One of my favorite things to do is read magazines. I get excited when one comes in the mail, I get distracted when one's on my desk, they pass by the elliptical time like none other. I read them cover to cover and love every bit of them.
Recently, I've started getting cooking magazines. Food and Wine and Cooking Light. They're so fun because they have ideas for seasonal recipes. They're what got me hooked on sorbet for summer, and they open up a lot of easy possibilities for food. Which brings me to my latest trend.
Smoothies. Yummy, fruity healthy smoothies. They've also proven to be quite helpful for my summer class -- it runs from nine to noon and if I don't grab myself a snack all I can think about is the fact that I am SO HUNGRY. But for the last class period I brought along a banana smoothie, and wasn't hungry until after class was done.
What's also good about smoothies is how easily they can be mixed up. Just throw a different kind of fruit in and you've got a different smoothie!
Crucial thing about smoothies though :: a blender. Until this week I didn't own one. But on Monday I was at Younkers(getting those great
shoes super cheap!) and finding this blender. $40 on sale for $13. It was a happy day!
Below is a recipe from Cooking Light for the banana smoothie I had this week.
Ingredients:
1 cup sliced ripe banana (about 1 large)
1 cup vanilla low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
2 tablespoons whole wheat graham cracker crumbs (about 1/2 cookie sheet)
1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ice cubes (about 1/4 cup)
Graham cracker crumbs
Preparation:
Arrange banana slices in a single layer on a baking sheet, and freeze until firm (about 1 hour).
Place frozen banana and remaining ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Information
Calories:216 (12% from fat)
Fat:2.8g (sat 1.5g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.3g)
Protein:9.8g
Carbohydrate:39.3g
Fiber:1.9g
Cholesterol:9mg
Iron:0.4mg
Sodium:145mg
Calcium:315mg
