Cooking Done Light

I know – it’s a corny name, but it’s a great breakfast! I actually created this recipe to have as an afternoon snack, but it is so exceptionally filling, that I usually find myself having it as a meal instead. This is a great recipe to try if you know how important breakfast is, but just can’t seem to be able to eat anything substantial first thing in the morning. This recipe only makes 1 serving, so if you want to whip up a big batch to share, just double, triple, or quadruple the ingredients to serve as many people as you need.

1/2 cup fruit or berries of your choice (fresh or frozen)

1 large frozen banana

1 cup cold skim milk or fruit juice

1/2 cup ice

2 tablespoons nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc – or you could even use 2 tablespoons peanut butter instead)

1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional – I like it because it makes the smoothie rich and creamy)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Place all of the ingredients into a blender (you may need to chop the banana into chunks to make it easier to blend), pulse the blender on “chop” until the ice has been broken up a bit, and then set it to “whip” and blend until smooth.

Makes 1 serving. Per serving: 245 calories, 3 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 36 g carbohydrates, 7 g fiber, 0 g added sugar, 8 g protein, 12 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol