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.

Ruby Red Mango Smoothie

I found this recipe while flipping through Family Circle. The idea of a smoothie made from ruby red grapefruits sounded refreshing and different. The amount of greek yogurt was a little too much yogurt-ey goodness for my taste buds. (I do not like yogurt at all, but can usually sneak it into smoothies.) Don't get me wrong, the smoothie isn't bad and I will be enjoying it for breakfast tomorrow. I do like the tart taste of the grapefruit combined with the sweet fresh mango. I will be trying more smoothie recipes before recreating this drink. He says: "It tastes pretty good. I like it."

Ruby Red Mango Smoothie, from "Family Circle", July 2006

2 Large Ruby Red Grapefruits
2 Large Ripe Mangoes
1 Cup Mango-Orange Juice
1 Small Container of Low-Fat Greek Yogurt (5.3 ounces)
2 TBSP honey

1. Cut the top and bottop peel off of the grapefruit. With a knife, cut down between white pith and fruit, removing all of the peel. Following section dividers, cut out sections of fruit. Transfer grapefruit sections and juice to a plastic bag. Freeze at least two hours.
2. Blend grapefruit, mangoes, and fruit juice until almost smooth. Add yogurt and honey and blend until smooth.

Serves Four
Per Serving: 127 calories, 1 g fat, 2 g protein, 2 g fiber, 30 carbs

*I cut this recipe in half. Additionally, I used plain orange juice instead of the mango-orange juice. Lastly, if you do not want to purchase greek yogurt, I feel that plain yogurt will suffice.

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.