The Skinny on Smoothies

I love a good smoothie, don't you? It's refreshing, it's sweet and if made correctly, not a whopping amount of calories. Of course getting one when your out on the run can potentially, be a calorie catastrophe, between 500-800 calories! EEK! Luckily these days, "smoothie chains" are starting to realize we are smarter than they thought and providing us the information on what goes into our smoothie and just how many calories we are bellying up to the smoothie bar for. And when you're making your own smoothies at home, take into consideration the ingredients. Measure each out so you don't overload your smoothie with too much sugar, fat or calories. A tablespoon of peanut butter, or a tsp of honey will sweeten up a smoothie nicely, as well as a cup of fruit or 1/2 a cup of yogurt. You don't need to overload the blender with too many ingredients.

Here's a favorite of mine that I have been making for ages, I call it "The Crazy Monkey" but you can just call it "that really gooooooood peanut butter and banana smoothie" that foodie girl told me about! And guess what, my smoothie only has 200 calories!!

The Crazy Monkey (PB and Banana smoothie)

1 cup of almond milk

1 frozen banana (I like to take my old bananas, peel them, and toss them into a ziploc bag into the freezer so they are ready to go, but if you don't have a frozen one, just add a 1/2 cup of ice and a fresh banana to your blender)

1/2 tsp cinnamon (wonderful, powerhouse antioxidant, sprinkle it on your cereal tomorrow, too!)

1/4 tsp ginger (guess what? also an antioxidant, good for you!)

1 Tbs Peanut butter or almond butter (or sunflower butter if that's how you roll)

Blend to perfection in the blender on high. Pour into your favorite glass, add a straw and sip away! ENJOY!