Banana Berry Smoothie
This great tasting smoothie is packed full of nutrition. It's especially high in fiber, vitamin C, potassium and antioxidants. The kefir or yogurt contributes acidophilus, to keep your intestinal flora healthy. Using kombucha, instead of dairy makes this a dairy-free, vegan drink.
Note: kefir is much more nutritious and beneficial than yogurt, and making kefir is really easy. Unlike yogurt it can actually colonize the friendly bacteria in your gut. While yogurt contains one or two strains of beneficial bacteria, kefir typically contains many more strains of both beneficial bacteria and yeast, all of which contribute different health benefits.
Ingredients:
1 banana, chopped
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, diced
1 kiwifruit
1-2 handfuls frozen strawberries
3/4 cup apple or pineapple juice
1/2 cup organic yogurt, kefir, or kombucha (for a vegan smoothie)
Instructions:
Cut the kiwifruit in half, and using a spoon scoop out the flesh.
Add all ingredients to a blender or smoothie maker. Blend well.
Notes:
Use kombucha for vegan or raw versions of this smoothie.
Serves 2
Smoothies aren’t really low gi as the fruit is blended. Better to eat fruit with a scoop of yoghurt. x
Thanks for commenting shreena, but is that really true? Is there really that much difference between fruit that has been blended in a blender and that which you pulverize with your teeth? I realize a blender can puree food much better than we can, but if people chew well does it really change the amount of fructose and other natural sugars released from the fruit? It still has the same amount of fiber in it which will slow down the assimilation process. Fruit juices are much higher GI because they don’t have the fiber to slow down the assimilation of them.
However, it is true what you say that adding yogurt will lower the GI even more because the milk fat will slow the assimilation way down and even out your bodies blood sugar response to the fruit.