Orange Banana Smoothie

This Simple Orange Banana Smoothie is loaded with plant-powered goodness and nutrients to give you energy.

The best kind of "fast" food is a green smoothie, hands down. This one is simply delicious and incredibly delicious. Chances are you've already got everything on hand that you need to blend up this orange banana smoothie.

I am a runner and fueling my body with plants helps keep me energized and in good health - I don't want anything to slow me down! After a long run, I love to blend up a green smoothie to rehydrate and replenish my electrolytes. To give myself an extra boost, I'll often use coconut water in place of plain water.

Taking my smoothies on the go in reusable jars has made all the difference. After a workout, I'm much less likely to drive through fast food when I have a smoothie blended and ready to down. You with me?

Ingredients in Orange Banana Smoothie

We've packed in the goodness with spinach, banana and oranges. That's it.... and all you really need here. Oranges and bananas are taken for granted. It's seems like they're always readily available on kitchen counters and cafeterias all over. But the reason they are so popular is probably due to the fact that we've come to rely on them for their vitamin C and potassium. But there are other benefits to oranges and bananas.

Health Benefits of Oranges

Like I said, oranges are a great source of vitamin C. When I'm feeling on the edge of a cold, I definitely start eating more oranges (or adding them to my smoothies!) and other foods high in vitamin C. This orange banana smoothie is loaded with vitamin c!

Oranges have other health benefits too. They are high in dietary fiber, which is essential for digestive function, but also to help reduce high cholesterol levels and keep blood sugar stable.

In addition to vitamin C and dietary fiber, oranges are also a good source of folate, vitamins A and B1, and B5 (pantothenic acid), which is essential for making blood cells and converting the food we eat into energy. Oranges also contain essential minerals potassium, copper, and calcium.

Health Benefits of Banana

Bananas are one of the greatest fruits out there, in my opinion. One medium banana provides 25% the recommended daily amount of vitamin B6, 14% vitamin C, 14% manganese, 11% fiber, 10% copper and biotin, and 9% potassium. Foods rich in potassium may help improve cardiovascular health.

Bananas are low on the glycemic scale, making them a good fruit to eat if you're watching your blood sugar levels. Even though bananas contain around 15 grams of total sugar in one medium piece of fruit, they also contain 3 grams of fiber and pectin. Bananas contain FOS (fructooligosaccharides) that aren't broken down in the digestive tract until the lower intestine where bacteria aids in metabolizing the FOS. Eating bananas has shown to increase the healthy bacteria in the gut. More reasons to love bananas!

How To Store Orange Banana Smoothie

If you want to blend your orange banana smoothie ahead of time, I recommend adding a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice to the jar. This helps preserve the smoothie. It has to be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. In the fridge, a smoothie will stay good for 1-3 days depending on the ingredients used. Keep in mind that really ripe fruit can start to ferment in the blended smoothie and could cause the container to leak or explode.

Smoothies can be frozen in wide-mouth canning jars. Leave a little head room at the top for expansion. To thaw either place in the fridge overnight or place the jar in cool (not hot!) water to thaw. Give the jar a little shake if the smoothie has separated.