Banana Berry Smoothie

My kids are huge smoothie fans.  If it were up to them, and smoothies didn't cost $5 a pop when you go out, we'd be eating at Smoothie King every day.  Alas.  I also just don't like to make them.  I hate doing dishes, and cleaning out all the part of a blender is such a chore for me.

A while back I saw (on Pinterest, of course - find me via my link in the sidebar) that you could freeze bananas successfully in their peel.  We travel a lot on weekends, and so by the end of the week, I'm cleaning the kitchen and getting rid of bug attractors - dishes, breads, fruits.  I saw bananas one weekend, just threw them in the freezer.  This was months ago.  These sad frozen things have been looking at me since.

What can I say, I'm good at doing half the steps of a project.  Luckily, they were joined by a tub of blackberries.  And they all snuggled up tight in the freezer for who knows how long.

So when my boys declared their starvation today, I pulled out the 3 frozen bananas and the box of berries, some Bulgarian yogurt (our favorite to cook with) from the fridge, and the blender. What? You say?  I thought you hated the blender?!  I do. Trust me.  Only for the love of my children would I get it out.  Plus, we got a Magic Bullet blender thing, which actually separates really well for cleaning.  Score for that.  *it doesn't do as good of a job blending though.  Can't win every battle.*

I created Banana Berry Smoothies -

Here's how:

3 frozen bananas, cut and peeled.  Cut the ends off.  Cut the bananas each into 3-4 chunks. Let sit for a minute or so.  That makes the skin thaw a little bit, and they're easier to peel.

Then use a paring knife and just peel the skin off. Easy.

 Throw all that into the blender. Not the skins. Throw those out.

Throw the berries in - I used 6 ounces.

Some blenders will blend just those things.  Mine needs liquids.  I threw in about a cup of thin Bulgarian yogurt, put the lid on, and blended.

You might have to turn it off and stir a couple of times to get the bananas all blended in - they want to join up with the yogurt to an ice cream like consistency.  Add a couple teaspoons of vanilla (to taste) and blend it in.

bad picture...you get the point

It turns out this beautiful dark pink, and smooth as silk.  Frozen bananas really up the texture, and you don't get the little bits of ice that you do when you ADD extra ice.

This made enough for my two preschoolers and myself.  They got theirs in straw cups.  I got mine in m all time favorite antique store find - a glass with my favorite football team ever, The Houston Oilers.  Yes I'm old. :) I don't care.

Doesn't it look amazing?!  Tastes great too - sweet and tart. Tart from the berries and the yogurt, sweet from the ripe bananas.

Do you have a frozen banana smoothie recipe you like to use?  I made mine up, but I'm always up for trying new things.  Of course I can't make it until I lose a bunch of bananas indefinitely in my freezer....again.