Freezing Bananas

Here's a short little tip for you, that probably seems sort of silly, but actually it is a good thing to keep in mind. One of the greatest ways to stay healthy is to stock your kitchen with healthy foods! One of my favorite healthy snacks is a good banana, not quite ripe. A great way to use bananas is in smoothies or breakfast drinks! There is a little tip for you when it comes to freezing bananas:

Don't freeze bananas whole!

Of course you can, but I find that it is a pain when you want to use them later. What works best for me is cutting the bananas up before hand, and then freezing them. That way, when you pull our your banana and throw it in a blender there will be a lot less stress on your blender, and a lot less noise too! It is a lot easier for a blender to cut through little frozen chunks than a frozen chunk the size of a whole  banana.

Another thing I have heard of people doing is smashing the banana before freezing it. While others have said it is a great idea, it sounds kind of weird to me. Of course it will work, but it seems to me that the smashed banana will be all stuck to the plastic bag when you pull it out and it is all frozen.

Whatever you choose to do, go ahead and stock up your freezer with some great frozen bananas. You'll never know when you want them, and it is always nice to have what you want when you want it!

Tropical Green Shake

Here is a recipe that I adapted from one that I saw online. This is a healthy, hearty drink that I use for breakfast a lot, and it is delicious!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese (or fat free Greek yogurt)
1/2 cup pineapple (I used chunks, then fill it in with juice)
1 tablespoon shredded coconut
1/2 of a frozen banana (see my post about freezing bananas)
1 handful of spinach
1/4 cup water

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. I use a high setting and let it go for a while, until all the green flecks from the spinach disappear, leaving you with a smooth green drink. For a fat free drink omit the coconut, though that will take a bit of the fiber and protein away too.

Makes 1 serving, enough for a tall glass

Nutrition Facts:

235 calories
3g fiber
12g protein
2.5g fat

Weight Watchers: 4 points

Green Apple Banana Shake

One thing you will probably see a lot of on this site is smoothies/protein/fruit drinks/shakes, whatever you want to call them. I love them, and I love finding new combinations. Here is one I came up with a little while ago. I love sweet things, and this one is sweet enough for me without adding any bad-for-you sweeteners! It is also super healthy and filling to boot! 

Ingredients:

1 medium banana
1 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used home canned)
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
a big handful of spinach
1/2 cup water
4 ice cubes

Instructions:

Place each of the ingredients in a blender, and turn the blender to a high setting. I usually let the blender go for at least 30 seconds. Give the spinach time to fully blend so you don't have little green flecks all through the drink. For those of you who are like me and don't like spinach, this drink doesn't taste like spinach, but you still get the benefits - yay! If you don't like the consistency of cottage cheese when it is blended, substitute fat free Greek yogurt, which has pretty much the same calories and protein. 

This drink is great and it is so healthy at the same time! Plus it has about 15 grams of protein in it, which is also awesome. Let me know if you try it out! This makes enough for two tall glasses, but honestly, I think you get away with drinking both since it is so good for you :D The entire drink has roughly 290 calories and no fat, and is full of vitamins and protein, and even fiber. Yay!

Makes: 2 servings, but you can have both!

What I look for in a breakfast shake is protein and fiber so when I finish I am not still hungry, and I remain not hungry for several hours. Here is the info for this drink:

290 Calories
0g fat
6g fiber
15g protein

For those who do Weight Watchers this drink is 5 points on the old system (cal,fiber,fat) - and this is for the whole thing, not a serving!