Banana Smoothies

One for me, One to share

If I'm in a rush for breakfast or just craving something sweet, a banana smoothie usually hits the spot. Smooth, creamy, cold, and frothy -- it feels decadent, but it's not.

Now the instructional designer in me is cringing because I don't have a really precise recipe to give you. I tend to just dump stuff in the blender. However, smoothies are really hard to mess up, so I think if you try making this, you'll be OK.

Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 Banana (preferably one that is quite ripe or a little overripe)
• Sweetener of your choice, to taste
• A few drops of vanilla (maybe about 1/16 to 1/8 of a tsp)
• A few ice cubes
• Non-dairy milk of your choice, enough to reach a consistency that you like (For me, it's approx. 3/4 - 1 cup)

Directions:
Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth and frothy.

Notes:
I like agave nectar because it has a light flavor and a lower glycemic index than sugar, but you could use anything you like -- sugar, honey, maple syrup... I've even used palm sugar and date sugar -- I think they're especially good with the banana.

I have a Vitamix blender, which is like the granddaddy of all blenders. You could probably blend a wooden post in it. As a result, ice is not an issue. My old blender couldn't handle big ice cubes, though, so I'd have to crush the ice first.

Sometimes, I omit the vanilla and ice. Instead, I add frozen fruit to make it cold -- pineapple, mango, and strawberries are all great additions.

You can use any non-dairy milk you like. My favorites are Silk soymilk and Almond Breeze almond milk because they make it very creamy, more milkshake like. However, if I have some leftover coconut milk, I'll even toss that in -- especially with some frozen pineapple, I feel like I'm on a vacation in the tropics.