Cooking & Baking

from Good Housekeeping:

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Should you avoid bananas in all smoothies?
No, you can certainly have bananas in your smoothie, but based on the study’s findings, you may want to reconsider using berries in the same recipe. “Bananas remain a great fruit and a great option for smoothie preparation, but not if you’re aiming at maintaining the flavanols in your smoothie,” says Ottaviani.

Bananas go great in a smoothie with peanut, or another nut butter, or you can pair it with another high PPO fruit such as papaya, avocado or pear. If you want a fruity banana blend with less PPO, you can try combining it with pineapple, oranges or mangos.

But if you’re craving a berry smoothie, and you’re only adding the banana for sweetness or texture, there are some viable alternatives, according to Carolyn Williams, Ph.D., R.D., a professor of culinary arts and nutrition at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, author of Meals that Heal and host of the Happy Eating podcast.

Thinking about why you’re using the banana in the first place can help you figure out what to swap it out for, says Williams. “If the banana is adding sweetness and/or creaminess, you may want to replace it with ingredients that add those same qualities. For instance, I like including a little honey for sweetness, and for texture, you can add some mango and Greek yogurt, which has a higher protein content compared to regular yogurt.”

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for the background on this, see the article.