Besides the strawberry smoothie recipe the banana smoothie is one of the most popular. Bananas are a good source of potassium. Fibre and calcium, women in particular can benefit from high calcium drinks especially if their family has a history of bone related illness.
To make a banana smoothie is simple and requires few preparations. For added calcium and to make it as low fat and as healthy as possible you should use skimmed or semi-skimmed milk and yogurt. You should use a low fat natural yogurt as it contains no added sugar which most yogurts do and it has the friendly bacteria.
Often eating plain low fat natural yogurt can taste a bit like sour milk, but when we use it in a banana smoothie it makes it more palatable. Some people like the taste but it is a bit too sour for me so adding it to a smoothie allows you to get the yogurt goodness without the taste.
You will also need one very ripe banana and some semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, vegans can use non-animal based milk alternatives. A banana is a good base for most recipes as it thickens the smoothie and give it extra flavour. Bananas are a great source of potassium and fibre, on medium banana, about 120 grams contains about 3 grams or fibre, 422mg of potassium and is also a good source of calcium.
Simply place in a blender and blend into a smooth consistency. The amount of yogurt you use should be to suit your taste, anything from a dessert spoonful onwards. The bananas should be ripe, the more ripe the tastier they are for smoothies. It is a good way to use up over ripe fruit. This is also a good base for making other low fat smoothies.
