Banana-Mango Smoothie

I don’t know about you guys, but I find it hard to eat enough fruit in the winter. Most of my go-to favorites aren’t in season, and even if I were to spend a ton of money at the store to buy them out of season, they don’t usually taste very good anyway. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love that citrus fruits abound right now but I’m much more likely to bake with them than choose them as snacks 🙂

So, every winter, I turn to smoothies to help me make sure I’m getting the nutrients I need. They’re so quick and easy, and the possibilities for different flavor combinations are endless. My freezer is full of frozen fruit, especially lots of berries, so I can whip up any number of smoothies at a moment’s notice. I mostly eat them for breakfast, but some nights they even become dessert.

This banana-mango smoothie is one of the newest recipes I’ve added to my rotation. It’s so thick and creamy, and uses ingredients I almost always have on hand. Banana is definitely the dominant flavor, with the mango mostly adding sweetness – you could probably even skip the honey in the recipe if you wanted and it’d still be great. The smoothie includes nonfat dry milk powder, which adds extra calcium, but it’s optional so no worries if you don’t keep it on hand. You can also make this the night before and stick it in the refrigerator for a super quick breakfast on the go the next morning – gotta love that!

Banana-Mango Smoothie
from Cooking Light, March 2001

{Note: I’m sure you could just sub frozen mango for fresh here to make life easier but it’s been hard to find at my grocery store lately.}

1 cup cubed peeled ripe mango (about 1 mango)
3/4 cup sliced ripe banana (about 1 medium)
2/3 cup milk (I used 1%)
1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk powder (optional)
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Spread the mango in a single layer on a baking sheet and pop in the freezer until frozen, about 1 hour. Combine the frozen mango, banana, milk, dry milk powder, honey, and vanilla in your blender. Press the top on tightly then process for about 1 minute, or until smooth. Pour into glasses and garnish with banana slices or more mango, if desired. Serve!

Serves 2