How would you like a breakfast that takes less than five minutes to make, is packed full of essential nutrients, and requires very little effort to put together?
Smoothies serve as an easy, delicious way to get your required nutrients for the day, and you can even bring them with you to work or school. This banana berry smoothie offers the perfect combination of sweetness and tartness to satisfy your taste buds, plus gives you a burst of energy to start your day off on a good note.
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Ingredients to Suit any Season
Don’t have berries in the freezer? Want to change things up a bit? Just use whatever fruits are in season, add some spices, and blend to create a nutritious, delicious meal that requires no cooking, dishes, or preparation to make!
This banana berry bliss smoothie is perfect for the winter months because it’s packed full of antioxidants to ward off colds & protect against free radicals.
Try and use fruits that are in season when possible. They are cheaper and don’t have to be trucked thousands of miles across the country (or world); but most importantly, they are at their most nutrient dense just after being picked. In the summer, tropical fruits like pineapples, mangoes, bananas, and papaya make perfect ingredients for an energizing smoothie. Try adding mangoes, and then switch all the spices for orange juice to make a sunrise smoothie!
Feel free to change the quantities of the ingredients to suit your preferences (but remember some fruits contain high levels of fructose, which is nowhere near as bad as the high fructose corn syrup found in most packaged foods).
Berry Bliss Banana Smoothie
Ingredients
- 3 bananas
- 1 cup of frozen blueberries
- 10-15 raspberries
- 5 dashes of cinnamon
- 5-6 dashes of nutmeg
- 4 drops of vanilla extract
- A few sprinkles of shredded coconut
- ¾ cup of water add more for a thinner smoothie, and less for a thicker smoothie
Instructions
- Break the bananas up into one-inch pieces, and put them in the blender first.
- Add a cup of frozen blueberries on top, followed by raspberries (if you don’t have frozen blueberries, fresh ones will work just fine)
- Add the spices and vanilla extract
- Pour in your desired amount of water last.
- Finally, just turn your blender on the fastest setting and mix it for about a minute, or until all ingredients are blended well.
- Pour into your favorite glass, top with shredded coconut, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
You may want to add a handful of ice cubes to make your smoothie cold if you don’t have any frozen fruit.
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Health Benefits
Bananas
Bananas contain more nutrients than almost any other fruit or vegetable. Containing about 90 calories for a six inch banana, it makes for a perfect snack to give you a quick burst of energy. Bananas also contain about 27 grams of carbohydrates, which turn into glucose when digested. Every cell in our body runs off of glucose, so a diet high in carbohydrates, found in fruit, will keep you lean and healthy.
Bananas are also a wonderful source of potassium, the third most abundant mineral in the human body. It assists with muscle contractions, balances your electrolytes, prevents high blood pressure, strokes, and heart disease, and can even reduce anxiety and depression. Bananas also contain five of the eight essential B vitamins – thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B-6, and folate. B vitamins help maintain a healthy nervous system, as well as regulate heart functions.
With all of the benefits bananas provide, they should definitely be a staple in your diet!
Blueberries
Blueberries contain powerful cancer-fighting antioxidants, which neutralize free radicals in the body. They also have virtually zero fat, but contain lots of fiber to keep you fuller longer.
Blueberries are also a great source of manganese, which helps convert carbohydrates and fats into energy, plus plays a vital role in healthy bone development. One serving of blueberries gives you about 25% of the daily recommended value of vitamin C, which supports a healthy immune system, helps maintain good vision, and aids in collagen formation. Finally, some studies have even shown that blueberries can prevent or even reverse memory loss.
Raspberries
Eating one cup of raspberries a day will give you 54% of your DV of vitamin C, 12% of vitamin K, 41% of manganese, and 5% of vitamin E, iron, and potassium.
They also serve as a great source of antioxidants such as lutein, zeaxanthin, choline, and alpha and beta-carotene. They even reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease because of the antioxidants that reduce damage from free radicals. Raspberries also help stabilize blood sugar because of the high amounts of fiber. In addition, raspberries aid in healthy digestion due to the high amount of fiber and water. They help move fats along through the digestive tract, and eliminate toxins within the intestines.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon provides a lot of surprising benefits, such as lowering your triglycerides – a type of fat which causes heart disease if too much is present within the blood stream. It also contains the same amount of antioxidants as half a cup of blueberries, and helps regulate blood sugar.
Nutmeg
This flavorful spice actually provides a trace amount of key minerals that your body needs, like manganese, potassium, calcium and iron. Used for thousands of years as a traditional medicine, it also aids in sleep and better digestion, reduces inflammation, soothes sore muscles when applied topically as an essential oil, and protects the liver.
Vanilla
Just like other spices, vanilla acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. It can reduce joint pain, improve digestion, reduce nausea in pregnant women, and even improve cognitive abilities.
Coconut
A healthy fat coconut helps strengthen the immune system, fights off microbes and bacteria, and has a high amount of electrolytes. The fatty acids in coconuts make hair vibrant and lustrous, and also help maintain healthy bones and teeth. It also helps stabilize glucose levels, regulates hormones, increases thyroid production, and can even keep wrinkles at bay. If you want a healthy source of fat, add some to your smoothies, or use coconut oil to cook with.