Allison Cafe

Mar
25
2009

Banana berry smoothie, berry delicious!

Ok, so it’s a cheesy title for this post, but I couldn’t resist. One of my passions in life is making tasty smoothies. This is one of my favorite ways to get several servings of fruit and some protein each day.

Tasty and healthy

Smoothies can be made with just about any fruit. This is a great way to use fruit that is ripe and you aren’t sure if you can eat it all before it goes bad. Just chop it up, put it in a Ziploc bag and toss it in the freezer. When it’s time to make a smoothie, you’ll have fresh fruit. (See some fun facts below about strawberries to learn about this power fruit.)

Tip: I always freeze my fruit for smoothies because it gives a thicker consistency to the smoothie; think milkshake instead of juice. Yum! Cutting and freezing the fruit ahead of time is a great time saving tip too.

Here is one of my favorite smoothies below.

Berry Banana Smoothie

1/2 cup strawberries, cut in half

1/4 cup blueberries

1 small banana

1/2 cup Trader Joe’s lowfat 2% Greek yogurt

1/4 to 1/2 cup of orange juice or apple juice (use less for thicker consistency, more for a more juice like consistency)

handful of ice cubes (optional) for consistency

Blend the above in a blender starting with the yogurt. If the fruit is frozen, you may want to place it in first to make blending easier. Pour into your favorite tall glass. Enjoy with a handful of almonds or wheat crackers.

Fun Nutrition Facts About Strawberries

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries (166 grams) contains the following (Source: Strawberries.com):

Calories 50
Protein 1 gram
Carbohydrates 11.65 grams
Dietary Fiber 3.81 grams
Calcium 23.24 mg
Iron 0.63 mg
Magnesium 16.60 mg
Phosphorus 31.54 mg
Potassium 44.82 mg
Selenium 1.16 mg
Vitamin C 94.12 mg
Folate 29.38 mcg
Vitamin A 44.82 IU

More fun facts can be found here