Kiwi Banana Smoothie

This Kiwi Banana Smoothie is an easy and quick breakfast or snack with only a few ingredients. It's got Greek yogurt for extra protein and creaminess, plus a touch of honey for sweetness. This smoothie is super thick, so grab a spoon or a thick straw!

Happy New Year everyone! January is a wonderful time for new beginnings, and I'm feeling like I could definitely use a kick start after a week of holiday food (and drink!). A refreshing smoothie is a great way to put some zip in your step, and this kiwi banana smoothie recipe will surely do the trick.

It's full of delicious tangy and sweet kiwi, which is a great in-season fruit for winter, plus frozen banana and a touch of honey (if you please!) for some extra sweetness. Greek yogurt provides protein and creaminess. This kiwi banana smoothie recipe also uses ice instead of added liquid (unless you need a tiny splash of water to get your blender going). I love doing this because the smoothie comes out super thick and extra cold, rather than runny and sad. You will definitely need a fat straw for this smoothie!

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Kiwi Banana Smoothie Ingredients

• Kiwi: make sure you use ripe kiwi in this recipe! The first time I made this smoothie, I had a sort of under ripe kiwi that I thought would be fine blended, but it was too tart and not very good. Check out the section below on ripening kiwis for more info!
• Frozen banana: I first tried this recipe using a non-frozen banana, because I like the idea of just suddenly deciding you want a smoothie and being able to make the recipe. However, it came out runny and I needed to add way more ice to get that thick, almost scoop-able texture I was after, which then made the smoothie just taste like ice. Not good! But, I think having a frozen banana on hand is still within the realm of convenient. I always have overripe bananas sitting on my counter, and it's pretty easy to just stick one in a bag and pop it in the freezer rather than letting it go to waste. See my section below on how to freeze a banana for a smoothie!
• Plain Greek yogurt: I like using Greek yogurt in smoothies because it's extra thick and creamy, and helps make the smoothie thick! If you want a sweeter smoothie, try using a flavored Greek yogurt. I think strawberry or blueberry would be delicious!
• Ice: this is to help give the smoothie that extra icy chill and thick texture.
• Honey: this is purely optional, but I do like to add a little bit just to help counter some of the tartness in the kiwi.

Kiwi: Ripeness, Storage and How to Prepare

As I mentioned, kiwis are a great fruit to find in the winter. But, they may or may not be ripe on the grocery store shelf. Here's how to tell when kiwis are ripe, how to ripen them, and how to store them.

How to Tell When a Kiwi is Ripe

When a kiwi is ripe and ready to eat, the flesh will be slightly soft when you press it gently with a finger. I liken it to the same subtle softness of a ripe avocado. Soft, but still holding its shape, with no mushy spots. Although, if you do have a couple overripe spots on your kiwi, it will still taste great in a kiwi smoothie!

How to Ripen and Store Kiwi

As I mentioned, depending on how hard they are when you bought them, kiwis can take a week or more before they ripen at room temperature, although typical kiwi ripening time is more like 4 - 5 days. (I got unlucky this time, I still have some hard kiwis sitting on my counter from over a week ago!)

Storing Kiwis at Room Temperature

To store kiwis at room temperature, just keep them on the counter, out of direct strong sunlight. You can place them in a fruit bowl if you want, but don't pack them in too tightly or put heavy fruit on top, because kiwis are somewhat delicate when they are ripe. If you want to speed up the ripening process, put the kiwis in a paper bag with a ripe banana. This will ripen them a day or two sooner.

Storing Kiwis in the Fridge

Once your kiwis are ripe, if you don't want to eat them right away, place them in the fridge. You can keep them in a paper bag or a vented plastic produce bag. Ripe kiwis will stay good in the fridge for around a week! (That way, you can make this kiwi banana smoothie recipe all week long!)

Alternatively, if you find yourself with a bunch of under ripe kiwis, maybe more than you could eat at the same time, you can put some in the fridge for later. Under ripe kiwis will stay good in the fridge for two months! Be sure to keep them away from other fruits like apples and bananas though. This will cause them to ripen (unless that's what you are going for).

How to Prepare Kiwi for Smoothies (or Just Snacking!)

Did you know that kiwi skin is edible? While this may be true, I don't think a kiwi skin smoothie sounds very good. There are two main ways I know how to remove the skin from a kiwi for either smoothies or just to eat: the scoop method and the peeling method.

For the scoop method, which is arguably easier but maybe a bit messy, first start by cutting the kiwi in half around the middle. Then take a metal spoon and run it around the inside edge of the kiwi to separate the fruit from the skin. The flesh of the kiwi should pop right out in one piece!

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For the peeling method, with a paring knife, cut the stem and bottom end off the kiwi. Then run the knife down the outside of the kiwi, conforming to the shape of the fruit as you cut strips of skin off the fruit. You can do this by either placing the kiwi, cut side down, on the cutting board, or by picking it up in your hand and turning the kiwi as you go around (if you are more confident with your paring skills).

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How to Freeze Bananas for Smoothies

I'm super lazy (or, efficient, let's say). So, I have my own lazy (efficient!) way of freezing banana for smoothies or other frozen treats. Here's what I do:

Peel the ripe banana and place it into a zip top bag. Then remove as much air as possible from the bag and seal it up. Then take your finger and mash along the length of the banana, through the bag.

This way, the banana is broken up enough that when you add it to smoothies, it will blend easily. But, you don't have to get out a knife or get a cutting board or your fingers dirty. I know, I know, that doesn't take that much effort. But some days, every little bit of saved effort counts! And, bonus points if you remember to write a date on the bag! (I usually keep my frozen bananas for 3 - 4 months.)

Helpful Tips on Making Kiwi Banana Smoothies

This kiwi banana smoothie recipe is super easy and takes only a few minutes to make. But here are a couple quick tips to help the process go as "smooth" as possible! (Sorry, it was right there, couldn't help myself.)

• Blend up the kiwi, banana, honey and yogurt first, before adding the ice. These ingredients are softer and wetter, so they should blend easily.
• Then when those ingredients are smooth, add in the ice and blend until just combined. Don't over blend, this will cause your smoothie to get watery as the ingredients start to warm up!
• If your blender needs a bit of help to get started, add a tiny splash of water. But, just enough to get the ingredients going. If you add too much your smoothie will be too watery. I love using my Vitamix blender (affiliate link). It's super powerful so I never need to add extra water. Plus, you can get this tamper tool (affiliate link) to help stir up thicker ingredients while it blends. If you are in the market for a new blender, I can't recommend the Vitamix enough. It's like the Rolls Royce of blenders. Seriously!

• This smoothie recipe makes about 16 oz., enough for one large smoothie. If you want more, I recommend working in batches so the blender has enough room to properly combine the ingredients.

If you’ve tried this Kiwi Banana Smoothie, please let me know what you thought about it in the comments down below, I would love to hear from you! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more delicious recipes from Nibble and Dine!

And if you need some more quick breakfast recipes, check these out:

• Apricot Orange Energy Balls
• Easy "Cheater" Home Fries
• Mango and White Chocolate Scones

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