• September 3, 2016

    • Banana Honey Nut Smoothie

    Banana Honey Nut Smoothie

    Drinks are the hardest things to find recipes for I’ve found. I tend to want to veer away from fizzy drinks because they are bad for kids and adults teeth but we are also being told that fruit juices are equally as bad for us because they are still high in sugar and acids which is just not a great thing. I can’t really afford to make and squeeze my own oranges (the rate we used to go through juice, I’d have to buy about 3kg of them a day) so instead, I’ve got my trusted blender and armed with different variations of fruits, we’ve become a smoothie family.

    Why it took me so long to do this, I don’t know, but smoothies have become an accompaniment to every meal in my household. They’re filling in a morning at breakfast, they’re great for packed lunches, they can be used as a liquid dessert at dinner and the flavour combinations are plentiful. We each have our own favourite flavour and sometimes I even get the kids involved in the making process although that tends not to happen as much anymore though as when it comes to kids and blenders, it can be a nightmare, the words ‘No don’t take the lid off yet!’ echoes around my head as I have flashbacks of chunks of banana dripping from the walls. Now they’re a bit older they don’t tend to be as over excited when it comes to taking the lid off a blender, thankfully.

    This recipe, however, is actually my husbands favourite, whenever he’s home I’m most likely going to make a massive batch of this for him and keep it in the fridge, but I’ve scaled down the recipe slightly so it should serve 2-4.

    You’ll need:

    • 2 peeled and sliced bananas
    • 500ml soya milk
    • 1 tsp of honey
    • pinch of nutmeg
    • 4 tsp chopped hazelnuts to serve (or if you’re feeling extra cheeky, 2 tbsp of Nutella works amazingly in this smoothie with its sweet chocolatey taste)
    • Step one:

    Blend banana, milk, honey and nutmeg (and your optional Nutella) until it is smooth, making sure there are no lumpy bits in the mixture, then pour into large glasses. If you’re feeling fancy, you can sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts on top to serve, but unless we have guests we usually skip this step.

    If the mixture is looking a little too thick, you can keep it in the blender and thin it out again with a little more milk. In the summer, we change this one up slightly and use half soya milk and half low fat ice cream. This makes it ice cold and creamy, keeping cooler for longer in the kids’ lunchboxes and cools us down when we are out in the sun. Again, this recipe can be modified depending on your own taste, we sometimes use chocolate ice cream and milk and skip the Nutella step, but if you want to keep sugars down, it’s best to just use honey to sweeten the mixture.

    Phillipa
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    Written by Phillipa

    I am a mother to two gorgeous twin girls and wife to a wonderful man who serves our country. I love to cook and am fortunate enough to be able to dedicate my life to my art. A healthy lifestyle is the best lifestyle and I can show you how.