Licuado de plátano is the Mexican version of a banana smoothie. It’s more like a hybrid between a smoothie and a milk shake. I guess you could say it’s a healthy banana shake. Its main ingredient is milk, then fruit, and some people add honey and even granola, ice is optional.
What I like best about this healthy banana shake is that has less sugar than your average smoothie, because it doesn’t have juice or yogurt. In our version we will be using almond-toasted coconut milk. There are countless combinations you can use, but this is a classic. My mom used to make this for us as a quick breakfast before school, but we hated it because she wouldn’t put any ice in it, and the bananas weren’t always ripe. Until one day dad made it for us and blew our minds! He added ice, vanilla, cinnamon, a ripe banana, and if he didn’t feel it was sweet enough he would even add sugar. From then one we would tell mom that she didn’t have to make the shake for us anymore, that we could do it ourselves.
Halloween came too fast this year, and I was a bit stressed because we had to get two costumes for Dylan. His school is having a Halloween parade but it needs to be a saint or a hero that promotes Christian values. So what costume did our little man choose? Darth Vador piggie from angry birds, of course. He’s really into angry birds right now for some reason. Thankfully a friend from Church had a St. Patrick costume she made herself for one of her kids, and she let me borrow it. Let’s just say this is the Mexican version of St. Patrick!
The Recipe: Healthy Banana Shake
You can add 1 tbsp. of oatmeal, chia seed, hemp seed or flax seed for extra fiber or omega-3’s.
Healthy Banana Shake
Ingredients
- 1 Banana, ripe
- 1 cup Almond coconut milk, or dairy-free milk of choice
- 1/8 tsp. Cinnamon, ground
- 1/8 tsp. Vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup Ice
Preparation
- Place all the ingredients in the blender.
- Process until smooth.
Chef's Notes
Ripe bananas are sweeter than slightly green ones. Use them in place of sugar. You can add 1 tbsp. of oatmeal for fiber.
I love liquados! My mother and sister in law make them, often with papaya, and they’re soooo good!