Hom Mak (Banana Pear Smoothie)

I came across this combination when reading, "The Elements of Life". The chef's original recipe suggests homemade almond or soy milk. I am a fan of almond milk, however, I find fat-free cow's milk to be more filling. Furthermore, I love checking off a milk box under the "good health guidelines" in my food journal.

I make this smoothie using:

1 cup fat-free milk

1 banana (sliced)

1 pear (chopped)

1 tsp honey

cinnamon to garnish

I have not added spinach to this mix, but think it would work great.

I like my smoothies to be 4-5 points. The recipe builder gives this recipe 6 points, but I only count it as 5.5. (My program is working for me and if it stops, I will change it to 6. And the individual components add up to 5.5.) One day, I will use frozen banana slices and would only use 1/2 a banana. This would reduce the total by one point. I enjoy the flavor of honey in this smoothie and simply cannot omit it.

Lastly, I love using mason jars to transport my liquids. They are great for salad dressings and soups.

Banana Beverage

This drink is perfect for a light snack or  a pre/post work-out refresher. 

Diet Porn's Favorite Banana Beverage

Blend one banana, with 1 cup milk (I used skim), and a splash of vanilla extract. Garnish with ground cinnamon. I will occasionally throw in protein powder depending on my food intake for the day. 

I chugged half the glass before I realized that I should take a picture.

I Love The Breakfast Cookie

The breakfast cookie is my new favorite week day breakfast. I discovered this cookie on  The Fitnessista and made it with ingredients that I had in my home. 

The Breakfast Cookie

1/3 cup oats

1 TBSP almond butter

1 mini-box of raisins 

1 TBSP or so of skim milk* (enough to moisten the oats)

1 mashed banana

Mix everything together. Spread the mixture on a plate in the shape of a cookie. Refrigerate overnight. Eat with a spoon in the morning.

This cookie tasted like a new variation of my favorite muesli recipe that I found in Vegetarian Times over ten years ago. It was delicious, filling and simply felt healthy. I look forward to other variations as well as throwing protein powder into the mix. 

The calories are shown above. WWP = 6.

*I ordered a latte with skim milk and the Barista sighed, "You must be from the midwest." 

Me: "How did you know? That is amazing!" 

Barista: "Only people out there call fat-free milk: skim."

Bananas Foster Shake

I am working on perfecting a low-point Bananas Foster Shake. Currently, my version is almost identical:

Blend together 1 frozen banana, 1 cup fat-free vanilla frozen yogurt, 2 cups cold skim milk, 1 tsp rum extract, 1 TBSP Hershey's Caramel Sundae Topping (fat-free) and 2-4 ice cubes. Garnish with a sprinkle of Cinnamon or Nutmeg.

I do not have the ingredients on hand and will edit this post when I actually try this recipe. This modified recipe serves 4 and is 2.5/serving. I intend to add my "flavorless" protein powder to the mix, once I have a recipe that is low in points and delicious.