Today's post focuses on creating a delicious banana berry power smoothie. This power smoothie makes a great breakfast or mid-day snack. It's full of antioxidants, protein, and vitamins. Oh, and it tastes fantastic. Usually, this site's focus is cooking, so why am I sharing such a simple smoothie recipe? Well, as I said, smoothies are delicious. But, more than that, the techniques I've shared on this site for years can be used to make a better smoothie. And this simple smoothie is a great way to illustrate the effects of balancing flavour. Don't believe me? Keep reading.

Ingredients

The ingredients I use for this power smoothie are milk, yogurt, strawberry, banana, frozen blueberry, maple syrup, and lemon juice. At the end of the post, I'll share some other ingredients you can add to make the smoothie your own. I chose these specific ingredients to balance flavour and texture. For instance, the banana and yogurt add a creamy texture to the smoothie. The berries and maple syrup add sweetness. The final smoothie ingredient is a little bit of lemon juice.

Why use maple syrup along with the berries?

Berries can be tart and sometimes they need a little boost. So, that little bit of maple syrup enhances the sweetness of the berries. The little bit of acid provided by the lemon brightens the smoothie's flavour and helps to enhance the sweetness a little as well. It also has an interesting effect where it helps to separate the flavours. So, when you take a sip of the smoothie, you can taste it as a whole cohesive dish, but you can also pick out the individual components. The point is that adding a little sweet and a little sour, turns a basic smoothie into smoothing with a complex flavour that doesn't get boring after four sips.

Blending The Banana Berry Power Smoothie

There isn't too much of a technique to blend the power smoothie. The most significant bit of advice I can give you is to make sure the yogurt isn't the first thing hitting the blender blade as it may clog it up a bit. I made that mistake. Other than that, blend until it is as smooth as possible.

Alternative Power Smoothie Ingredients

My power smoothie is not necessarily your power smoothie. You can change the ingredients however you'd like. But, when you alter the ingredients, think of their purpose. For example, if you don't want to use banana, replace it with another creamy ingredient like half an avocado, a tablespoon or two of peanut butter, or a quarter cup of cashews. You can replace the berries with any other berry or fruit like mango or pineapple. You can also replace one of the berries with spinach. Again, remember to replace like for like. If you replace the frozen blueberries, make sure to use another frozen ingredient. Of course, you can use any type of milk and yogurt you'd like. However, no matter what ingredients you use, taste it and balance the flavour with a little sweet such as maple syrup, honey, agave, or whatever, and a little acid like lemon, lime, pineapple juice, orange juice, etc. And honestly, it wouldn't hurt to add a small pinch of salt too.

The Wrap-Up

I hope you make this smoothie because I think it really will help to illustrate some of the points I've been making all along on this blog. When you make it, leave out the maple syrup and lemon juice. Make the smoothie, taste it, then add the maple syrup, blend again, taste. Finally, add the lemon juice, blend and taste. I bet you'll be blown away at the difference between the three tastings. But please, do not take my word for it. Try this for yourself. Once you do, hopefully, you'll understand how you use the same basic idea of adding a little sweet, a little acid, a little salt, a little spice to balance the flavour of the savoury dishes that you cook.