All Grown Up Kopi Banana Smoothie

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Kopi banana smoothie: a little caffeine kick to get you going Do you sometimes feel like you need a bit more of a kick to your morning or midday smoothies? Well, we’ve got a recipe to sort you out – kopi banana smoothie. It’s like your standard banana smoothie with a little bit of oomph, and the added kopi is excellent if you’re the sort of person who can’t get through your morning without a good dose of caffeine.
With a simple recipe that only needs four ingredients, this kopi banana smoothie will have you ready to roll and heading out the door in minutes. Or use a cold thermos flask to take it with you – just be sure not to drink and drive!
The good things This recipe for kopi banana smoothie is filled with good things and packed with nutrients. Banana, for example, is a great source of potassium and vitamins. And even though bananas add a richness and creaminess to your smoothies, it is actually low in fat and calories. Consuming bananas also helps you feel full – perfect if you’re working on losing that weight.
Dates have incredible health benefits and are chockful of vitamins, calcium, fibre, magnesium and potassium. These sweet little fruits have great anti-inflammatory benefits, and can help reduce the risk of arthritis as well as Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular diseases. However, dates are 80% sugar with a low glycemic index, making them unsuitable for diabetics. But even you’re not a diabetic, you should go easy on consuming them. A few dates a day is fine for the diet, but a whole bowl is definitely going overboard.
You always hear about how milk is good for the bones, and that’s because it’s a great source of calcium. Milk also contains vitamin D, which, together with the calcium, helps prevent osteoporosis. The potassium in milk is great for reducing blood pressure, while the vitamin D helps to produce serotonin, which helps to lift the mood, can reduce chronic fatigue and reduce symptoms of PMS. Can we get an amen, ladies? Milk also contains saturated fat and cholesterol though, so if you’re looking after your cholesterol levels, you may want to swap this out for a more cholesterol friendly option. If you’re lactose intolerant or vegan, you can also swap it out for a soy or nut-based milk, or any other milk that suits your fancy.
And coffee? What about that kopi? Well, we’re pretty sure the caffeine addicts will try and convince you that coffee is a health drink. We wouldn’t call it that exactly, but caffeine certainly has its health benefits. Caffeine can give you a 45-minute mental boost as well as an energy boost for your workout. But even more, taking coffee can help reduce the risk of Parkinson’s, lower your risk of diabetes and even mouth and throat cancer.
Convinced? Let’s make some smoothies.
Ingredients
100g (1) frozen banana 1 tsp kopi powder steeped in 60ml hot water and then let cool 10g (1) pitted date 120ml (1/2 cup) milk Making kopi banana smoothie Place frozen banana, date and steeped cooled kopi in a high powered blender. Don’t forget to pour the kopi through a sieve to remove leftover coffee powder. Blend until smooth. Start with the frozen banana, date and kopi Once smooth, add in milk and blend until thoroughly combined. Serve immediately while still cold. Extra tips Get all your ingredients ready before bringing out your frozen banana and milk or they will warm up and your kopi banana smoothie won’t be as delicious. Temperature is key to making delicious smoothies – you want it cold! If you can’t get your ingredients cold enough, add a little bit of ice during the blending process. Don’t add too much or it will water down your smoothie. Alternatively, serve your smoothie in a cup or glass filled with ice to keep it cool. Different types of dates vary in sweetness. Adjust the quantity as needed. However, if your banana is very sweet and ripe, you may not need to add dates at all. Vegan? Feel free to swap milk with any vegan milk that you like. To speed up your kopi cooling process, stick it in the freezer. Don’t add hot kopi to your smoothie mix or you’ll end up with a lukewarm smoothie. Feel free to add more kopi powder too if you want a stronger kick, just don’t add any additional hot water. If you don’t have access to local kopi powder, try swapping with some espresso powder or your favourite coffee powder instead. It’s best to add the hardest ingredients at the bottom of the blender so they are closest to the blades. The kopi liquid helps smoothen the blending process. A high-powered blender will make the process of blending your smoothies faster, ensuring it remains cold once the blending process is complete. However, not everyone can afford to fork out a pretty penny for one those blenders. We used the Philips ProBlend 5, which crushes ice faster than your usual blender. This makes them perfect for ice-based frozen drinks, and a pretty good option for non-ice-based smoothies as well. You will need some liquid to get the blender moving smoothly though. Blender cleaning tip: add a drop of dishwashing liquid into the blender and fill it with about 1/5th to ¼ of water. Give it a few pulses to clean your blades and the bottom of the blender much more easily. Don’t ‘blend’ the water for too fast or for too long though or you may end up with overflowing foam instead! That smoothie buzz This kopi banana smoothie recipe is perfect for a little bit of that morning buzz. The use of banana in this recipe makes it quite rich and filling, so this smoothie should keep you feeling full for a good couple of hours. We don’t recommend pre-making and storing this smoothie in the fridge for later consumption. However, you can pre-make the kopi and keep it in the fridge for a few days, especially if you’re planning on having this over the next few days. Alternatively, freeze the kopi into cubes for an extra cold factor. If you take this route, you may need to add a bit of milk at the start to get the blending process going.
Did you like our kopi banana smoothie recipe? Show us your smoothies by tagging your pictures with the with the #butterkicap hashtag. We’d love to know what you think!
 

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