Orange Banana Green Smoothie

Orange Banana Green Smoothie

1 ripe banana
1 scoop strawberry flavored protein powder
1 cup orange juice
3 cups spinach (I like organic baby spinach)
1-2 cups ice
1 cup water (best to use filtered water)

Put everything in your smoothie blender and blend until smooth.

Drinking green smoothies is a great way to lose weight and feel better, have more energy and provide your body with essential nutrients.

Play around with making green smoothies. Once you learn about the flavors you like, you can make unlimited variations.

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Banana Smoothies are delicious and very popular.

This healthy banana smoothie is very much like ice cream, but is a great way to cut out calories and extra sugars.

Banana Smoothie
1 cup milk (or soy milk)
2 frozen bananas (using frozen bananas make the texture more creamy)
1 scoop vanilla or chocolate protein powder
Dash of cinnamon
1 cup ice (optional)

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For those of you getting started with green smoothies I have a few suggestions:

1. Start slowly. Use your favorite fruit smoothie recipe and simply add a few greens – spinach is a good addition to a green smoothie as the flavor does not overpower the taste of the fruit. Another benefit to starting slowly is that your smoothie can still look appetizing as well. (See the “green smoothie” recipe and photo below.)

2. Only add greens that you like as you get started making a green smoothie. If you hate the flavor of kale, you won’t love it in a smoothie either. Once in a while you can sneak a green into your smoothie (such as spinach) that you don’t love – if it has a mild flavor you can get the nutrients and antioxidants without spoiling the taste of your smoothie.

3. Try using a rich flavored protein powder to mask the stronger flavors of your greens. You might be surprised that even chocolate protein powders can taste good with greens. Strawberry and vanilla go extremely well in a green smoothie.

4. Build up from there. I still can’t stomache full blown green smoothies (with mostly greens and maybe a pear for sweetness). But I certainly can add greens to my favorite recipes. And .. the best part… kids love these smoothies too. So not only do you get great taste, you also get the benefits of extra nutrition. Not a bad combination.

Here is an example of a green smoothie I made today. Don’t be fooled by the purple color – it still IS considered a “green smoothie“.

A green smoothie can still look appetizing if you use berries for a rich purple or red color.

Green Smoothie

1 cup berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)
2 cups ice
1 ripe banana
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup skim milk (optional – you may exchange for water)
1/2 cup water
1/2 fresh alfalfa sprouts (I sprout my own, but they can be purchased at most grocery stores. Make sure you rinse them well before adding).
2 cups fresh spinach (I prefer using organic baby spinach)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)

(You can leave out the protein powder if you prefer – I like to add it as it keeps you feeling satisfied longer and only adds about 90-120 calories to your green smoothie depending on the brand you use. This recipe could also be considered a protein shake.)

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1 fresh peach (either with or without the skin, without the pit)
1 cup orange juice
1 ripe banana
2 Tbsp limeade frozen concentrate
1 cup ice

Blend until smooth and enjoy. This is refreshing and tart – peach banana smoothie. You can leave out the lime concentrate if you prefer more sweet smoothies. Yummy!

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Here is one of my favorite recipes for protein shakes:

Chocolate Banana Protein Shake

1 ripe banana (peeled)
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I prefer the EAS brand as it has good flavor and no bad aftertaste as some protein powders do)
1/4 cup raspberries (optional)
2 cups ice cubes
1-2 cups skim milk (can be low-fat or for fewer calories you may use water but the consistency will be less creamy)

Blend until smooth. This chocolate banana protein shake is a great meal replacement for weight loss and extra energy.
(Adding a few raspberries or strawberries gives the shake a bit more flavor and changes the color from a chocolate brown to a lighter pink color as pictured below.)

Adding a few raspberries to your chocolate banana protein shake gives it a nice pink color and extra flavor.

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Banana Smoothie Recipe

2 ripe bananas
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
1 cup orange juice or water
2-3 cups ice

A banana smoothie can also be the foundation for many varieties of fruit smoothies. You can simply add other fruits to your recipe. Add strawberries and you get a strawberry banana smoothie. Or raspberries, peaches, blueberries or other fruits also work well with bananas.

Other recommended resources:

• Smoothies can be Low Fat – Even though many people reach directly for the smoothies these days when they are trying to be healthy, what many people dont realise is that shop-bought smoothies are often packed with fat and sugar.

• Secret smoothies – So my coworkers have discovered that Jamba Juice has a secret menu, not unlike In-N-Out’s Secret Menu. The problem? They’re ordering these items, but have no idea what is actually in them. Crazies. So hey, Jamba workers of the world: …

• Smoothie II (Chocolate Strawberry Banana) – Have I told you I’m a smoothie fanatic? I love them and it’s an easy way to get fruit in the toddler when he’s “not in the mood” for breakfast. I can come up with a million different combinations. Unlike my other quick smoothie idea …

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1 cup water
2 cups strawberries
1 ripe banana (the banana adds a creamy texture and sweetness to balance out the tartness of the lemonade)
1/2 can frozen lemonade (you can adjust the amount of lemonade you add depending on how tart you wish to have the smoothie)
1 cup ice cubes

This is a really good tart smoothie. It’s refreshing and fun to serve in a margarita glass with sugar around the rim.

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Chocolate Banana Smoothie
1 cup low-fat or skim milk
2-3 Tbsp chocolate syrup
1/2 banana (the more ripe the banana is, the better)
2 cups ice

To make it into a protein shake – you can substitute the chocolate syrup with chocolate protein powder. Or for a stronger chocolate flavor – use both.

You may substitute the milk with water or even soy milk. Rice milk will also work.
Blend until smooth.
Enjoy this yummy chocolate banana smoothie.

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Banana smoothies are really easy to make and bananas add a bit of sweetness to any fruit smoothie recipe.

Tip for a better banana smoothie: the more ripe the banana, the sweeter the banana smoothie will be. I like to keep my bananas around until they are really brown, then peel them, break into chunks and freeze them in freezer bags. If you put one banana in each bag then it’s easy to simply add it to any recipe. Then whenever I need to add a banana to my smoothie, they are ready to go.

This banana smoothie recipe is easy and fast. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ice cubes and water to desired thickness
• flavor ingredient — select from the following list according to preference: 
      chocolate syrup (add until taste is perfect)
      1 cup strawberries
      1/2 cup ice cream
      peanut butter
      honey or sugar
      Other (experiment with a variety of ingredients)

Blend all ingredients together in smoothie blender until creamy and chunks are gone. Then your banana smoothie recipe is complete. Sit back and enjoy your smoothie. Yum. 

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