Have you been saving overripe bananas in your freezer as instructed in our Paleo Banana Bread recipe post? Good job. In my recipe-writer fantasy, you’ve been waiting on the edge of your seat, gazing at least once a day at your growing frozen banana stash, scratching your head, gesturing with theatrical inquisition toward the ceiling and asking out loud, “WHEN is she going to give us that amazing smoothie recipe?!” Beautiful, dedicated reader, your patience is about to be rewarded. This smoothie cures what ails. It makes a complete meal, is especially lovely for breakfast, and kiddos dig it. Add the optional spinach leaves and protein powder to take the nutritional value over the top. Sip, and levitate.
Ingredients:
- 3 bananas, cut into chunks and frozen (freezing them makes all the difference)
- 3 heaping tablespoons nut butter (my favorite is a combo of roasted almond butter and sunflower butter)
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt or kefir
- 1/2 cup milk or milk alternative (vanilla almond milk. mmmm.)
- 1 tablespoon whey protein (optional)
- 1 cup loosely packed baby spinach leaves (optional)
Technique:
Put all that goodness into your blender and blend it well, baby. My measurements result in about 4 small, very thick smoothies, the consistency of slightly melty soft serve. If you like your smoothies more drinkable, simply add more milk.
Cheryl’s Tips:
Being raised by post-depression era farm folks conditioned me to feel physical pain when good food is thrown away. I will trashcan dive if anyone tosses eggshells, apple peels, or anything that could be composted, and I love finding uses for dregs. When you use fresh nut butter, you often have to stir and stir to combine the oil and nut solids. At the bottom of the jar, there’s usually a thick, nutty layer that’s hard to spread without destroying your bread. I scrape this out and toss it into the blender. And on the rare occasion that there’s a leftover heel from a loaf of b-bread, it blends beautifully into the smoothie and gives it a tiny hint of chocolate. Nothing wasted. Your mouth will love the taste, your body will love the nourishment, and the part of your conscience that is in constant turmoil about the state of our environment will take a deeply satisfying breath.
Here’s To Sanity and Levitation,
Cheryl
Leave a Reply