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Smoothies are great for a quick meal and they even help you make sure you’re getting fruit. There are a lot of great smoothie options out there but cut the cliches. As long as you have a blender, you can make this delicious watermelon banana smoothie at home.
What you need:
A blender
One medium-sized banana
One cup of watermelon (160 grams)
One cup of skim or almond milk
One scoop vanilla whey protein powder (optional)
4-5 ice cubes if using fresh fruit
One tablespoon of honey or stevia
How to prepare:
Set up the blender and add your milk of choice first.
Proceed to add the watermelon, banana, ice, and protein powder.
Blend until smooth or your desired consistency.
Serve immediately and refrigerate leftovers.
Macros in this smoothie
This smoothie will have the following macros if you make it with almond milk, protein, and honey.
Total calories: 395
Fat: 5 grams
Carbohydrates: 60 grams
Protein: 27.5 grams
Tips For Making This Smoothie
This recipe will make two servings, but you will have no problem finishing everything by yourself. If you truly only want to make enough for one serving, simply cut all the ingredients in half.
You can choose to make this smoothie with or without whey protein, but I recommend adding the protein if you have it. Not only will the high protein content make you feel less hungry, but it makes for a nice smoothie consistency.
Changing The Consistency
The best thing about this smoothie is that you can make it thick or quite watery. For the thickest variation of this smoothie, I recommend using skim milk, protein powder, honey, and ice. Skim milk is slightly creamier than almond milk, so you will likely get a better texture but more calories.
Using ice cubes will also make a huge difference. Not only will your smoothie be a lot colder, but the consistency will be thicker. Knowing this, you don’t have to use a crazy amount of ice cubes because too many will dilute the taste.
If you’re able to, my favorite thing to do is freeze the watermelon and banana ahead of time. By freezing your fruit, you will not have to use ice cubes, and the flavor will not be compromised. Considering that watermelon has high water content, it will freeze fairly quickly and serve as a great substitute for ice. You can check out the video below to learn how to meal-prep frozen fruit for smoothies.
The Lightest Variation of This Smoothie
If you’re really watching your caloric intake, you can make some changes to this recipe to make it as light as possible. For the least amount of calories, use stevia instead of honey and almond milk over skim milk. By doing this, you subtract about 130 calories, and you can subtract even more by removing the protein.
Of course, by removing ingredients, you’re also making this recipe less balanced in terms of macronutrients. More than anything, I believe the protein is a great addition in terms of taste and nutritional make-up.
Have It Your Way: Other Additions
Note that this smoothie is only a blueprint and you can edit the recipe however you want. You can choose to add more fruit on top of the watermelon and banana for more flavor. To me, the best additions are fruits that freeze easily like strawberries and blueberries. Despite this, you can experiment with anything you want and see how it turns out.
One last thing to keep in mind is the sweeteners used in this smoothie. Stevia is great because it has zero calories, so you can use as little or as much as you like. After blending the smoothie, do a quick taste test and you can add more sweetener as needed.
Closing Remarks
For some reason, it’s rare to see watermelon used in a smoothie, but it’s truly a great fruit to use. I hope you enjoy this delicious watermelon banana smoothie which has great nutritional value. Remember that you can alter this smoothie to your liking and the recipe you see here is simply a blueprint.
If you enjoyed this recipe, feel free to share it with your friends. Not only is it a delicious alternative to normal smoothies, but it’s surprisingly hydrating and has a great micronutrient profile.
