Banana "Whippie"- Simple Breakfast Smoothie

We used to call them Banana Whippies.
I think my Mom invented that name to make them sexy and appealing to her kids.
I know why Mom!
They were cheap, easy, healthy and we could drink them on the way to the bus.
I'm onto your tricks. 
It only took me 40 years.

We drank these all the time for breakfast as kids.
The trick is the frozen banana.
Except, here's the trick, PEEL and then freeze the bananas.
Peeling a frozen banana isn't hard per se, but not peeling it at all is easiest.
Get it?
One other benefit, a frozen banana is very easy to break in half, or into chunks making it easier to blend.  I just break it in the bag, so I don't even get my hands dirty.
I like that part. I don't like dirty, sticky hands.

I've always hated ice cubes in my smoothies, it waters it down and you always, always, always get a rock hard hunk of ice.  Not fun.  

At the bottom of the post, I will give you a bunch of variations of this idea.  You got it, run with the idea.

I know some of you will say EWWW over the raw egg in this.
If so, leave it out.
It's really just a way to add extra protein and "staying power" for your morning.
I ate a lot of raw eggs when I was a kid, and I mostly turned out OK. 


Makes 1
Ingredients

1 frozen banana
1 cup of milk (sub almond milk or coconut milk, if desired)
1 raw egg (optional, and not recommended for small kids or others with poor immune systems)
1/2 tsp flavoring, if desired, like vanilla, almond, rum,
A sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired

Put the frozen banana in the blender, add the egg and milk.  Add flavoring, if using, and a sprinkle of spice. Blend until smooth.

If you banana's start to look like this, peel them and freeze them in a ziploc bag.  However, I know that some people prefer speckled bananas... I am not one of those people. 

 

Variations:

Banana Coconut- Use coconut milk, or coconut water.  If you are OK with texture in your smoothie, add some shredded coconut even.  I'd just add some coconut flavoring.

Peanut Butter Banana- Add 1-2 Tbsp to the above recipe

Strawberry Banana- Add fresh, or frozen, strawberries to the above recipe. 

Mango Banana- My personal fave, add fresh, or frozen, mango.  I buy my Mango already frozen at Trader Joes, it makes it easy for lots of things besides smoothies.  For example Mango Salsa

Chocolate Banana- Add 1-2 Tbsp of cocoa powder to the above recipe, or even Hersey's chocolate syrup, if you have it.

Other Additions?
Wheat germ, flax seed, sliced raw almonds, agave syrup

OR, better yet, make a BBC Cocktail out of your frozen banana.  LOL, but not for breakfast, OK?