Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Bananas in Smoothies and Milkshakes

I wrote:

Yes, thanks! We LOVE banana based smoothies and milkshakes!

Talk about inexpensive too!

Here in Nanaimo, B.C. we regularly get organic bananas at the Superette on the corner of Albert and Wilson for twenty seven cents a pound or if we buy the whole box, even cheaper!

Until the bananas begin to show brown spots the natural sugars haven't yet developed, but most people reject them as "overripe" as they are picked green and that is what they believe bananas should be like: firm and green! We take our haul home and slice them into rounds, putting 2 to 2 1/2 bananas in each Ziploc bag and then freeze.

We have a discount health foods store (Nanaimo Green Store) that sells frozen almond Silk, 1.87L for $1. We thaw the Silk as needed and add the frozen bananas in our blender. Experiment until you get the desired consistency.

We've also begun adding the frozen bananas to our green smoothies coz they (bananas or mangoes) help to take away the "swamp odor" and act as an emulsifier.

I have been told that I'm suffering CHF (Congestive Heart Failure) and the only way doctors have for me to get better is a stent or invasive surgery. I prefer the natural way first, am already getting better thanks to raw foods like these.

This was in response to: Legalize Banana Smoothies by Frederic Patenaude frederic@fredericpatenaude.com to me







Hi Chris,

This morning I woke up with this incredible craving for
bananas!

In the summer, we have so many delicious fruits available,
like mangoes, peaches, watermelon, cherries — that I find I
don't desire bananas that much during that time.

Yet this morning, my craving for bananas was so intense that
I ended up running to the store to get some.

And then I came back and made this huge banana smoothie.

After drinking it, I got this surge of energy.

I thought, this stuff is so good it should be legalized!

Oh wait, bananas are not a drug...

But they might as well be one, a great natural energy
booster.

The best way to get started eating more raw foods is to make
giant banana smoothies in the morning. And your smoothies
don't need to contain just bananas!

Use bananas as a staple, but also add other fruits and
greens such as:

- Frozen fruits (berries are great)
- Fresh seasonal fruits like mango or peaches
- Baby spinach, Swiss chard, kale
- Fresh herbs (try crazy combinations like basil or mint)
- Fruit that will go bad soon if you don't eat them (like
that wrinkled apple in the back of your fridge)

For variety you can even replace water with some
almond-milk. Store-bought almond milk may not be raw, but it
doesn't contain that much fat at all, and adds an
incredible, creamy taste to smoothies. You could use it
occasionally as a treat — but not all the time.

You just can't go wrong with banana smoothies. As long as
you use ripe spotted bananas as the base and some liquid
(1/2 cup to 1 cup), then you can add almost anything but
sawdust to the smoothie and it will taste good.

Banana smoothies are excellent after exercise, as a recovery
drink. Try adding a bit of fresh celery to it to make it
even more like a real recovery drink. Celery adds natural
sodium which helps in rehydration.

The great thing about bananas is that they are fairly cheap.
By calories, it's certainly the most affordable healthy
choice you can make.

When I lived near Montreal, I would buy an entire 40-pound
case of organic bananas at a distributor for around $30-35.

Even if you can't afford organic bananas, don't be afraid
to buy conventional. Conventional bananas are listed very
low on the list of pesticide-containing foods. Due to their
thick skin, they are considered pretty safe.

Sometimes, you can find bananas for less than 50 cents a
pound! When I was younger, I would often buy them at less
than 30 cents a pound in some stores. It seems like the days
of really cheap food are over, but at least bananas have
remained relatively cheap.

I'm not one of those people who say you must absolutely eat
30 bananas a day.

You just need to eat the amount of fruit that you need,
based on your energy levels and your lifestyle.

I personally could not make bananas the #1 staple of my diet
all the time, but I enjoy them often and overall, it's
probably the main fruit that I eat throughout the year.

If you've procrastinated giving raw foods a try, start with
banana smoothies. You'll love them so much that you'll
wonder when they'll become illegal!

Frederic

PS: To comment on this article, go to:
http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/blog/?p=2445

Our Address Is:
Raw Vegan
358-1917 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC V6J 1M7
Canada

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