yourself to make fresh juices regularly, great! Otherwise, stick with green smoothies, or — I believe the best solution is to drink both!

Another problem with juice is that you leave behind the valuable fiber that slows down the absorption of nutrients and provides the feeling of fullness. This can be seen as a benefit, but can also be a problem ;-). Drinking a juice is not a “satisfying meal” in itself. So if you juice, then go on to eat junk food because you feel hungry, it’s better to have a green smoothie, that will leave you satisfied for longer.

Fortunately, whichever option you choose, you cannot go wrong. Whether you are making vegetable juices or blending green smoothies, you are doing your body a huge favor.

So, How Do You Make A Smoothie?

Let’s start with some great ingredients for your smoothie creations.

Great Ingredients For Your Green Smoothies

GREENS: kale, bok choy, chard, spinach, parsley, romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, mint, basil, cilantro, or other.

FRUITS: bananas, pears, apples, mango, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, kiwi, pineapple, melon, papaya, watermelon, grapes, or other.

VEGGIES: cucumber, celery, avocado (small amount only).

Some fruit and green combinations you may want to try:

  • Spinach with bananas and strawberries
  • Spinach with apples, bananas, and some lemon or lime juice
  • Spinach, bananas, peaches, mango
  • Romaine lettuce with bananas
  • Romaine lettuce with cucumber and bananas
  • Romaine and celery with blueberries
  • Parsley and ripe pears
  • Parsley, celery, apple and pears

Add 1-2 cups of water and blend until smooth. Adjust proportions to your liking. Try to experiment with different greens and fruits. Fruits are added for sweetness, so make sure they are really RIPE, especially bananas. Beautifully ripened bananas look like this:

green-smoothie-before

Okay, so I need to add more spinach here, but I really love sweet taste of bananas!

In the beginning, when you are just starting out with the green smoothies, you may want to add just a little bit of mild tasting greens (such as spinach), to let your taste buds get used to the taste. Start adding more greens of various kinds (many of them are stronger tasting) later on.

Greens to add to your smoothies: spinach, arugula, Swiss chard, dandelion, kale, collard greens, beet tops, and whatever else you can find in the store or in your garden. Young, tender greens are better. Iceberg lettuce, although not very green at all, can be used too.

This is what a green smoothie looks like:

spinach strawberry smoothie

Don’t be discouraged by the “greenness” of this drink. It tastes delicious, trust me on this!

Just try it for yourself, OK?

(Plus, if you really don’t want the green color, you can easily make it into a purple or red smoothie by adding lots of mixed berries, and fewer green ingredients).

mixed berry smoothie

Green Smoothie Recipes

Here are more ideas for your delicious green smoothie creations. Feel free to adjust the quantity of ingredients:

Spinach-Apple-Banana

  • 1 head of spinach
  • 1 apple
  • 1 banana
  • 1-2 cups of water

Spinach-Raspberry-Strawberry

  • 1/2 head of spinach
  • 1/4 cup of raspberries
  • 1/2 cup of strawberries
  • 2 cups of water

Pinapple – Mango – Romaine

  • 1 small pineapple, peeled, cored, and chopped
  • 1 large mango, peeled, cored, and chopped
  • ½ head romaine lettuce
  • a tiny piece of fresh ginger

You may want to add some water.

Personally I don’t really love Romain in my smoothies, but sometimes it works well. You’ll just have to try it for yourself. If you don’t care for it, substitute a different green.

Kale – Banana – Berry

  • 2 leaves kale (kale is rather strong tasting, so you may want to start with less)
  • 2 bananas
  • 1 cup of strawberries or blueberries or raspberries
  • 1 cup of water

Apple – Mango – Lettuce

  • 5 pieces of green leaf lettuce
  • 1 ripe mango
  • 1 apple
  • 1 cup of water

One note here on using frozen fruits in your smoothies. Personally, I don’t like smoothies that are really cold, so if I’m using a lot of frozen ingredients, I add some hot water to the mix to make them room- (or rather – stomach-) temperature. I know that many people like frozen drinks, but drinking a lot of frozen smoothies is not really that healthy, in my opinion.

I admit – I am totally hooked on green smoothies!

However, I never use exact recipes – I constantly experiment by adding different ingredients, depending on what sounds good to my body each day. Even thought some concoctions taste more delicious than others, I haven’t been completely disappointed yet!

Now that you know how to make some basic easy healthy recipes for green smoothies, you can experiment with other variations on this theme. When you are ready, start incorporate other, stronger tasting greens into your smoothies.

green smoothies

Submit Your Smoothie Recipe!

When you find a taste you love, why not submit your favorite smoothie recipe in the comment section below!

Find more smoothie recipes and tips on my blog.


Two Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipes, One With a (Green) Twist

Strawberry smoothie recipes are some of my favorites. Unfortunately, if you search online, you find mostly recipes with milk, yogurt or kefir, not the most healthful or compassionate ingredients.

Of course it’s easy to substitute dairy with non-dairy milk or yogurt. There are plenty of options available these days in stores, including almond, hemp, soy, rice and other milks (see the boring classic Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe later on).

However, what I want you to do, is to step it up a notch and take your strawberry smoothie into an entirely different dimension.

I mean, like super-power smoothie. Smoothie that will energize you and nourish you, like no other drink you had before!

It’s Time to Step it Up a Notch: Strawberry Banana Smoothie (with Kale)

(Warning: This is not your usual strawberry-banana-smoothie!)

This strawberry banana smoothie is chock-full of great-for-you stuff like green kale leaves, sweet strawberries and creamy bananas. It tastes healthy, sure, but in the most delicious way possible. Plus, you get your daily dose of fruits and greens in one beverage. It’s a winning combination!

I know what you’re thinking – kale? Really? Won’t that taste… weird?

You’d think it would, but the truth is you can barely taste it. The sweetness of the strawberries and banana is sufficient to counteract the bitterness of kale leaves, leaving you with only the leafy greens’ nutrients to enjoy.

So let’s stop wasting time and make it already, shall we?

Strawberry Kale Smoothie Recipe

Strawberry Kale Banana Smoothie Recipe

Strawberry Kale Banana Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 kale leaves, or more (if you are just starting with green smoothies, begin slowly, and keep adding more as you get used to drinking your greens)
  • 1 or 2 ripe bananas
  • 1 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1 cup water
  • some sweetener such as agave nectar or stevia to taste (optional)

Instructions

  1. Blend until very smooth, pour, sip, smile!
https://greenreset.com/strawberry-banana-smoothie/

Strawberry Smoothie Recipe

Strawberry Banana Kale Smoothie Recipe

Green Strawberry Smoothie Recipe

Classic Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe

If you are not convinced yet, would much rather stay away from greens, here is a classic strawberry banana smoothie recipe for you.

 

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Ingredients

  • Strawberry Banana Smoothie
  • 10 oz fresh strawberries, stems removed
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 1 cup ice cubes
  • 3/4 cup non-dairy milk, or coconut water
  • Add a few drops of vanilla or almond extract (optional)
  • some sweetener such as agave nectar or stevia to taste

Instructions

  1. Wash strawberries and remove banana peels. In a blender, process all ingredients until smooth. For a little extra flavor, a few drops of vanilla or almond extract may be used, but do not overdo as a few drops go a long way.
https://greenreset.com/strawberry-banana-smoothie/


When using strawberries in your smoothies, it’s best to use organic, as strawberries are some of the highest produce when it comes to pesticide contamination. If they are not in season, buy frozen organic strawberries, or use other berries. Adding even just a few to your green smoothie will boost the nutrients and taste.

Also, check out the strawberry mousse recipe for another yummy recipe with strawberries.


For all my blending recipes I use Vitamix. If you don’t already own a VitaMix, I strongly encourage you to check out what this machine is capable of! For more information about VitaMix you can go directly to the VitaMix website. You may also want to read my post about the Best Blender.

I LOVE my VitaMix and highly recommend investing in one if you are ready to make serious changes to your diet. I have had mine for almost 5 years and use it daily!

If you decide to purchase Vitamix – be sure to use Promotional Code 06-004554 to get free shipping.


Very-Strawberry Banana Smoothie in Vitamix


Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

If you have a favorite recipe, why not submit it here in the comment section of this smoothie recipes blog for others to enjoy too!

I also welcome any comments, questions and suggestions. Thanks!


Smoothie Recipes For Kids (and Adults): Healthy Green Smoothies Even Picky Eaters Can Enjoy!

My son has been drinking green smoothies since he was four and he really loves them (although he sometimes complains that I give them to him all the time, LOL).

However, your children (and quite possibly your adult family members too) may be resistant to the idea to trying smoothie recipes with any green ingredients added.  If that’s the situation, don’t despair!

In my experience, green fruit smoothie recipes for kids are always a success!

But, yes, you may need to use some tricks to encourage their consumption initially.

Let’s face it. Unhealthy foods are everywhere. Children are assaulted by less-than-ideal food choices wherever they go: birthday parties, convenience stores, street vendors, fast food joints, etc. Sodas, cakes, cookies, pizzas, fries, hot dogs, candy, ice cream. There is no escaping them. Not even school cafeterias are free from them.  No wonder their taste buds get used to very sweet-salty-fatty foods.


The scary statistics is that 40% of the calories US children eat are nutritionally empty!

Getting children to eat healthy, balanced meals is a concern that MANY parents have. They are especially concerned about the lack of fruits and vegetables their kids are eating and it is no wonder… modern convenience foods marketed to kids are lacking in nutritional value. As a result children are not developing tastes or cravings for the nutritional powerhouse foods they need, namely fresh vegetables, fruits and leafy greens, as well as healthy whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.

The great thing about green smoothies is that they disguise what might otherwise be considered unwelcome ingredients, including healthy leafy greens that may be eaten rarely or avoided completely.

With green smoothies, healthy nutrition is easy. With a few simple smoothie recipes, you can easily turn your blender into a tool for creating super-healthy fruit smoothie recipes for kids!

How to Get Your Kids to Love Green Smoothies?

Most kids and adults love these smoothies from the first sip and may never know they are drinking their vegetables unless you choose to tell them!

However, if you can’t get your kids to eat spinach or kale in their dinner salad (that is, if they even eat any salad at all), you will probably be doubtful whether you’ll be able to convince them to have a green smoothie – or any drink that has even a hint of green (except maybe a green Gatorade).

So, here is a motivational technique to get your kids (and yourself) to eat a lot of greens.

If your child refuses to drink green smoothies, start by making smoothies that don’t look green at all. 

Start with preparing mostly sweet smoothies with lots of fruits or natural sweeteners. Children naturally love sweet taste of ripe fruit.

Then start incorporating celery in green smoothies. Celery hardly changes the color or taste of the smoothie and would be a great way to get children to start eating more of this nutrient-rich vegetable.

Start with a half or even a quarter stalk of celery. This is getting your food in the door. Your child may be suspicious about what is exactly in the smoothie, so don’t even tell him/her or let them see what is inside the blender.

Even if they don’t love it, they will not hate it either.

Once your child gets used to the celery, start adding small – and hard to detect – quantities of other greens.

Adding other color-changing ingredients, such as blueberries, will also help mask the green color that some children may find problematic.

With time, everyone in your home should get used to the taste, and even prefer it over the no-veggie version, which may start to seem too sweet and lack certain tartness. Our taste buds are really quite adaptable!

The key is to make the change gradually. Human taste buds are highly adaptable little organs, and you can reprogram them gradually. The taste buds aren’t sensitive enough to notice an addition  of a small amount of new ingredients and reducing sugar.  Over time, they’ll learn to enjoy the true flavor of fresh, healthy food and the lovely tastes that fresh vegetables, greens and fruits have to offer.

The good news is that taste buds adapt very quickly and within two-three weeks your child should be really enjoying more green smoothies.

More Tips to Make Sure Your Kids Drink Their Green Smoothies

Here are a few more tips to help you to get you started if you have picky eaters in your house:

* Start with preparing mostly sweet smoothies with lots of fruits. Add only a little bit of mild tasting greens (starting with celery or spinach). You may also add natural sweeteners, if you feel the smoothie is not sweet enough for your child.

* Use sweet, ripe fruits that your child loves. For example, strawberry, pineapple and blueberry are all time favorites.

* Use well ripened bananas for creamy texture.

* Think how to make the smoothie making and drinking fun. One way that may work well for younger kids, is to come up with a cool name for your smoothies. Some ideas are: Bey-blade Blaster, Enter the Dragon, Shrek’s Favorite Smoothie, Cinderella’s Cocktail, Transformer’s Fuel, or other, depending on what your child’s favorite’s characters are at the moment.

* Use a pretty glass with a straw and a cocktail drink umbrella.

* Or use a non-transparent cup with a straw to completely mask the color of the drink.

* Ask your child to drink green smoothies before the child eats other things. My son drinks a green smoothie first thing in the morning, before he eats anything else. He usually gets another glass 1 hour to 30 minutes before dinner.

* Educate your children about the benefits of drinking green smoothies. Explain it to them in simple terms. You may be surprised how eager they are to learn.

* Freeze green smoothie into a Popsicle.

* If nothing else is working, consider a reward system. Although, I am not in favor of reward systems, especially when it comes to food, however, if your child is highly defiant, and all other methods have failed, you may find that using some kind of incentive is effective. Just, please don’t use junk food as treats for reinforcing good eating habits!

For best results, it’s important invest in a quality blender. The reason being you really want a your green to be as smooth as it can be, and not all blenders will be able to handle the job of blending, e.g. kale or collard greens, to perfection.

Most likely, your child will refuse to drink anything with touch pieces of kale or celery stalk. Read my review best smoothie blenders and comparison of Blendtec vs Vitamix. Both are excellent blenders for making green smoothies.

Also, although I recommend that you start with spinach in smoothies, add different greens as well. It’s important to rotate your greens, and not use the same ones all the time.

Smoothies for Kids

My son loves green smoothies. No, really. He is squinting because he doesn’t want me to take a picture 😉

Delicious Smoothie Recipes for Kids (& Adults too!)

How about a healthy strawberry pineapple smoothie recipe to start off with?

The tangy taste of pineapple adds a wonderful flavor to smoothies. If you learn how to pick a pineapple that is ripe, you will also get a sweet-tasting smoothie. Cutting a pineapple ahead of time and storing the slices in an airtight container in the fridge will save time when making the smoothie. Canned pineapple often comes with added sugar or preservatives, so using it may not be such a good idea if your focus is on healthy nutrition.

Green Smoothie Recipes For Kids

Green Smoothie Recipes For Kids

Ingredients

    Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe
  • 1/2 cup strawberries
  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 cup of spinach leaves
  • 1 cup water
  • Healthy Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie
  • 1 cup fresh pineapple cubes
  • 1/2 cup strawberries
  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 cup of spinach leaves
  • 1 cup water
  • One to two drops of vanilla essence
  • One cup of yogurt and add a teaspoon or two of honey for sweetness (optional)
  • Blueberry Pudding
  • 2 cups blueberries
  • 1 banana
  • 1 stalk of celery
  • 1 cup of water
  • Kiwi-Mint-Spinach Smoothie Recipe
  • 2 kiwis, peeled
  • 1/4 small lime, peeled
  • 1 banana, peeled
  • 5 to 10 mint leaves (optional, to taste, if your child enjoys mint)
  • 1/2 cup fresh spinach
  • 1 cup of water, almond milk, or other non-dairy milk

Instructions

  1. Blend well and enjoy!
https://greenreset.com/smoothie-recipes-for-kids/

Optional Ingredients

Sweeteners. My 8-year-old finds fruit smoothies pretty sweet on their own, so I never add sweeteners, but he’s been drinking smoothies since he was four. If you are just trying to convert your kids to drinking greens, you may want to sweeten their smoothies a bit. Experiment with adding agave syrup, maple syrup, a few dried figs, or any sweetener that your child will like.

Ice. Many smoothie recipes call for ice cubes. Personally, I’m not a fan of adding ice cubes to smoothies, except in the summer. So even if I use frozen fruits, like I often do (for example, I often use mixed berries in smoothies), I usually add warm water. In my opinion, drinking a cold smoothie is not great for our body and digestion. However, many people will not drink a smoothie unless it’s ice cold.

Also, feel free to experiment and mix and match the ingredients! Have fun!

 

How to Make Smoothies That Are More Filling

Although many adults (and sadly, many children as well) are drinking green smoothies to help them lose weight, my son is very tall and thin, so I try various ways to add more calories to his meals.

I often add nuts, seeds and/or quick oats to smoothies to make them more filling.  My son is at the age when he is growing very quickly and burning lots of calories, so I want him to have adequate amount of nutrition during the day.

One of the recent favorites in my home is this Banana-almond nut smoothie – check it out!

banana-nut-butter-smoothie03b

Really, any smoothie recipe can be adjusted to be more filling and have more “staying power” by adding one of the following ingredients:

  1. Substitute part of water with non-dairy milk or yogurt: oat, rice, soy, almond, hemp, coconut water, or raw nut or seed milk. Experiment with various kinds of milk. Skip cow’s milk, and try one of the various non-dairy milks available today: almond milk, organic soy milk, hemp milk, rice milk, coconut milk, or other.
  2. Add avocado. In addition to healthy fats, it adds wonderful creaminess to smoothies.
  3. Add 1/4 cup nuts or seeds, such as walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, or ground flax seeds. Pre-soaking your seeds and nuts is recommended, but not required.
  4. Add 2-3 tablespoons of seed or nut butter. Almond, peanut, cashew butter, tahini, etc. Avocado, whole nuts and nut butters and milks will add some healthy fats to your smoothies. These fats to improve absorption of nutrients, as well as will slow down the release of the fruit sugar into your bloodstream.  Don’t overdo it, use these ingredients sparingly.
  5. Add 1/4 cup up to 1 cup of whole grains: oats, cooked brown rice, quinoa or other whole grains. Oats don’t need to be cooked (I use the one-minute quick oats). Other grains will need to be prepared in advance.  If you have leftover grains, even better!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

If you have a favorite recipe, why not submit it here in the comment section of this smoothie recipes blog for others to enjoy too!

I also welcome any comments, questions and suggestions. Thanks!


Delicious Banana Smoothie Recipes (Plus Are Bananas Good For You?)

Bananas have for long been a staple in many parts of the world. Most people enjoy bananas and banana smoothies. (I have to admit I almost always add at least 2 bananas – and sometimes more) to my smoothies.

They make the smoothies rich and sweet. They are also very filling, and come prepackaged in their own yellow jackets which makes them super-convenient to eat on the go and easy to bring with you on the road.

However, some people claim that they are bad for us because of the sugar and high calorie content, and therefore believe that they should be avoided.

I personally don’t believe this should be an issue for most of us. Even though bananas are high in calories, they are still a healthy food, rich in nutrients and fiber.  Still, if you are trying to lose weight or trying to overcome insulin resistance or type II diabetes via diet, then you may want to limit the amount of bananas that you eat.  (Also, scroll down to the section on Nutrition, Health Benefits and Will Bananas make me Gain Weight?; plus read my How bad are bananas post here. )

My Best Banana Smoothie Recipes

**Warning**: Just in case you haven’t noticed, you are on a GREEN SMOOTHIES website, so most of the recipes recommend adding some green ingredient – most often spinach – which is the mildest green to add to your smoothies if you are new to them. If you’ve never tried a green smoothie in your life, I encourage you to keep an open mind and just do it! It will not kill you, and who knows, it may help save your life ;-).

banana-smoothie002


Banana Smoothie: Easiest Ever Smoothie

  • 2 bananas
  • 1 cup water or non-dairy milk
  • vanilla extract to taste

Banana Almond Smoothie

  • 2 bananas
  • 1 cup water or non-dairy milk
  • 1 cup almonds

Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie

  • 1 1/2 cup almond milk, or any other dairy free milk
  • 3 bananas
  • 1/2 cup oats (I use uncooked quick oats)
  • 1 cup peaches or other fruit, fresh or frozen
  • 2 cups mild greens, such as lettuce
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla butter or extract (optional)

Strawberry Banana Smoothie(with a Green Twist)

  • 2 medium bananas
  • 2 cups of strawberries (fresh or frozen)
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup of orange juice
  • 1 cup spinach or other leafy greens
  • 1 cup water

Strawberry Banana Pineapple Tropical Smoothie

  • 1/2 pint fresh strawberries (you can leave the stems on!)
  • 1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and chopped
  • 2 ripe bananas, peeled
  • 1 cup spinach or other leafy greens
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup ice cubes (optional)

Strawberry Kale Banana Smoothie Recipe

  •  3 kale leaves, or more (if you are just starting with green smoothies, begin slowly, and keep adding more as you get used to drinking your greens)
  • 1 or 2 ripe bananas
  • 1 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1 cup water
  • some sweetener such as agave nectar or stevia to taste (optional)

Process in blender until smooth. Serve immediately or freeze until slushy.

Variations

Ice. A lot of smoothie recipes call for ice cubes. Personally, I’m not a fan of adding ice cubes to my smoothies, except sometimes in the summer. Drinking a cold smoothie is not great for our body and digestion.

Non-dairy milk or yogurt. Experiment with various kinds of plant milk or yogurt, such as soy, rice, almond, hemp, etc.

Sweeteners. I find fruit smoothies pretty sweet on their own, so I never add sweeteners myself, but I know a lot of people like to sweeten their smoothies. You can try adding agave syrup, maple syrup, a few dried figs, raisins, or any sweetener that you like.

Tips on How to Select and Store Bananas

Since bananas are picked off the tree while they’re still green, you will often to see them green in the store. Of course, green bananas should not be used in smoothies. The best bananas for smoothies are ripe yellow in hue and with brown spots. Leave bananas to ripen at room temperature. Unripe bananas should not be placed in the refrigerator as this will interrupt the ripening process that will not be able to resume even if the bananas are returned to room temperature.

If you need to speed up the ripening process, you can place bananas in a paper bag or wrap them in newspaper, adding an apple to accelerate the process. You can store ripe bananas in the fridge. Although their peel may darken, the flesh will not be affected. For maximum flavor when consuming refrigerated bananas, remove them from the refrigerator and allow them to come back to room temperature.

You can also freeze unpeeled bananas for use in smoothies. I usually do that when I have a lot of super-ripe bananas that I know I’ll not be able to use before they go bad. When I freeze bananas, I peel them and cut them in half. Then they go into freezer bags until I’m ready to use them.

some people believe that they are bad for us because of the sugar and high calorie content, and therefore believe that they should be avoided.

Banana Nutrition Facts

Serving size = 1 medium sufficiently ripe banana [about 7″ long and 126 grams (0.28 pounds) in weight]

Total Fat = 0 g; Cholesterol = 0 g; Calories = 110

Potassium = 400 mg (10% of daily recommended value)

Dietary Fiber = 4 g (16% of daily recommended value)

Sugar = 14.8 g; Protein = 1 g (2% of daily recommended value)

Vitamin C = 16% of daily recommended value

Vitamin B6 = 20% of daily recommended value

Bananas have a glycemic index of about 55. Compare that to apples, which have a glycemic index of about 38, and to pineapples who have a GI of 66.

The glycemic index measures how quickly the carbohydrates in the food get digested and turned in to blood sugar. This means that bananas get turned in to sugar pretty fast, but a medium banana contains less than 30 grams of carbs so that shouldn’t be a major problem. If you’re on a low-carb diet, though, this could be a problem and it might be a better idea to stick to fruits like blueberries. If you’re trying to overcome insulin resistance or type II diabetes via diet then you may want to limit the amount of bananas that you eat.

Health Benefits of Bananas

Just a brief search online for benefits of bananas produced many results. Here are just a few of them:

Help Bowel Health. Bananas are very rich in fiber content, which helps in curing any bowel-related problems, such as constipation. They can be more effective than laxatives, and much safer too. Bananas also help prevent heartburn. It has an antacid effect preventing heartburn.

Help Lower Blood Pressure. Potassium content in bananas can contribute to reducing high blood pressure and stroke. The presence of potassium also helps in lowering the amount of calcium purged from the body either through urine or in secretions such as sweat, which in turn prevents the occurrence of kidney stones and osteoporosis.

Help Anemia. High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Help Reduce Stress. Bananas with their high potassium content help our bodies deal with stress. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Help Recover from Depression. According one study, many people suffering from depression felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

I could go on and on about the benefits, but the bottom line is this: bananas are good for you!

Will Bananas Make me Gain Weight?

This is a question that many people ask. Many of people fear that bananas will make them fat which is totally untrue. The reason why people think that is because an average banana has about 100 calories, so for example, if you have 5 bananas a day it is 500 extra calories.

Well, first of all, as already mentioned above, bananas have a very low glycemic index. This is because they are full of fiber. This fiber takes a long time to digest which means that if you snack on two bananas you may very well get 200 calories, but you will also feel full for a couple of hours. Also, most of a banana is water which tends to get retained in the body. All you need to do is sweat it out and it’s gone.

Even the American Diabetes Association states that “Despite being erroneously called “fattening” and too high in sugar, a small banana only contains about 100 calories, which is not much more than a medium apple. Nor should it raise your blood glucose level too high.”

So, consider them safe and healthy for consumption!

Bananas have many health benefits

Bananas have many health benefits. Plus, they are delicious in smoothies!


For all my blending recipes – including smoothies, soups, nut butters and milks, I use Vitamix. If you don’t already own a VitaMix, I strongly encourage you to check out what this machine is capable of! For more information about VitaMix you can go directly to the VitaMix website. You may also want to read my post about the Best Blender.

I LOVE my VitaMix and highly recommend investing in one if you are ready to make serious changes to your diet. I have had mine for almost 5 years and use it daily!

If you decide to purchase Vitamix – be sure to use Promotional Code 06-004554 to get free shipping.


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Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

If you have a favorite recipe, why not submit it here in the comment section of this smoothie recipes blog for others to enjoy too!

I also welcome any comments, questions and suggestions. Thanks!