How to Make a Delicious Heart-Healthy Blood Pressure-Lowering Smoothie

Recently I became interested in natural ways to maintain heart health and lower blood pressure. One key nutrient I became aware of is potassium, a necessary mineral for proper muscle and heart function. The only problem is that we really don't get enough potassium in our diets. Daily recommended allowance of potassium is a whopping 3500mg-4000mg daily which is equal to about 12 bananas per day. That's a lot of bananas! Supplements don't help much either, since they're only 99mg per tablet. In this article, I put together an easy and delicious way to vastly increase your daily potassium intake. The Heart-Healthy Orange Banana Yogurt Smoothie: what could be better? Recipe Credits: Daniel J. Gansle.

Things You'll Need

• Blender
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 cups orange juice
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• Ice

Instructions

1. Toss 2 bananas (716mg potassium), 2 cups orange juice (880mg potassium), and 1 cup plain yogurt (503mg potassium) into blender. Total Potassium: 2,099mg.

2. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon honey.

3. Toss a couple handfuls of ice into blender.

4. Set blender to highest setting to crush the ice. Blend for about 20 seconds.

5. Remove blender carafe from blender base, pour smoothie into a glass, and enjoy!

Tips & Warnings

• Make your smoothie interesting! Add prune juice, pineapple juice, or apricot nectar to add even more potassium. Berries spruce up the smoothie as well.

• This smoothie recipe actually makes 2-3 smoothies. Place blender carafe containing extra smoothie in refrigerator for all-day smoothie enjoyment.

Resources

• Wiki Artice on Potassium