This recipe is kind of a recipe, kind of a tips and advice post. I’ve spoken about my hatred of bananas a million times before, but in case you’re new, they’re the worst food ever. Being on a vegan diet and avoiding bananas is quite challenging sometimes, especially when it comes to things like smoothies. Bananas are added so frequently because they’re sweet and they have that *awful* texture that makes the smoothie creamier. I’m here for all of you out there who also don’t like bananas, or maybe you just ran out and Googled ‘how to make a smoothie creamy without banana’ because you were in a pinch. Fear not, it is possible.
In this post, I’m going to be sharing a few things I typically include to make my smoothies creamy without banana, then sharing a recipe using a few of them.
As I’m writing this, it’s late April and still very cold, but hopefully, the weather will be a little more smoothie bowl friendly by the time you see this.
How to make a smoothie creamy without banana?
It’s very unlikely that you want that icy texture you get from frozen fruit and milk/ water, so you need something else with a softer texture to make your recipe work.
Unfortunately for any of you on low fat diets, most of the options I have are higher in fat, but they are healthy options.
One tip I do have is to choose your milk wisely. I used to be die hard almond milk for everything. However, in the last few months, I’ve developed an obsession with vanilla soy milk. Not the healthiest option, I know, but it works well in a smoothie. Soy milk is creamier than a lot of nut milks, which makes it great for smoothies and I find the sweetness of the vanilla complements the fruits really well. I also hate the taste of soy so there’s no way I could use plain soy anything.
Your options:
- Nut butter
- Avocado
- Natural yoghurt – Alpro Greek Style is my go-to
- Coconut cream/ yoghurt (you will never see me use that)
- Silken tofu – before you’re too alarmed, that’s usually what vegan cheesecake is made from. This isn’t a savoury option, but you won’t be seeing me with this either.
My Cherry & Vanilla Creamy Smoothie Recipe
Cherry & Vanilla Creamy Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen cherries
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1 cup vanilla soy milk
- ½ cup dairy free natural yoghurt/ coconut yoghurt
Toppings
- Of course you can add whatever you want but I like to add some chia seeds for some omega 3, something crunchy, like nuts or granola, and some fresh berries to make my perfect bowl.
Instructions
-
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. But add the wet ingredients before the protein powder so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the cup!
-
Get creative with your toppings
Serve and enjoy!
What do you guys like to add to your smoothie bowls? And are you banana fans? It’s a very important question.
Until tomorrow,
Sophie
To catch up on Recipe A Day May so far. click here.
I actually have all the recipe to make this! Gotta make one for myself tomorrow <3
Only Yesterday
oh my thislooks so tasyly! thanks for sharing!
I don’t mind bananas on their own, but I find once I add them to a smoothie or another recipe, the flavour is overpowering. I have a dairy allergy and I used bananas to make pancakes … big mistake! They tasted awful and put me off bananas for a while. I get your struggle! The colour of your smoothie is amazing – makes me want to try it! xxx
love the dedication of this whole recipe a day series you’re doing. I am right there with ya on the whole hating bananas thing. they are honestly awful, absolutely awful i feel like i’m eating already chewed food. i will have to try these options because i have yet to find a way that I enjoy my smoothies, i’m a huge texture person with food so i’ll have to play around. x
mich / simplymich.com
I never really thought about this, but those are some amazing options, and I have some silken tofu and coconut cream!
I’ll have to try this! discontinuing bananas will cut down on some calories I don’t really want/need!
Tonyalee @ vivaciousbibliophile.com
I never make anything like this but I need to x
http://www.ofbeautyandnothingness.co.uk
I love banana in a smoothie but Alpro is such a good alternative.
Really helpful! I like the idea of using yoghurt. But bananas are one of my favourite things ever so I’d never avoid them in the first place!
Jenny
http://www.jennyinneverland.com
This looks so tasty – you should tutor cooking classes darling, you always make such yummy looking food! I’m sending you all of my love!
With love, Alisha Valerie x | http://www.alishavalerie.com
I love eating bananas but for some reason I hate it when it’s all you can taste in smoothies so this is such a brilliant post for me! Yoghurt is something we usually have in so that’s a great idea xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
Yum a cherry and vanilla smoothie sounds so good. I actually really like banana’s so I’d probably use them a lot for the creamy texture, but it’s nice to read about alternatives, especially if you have people over and they don’t like certain foods like bananas. I do tend to make smoothies very unhealthy and use ice cream!
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com