Perfect Solution for that Sweet Tooth on a Hot Summer Day! Creamy Banana-Orange-Mango Blender Drink!

Can you tell we are on a drink kick in our house?!  It must be this scorcher of a summer we are having here in Indiana, but it seems like lately when we are hungry there are two things that come to mind: 1) it must be cold and 2) it must not make the house hot Thus, we have been drawn to cold, blender drinks!

Recently, Momma Amanda  came to visit to help get our place spic-and-span in order to put it on the market (I know…what are we thinking?!).  When I mentioned our new favorite chocolate peanut butter smoothie drink, she mentioned a fruity drink that another Weight Watchers leader had tried and enjoyed.    The original recipe was a simple one–banana, vanilla yogurt, oj.  Mr. Amanda and I tried it, but it didn’t quite “WOW” us (and we didn’t quite care for the texture the yogurt gave the drink), so, once again……I Amandified it    Now it’s a delicious, fruity, drink that Mr. Amanda and I crave…for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, before workouts, after workouts.  Anytime of day.  It is fabulous!!!

At this point we have not added any protein powder to it, although you easily could.  For us, we just find it is nice to have a lower calorie/PP recipe that can be used for a treat or snack in the middle of the day even if you haven’t just come from a workout

Creamy Banana-Orange-Mango Blender Drink

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas (not over-ripe), cut up and frozen

1 c skim milk

2 cups low calorie orange juice (we use Trop 50)

1 Tb honey

1 container (3.6 oz) mango sorbet —-Haagen Dazs single serving container  (I would assume that frozen mangoes would come close in flavor if you can’t find the sorbet)

 

Directions:

Note: I’ve been cutting up the bananas, freezing, and placing in ziploc bags (2 bananas per bag, per the recipe) ahead of time to speed up the prep work when you are ready for a nice refreshing drink!

Place all ingredients in a large blender.  Using the “Smoothie” setting, blend until smooth.

Makes approximately 5 cups.

DRINK UP & ENJOY!!!

Nutritional Information & Weight Watchers PointsPlus

Servings: 5 (1 cup) or 10 (1/2 cup)

Per Serving: 1 cup OR  1/2 cup

Calories: 118 / 59

Fat: 0 g / 0 g

Fiber: 1.2 g / 0.6 g

Carbohydrates: 28.8 g / 14.4 g

Protein: 2 g / 1 g

WeightWatchers PP: 3 PP / 2 PP

 

Need inspiration for your next workout?! CPB-squared: Chocolate +Peanut Butter+ Banana+ Protein After-workout Smoothie!!!

Sometimes there are things that come into your life that change you forever.  Deep, right?  Not so fast.  My “life-changing” item is actually this chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie.

Dr. Oz has recently become a large part of our menu planning.  Between ideas we’ve seen on his show, to things from the book, “YOU: The Owner’s Manual”, many of our meals, drinks, and snacks have been Dr. Oz-inspired.  That brings me to this recipe.  I think I’ve mentioned before Mr. Amanda’s love of chocolate and peanut butter.  Actually, one of his favorite “snacks” right now is a spoonful of peanut butter with chocolate chips sprinkled on top….awful, I tell you!  Back to this recipe, though.

Dr. Oz had an episode earlier this year that focused on things that viewers had learned and taken from his shows.  One viewer discussed learning about agave and how it can be used as a sugar substitute.  She then introduced her new favorite way of using agave…in a chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie.  Seeing as though two of the ingredients in the title were chocolate and peanut butter, I knew it would go over well in our house. With an unopened bottle of agave already in the pantry, I was ready to give this recipe a go!  That evening, after Mr. Amanda and I came home from a run, I whipped up the first batch.  It was good……but I just KNEW it could be better.  And, although the viewer mentioned that she was drinking it as a snack, as a family who does quite a bit of running and working out, we thought that with some tweeks it could be a great after-workout drink!

So, this recipe below is our version of that viewer’s smoothie.  This smoothie could be used as a breakfast or after-workout drink.  Personally, with the changes and additions to the recipe, I think it would be a bit much for a snack.

CPB-squared

INGREDIENTS

2 ripe bananas (not over ripe)

1 Tb whipped peanut butter

1 scoop chocolate flavored protein powder

1 tsp natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tb Agave

1 Tb honey

1/2 c skim milk

2 Tb SUGAR FREE Chocolate syrup

2 cups ice

 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in blender in order listed above (I just find that this way, the protein powder mixes in best).

Using the “Smoothie” setting, blend until smooth.

 

EAT UP (or DRINK UP!) & ENJOY!!!!

 

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Servings: 2 , 3 or 4 (depending on cup sizes)

Calories:  324 / 216 / 162

Fat:  4.1 g / 2.7 g / 2.0 g

Fiber: 1.2 g / 0.78 g / 0.58 g

Carb: 62 g / 41 g / 31 g

Protein: 19.2 g / 12.8 g / 9.6 g

WEIGHT WATCHERS PointsPlus: 9 / 6 / 5

THANK YOU!!!!!

First, before I continue with this post, I want to say that I have a list of 7 recipes I’m going to be adding today and in the coming days.  So, even though I’ve been M.I.A. for months, I will be back with a few new posts soon!

Now, onto THIS post.  I’ve received tons of emails in regards to my applications to graduate school and wanted to thank everyone so much for your kind words of encouragement and support.  I’m so excited to announce that in just weeks I will be starting what will be a 4 year journey toward my Doctor of Audiology degree.  I would assume that with that, my blogging will be sparse, but it is my hope that I can check in from time to time!

So, thank you again for your kind words of support and I look forward to keeping everyone up to date from time to time on what I’m sure is going to be a grueling 4 years