Greek Yogurt banana berry Smoothie

You will see a lot of Greek yogurt recipes on my website. I happen to think it is the Bee's Knees. I eat it almost every morning and if not then sometimes I turn it into an afternoon snack. I use it as an ingredient in many dishes from salad dressings to pasta sauce to make it "creamy." One of our favorite things to do with it is to use it create delicious thick and creamy smoothies. 

I don't add any juice, ice or sugar (honey/agave) to our smoothies. I most often use Dannon's Oikos Triple Zero yogurt and generally the flavored ones... We prefer vanilla, coconut, and banana varieties for the smoothies. In lieu of ice we used frozen fruit - assorted berries, peaches, what have you and always a frozen banana which really adds thickness. You can use half fresh and half frozen fruit. I find this time of year when berries are so abundant and quite reasonably priced, that I often buy more than I need, and put some directly into the freezer. This can also be done with pitted fruits such as peaches, plums and nectarines and pineapple. By using frozen fruit you eliminate the need for ice and therefore don't run the risk of watering down your smoothies robbing them of flavor.

Banana Berry Greek Yogurt Smoothie

Ingredients:
8 oz Greek yogurt, preferably Dannon's OIKOS Triple Zero, vanilla or banana flavor
1/2 banana frozen, peeled sliced
1/4 low fat milk, preferably 1%
3/4 fresh or frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries - any combination)
This recipe can be doubled and tripled. 

Directions:
Place all ingredients in your blender and pulse until smooth. If you want this to be thicker or a bit more "frozen" simply pour into a glass and place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

Tips:
1. Leftover smoothie can be poured into ice cube molds to be added to future smoothies or
2. Poured into popsicle molds for young children to enjoy on a hot day!
3. Serve smoothies into fun glasses or Mason Jars and definitely use fun, re-usable plastic straws.
4. For smaller servings I love using our Magic Bullet. It is so much easier to use and clean than a traditional blender!
5. Buy fresh fruit on sale and then place in resealable plastic bags in freezer for future use.
6. For larger items like peaches and strawberries, cut to desired size before freezing. 
7. Peel bananas before tossing into freezer. You may prefer to cut them while frozen.
8. Frozen bananas have a much milder flavor than those that aren't frozen which may be good for those who are less than enthusiastic about this fruit.