This Salted Caramel and Banana Smoothie is not only delicious but also highly nutritious. It is an excellent start to the day for kids and adults alike. It has become my favourite quick breakfast.

Notes on the main ingredients for the Salted Caramel and Banana Smoothie

Maca Powder

The maca root originated in Peru. It looks like a potato and a radish had a baby but has a nutty, slightly caramelly/butterscotchy flavour. We use it dried and powdered.

It is touted to possibly help with increasing low libido, increasing fertility, boosting energy and endurance, reducing blood pressure, improving mood, fighting free radicals, reducing sun damage, improving learning and memory, and reducing menopausal symptoms. Sounds like some pretty amazing side benefits to enjoying maca powder in your food preparation.

Though maca may not be suitable for everyone. One article I found, offers this caution, “If you’re on blood thinners, maca may not be right for you. It has so much vitamin K — which helps your blood form clots — that it may counteract your medication. Ditto that for men with elevated blood PSA (prostate specific antigens), who should stay away from maca. The plant’s extracts might act like estrogen, so avoid it if you have hormone-sensitive conditions like breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers or endometriosis.”

For the rest of us, it’s important to not indulge in too much of a good thing whatever it is, so according to my research, I limit the amount of maca I use in my cooking/food preparation to two tablespoons a week.

Salt

I use sea salt that naturally has iodine or pink Himalayan salt that has some extra minerals.

The amount of salt you use will depend on your taste and how much salt you already consume. Too much salt can worsen high blood pressure.

According to The Victorian Government’s Better Health website, “around 75% of the salt in our diet comes from processed foods, which means we may be unaware of the amount of salt we are having.”

This is another good reason to cook for ourselves as then we can keep track of our salt intake, which should be no more than 1 teaspoon a day for most of us. Remember that too little salt also has negative side effects. In severe cases, low sodium levels in the body can lead to muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting and dizziness.

Banana

The riper the banana the more sweet the smoothie will be. I sometimes make this smoothie to use up almost over-ripe bananas and often don’t need to add the dates.

If you don’t have time to freeze the banana, add a few ice cubes to ensure it is nice and cold.

 

References:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322511

https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-diet-maca-root

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/salt