Banana Coconut Smoothie

When I have a bunch of overripe bananas, they usually end up in a batch of banana bread. It’s easy to make – especially if you use my One Bowl Banana Bread recipe – and it is always a crowd pleaser. The problem with crowd pleasers is that it is helpful to have a crowd, particularly if you have enough bananas on hand for more than one loaf. A smoothie is always good fallback treat when you have some fruit in your kitchen that needs to be used up. I enjoy them as breakfast, an afternoon snack or as dessert, which means that I feel good about making this Banana Coconut Smoothie any time of day.

The smoothie is a simple one made with bananas, yogurt, milk and pineapple juice. The coconut flavor comes from cream of coconut, a sweetened coconut milk product that is often used in making smoothies and cocktails, like the Pina Colada. It gives the smoothie a great coconut flavor and adds just the right amount of sweetness, though you can supplement the drink with little extra cream of coconut if you prefer your drink to be a little extra coconutty. I added a little bit of pineapple juice for a hint of extra sweetness, which it added without turning this into a pina colada-flavored smoothie. Orange juice would also make a nice addition, if you don’t have pineapple juice in your fridge. Yogurt gives the smoothie some body without making it overly thick or turning it into a milkshake – though I admit that ice cream would be an excellent substitute for the yogurt if I really wanted to turn this into a dessert drink.  As it stands, the smoothie has just the right thickness to make it satisfying without making it heavy, and it has a great balance of flavors. I guess I’lll be saving a few extra over-ripe bananas for the blender, and not just banana bread, from now on!

Banana Coconut Smoothie
2 medium-large bananas
1/2 cup plain Greek-style yogurt
1/4 cup cream of coconut
1/2 cup milk (regular or coconut)
1/4 cup pineapple juice
8-10-oz ice

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend at low speed until the ice is crushed, then turn the blender up to high and blend until mixture is smooth and creamy. Divide into two glasses to serve.

Serves 2.