All Grown Up Kopi Banana Smoothie

Do you sometimes feel like you need a bit more of a kick to your morning or midday smoothies? Well, we’ve got a recipe to sort you out – kopi banana smoothie. It’s like your standard banana smoothie with a little bit of oomph, and the added kopi is excellent if you’re the sort of person who can’t get through your morning without a good dose of caffeine.

With a simple recipe that only needs four ingredients, this kopi banana smoothie will have you ready to roll and heading out the door in minutes. Or use a cold thermos flask to take it with you – just be sure not to drink and drive!

The good things

This recipe for kopi banana smoothie is filled with good things and packed with nutrients. Banana, for example, is a great source of potassium and vitamins. And even though bananas add a richness and creaminess to your smoothies, it is actually low in fat and calories. Consuming bananas also helps you feel full – perfect if you’re working on losing that weight.

Dates have incredible health benefits and are chockful of vitamins, calcium, fibre, magnesium and potassium. These sweet little fruits have great anti-inflammatory benefits, and can help reduce the risk of arthritis as well as Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular diseases. However, dates are 80% sugar with a low glycemic index, making them unsuitable for diabetics. But even you’re not a diabetic, you should go easy on consuming them. A few dates a day is fine for the diet, but a whole bowl is definitely going overboard.

You always hear about how milk is good for the bones, and that’s because it’s a great source of calcium. Milk also contains vitamin D, which, together with the calcium, helps prevent osteoporosis. The potassium in milk is great for reducing blood pressure, while the vitamin D helps to produce serotonin, which helps to lift the mood, can reduce chronic fatigue and reduce symptoms of PMS. Can we get an amen, ladies? Milk also contains saturated fat and cholesterol though, so if you’re looking after your cholesterol levels, you may want to swap this out for a more cholesterol friendly option. If you’re lactose intolerant or vegan, you can also swap it out for a soy or nut-based milk, or any other milk that suits your fancy.

And coffee?

What about that kopi? Well, we’re pretty sure the caffeine addicts will try and convince you that coffee is a health drink. We wouldn’t call it that exactly, but caffeine certainly has its health benefits. Caffeine can give you a 45-minute mental boost as well as an energy boost for your workout. But even more, taking coffee can help reduce the risk of Parkinson’s, lower your risk of diabetes and even mouth and throat cancer.

Convinced? Let’s make some smoothies.

Ingredients

• 100g (1) frozen banana
• 1 tsp kopi powder steeped in 60ml hot water and then let cool
• 10g (1) pitted date
• 120ml (1/2 cup) milk

Making kopi banana smoothie

1. Place frozen banana, date and steeped cooled kopi in a high powered blender. Don’t forget to pour the kopi through a sieve to remove leftover coffee powder. Blend until smooth.

2. Once smooth, add in milk and blend until thoroughly combined.
3. Serve immediately while still cold.

Extra tips

1. Get all your ingredients ready before bringing out your frozen banana and milk or they will warm up and your kopi banana smoothie won’t be as delicious.
2. Temperature is key to making delicious smoothies – you want it cold! If you can’t get your ingredients cold enough, add a little bit of ice during the blending process. Don’t add too much or it will water down your smoothie. Alternatively, serve your smoothie in a cup or glass filled with ice to keep it cool.
3. Different types of dates vary in sweetness. Adjust the quantity as needed. However, if your banana is very sweet and ripe, you may not need to add dates at all.
4. Vegan? Feel free to swap milk with any vegan milk that you like.
5. To speed up your kopi cooling process, stick it in the freezer. Don’t add hot kopi to your smoothie mix or you’ll end up with a lukewarm smoothie. Feel free to add more kopi powder too if you want a stronger kick, just don’t add any additional hot water.
6. If you don’t have access to local kopi powder, try swapping with some espresso powder or your favourite coffee powder instead.
7. It’s best to add the hardest ingredients at the bottom of the blender so they are closest to the blades. The kopi liquid helps smoothen the blending process.
8. A high-powered blender will make the process of blending your smoothies faster, ensuring it remains cold once the blending process is complete. However, not everyone can afford to fork out a pretty penny for one those blenders. We used the Philips ProBlend 5. They are a pretty good option for ice as well as non-ice-based smoothies. You will need some liquid to get the blender moving smoothly though.
9. Blender cleaning tip: add a drop of dishwashing liquid into the blender and fill it with about 1/5^th to ¼ of water. Give it a few pulses to clean your blades and the bottom of the blender much more easily. Don’t ‘blend’ the water for too fast or for too long though or you may end up with overflowing foam instead!