Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Strawberry and Banana Smoothie


It has come to my attention that today is National Milk Day. How could I not have known this earlier?! I mean seriously, milk is like one of my most heroed consumable goods. Surely someone could have given me a heads up so that I could’ve prepared for this highly anticipated day. Nonetheless, Happy Milk Day everyone! I hope that you all guzzled down a delicious, nutrient-rich glass of milk today.

Be grateful for milk, because it has actually saved your life before. It’s the one food (it’s a drink I know!) that we’ve been consuming since we were born. If it weren’t for milk, the human population would seize to exist. The Homo sapiens species would be wiped off the epic Encyclopedia of Life, no longer beside Earth’s other 1.8 million species. That means no mommy, no daddy, no you, and certainly no friends. What a sad sad world that would be.

Actually, it’s rather disturbing that we drink cow’s milk. In fact, I think that we’re the only species (apart from maybe cats) that drink milk from another species. I mean it’s not even like we drink apes milk or something of the like. We drink the milk from COWS. Wait. I’m supposed to be encouraging you to drink milk, so let me get on with that…

I’m sure you all know that milk is good for your teeth and bones. It’s probably been drilled into your head after being said a million times by your mother. Well, you should listen to her. One cup of milk provides you with 30% of the daily-recommended amount of calcium, which is proven to help strengthen bones and teeth. Here’s a little fact that your mother probably didn’t tell you. Calcium is the mineral most likely to be deficient in the average American diet. Isn’t that incredible? With delicious milk so widely available, there’s absolutely no excuse not to meet the recommended 1,000 mg calcium per day.

Aside from being an excellent source of calcium, it is also a great source of riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin B12, vitamin A, potassium, and phosphorus. In addition, one cup of fat-free milk provides 8g of protein (that’s the same amount of protein as a jumbo egg, and who gets jumbo eggs anyway?). I like to enjoy a cup of skim milk during breakfast each and every day. Actually, I have to admit that I kinda freakout if I don’t have that glass of milk in the morning. It’s no big deal really.

What would we ever do without milk? My cereal would be dry, my coffee distasteful, and my day ruined. If you aren’t currently heavily engaged in milk drinking, you should get on to that. In fact, you should follow the New Year’s resolution of my friend Diana, which is to drink a cup of milk everyday this year. Remember, a cup of milk a day keeps the dentist way, and it will keep YOU living, smiling, and shining!

Ingredients

½ frozen banana
4 large frozen strawberries
1 cup skim milk

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients in a blender. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy!


Much thanks to Meep for the photo edits.

1 comment:

  1. Amazing article! So much info, so much stuff I didn't know, great pictures, great recipes, great everything!
    Heh Diana.. She says milk helps you be taller!
    Also, from Diana, did you know Soy milk > Tofu as Milk > Cheese?? Mindblowing.
    However, when you consider the animals that eat cheese, I suppose that could count as consuming the milk of another species. Who knows. Still a surprising fact.

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