Banana Split Smoothie for Teens

by The Meal Makeover Moms on April 6th, 2009

Banana Split SmoothieWhen a group of young teens gets its hands on a blender and a table filled with smoothie ingredients – 100% juices, fruited & vanilla lowfat yogurt, bananas, and frozen blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and mango – amazing things can happen. We saw this first hand during our annual Family Meal Makeover workshop offered to seventh grade students and their parents from the R.J. Grey Junior High School in Acton, MA.

It’s no surprise that most teenage boys and girls choose bagels over blueberries and crackers over carrots. Given their super busy lives – sports, homework, music lessons – they have a tendency to grab for quick and convenient carbs, leaving nutritious fruits and vegetables in their wake.

From the conversations we’ve had with middle school students, most eat too few fruits and vegetables (MyPyramid recommends 4 ½ to 5 cups a day), whole grains, calcium-rich foods, and high-quality protein foods, and they don’t drink enough water.  So during our workshops, we set out to prove that teens, no matter how busy or uncomfortable in the kitchen they might be, can personally — on their own, even without the help of their parents — fit good nutrition into their diets.  To do that, we asked volunteer “chefs” to participate in our smoothie challenge.  The results were downright entertaining and delicious (quite frankly, we’ve never seen a more enthusiastic group of kids cook).

Acton Smoothie Chefs

To thank all the parents and students for being such great sports, we created a brand new smoothie recipe just for them (and, of course, for anyone else who reads this blog).  We love this recipe because it’s definitely teen friendly, is chockfull of bone-building calcium – a nutrient growing teens need in a big way, and provides half a banana in every satisfying serving.

Banana Split Smoothie ingredients

Banana Split Smoothie
Makes 2 Servings

This super-easy smoothie calls for one sliced, frozen banana, so be sure to get it into the freezer before you set out to make the recipe!

  • 3/4 cup 1% lowfat milk
  • 3/4 cup frozen vanilla lowfat yogurt
  • 1 ripe medium banana, sliced and frozen
  • 2 tablespoons caramel or butterscotch sundae sauce
  • Ice cubes, optional
  • Chocolate sauce
  • 2 whole strawberries

1.  Place the milk, frozen yogurt, banana slices, and caramel sauce in a blender.  Blend until thick and smooth. Serve in two glasses over ice, as desired, and top with a drizzle of chocolate sauce.  Garnish each glass with a whole strawberry.

Tip:  If using an immersion blender, place all ingredients in mixing jug. Place the hand blender with stainless steel blending shaft attached into the ingredients and blend until thick and smooth.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1 cup):  240 calories, 3g fat (1.5g saturated), 130mg sodium, 48g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 8g protein, 30% vitamin C, 25% calcium
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2 Comments | Filed Under Desserts, Fruits, Snacks 

2 Responses to “Banana Split Smoothie for Teens”

  1. Podcast 54: Vitamin D Nutrition | Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen on May 6th, 2009

    [...] and dish about whether a dietary supplement is right for you. We also share two D-licious recipes, Banana Split Smoothie and Grilled Mozzarella & Smoked Salmon [...]

  2. Cindy on June 29th, 2009

    We tried a smoothie bar for supper one night while camping (we had electricity). We had some wonderful combinations – strawberry yogurt with strawberries and banana, vanilla yogurt with blueberries, peaches with vanilla yogurt and peach juice to thin. It was a fun and fresh supper when the temperatures were near 100! The kids had fun creating and tasting the different combinations!

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