Strawberry Banana Batido con Leche…Like Mami Used to Make (Recipe)

My mother taught me that batidos made with milk in the morning are a healthy, quick and delicious breakfast option. Mami never let me leave for school without fueling up. She knew instinctively that if I went to school on an empty stomach, I wouldn’t get the most out of my morning lessons.

I’ve never been the kind of person that wakes up hungry, it takes me a while to want a full sit down meal, so my mother would get nutrients and breakfast in me whether I thought I was hungry or not by making me a morning batido with a milk base. Yes, my dears, way back in the 70s my mother would whip me up morning smoothies with milk, banana, any other fruit we happened to have, ice cubes and sometimes a shot of liquid vitamins. Of course, I loved them because they taste like a milkshake. Yum!

To this day I still love making batidos for a quick and nutritious breakfast. I also plan on passing on the batido tradition to my kids just like my mom passed it down to me and I’m showing them how to make them using 1% milk because milk has great benefits including:

• Calcium for strong bones. Growing children need calcium and the older I get the more concerned I become with getting enough calcium because I do not want brittle bones.
• I find smoothies with milk to be far more filling than smoothies made with water or juices.
• The protein in milk is a great source of energy and helps build and repair muscles.
• The potassium in milk is great for helping to maintain healthy blood pressure. My blood pressure is excellent and I intend to keep it that way and it’s never too early to start my kids on healthy habits.
• The vitamin A in milk is good for your immune system, vision and skin.

Batidos are totally easy to make and really just go for it with whatever fruity ingredients you have laying around. The easiest batido that I make is a strawberry banana version. It also meets with my kids approval and is a great way to use up bananas that need to be eaten like NOW!

Strawberry Banana Batido

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces 1% milk
• 1 very ripe banana
• 5-6 shucked strawberries
• 6 ice cubes

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a blender. Blend the heck out of it or until desired consistency. Pour into glass and enjoy!

Do you ever make batidos/smoothies with milk?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.