I’ve never been a huge fan of baking. It requires more precise measuring than cooking where everything is entirely up to your personal preferences. I’m mean, sure, I’ll bake muffins like these Monday Morning Muffins if it’ll let me sleep in a few extra minutes, but I’m not the mom who’s constantly baking cookies and cakes. Some of that has to do with my disdain for refined sugar and butter, but I digress.
While I don’t enjoy actually the process of baking something myself, I love baked goods. Freshly baked banana bread is a serious vice of mine. A thick slice of fresh-from-the-oven banana bread, a big iced coffee, a comfy chair, and a good book…now we’re talking.
Since I don’t have a magical banana bread fairy living in my kitchen, I decided to take matters into my own hands when the craving for banana bread hit me the other day. Out of sheer laziness on my part, I tossed a few ingredients in the blender, threw it in a travel cup, loaded the littles into the van and headed out to get my oldest from school. About halfway there, I decided this Banana Bread Smoothie was totally delicious and most definitely blog-worthy. I only share the good stuff with you guys.
If you are firmly in the “Banana Hating” camp, you’re not going to like this smoothie. While avocado is a great substitute for banana to make smoothies rich and creamy, I’ve never heard of Avocado Bread. Maybe if you learn about the nutritional benefits of the humble banana, you’ll give them another try.
Bananas: Bananas are a powerhouse of vitamin b6, which is involved in the production of red blood cells. The b6 found in bananas is also important in the metabolism of carbohydrates; it is vital to the enzyme that pulls glycogen out of storage in our cells. Bananas are also rich in manganese, a mineral that plays a big role in bone and skin health as well as blood sugar control.
Chia Seeds: These tiny nutritional powerhouses are full of calcium, protein, fiber, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, omega-3 fatty acids and many other minerals and antioxidants. They are fantastic for bone, blood, and heart health. Because chia seeds can absorb 9-12 times their weight in water, they help keep you hydrated during exercise and the gel they form in your stomach is great for digestive health (fiber = healthy intestines and bowels!). It is said that the word “chia” means “strength’ in the Mayan language.
Ready to go bananas? Let’s get to it!
Banana Bread Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 2 large handfuls of baby spinach (about 2-3 cups)
- 5 cups water (or coconut water)
- ¼ – ½ tsp ground cinnamon (to taste)
- 2 Medjool dates (softened in warm water for 10 minutes if your blender is not “high speed” like a Ninja
)
- ½ TBS Chia Seeds
- 2 large frozen bananas (or 3 small)
)
Directions:
- Place all ingredients in the blender in the order listed (or backward if using a bullet style blender). You want the greens and liquid right next to the blade.
- Blend until smooth. Serves 1 (or 3/4 for mom and 1/4 for a smoothie-stealing toddler)
Are you a banana hater or banana lover? Comment below!
Full disclosure: This blog post contains some affiliate links. Meaning, basically, if you make a purchase from any of these links, I may make a little money. So thank you in advance for supporting my family 🙂
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