The best use for overly ripe bananas ever!

Lately I’ve been filled with the “what ifs”. What if this publishing venture doesn’t work…what if no one buys any of our books…what if we don’t sign up any authors…what if we work as hard as we do and it doesn’t pay out…what if…what if…what if…

I know it’s useless to worry and really we’re kicking off this whole thing with a smoothies book, which worked pretty well for me the first time around.

In fact, smoothies always seem to be a good start. Yesterday for Joshie’s first day of FIRST GRADE, we had the super delicious smoothie pictured above for breakfast before rushing off to school.

And, our first published e-book, “Summer Smoothies 10 Recipes for Refreshing Fruit Drinks” has been delivered to Apple and will be available on iBooks any day.

Actually, “Summer Smoothies” was a little bit of a test for us and a little bit of an homage to summer’s juiciest, ripest, sweetest fruit.

Ironically, the one smoothie not reliant on seasonal produce in “Super Smoothies” has also become my go-to smoothie: Nutty Banana.

I especially like it because you know how you get down to the last two bananas and they are too brown to eat but you hate to throw them away? This smoothie solves that problem.

I don’t usually add bananas to smoothies. Bananas make a smoothie thick, but they also mute the other fruit flavors and can add an almost gooey texture. In this smoothie, the bananas are in the spotlight and taste creamy from the addition of the milk and almonds.

Try this smoothie the next time you have some ripe bananas—and don’t try to convince yourself you’ll make banana bread with them. You know you won’t.

Now if only I could truly convince myself to stop worrying about the what ifs…

Nutty Banana
Yields 16 ounces

The sliced almonds added to this banana smoothie offer a subtle layer of flavor and texture. With all of the potassium, it’s a great post-workout smoothie and is filling enough to be a meal on its own.

8 ounces (1 large or 2 small) ripe banana
4 ounces banana yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon sliced almonds

Peel and slice the banana. Arrange in a single layer on a plate and freeze for at least 15 minutes.

Put the yogurt and milk in the blender container. Add the banana and almonds and purée. Pour into one to two glasses.

Option: Add two tablespoons of organic chocolate syrup and this smoothie will remind you of a frozen banana novelty.