Do You Have Any Bananas Today? | Diet and Exercise | Real Life Fitness | PhitZone

Go Bananas!

It’s safe to say that bananas are well known for being a wonderful source of potassium. This can help reduce high blood pressure, and reduce the risk of stroke.

Did you know that they’re also a great source of vitamin C? It’s true, along with B6. And we can’t forget fiber, magnesium, and manganese.

I love fruit. Bananas are pretty much a staple though. There’s just something about a ripe banana that hit’s the spot.

There is one caveat when it comes to bananas-well really two. First, don’t eat green bananas. Aside from not tasting all that great, it’s also not all that good for you. It has something to do with proteins that inhibit digestion.

The other thing that you have to be aware of is that bananas are very calorie dense, approximately 100 calories for a medium banana. While they don’t score well on the Glycemic Index, they shouldn’t be avoided either.

Recipe

Your Basic Banana Smoothie

While I’m not a huge fan of drinking your calories (minus a good post-workout protein shake), sometimes you just need to treat yourself. What we have here is your basic smoothie. If you’ve never made one, this is a great starting point.

It’s only made from a few ingredients, is super easy to make, and should defeat even the most difficult sweet tooth.

Ingredients

½ cup low or non-fat plain yogurt

1 medium banana

1 tbsp honey

1 cup crushed ice.

Directions

Add ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. Serve in a glass-maybe garnish it with a nice umbrella and bendy straw. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info

Number of servings: 1

Calories 178

Total Fat .6 g

Saturated Fat .3 g

Polyunsaturated Fat .2 g

Monounsaturated Fat .2 g

Sodium 9.7 mg

Potassium 478.3 mg

Carbohydrate 46.0 g

Protein 1.8  g

Recipe calculated at Sparkrecipe.com