NATURE’S BEST: STRAWBERRY-BANANA SMOOTHIE

Ihave a few more holiday days, and so far I have enjoyed my smoothie challenge. I think I am going to keep this challenge and make it a lifestyle of one smoothie a day. I was having some guests over for Christmas and wondered what I could offer them. I wanted something sweet as they were coming over with young children. I had excess bananas as nearly everyone who visited this holiday came with a bunch of bananas, and I also had some strawberries. Fantastic, I thought, this would be perfect for a strawberry and banana smoothie. I have read quite a number of articles which highly recommend the strawberry-banana smoothie combination. This great tasting smoothie is packed full of nutrition. It’s especially high in fiber, vitamin C, potassium and antioxidants.

Bananas supply fiber, which protects bowel health and helps regulate digestion. The amount of potassium in bananas also make them a good fruit to eat to decrease your risk of kidney stones. Strawberries promote good eyesight and decrease symptoms of arthritis, thanks to the high volume of antioxidants. This smoothie combination also comes highly recommended for pregnant women as its folate content helps ward off birth defects of the spine. I added other fruits to my combination for an extra dose of goodness.

Ingredients(serves 6)

6 Strawberries

3 bananas

2 red apples

3 plums

¼ cup of milk (you may substitute with organic yoghurt)

Preparation

Deseed apples and plums. Chop and place all ingredients into a blender, add milk and blend.

How do you enjoy your strawberry-banana smoothie?

Comments

NUTRITIONAL/HEALTH BENEFITS OF PLANTAINS

P lantains are widely eaten in West Africa. Plantains are similar to bananas but larger in size. While bananas are termed fruits, plantains are vegetables. Bananas are mostly eating raw, while plantains are usually cooked before consumption. Plantains can be eaten unripe, ripen or over-ripe. When unripe, plantains are usually green in colour, when ripen, they turn yellow. In Nigeria, for example, unripe plantains are usually used to cook plantain porridge, ripe plantains are mostly fried and used as a supplement to main dishes like rice and beans. Over-ripe plantains are used to make snacks like plantain fritters.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF ZOBO/SORREL DRINK

z obo/sorrel was a must have during family gatherings. As children, we loved drinking it, not only because of how nice it tasted, but also because it coloured our lips and tongues red. Zobo (Nigerian) or Sorrel (Jamaican) is a red coloured drink made from a flower called Hibiscus sabdariffa. The sorrel plant contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, calcium, niacin, riboflavin and a group of compounds called flavonoids. Flavanoids not only gives the sorrel plant its deep red colour, but, are also rich in antioxidants which rids the body of toxins. The sorrel plant also contains nutraceleuticals, which are said to be helpful to the health. Nutraceleuticals can help prevent and treat several diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF LIME AND HONEY

L ime and Honey are two must haves in my house. I use honey as a substitute for white sugar. I remember a friend of mine visited me once and she wanted to drink garri (drinking garri is local to Nigerians, i.e. eating dried cassava with cold water as opposed to hot water), she was astonished when I told her to use honey to sweeten her garri. I'm not a tea person, but my parents are, and a cup of tea for them is not complete without limes.

Fabila's Fitness Club

Search This Blog