Greek Yogurt In Smoothies

by Gina
(Wickenburg)

Q: My boys have loved fresh smoothies for a long time. I've been making them with fresh & frozen fruits, plain greek yogurt, vanilla extract & Truvia (a stevia sweetener that I think tastes great!) And a little milk if it needs to be watered down a bit. After reading your site, I am going to try almond or rice milk for the liquid. I've never thought of adding greens, though, and would like to try it! Is there any reason not to mix all of these things together? I like the yogurt & vanilla for the creaminess and the great protein content of greek yogurt. It is a complete breakfast for kids who don't feel like eating before school but certainly need to for energy. Thank you for your thoughts.

A: Hi Gina! People have been adding yogurt to smoothies for a long time (especially in their smoothies). I personally am not a huge fan of dairy for various reasons. I think there are other better options. But yogurt does have some debatable good qualities, so it's at the top of my list for dairy, if I had to choose. Probiotics being the main reason. If its just plain greek yogurt with nothing added, it should add a nice little contrast to the flavor.

If you are only using the greek yogurt for creaminess you might want to try a frozen banana. Fresh works great too. There's just something about bananas in smoothies that add a wonderful creaminess. It makes it super-milky, and when frozen, gets sort of malt like. It also works wonderfully with greens, to hid the green taste.

You might be suprised to know that greens actually have more protein then meat. It's easily absorbable by your body, and has lots of enzymes. It's the best way to go, especially for growing children!

If you've never tried greens in your smoothies before, just try adding a few leaves of spinach at first. The smoothie will be green in color, but you wont taste it one bit.

I want to give you a recipe that I love:
3 frozen bananas
A large handful of raw spinach
A few tablespoons of honey
Almond milk (enough to blend)
Tablespoon of vanilla (optional)

Blend all of these in your blender and you will be amazed how yummy it is. You can also add fun things like mango, papaya, apple or other fruit to make it even more nutritious.

There is no reason why you can't add all of the smoothie ingredients you mentioned together. In fact, it sounds pretty yummy to me! :)