Healthy Banana Avocado Berries Smoothie 

This delicious Healthy Banana Avocado Berries Smoothie is packed with nutrients and is so easy to make that you will ask yourself, how come I never made it before? 

My first encounter with healthy diet literature was The Abs Diet book. One of their pieces of advice was to drink a fruit smoothie regularly. So thanks to them, I discovered the fantastic world of healthy fruit smoothies possibilities and how nutritious they are. Plus, smoothies are very easy to make. I learned how to make a fruit smoothie at home, how to incorporate them into my breakfast routine, how to pack them and take them to work. And I never changed this routine ever. Fresh homemade smoothies became an essential part of our regular diet.  

Benefits

When my oldest Teodora was a baby, I found an easy way to include fruits and veggies into her diet with smoothies. I would make it in the morning, adding Earth's Best Whole Grain Cereal to it for a nutritious breakfast. She loved it! I followed the same routine with Lana and Andrej, and they loved it too! The best part is that you can be very creative with the ingredients. What is the best way to use more fresh spinach in your diet? To add it to smoothies, of course! 

Healthy Banana Avocado Berries Smoothie Ingredients

I experimented over the years with various ingredients, but I always use bananas as a base. They give a rich and fulfilling taste and add to the heaviness. One other ingredient that is great if you desire a nice and creamy consistency is avocado. I like adding berries as they enrich the color and are very nutritious. In this recipe, I used strawberries and blueberries. I used fresh, but another possibility is to use frozen ones. Since two of my kiddos have constipation issues, I always try to find ways to address it with food. I always add ground flaxseed to smoothies. Check out another way to fight constipation. The final ingredients of the smoothie are plain yogurt and water. I sometimes add almond milk instead of plain yogurt and avoid regular milk because of constipation.  

You see, there is no need to add any extra sugar. Many smoothie recipes call for adding sugar, but fruits are already very sugar-rich especially bananas. Why would we want to add more? 

Healthy Banana Avocado Berries Smoothie Nutrition Facts

Banana (ripe and slightly ripe, raw, 115 gr) :

• 24 g carbohydrates (2 g fiber, 18 g total sugars, 4 g starch)
• 0.9 g protein 
• 87 g water
• 0.3 g fat  
• 375 mg Potassium (11% of recommended daily intake, or RDI) 
• 32 mg Magnesium (10% of RDI)
• 0.3 mg Manganese (10% RDI)
• 14 mg Vitamin C (15% RDI)
• 0.24 mg Vitamin B6 (18% RDI) 

I suffered from leg cramps in all my pregnancies. It would start in the third trimester, mostly having it at night. I read somewhere when I was pregnant the first time that this is probably due to magnesium deficiency. So I started eating a banana before bed at night, and it worked. So, on the nights when I forget to eat a banana, I would wake up in massive pain with cramps in my calves. 

Avocado (1 count, 200 g):

• 17 g carbohydrates (13.5 g fiber, 1.3 g total sugars, 0.2 g starch)
• 4 g protein 
• 147 g water
• 29.5 g fat  
• 975 mg Potassium (29% of recommended daily intake, or RDI) 
• 58.3 mg Magnesium (15% of RDI)
• 0.3 mg Manganese (10% RDI)
• 20 mg Vitamin C (22% RDI)
• 163 mcg Folate (40% RDI)
• There is more to check out here.

Strawberries and Blueberries are packed with antioxidants, fiber, folate, vitamins, and minerals. They deserve special coverage in another post. 

Flaxseed (1 tbsp, ground, 7):

• 2 g carbohydrates (1.9 g fiber, 0.1 g total sugars)
• 1.3 g protein 
• 0.5 g water
• 2.95 g fat (half of this fat is omega-3 fatty acids, an essential nutrient for our overall health)

So, next time you have sweet cravings, skip the candy and go for this healthy smoothie recipe. It is fresh; it is homemade, and it is easy to make! 

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