There’s been one consistent smoothie that I ABSolutely love right before my workout and after my workout. It;s just three simple ingredients, and is seriously delicious. It’s smooth, creamy, and oh so sweet! What’s this smoothie you ask? It’s the extremely simple banana smoothie with chia seeds and almond milk!
This tastes WAY too good considering how amazing it is for you.
I put in-
- Two Bananas (Frozen if you want)
- 1 Teaspoon Chia Seeds (For extra fiber and all THEIR health benefits)
- 1 cup almond milk (You can use any sort of “milk” you want, ranging from coconut to whole!)
Blend, and enjoy your treat. I don’t add any kind of sweetener with this, but you really have to taste this to believe how AMAZING it is. Sometimes I’ll sneak in a serving of greens by adding a handful of spinach, and then I’ll add another half banana to go with it. This is a great breakfast meal, which I’ll eat along with a grapefruit, an orange, or whatever we have laying around the kitchen.
I found this article outlining 10 of the major health benefits of bananas, and what really struck me was that it’s great for getting energy!
Even with the proliferation of brightly colored ‘sports’ drinks, ‘energy’ bars and ‘electrolyte’ gels (these are loaded with unhealthy chemicals and coloring by the way) you often see athletes eating bananas just before and even during sports.
Watching tennis for instance, it’s not uncommon to see the players snacking on a bit of banana in between games. If a banana can keep a professional tennis player going, it’s got to rank pretty well in the high-quality energy source stakes.
Personally, I find the combination of natural sugars, balanced with the soluble fiber and potassium, to provide a good stable energy when eaten half an hour before gym or a run.
I’ve experimented with this – running or weights with, or without a banana – and seem to consistently do better when I have one before training.
Some people are worried about bananas spiking blood sugar, but tests show they actually have a glycemic index of around 52, with 24 g of available carbs (lower the less ripe they are).
That’s a glycemic load in the vicinity of 12 which isn’t considered that high. These figures will obviously vary depending on variety and ripeness.
Bananas make a great snack at work when your energy is lagging and while they might not be the most obvious weight loss food, they are only about 100 calories and can satisfy those sweet cravings.
So if you can replace candy bars and other junk foods with bananas, you might just have a really important step towards losing weight. As an added bonus your energy will be much more steady and consistent.”
Uh, I’ll take that! This is what I used to get through finals, because bananas are also amazing stress fighters.
Bananas are a good source of the amino acid tryptophan which your body converts to serotonin.
Amongst many other things, proper serotonin levels help improve your mood, reduce stress and enhance your general outlook and happiness levels. It also helps regulate good sleep patterns.
Tryptophan is considered an essential amino acid, i.e. the only way your body gets it is through your diet and bananas, while certainly not the highest source out there, are one of the easiest ways to get a little more tryptophan.
Another reason why bananas make such a great snack for those stressed out at work.
All in all, bananas are amazing for you and you should be sure to eat more!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/VJAMKpS1REA
